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The Veg Grower Podcast

The Veg Grower Podcast

By: Richard
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 If you are interested in growing your own food , then this is the podcast for you. Each week Join Richard Suggett as he shares his experience of growing food in his allotment and back garden.Copyright © Podcasting 2026 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 651: Pea Planting, Beetroot Basics & A Year on the Waterway – Early Spring in the Garden

    Episode 651: Pea Planting, Beetroot Basics & A Year on the Waterway – Early Spring in the Garden
    Mar 30 2026
    This Week in the Kitchen Garden Richard opens this week’s episode by describing that classic early‑spring rush — the moment when the light improves, the soil warms and suddenly everything seems to need doing at once. As he puts it, “everything at the moment seems to be growing at double speed” . He talks about how the overwintered peas under cloches have suddenly surged, even showing their first flowers. With flowers come tendrils, so he’s been adding pea sticks to keep them upright and protected from the wind. Indoors and outdoors, he’s been sowing even more peas to keep the harvests rolling. Back in the potting shed, Richard explains that the seedlings — tomatoes, chilies, aubergines, celery — are growing so fast that some “seem to suddenly outgrow their pots overnight” . Space is tight, so the cold frames are now full, helping to harden off young plants while still shielding them from chilly nights. Seed of the Month: Beetroot Richard’s seed of the month for April is beetroot, with Boltardy taking the lead thanks to its reliability and resistance to bolting. Although beetroot traditionally prefers direct sowing, he admits he gets great results starting them in plug trays, especially on his cold, heavy clay soil. Once they have a couple of true leaves, they transplant beautifully. He also highlights Chioggia for its candy‑stripe rings, Burpees Golden for its non‑bleeding roots, and the fun rainbow mixes. As Richard reminds listeners, “once the beetroot are in the soil, we’ve just got to make sure they don’t dry out” . Down on the Allotment Richard continues his potato‑planting marathon. Last week’s Rocket potatoes have now been joined by Swift, filling the first‑early bed. Between the two varieties he’s sown a row of peas — a nitrogen‑fixing divider and part of his mission to grow more peas than ever this year. He’s also sown another row elsewhere on the plot, simply creating a drill, scattering peas and watering them in. Once they germinate, they’ll get their own pea sticks too. Another job this week was clearing the final leeks from one bed. With that space now free, Richard can weed it and mulch it ready for the season ahead. Mulching remains central to his low‑maintenance approach, though compost is expensive and hard to produce in large quantities. Straw continues to be a major part of his system. He also talks about straw bale gardening, which requires conditioning with high‑nitrogen feed. With urea becoming expensive, Richard is turning to homemade alternatives — particularly nettle tea. As he explains, “nettles, when they are growing, are absorbing nutrients from the soil… that water then takes on the nutrients” . In the Kitchen: Spring Green & New Potato Hash Inspired by all the potato planting, Richard shares a simple, budget‑friendly spring green and potato hash topped with a fried egg. Soft onions, garlic, crisped potatoes, kale, chard and spinach come together with a touch of paprika. The egg adds richness and protein, making it a hearty early‑spring dish. Book of the Week: A Year on the River by Fiona Sims Throughout March, Richard has been reading A Year on the River, a book he describes as “a celebration of seasonal food and sustainable living along the inland waterways” . He explains how Fiona Sims structures the book around the seasons, weaving together growing, foraging, storing and cooking — all from the perspective of life on a canal boat. With over 40 recipes and plenty of practical advice, it’s a book that aligns beautifully with the ethos of the podcast: growing food wherever you are, in whatever space you have. Next month he’ll be reading the RHS title Can I Grow Potatoes in Pots?, which already sounds promising.
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    25 mins
  • Episode 650: Spring Sunshine, Potato Planting & A Buzzing Start to Beekeeping Season

    Episode 650: Spring Sunshine, Potato Planting & A Buzzing Start to Beekeeping Season
    Mar 23 2026
    Spring has finally arrived on the south coast, and with it comes that unmistakable lift in energy across the allotment and kitchen garden. This week’s episode was packed with sunshine, soil, potatoes, pots, and even a first look inside the beehive for 2024. Here’s everything that unfolded. Down on the Allotment: Grass Cutting & First Potatoes of the Year The warm, bright weather made the allotment an absolute joy. With the sun out and the soil workable, the first big job was tackling the grass. The strimmer handled the edges beautifully, but the battery mower decided to misbehave — a loose connection, by the feel of it. The top half of the plot is now looking sharp, and all those clippings have gone straight into the compost. But the real highlight was the start of potato planting. This year, instead of planting all eight varieties in one exhausting session, the plan is to stagger them over several weeks. First in the ground were the Rocket first earlies, planted into beds that had been sown with potato-friendly green manures last autumn. After cutting the green manure back six weeks ago and letting it rot down, the soil was in great condition. Each planting hole received a sprinkle of potato fertiliser — potatoes are hungry plants, after all — before being covered with compost. Once the shoots appear, they’ll be mulched with straw to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. With luck, the first harvest should be ready by June. The garlic and onions also received a drink, just to keep everything moving nicely as the season wakes up. In the Kitchen Garden: Spring Tidy-Up & Fresh Starts Back at home, the spring clean-up is well underway. Weeding, mulching, and general tidying have transformed the space, and the removal of the old tree a few weeks ago has opened up new possibilities. A new chainsaw blade made processing the remaining branches much easier — a reminder that sharp tools really do make all the difference. Potatoes in Pots Although most crops go into the ground these days, a few potatoes are being grown at home this year to mix up the planting. Four Rocket seed potatoes went into a large bucket in layers of compost and fertiliser. It’s a simple method and a great way to add extra growing space without sacrificing beds. Refreshing the Front Garden Pots After last year’s driveway replacement, the old mismatched pots at the front of the house were looking tired. Over winter, new decorative grey-and-black speckled pots have been gradually added. They complement the driveway beautifully and will hold fruit trees and bushes that can be moved when needed to make space for parking. A Surprise Behind the Shed A quick trip behind the shed revealed that the water butts were running low — not because of the weather, but because the downpipe had fallen off and dropped inside one of the butts. After fishing it out and refitting it, the hope now is for just a little rain to refill the system. Water is precious, after all. Recipe of the Week: Cheesy Leeks This week’s kitchen creation was a simple but delicious dish to accompany Saturday night’s steak: cheesy leeks. Leeks were gently softened in butter, then folded into a homemade cheese sauce made from a classic roux. After a short bake in the oven, the result was rich, comforting, and full of flavour — with plenty left over for the next day. A brilliant way to use fresh allotment leeks. Beekeeping Update with Mark from Buzz Into Beekeeping With the first warm days of spring, Mark was finally able to open the hive for a proper inspection — and the news was excellent. Inside the brood box, the frames showed everything a beekeeper hopes to see at this time of year: Eggs, larvae, and capped brood in neat concentric circles Plenty of pollen and nectar stores A growing population Drone brood developing, signalling the approach of swarming season Although the queen herself stayed hidden (as she often does),
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    30 mins
  • Episode 649- Early Carrots, Soil Care, and the Power of Wool Pellets — This Week on the Veg Grower Podcast

    Episode 649- Early Carrots, Soil Care, and the Power of Wool Pellets — This Week on the Veg Grower Podcast
    Mar 16 2026
    Spring is finally starting to show itself in Richard’s garden this week, with early sowings going into the ground, the greenhouse warming up, and both the allotment and kitchen garden shaking off winter. From experimenting with early carrots to juggling seedlings on every available surface, and finishing with a fascinating conversation about soil health and wool‑based fertilisers, it’s been a week full of momentum and inspiration. In the Allotment Richard began the week with a touch of gardener’s guilt after a rare day away at a photography show. But despite that, the allotment is progressing well. Cloches and black membrane have been warming the soil, creating ideal conditions for the first early carrots of the year. As he explained, “when you have consistently same soil… the carrots don’t fork” — the reason behind his decision to grow them in concrete tubes filled with fresh compost. Parsnips also went in, earlier than he would normally attempt, but with the hope of an early harvest. Around the site, spring is unmistakably arriving: nettles, gooseberries, blackberries and even the neighbour’s plot are showing signs of life. Compost continues to be added to empty beds, and Richard reflected on the ongoing debate about whether spring or winter is best. As he put it, “adding compost to the soil is a good thing… when the beds are empty is when we add the compost”. Green manures are still doing their job too, being chopped and dropped to feed the soil before a layer of compost goes on top. In the Kitchen Garden Back home, the mix of frosty mornings and warm afternoons has created perfect conditions for more sowing. Carrots and parsnips have gone in again under cloches, acting as a backup to the allotment. Richard also shared how his polyculture experiment is progressing. It’s a learning curve, but already proving interesting: “You really do have to think about what you’re sowing and where and when those plants are going to be ready for harvesting.” The veggie pods are now filled with lettuce, spring onions and cut‑and‑come‑again salads — a setup he has relied on for years. Indoors, tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and more are filling every available space, with cold frames warming up ready for the next wave of seedlings. Inside the greenhouse, watering has become a daily reminder. As Richard noted, “a greenhouse doesn’t get rain on the inside” — something many gardeners forget at this time of year. Recipe of the Week This week’s dish was a bright, seasonal plate of purple sprouting broccoli with lemon butter and orzo. Quick, simple, and a perfect way to celebrate one of the best crops of early spring. Interview: Eddie from Traditional Garden Growers In the podding shed, you welcomed Eddie from traditional Garden Growers — a grower with a passion for soil science and regenerative methods. His journey from Harper Adams to market gardening, and now to producing natural fertilizers, made for a fascinating conversation. One standout moment was his explanation of wool pellets. Older farmers used belly wool and daggings on their veg patches, and Eddie has revived that tradition in a modern form. As he explained, wool pellets: Increase water‑holding capacity Boost microbial activity Release nutrients slowly Provide natural nitrogen and potassium He also introduced other products: Power Plant Pellets — digestate‑based rocket fuel for hungry crops Thatcher’s Mulch — pelletised straw that expands into a weed‑suppressing, moisture‑retaining mulch Compost Booster — a brown‑matter solution for slimy, green‑heavy compost heaps It was a brilliant discussion on soil health, sustainability, and making the most of undervalued natural resources. If you would like to support this podcast then please consider becoming a member of our supporters club or use some of affiliate links below for items you might be buying. We might get a little commission
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    34 mins
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