A long list for veg patch jobs for April, more recipes, new events, & a cute dog
FREE TO READ: April jobs in the veg patch, recipes for now, new events update and Humphrey the Spaniel being cute with radishes.
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Hello you lovely lot
It’s time. The clocks have changed, the sun is out, and we can, finally, start growing. My list of veg patch jobs, which you’ll find at the end of this newsletter, is long and over-excited.
But so is my list of things to eat, also below. Despite it being the Hungry Gap, I’ve got plenty of seasonal recipes for you. And the promise of an exceptionally easy and, I have to say, gloriously tasty make-ahead Easter feast which is landing next weeks (and features ham and cheese roasted asparagus, pesto butter beans, roast chicken and gravy croutons followed by lime leaf cheesecake).
In the meantime, LOTS of events news, including some new gigs, and, as ever, embarrassingly gushing thanks from me for supporting my new book, Rough Patch, so generously.
(TECHNICAL NOTE: There are a LOT of recipes here and they might not all fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.)
Rough Patch news
I’m printing out these quotes and pinning them to my office wall. I know it’s a bit self-congratulatory to share them with you but I hope you’ll humour me this once because I’m so bloomin’ chuffed.
Aside from own-trumpet-blowing, it’s been busy with events (and more to come, see below). Generous cheerleader and exceptional chef, Chloe Horner, owner of Chloe’s in Charlbury, cooked a menu of recipes from Rough Patch for her Long Table supper club which was an absolute hoot. Lowdown here:
And we kicked off the new year of Seasonal Sundays at Fortnum’s with a feast including recipes from Rough Patch. Next one in 11th May but it’s SOLD OUT I’m afraid. Here’s what you’re missing:
New Events
The book tour continues! And I’ve got a few new events to tell you about:
30th April - FarmED Supper Club: a dinner of recipes from Rough Patch plus a chat about the book. (6pm. £30)
7th May - West Bridgford Library: an evening chat about Rough Patch with time for questions (7pm. £5. Booking info coming soon)
10th May - Nicholsons Spring Fair: signing books and a cookery demo on the fire pit (Times tbc. Free)
11th May - Fortnum & Mason: Seasonal Sundays class at which I share my seasonal picks for late spring, demonstrate what to do with them and turn them into a delicious lunch. (11:30am-2pm. £45)
16-18th May - St Ives Food Festival: I’ll be on the beach cooking recipes from my books over the fire pit. Yes, it is a heavenly as it sounds. (Times tbc. Free)
22nd May - Nicholsons: I’ll be teaching a A Beginner's Guide To Growing Your Own Veg From Plug Plants. It’s a full day of tutorials and hands on planting, plus a kitchen garden inspired lunch in the award-winning Yurt restaurant. (10am-4pm, £120)
29th May - Hay Literary Festival: I’ll be chatting alongside fellow grower and writer, Poppy Okotcha about our books and life closer to nature. (1pm. £15)
10th June - Warwick Books: a growing and cooking demo followed by a chat about Rough Patch. (6pm. Tickets on sale shortly)
14th June - Buckingham Literary Festival: a chat about Rough Patch over a drink and some nibbles, then signing. (1:30pm. £10 including veggie nibbles)
19th-23rd June - Manoir Mouret: my Delicious series collaborator, Kirstie Young, and I will be hosting a 4-day food and photography trip at a beautiful farmhouse where we’ll show you how to let the landscape and potager inspire your cooking and photography. (E1650 inc. food and accommodation)
11th July - ALSO festival: a chat and cookery demo of recipes from Rough Patch at this glorious festival of ideas, food and music (there’s even a swimming lake).
I do LOVE a chat, so if you happen to own a local bookshop, or run a festival, or organise bunches of people who like to get together to talk to authors, then do get in touch.
Easter gift
A reminder that lovely Rosie Ramsden, the artist who created the cover and internal illustrations for Rough Patch, and I have put together a special gift bundle which includes:
a signed copy of Rough Patch with a personal message
an A5 print of one of Rosie’s preliminary sketches for the cover
a packet of radish seeds
Each beautifully wrapped bundle costs £35 + £3.40 postage (48hr tracked, within the UK). But there aren’t many, so order soon by messaging me with:
What you’d like written inside the book
The address you’d like it sent to (and whether this is your address or the gift recipient’s)
I’ll reply with a secure payment link and we’re done.
What to Eat in April
Humf’ steals the show again in the April instalment of my regular Delicious magazine column, captured beautifully by
. Grab your copy for nettle rarebit crumpets with pickled radishes as well as whipped spring onion and feta butter with radishes. It is, as you can see, all about radishes.Also on my menu are:
And here’s what you can expect coming up on the newsletter this month:
Jobs for April
The gloves are off. Or, if they are gardening gloves, on. Because April is the time to get ALL the seeds sown. Buckle up, here’s my list.
Sow tender veg in the greenhouse ready to plant out in late May once all risk of frost has passed. That’s Sweetcorn, beans (French, runner and Helda), courgettes, winter squash etc.
Pot up tomatoes in the greenhouse. The sooner you can get them in soil the better. Too soon to plant outside though. I’m trying two plants per big pot this year to reduce watering.
Plant out onions which have developed a green shoots in the greenhouse and are ready to brave it out in the wilds of the allotment.
Plant potatoes, also in the allotment. There’s lots of talk about when to plant potatoes and how first earlies but go in the ground 2 weeks before maincrops or whatever. I just bung them all in around Easter time and have done with it.
Plant out beetroot, spinach, salad leaves, lettuce, broad beans and peas which I started off in the greenhouse in late Feb.
Sow more seeds direct - peas, mangetout, sugar snaps, beetroot, lettuce, radishes, lettuce, kohlrabi. I sow some direct and some in modules for back up. The first crops of all of these will go out in the garden but I’ll sow again for a continuous harvest all summer.
Pot or plant out on plug plants. No shame in buying plug plants. I’ve been struggling to find a good supplier recently, but my Mum discovered Growers Organic and the plugs that have arrived so far are top notch.
Sit in the garden and eat Easter eggs.
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Crikey! You have been busy Kathy 😳
Just wanted to say that I finished Rough Patch and I wanted to say well done for being so open and honest about such a difficult time in your life. Clearly the route to a happy life is through the natural world....and dogs 💚 THANK YOU