episode 177 | show notes & advice
episode description
Being busy doesn’t bar you from growing vegetables and herbs to bring a homemade joy to your cooking, and there’s few people better-placed to share how than Jess Gough.
This week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ episode centres around Jess’ journey into vegetable gardening, how she balances full time work with her thriving smallholding, and tips for keeping snails and slugs away from your seeds.
In this episode, discover
- Jess’ journey into growing, and how new gardeners can follow her lead in discovering the joys of gardening
- The absolute stalwarts in Jess’ garden at this time of year
- A number of delicious recipes, from an exciting frittata to a refreshing rhubarb iced tea
- How to best prevent this year’s particularly challenging population of slugs and snails from eating your seeds
links and references
Order Sarah’s new book - A Year Full of Pots
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Flowers
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Veg
Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook | Sarah Raven
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website
Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Episode 177 advice sheet
Jess’ start in gardening and veg growing (2:20)
Like so many of us, Jess’s early experiences with growing are centred around trying to grow her own vegetables, namely tomatoes and strawberries for the first few years.
She shares the story of how she graduated so-to-speak from that first shared garden to the smallholding in Somerset that became her chance to hone her growing finesse.
The absolute stalwarts in Jess’ garden (5:55)
For this time of year, Jess has a few standout peas growing, and chief among them for flavour is Hurst Green Shaft. Weighing in with her favourite tall variety, Sarah makes mention of a pea first found in Tutankhamun’s tomb which grows taller than any other when staked properly.
Elsewhere in the garden, Jess’ space wouldn’t be complete without potatoes, namely the Red Duke of York variety, which is both beautifully red and fantastically early in the season.
Dealing with slugs, snails and weeds (13:05)
This year’s been especially unusual for dealing with slugs and snails, and Jess pities any first-time gardener this year in particular. That said, we hear her tips for tackling their excessive numbers in order to protect your seeds, plus the various ways to handle weeds - from the little-and-often approach to ‘lazier’ ideas for those more time-constrained.
Making time alongside work for gardening and writing (19:50)
Among Jess’ great qualities is her ability to balance her full time work with her thriving gardening endeavours, a quality that’ll one day spawn a book, and from which we can all take inspiration.
Sarah also wraps up the episode by asking Jess for another of her incredible recipe ideas, as she talks us through a frittata recipe, as well as her take on a rhubarb iced tea.
