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One of the challenges of kitchen garden, allotment and vegetable plot growing is to overcome the army of garden pests with designs on your crops.

Pests and diseases account for a large percentage of plant failures in the kitchen garden and ornamental border so accurately diagnosing who and what is munching or afflicting your plants is essential - and that's where Harrod Horticultural, in league with pest expert Gavin Hatt can help.

It is challenging times we are all facing at the moment but the garden offers some sanctuary. The plants are unaware of the current crisis and continue to grow and bloom as they normally do and we continue to care for them.

It has been a challenging month weather wise; we have had heat, sunshine and thunder storms, the weather does really affect how the crops grow.

Guest Blog by Elementa Design - A Concise Guide to Garden Design - some great advice on creating your own garden scheme using the same tools that a professional garden designer uses.

March has seen the Kitchen Garden emerge from the long winter into spring and the burst of growing activity that it brings. We have experienced a very dry month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden with some lovely spells of sunshine. However the temperatures have struggled and it is only now, at the end of the month that the warmth of the sun is beginning to be felt.

It has been a very good week in the kitchen garden everything is growing well and yielding lots of produce. We have red currents, spinach, courgettes, broad beans, rhubarb, sprouting broccoli, and cucumbers and the shallots are ready to be lifted and dried.

At last we have had a taste of spring in the Kitchen Garden, with a few days of warm sunny weather arriving in East Anglia. It has been warm enough to leave the greenhouse door open allowing vital ventilation around the plants. The autovents on the greenhouse windows have even nudged the windows open in the warmth of the winter sunshine.

If you're looking to bring a touch of sophistication and elegance to your garden this year then its well worth your time browsing through the NEW 2015 Ornamental & Kitchen Garden Structures brochure. The updated collection is brimming with more inspiration for traditional and contemporary gardens alike.

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting Norwich's hidden gem, the Bishop's Garden!

The warm weather has really started to move things on in the Kitchen Garden. Lots of plans for the week ahead - dividing mint plants, sowing sea kale seeds, harvesting spinach and chard, now that should keep me busy!

It has been another busy week in the kitchen garden. Peas that had been started in the greenhouse and then transferred to the cold frame, had grown sufficiently to be planted outside. These have been planted opposite the peas that were sown directly into the ground and are going to run up the vintage pea frame.

It seems that the biggest pest in the garden at this time of year are ants; that's if the letters, e-mails and phone calls pouring into Harrod Horticultural HQ are an accurate indicator! Martin Fiddes finds out more...

Although the week started very dry and warm, towards the end of the week and into the weekend we had some very welcome rain in the Kitchen Garden.

The temperatures have dropped, the days are getting shorter, and the lawn is covered by a blanket of golden yellow and rich orange hues. Autumn has arrived. Now is the perfect time to prepare your garden for the cold, dark weather that lies ahead. Here's everything you should do to ensure your garden remains in tip-top condition ready for a vibrant spring

Autumn is creeping into the garden and I have just filled my first barrow of leaves. This week we will begin the annual task of trying to keep the garden tidy it is a battle with Mother Nature that I know we will lose. As soon as the rake and barrow are put away, more leaves will fall and all our work will be undone.

The big autumn tidy up continues this week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden as we turn our attention to our bean supports. The bean plants have been shedding their leaves over the past few weeks and are now skeletons of the plants they once were.

Over the years we have worked closely with private customers, landscape architects, garden designers and landscapers to deliver wonderful individual bespoke designs.

Birds do so much to reduce the population of garden pests, and that's enough of a reason alone to support the latest Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Big Garden Birdwatch. The 2006 event is to be held over the last weekend in January (28th and 29th) and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate.

The Harrod Horticultural ethos is global! Here's a little video clip for you which shows, I think, that biological pest control is worldwide!

This week the main job in the kitchen garden was cutting and shaping the box hedging. It is normally done in the autumn, but this year with the rain we had over the winter period and the heat we have had recently, the box hedging was getting rather long.

It wasn't only our hands-on horticulturist and Master Composter Martin Fiddes who attended the Royal Norfolk Show this year as garden pest control expert Julian Ives occupied a slot on the Easton College stand - accompanied by around a hundred of his friends!

It's a busy time of year in the Kitchen Garden. Mother nature is winning the battle of the leaves and as fast as we clear the autumn debris, she litters the paths and beds again. Recent windy days have exacerbated the situation. But the sun is shining and still has some warmth to it, the leaves are dry making them easy to rake, and the end result of a tidy garden is worth the effort, however short-lived it is.

It has been a busy week in the kitchen garden. Because of the lock down one of the gardeners who works mainly in the kitchen garden is now being furloughed and Louise is taking over most of the gardening jobs. We do hope Heidy will be back with us soon.

In a recent blog post by the Hip Horticulturist they discussed 5 ways to cheer up a garden shed this summer and talked about how our wooden raised beds can transform the look of any garden.

It's time to harvest the Christmas dinner table vegetables, from brussels sprouts to parsnips, celeriac to carrots, can't wait to tuck into all the homegrown veg!

So, this week I want to talk about companion planting in the kitchen garden, companion planting is a must for organic gardeners as it is the natural way to control pests and aids pollination, plus it looks really pretty

Composting is not just a big garden thing. We can all do it and convert our kitchen and garden waste and a lot more besides into usable compost for the garden and there is a method to suit everyone.

Composting kitchen and garden waste is an environmentally friendly source of organic matter that helps to reduce landfill and won't cost you a penny.

This week has been a short one as we have enjoyed the last bank holiday before, dare I say it, Christmas. But there has been no let up in the warm weather if anything we suffered 4 days of constant hot dry conditions and 3 days of temperatures getting up to 30 degrees.

Like many gardeners around the country we now seem to find ourselves constantly watering, or worrying about watering, our crops. Rather than despair about the disasters being caused by the scorching weather, we have decided to revel in the positive effects the hot sunshine is having.

Back from the brink our nearly frazzled courgettes are now looking much healthier, the sunshine and showers this week has been great for them.

Some great crafty ideas to get the family involved in the garden, growing your own and helping the birds

A garden pergola will create a stunning scented garden walkway when framed with fragrant flowers and provide an excellent support for all manner of climbing plants. Designed to provide shade and filtered sunlight, a garden pergola is the perfect structure for training an array of colourful climbing scented plants.

December has seen the garden emerge from the debris of autumn to the bare beauty of winter. The hard work of clearing fallen leaves and old summer crops is complete and the skeleton of the garden is now tidy and clear.

Weather permitting, it is time to start digging in the Kitchen Garden this week. As a rule of thumb, we usually pay attention to the activities of the local farmers as an indication of when it is time to begin turning over the soil and in our area, the tractors have begun to appear in the fields surrounding the garden.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, we are trying to trick mother nature into an early harvest by moving a trough of strawberry plants into the greenhouse. The warmth of the heater will spur the plants into life and encourage early blooms.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, we will be sowing seed outside this week. In our Superior Raised Beds, we will be sowing 'Amsterdam Forcing', an early variety of carrot. These will be given protection using a PVC cover and Hoops kit to keep them warm and snug whilst they germinate.

As the Royal Horticultural Society's summer calendar of events roadshow rolled straight out of Hampton Court bound for Tatton Park recently and one important award

Want to see some of our products up close and meet our team? Come and visit us at The Edible Garden Show at Alexandra Palace, London, 28-30 March - the ULTIMATE grow your own event.

Finally, we have had rain and everywhere is looking so much better for it, with the kitchen garden really bursting into life over the last few days.

'Flying Ant Day' isn't eagerly anticipated like an annual event such as a birthday or Christmas - in fact it's probably not anticipated at all, eagerly or otherwise

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be wrapping up warm before heading out into the cold temperatures. We have been spoilt by the mild winter until now and the freezing conditions have come as a shock. Thank goodness for the winter gloves that Santa left in my stocking this Christmas. There'll be no cold fingers here!

Believe it or not, if you’re an advent gardener, frogs may be more beneficial for you than you would have ever believed...

We have had some really frosty conditions in the kitchen garden this week. Which, although looks really pretty has made working the ground quite hard as it has been frozen.

This week it's fruit picking week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. All of our soft fruit bushes have really been enjoying the hot sunny weather and are covered in plump juicy fruits almost ready for harvesting. We have been watering all of our fruits plants and bushes twice a week and they have been thriving in the sunshine.

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) are behind a new guide, recently launched to help the UK's gardeners make the most of their gardens. Martin Fiddes digs deeper...

With over 60 years of experience behind us here at Harrod Horticultural, our heavy-duty, long lasting range of garden netting should not be confused with cheap imitations. You'll find 100's of reviews from satisfied customers to back this up, and we're also happy to send out free netting samples so you can see the quality for yourself.

A garden arch can lend real drama and presence to a garden, whether you are looking to create a stunning focal point, frame a garden entrance or use to section the garden, they can be a beautiful addition to your outside space. But, choosing the perfect arch for your garden can be tricky with such a wide range of styles on the market, materials and prices to pick from.

Garden Arches can be a striking addition to any garden scheme whether creating a classic rose arch or creating an entrance to sections of a garden, but why choose a Metal Garden Arch over a Wooden Garden Arch?

Our new Garden Arch range, designed and manufactured in our Suffolk factory has made the pages of the August edition of glossy East Anglian-based lifestyle magazine Places & Faces

A Norfolk stately home and a Suffolk mail order gardening product supplier and manufacturer may seem unlikely partners but with their new Royal Horticultural Society endorsed Garden Arch range proving the catalyst, Harrod Horticultural and Hoveton Hall have joined forces in a truly symbiotic relationship...

Rolawn Landscaping Bark is produced from organic material and the garden bark will naturally help your garden soil retain and hold water, which is ideal for our changeable climate.

A report by UK tool manufacturing giants Spear and Jackson has revealed that most gardeners are healthier, happier and suffer less from stress than those without green fingers. Martin Fiddes discovers more...

The barn owl is one of Britains' best loved birds and is currently the focus of a joint project to both increase numbers and provide nesting boxes across Eastern England.

When my neighbour removed the 25 year old conifers bordering my garden I felt the need of some sort of picture frame for my garden, to give me some privacy and to hold it all together. Mrs John, Shropshire

We have managed to combine performance with looks, and source a great range of effective compost bins, some of which have been designed and manufactured here in our own factory in Lowestoft all of which you will be proud to display in your garden.

The benefits of a well-maintained garden may extend to an increase in the overall value of your property, according to the Horticultural Trades Association's PlantforLife campaign.

Which Garden Netting do you need? Some advice on the best netting to protect your plants...

One of the great pleasures of gardening is to grow your own plants from seed. Unfortunately the exhilaration of planting out can quickly be followed by the anguish of seeing plants nibbled by wildlife or blasted by unseasonal weather if not covered with garden netting or plant protection.

Got any comments which just don't seem to fit in any of the existing categories we have? This is the ideal place to post them...

We're always keen to share our hands-on growing experience with others, and to support our local community - and this was an opportunity too good to miss. Our horticulturist Martin Fiddes takes up the story in his own words below...

Designed with our RHS endorsed garden arch range in mind, Harrod garden pergolas are offered in a range of width and length options and as we've designed and manufactured the pergola range ourselves here in our Lowestoft base we can be sure the quality will exceed your expectations.

Garden pests that we are on the look-out for this week are butterflies and white fly. The broccoli and sprout plants are now a really good size and we are being vigilant to make sure the netting on the vegetable cage doesn't touch any leaves, allowing butterflies to lay their eggs through it.

The Royal Horticultural Society's Lawrence Hall in London was the place to be yesterday as the industry's journalists and press uncovered all the new products, trends and ideas for the coming gardening season at the 2011 Garden Press Event. Martin Fiddes reports...

The Royal Horticultural Society's Lawrence Hall in London is the venue for the 2012 Garden Press Event which represents the perfect way to banish the winter gardening blues and get the lowdown on what's new in gardening. Visit Harrod Horticultural on stand H56 for a unique chance to see the most exciting and innovative developments to their extensive gardening range for 2012!

The Royal Horticultural Society's Lawrence Hall in London was the place to be yesterday as the industry's journalists and press uncovered all the new products, trends and ideas for the coming gardening season at the 2011 Garden Press Event

The Royal Horticultural Society's Lawrence Hall in London was the venue for the 2012 Garden Press Event - an annual event which represents the perfect way to banish the winter gardening blues and get the lowdown on what's new in gardening. Our horticulturist Martin Fiddes sends this report...

Spring cleaning has a 1950s housewife image. Not many people open up their houses and clean them from top to bottom in March any more. But a garden spring clean will make a big difference to your gardening later on in the year.

Our stunning garden arches come in a range of styles and sizes and can be linked to create eye catching walkways. Pergolas utilise the same quality designs as the arches and when covered in climbing plants can create a breathtaking garden tunnel and walkway.

Sneeboer make their tools with long handles, not solely for the benefit of six-foot-two blokes. These longer handles alleviate pressure on the spine and create a lot more digging power in the garden by creating a longer lever to work with.

The wonderful thing about gardening is garden tools can make it as labour intensive or relaxing as you wish. You may decide to dig your entire plot by hand, or you might choose to use machinery and then spend more time in the planning.

Garden Vegetables You can sometimes get a suprise when lifting root crops - there might be a record breaker lurking under the soil surface or alternatively, you might unearth something you didn't quite expect!

It can be difficult to find a long lasting, permanent support for climbing plants such as clematis for garden walls, but we think we have a solution that will help...

The Met Office, one of the world's leading authorities on weather and environmental issues, have published their forecast for spring in the UK - and it looks like we're in for warm and wet weather, writes Martin Fiddes.

Here’s a question for you - what have a chart-topping 1990’s pop combo from Scotland and the previous month got in common? The answer? Wet, Wet, Wet!

The 2010 version of our pest control guide ran to reprints galore so we're expecting the 2011 tome - The Little Book of Least Wanted Pests - to be just as successful. The 24 pages are crammed with pest control solutions and advice from pest expert Julian Ives and you'll find the organic answers to problems from A (ants) to almost Z (whitefly), along with plenty of tips to make your plants stronger and more pest and disease resistant. It's a must-have guide to accompany you through the growing year

With brighter, sunnier days on the horizon and rules on socialising easing, you will no doubt be thinking of dusting off that BBQ and organising a few garden gatherings with six of your nearest and dearest. From cleaning your garden furniture, to mowing the lawn, here is a few things you can do to get your garden ready.

We've teamed up with Peter Beales Roses to bring you an amazing summer giveaway worth over £400!

Enter now and be in with the chance of winning one of three of our best selling garden arches!

Themes at this years RHS Chatsworth Flower Show centred on mental health, reconnecting with nature and the creation of biophilic meditation spaces. The Harrod Horticultural Moon Gate Arch was a stunning feature on the Gold Winning 'Space Within' Garden.

Growing Organic Seed Potatoes Planting organic seed potatoes and harvesting armfuls of delicious fresh tubers is often the route into gardening and home vegetable growing in particular for many novice gardeners – and although we’ve got a bit more experience than that, we still enjoy the anticipation of digging up a real bumper yield of spuds!

Just in case you haven't seen them , we now have our stylish Harrod Roman Arches available in two exciting new colours - Silk Grey and Lichen Green. In addition we have extended our range to include a Vintage Wire Arch (in a choice of two finishes). All of our arches are made from quality materials and carry a 10 YEAR GUARANTEE, with our Steel Arches all being endorsed by the RHS.

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This week has been very productive in the kitchen garden the first of our broad beans have been harvested along with some very juicy strawberries and the rhubarb I feel like a crumble might be on the cards the only decision is cream, custard or ice-cream.

A mini heatwave hit the Kitchen Garden this week so the focus has been on trying to keep the plants happy - especially the leafy crops which can succumb to the heat!

It has now been three weeks since we had any rainfall in Stephanies' Kitchen Garden and the forecast shows sunny and hot weather for at least the next three weeks to come. In our part of the world, near the most easterly coast of the UK, we are used to gardening in the driest part of the country, but usually enjoy the odd thunderstorm to keep the garden from drying out completely in the heatwave.

They’re a great help in the garden, are both endearing and lovable, they’ve been mentioned in works of Shakespeare and far too many perish under the wheels of a car – all good reasons why we should be helping the hedgehog this winter.

We are thrilled to be featured on the HomeAway Garden at RHS Malvern, designed by Emily Crowley Wroe!

See our latest update from the Hoveton Hall Kitchen Garden!

We’re delighted to announce that we have teamed up with Hoveton Hall Gardens to sponsor their new Kitchen Garden!

Every gardener has been there, after spending countless hours tending, watering, feeding your plants a pest invades or some extreme weather damages your plants and wipes out all your hard work...

Summer so far has been a hot one to say the least. That being said, here's a few tips and tricks to water your garden effectively in the heat...

It never ceases to amaze me just how much and how quickly the kitchen garden changes at this time of year. Crops seem to grow at an incredible rate, whilst we gardeners are too busy with the many little jobs that need to doing, to notice. It's not until the occasional lull in activity that I stand, coffee in hand, and marvel at the wonders that nature provides.

Considered the least favourite gardening month by many, January was a month of two halves. It started cold and frosty with regular wintry showers and developed into far milder conditions with regular bursts of winter sun. A welcome break from the constant rain showers we were dealt in December.

The arrival of Spring should now be in evidence, with daffodils in flower and blossom adorning the trees. Frequent sunnier days and rising temperatures make it perfect gardening weather but expect to be caught out by the inevitable 'April showers'.

August can be one of the hottest months of the year, this makes watering essential. If water butts are running low, grey water can be used wherever possible. If August is holiday time for you, plans may be needed to enlist the help of friends and family to look after the garden when you are away.

Frost, rainfall, winds and wintry conditions are more common. Sunshine hours are much reduced and it can be bitter with the risk of snow and sleet. You may not want to be working outside at this time of year, but luckily there is not a lot to do.

This month there is hope - there are signs that Spring is approaching, bulbs are appearing and wildlife are waking up as the light levels and temperatures increase.

January is usually the coldest month and your garden will need protecting from frosts, gale-force winds, heavy rain and possibly even snow.

July has certainly been a hot one and a great time to enjoy your garden but make sure you keep any new plants well watered and hoe off the weeds that will thrive in the sunshine.

As we approach the longest day of the year, the extra light and warmth encourages the garden to put on an exuberant burst of growth, but this also means that weeds will sprout up from no where.

Depending on where you live in the country, Spring has usually arrived by mid-March. The milder weather means it's time to get busy sowing seeds, cutting back winter shrubs and generally tidying up around the garden preparing for the busy season ahead.

Spring bulbs will be fading now and the flower borders growing in leaps and bounds, summer is on it?s way. Sowing and planting out bedding plants can begin in some areas of the UK but please keep an eye on your local weather conditions.

Leaves are falling all over the place and wind and rain are on the increase. Tender plants will need protecting from frost, gales and freezing rain. Move plants into a greenhouse or into a sheltered spot.

Although we had some cooler days in September autumn is now definitely here for real and it feels colder. It is a beautiful time of year with the trees changing colour.

September is often a cooler, wetter month than August but as previous summers have shown this is not always the case and can often be glorious even if the days are becoming noticeably shorter.

July in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden is when the main harvest begins. I have just spent a pleasant summer morning picking blackcurrants with only the birds and a radio for company. A back breaking job, but one of huge satisfaction gained from harvesting a bumper crop of fat juicy currants that will soon adorn my larder shelves in the form of jam. On the darkest of winter days the taste will transport me back to the hot sunny day when they were picked.

If you're familiar with the Harrod Horticultural Kitchen Garden, you'll be well aware that I produce an update of just what Sharon and I have been sowing, growing harvesting and composting in the garden each month.

Our plans are already well underway for the Kitchen Garden next year, but as ever a lot has to be considered such as crop rotation, testing new varieties and including new products. Our early plans look great and we can't wait to see it come to fruition.

A lot of tidying in the Kitchen Garden this week, lots of leaves thanks to the high winds, a Greenhouse to clean and lots of tools that need some cleaning.

Last week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we put up the bubble wrap up in our greenhouse. Up until now we had been very lucky with the recent mild temperatures allowing us the time to thoroughly clean the inside of the glass and supports before adding the greenhouse bubble insulation

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be harvesting our blackcurrants in the fruit cage. This is such a low maintenance crop, with the bushes needing very little attention through the year.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we have sown our autumn planting garlic gloves and onions sets into modules in the greenhouse. They can be planted straight into the ground if required, but our resident pigeon population would soon have them 'unplanted' again!

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be planting out some winter broccoli in to new vegetable cages. We have two identical cages put up side by side. One is covered with white insect mesh and the other in covered with new black insect mesh. We are running a trial to see if the plants grow differently according to the colour of the mesh.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we have been sowing Mizuna, Mustard Greens, Winter salads and spinach in the greenhouse. We already have these growing in our mangers and raised beds, however we want to make the most of our heater and grow some in the greenhouse border where the tomato plants will soon be removed.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be preparing the garden for a week long absence as Jo takes her summer holidays. It's always a nervous time for gardeners going on holiday during the hot summer months, but with careful planning, it can be managed with minimal stress.

This week in Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden we have been pruning our asparagus plants down to the ground. The fronds have begun turning yellow and dying off so it is the perfect time to tidy up.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be pruning our espalier apple trees. Summer is the ideal time to carry out this annual job and our apple trees have put on an enormous amount of growth this year. They are definitely ready for a haircut!

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be pruning our blackcurrant bushes. The plants are now beginning to shed their leaves and have begun dormancy so it is an ideal time to give them their annual haircut.

With the wet and windy conditions recently we have had to make a hasty retreat to the potting shed, but this gives us a chance to catch up on some other important jobs...

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be sowing crops such as spring cabbage, turnips, pak choi, autumn carrots and winter salads.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be taking time out to sit and complete our seed and potato order for next year. We have had successes and failures this year, as always, and now is an ideal time to sit back and review this years crops whilst they are still in the ground.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be continuing the Autumn Harvest. The haulms on our maincrop potatoes have now all but died, so we will cut these off to the ground and leave the tubers for ten days before digging them up.

This week in Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden we will be carrying out some essential surgery on our beautiful box hedges. Over the past few weeks we have watched in horror as our hedges have succumbed to the dreaded box blight.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be turning on the heater in the greenhouse. We have had some cold nights forecast and our pepper and aubergines are currently bearing lots of ripening fruits. A cold night could set them back and jeopardise the harvest. Our heater is on a thermostat that we will set at 15 degrees. This will keep our crops comfortable for the remainder of the growing season.

July was a testing time as I was busy fending off attacks from mice (chief suspects) whilst battling against tropical temperatures.

Every year we spend a lot of time deciding on the planting plan for the Kitchen Garden and this year we have brought this to life with colourful illustrations of how we hope the garden will look when everything is in full growth.

Planning is key to a successful vegetable garden and we take a lot into consideration when planning the Kitchen Garden planting each year. Incorporating new products, trialing new varieties while still observing crop rotation can make it a bit tricky, but the design looks great and we can't wait to bring it to life!

Every year we spend a lot of time deciding on the planting plan for Stephanie's Kitchen Garden and this year we have brought it to life with colourful illustrations of how we hope the garden will look when everything is in full growth.

I'm back! Following a busy week even by my standards, I've finally returned to my keyboard and can bring you a fully illustrated report on the latest Kitchen Garden Sowing and Growing Event to be held at the RHS's Harlow Carr gardens. It goes something like this...

The Kitchen Garden has been left to fend for itself for two days this week as I've been off on my travels once again - this time to the Royal Horticultural Society's famous garden at Wisley and here's my report on the trip

Well the week started with the clean up from last weeks gales and heavy rain, there were pine needles, branches and leaves everywhere. Armed with my wheelbarrow, spring tine rake and garden vac the gardens have now started to look much tidier. I never realised how deadly an unopened pine cone could be until I stood on one and found myself sliding to where I didn?t want to be.

There's no denying that I'm at my happiest when I'm digging, planting sowing or harvesting - even weeding - in the garden

It's a quintessential English summer scene; the local gardening club take over the village green for the day to present their annual show, with a wonderful - and traditional - selection of oversized fruit and vegetables, carefully arranged flowers and delicious home baked cakes. Martin Fiddes takes us on a trip round a local garden show!

It has been a short week after the long Easter bank holiday, a very different Easter to what we are use to as we are still in lockdown. As we still have not had any decent rain it meant this week a lot of watering especially in the kitchen garden.

May has been a busy month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. Lots of sowing and planting out has been done and the garden has gradually transformed from brown to green as the month has gone on. We are still waiting for the hot sunny days of spring to arrive in our part of East Anglia and the cold nights have caused us some problems, but our crops look healthy and the new harvesting year has begun.

The weeds have loved the recent weather and it was time to have a blitz in the kitchen garden with lots of weeding to make the garden look at its best for the upcoming photo shoots.

Making a feature with a Metal Garden Arch can transform the appearance of your garden, creating an entrance, framing a view or simply adding height to a one-dimensional space.

With March signalling the arrival of spring, I had high expectations for the weather. However, mother nature had other ideas. Aside from three bright, warm days the rest of the month was cold.

We have veered from extreme arctic weather and deep snow to gardening in our shirtsleeves in the sunshine. Gardeners and garden have both been exposed to some interesting conditions for the time of year - and survived!

The past two weeks of glorious sunshine has been a wonderful relief from the excessive rain and gale-force winds that battered the gardens throughout May.

May is always the busiest month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, and sometimes I have to force myself to stop and just look at how beautiful it looks. The apple blossom on the espaliers is here for such a brief time, that it's easy to miss it when you are focussed on the many jobs that need to be done. May, for me, is when the Kitchen Garden is at its most beautiful - full of lush green growth, blossom and the promise of what is to come.

It's been mixed fortunes over the last few weeks in the Harrod Horticultural HQ Garden, luckily the successes outweigh the failures!

You do not need an excuse to treat the person you call mum, but Mothering Sunday (March 18th) is the perfect opportunity to show just how much you appreciate her - with a special Mother's Day gardening gift.

Some welcome rain over last weekend gave us a rest from the watering, for a few days at least!

January is mulching month in the Kitchen Garden and this week it will be the turn of the blueberries to get a fresh, nutritious top dressing. Most of our blueberry plants are grown in pots standing in our fruit cage. Despite the fact that we have acid soil which blueberries like, the bushes prefer to grow in pots, and this is evident every year here as the pot grown plants always fruit better than those grown in the soil.

Have you been watching Alan Titchmarsh's latest offering on BBC TV - 'The Nature of Britain'?

With the remainder of the brussels sprouts now harvested, there has been lots of tidying and composting going on to get ready for another gardening year!

Throughout November the kitchen garden has witnessed an array of weather conditions. Much like every other UK November, rain featured heavily. Not enough to put a stop to my monthly tasks, but enough to warrant several layers and a waterproof!

November is probably my least favourite month of the gardening year. No matter what your efforts, the garden always seems to look untidy; littered with fallen leaves and the skeletons of old crops. Spring and summer suddenly seem like a lifetime away and the short days seem to plunge us into constant darkness. It would be so easy to retire to the house and emerge again in the springtime. This, of course, never happens.

October has been a busy and very wet month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. With the days getting shorter and autumn making its appearance known, tidying has been at the top of the agenda this month, particularly the past week

One of our team is a keen gardener and we love seeing the updates from the garden - obviously a few Harrod Horticultural products dotted about the garden too!

We wanted to share these pictures from one of our team, a keen gardener who has had lots of success growing her own this year - with loads of vegetables and flowers we think it looks great!

We were fortunate enough to catch up with the wonderful Anna Greenland. Anna is based in Suffolk and after retiring her role within the fashion industry, Anna has since become an organic grower and has worked in a number of prestigious venues around the country.

A quick rummage around a typical gardener's shed will uncover various forms of derris, the well-known organic insecticide - but all that is set to change next year with the proposed outlawing of the product. Martin Fiddes explains more...

Update Cast your mind back all of 2 days to my article regarding organic fruit and veg and the benefits of eating food grown in this fashion.

Remember last month when I bought you news that the local produce market was booming? The growth of this sector shows no sign of slowing down - and organic food in general has received a real boost.

I came across an article in the Telegraph recently, and very interesting it is too!

Experts predict that this will be the worst ever year on record for the slimy garden pests due to a particularly warm winter, with above average temperatures recorded for December and January.

The warm spring weather is loved by the plants and unfortunately by the pests too - we have already had our first cabbage white in the kitchen garden!

The late summer can be a time when certain insects become more pests of humans than of plants! This can happen at the time we are using our gardens most for socialising and outdoor living but fear not, as Harrod Horticultural can provide you with safe and natural solutions for keeping these nuisance pests under control. Find out what damage ants and lawn pests can do to the garden on our latest informative seasonal summer press release - and more importantly, how to stop them!

It has been a hive of activity in the garden this week as we've had a photo shoot for our new garden furniture range, it looks so very stylish in the late summer sunshine. We are all very proud to see the end product now in situ and how beautiful it looks in the garden.

It has been an exciting week in the kitchen garden as we have been doing the photography for our upcoming catalogue. We have had our raised beds, obelisks and plant supports re-photographed and some new product ranges still to be announced.

Its been a busy week in the kitchen garden, preparations are well under way for the season ahead. This year we have decided to plant our vegetables in a potager style, this should add interest to the garden and be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Now that we are well into May, we will be starting the Big Plant Out in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. Our greenhouse and cold frame are crammed with tender crops such as runner beans, courgettes, squash, climbing french beans, sweetcorn, celery and celeriac all waiting to spread their roots into deep fertile soil.

Finally, the temperatures have improved enough to start planting in the kitchen garden, this week I have planted out the sweet potatoes, Dwarf French green beans, Runner beans Enorma, Peas Norli and Kelvendon wonder, sweet peas, Dill and Parsley.

The first cold spell of the Autumn has arrived in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, with overnight temperatures dipping dangerously near to a frost. The forecast is for colder nights to come. Outside in the garden, we have been quick to cover our tender with fleece and cloches, but this week it is the turn of the greenhouse for some much needed attention.

Three of the major pest groups likely to cause havoc in any vegetable garden or allotment are animals, birds and weeds

We got some much needed rain over the last week at the Kitchen Garden, unfortunately forcing the photo shoot to be cancelled, but still lots to do to make sure the garden is looking its best.

For the first time in a long time my first priority wasn't more watering when I went out to the kitchen garden this morning. Yesterday we had an inch of rain which has left the garden feeling refreshed and the plants have lifted their drooping heads and you can almost hear them growing.

Raised Beds and Garden Planters offer a practical and stylish way to grow your own in the garden, allotment or on the patio - ideal if space is at a premium.

The second in The Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) four-show summer schedule takes place in the sumptuous setting of Hampton Court Palace and the showpiece garden will heavily feature Harrod Horticultural products

It has been so long since we had been to an RHS Flower Show that to finally be able to attend the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in July was a real treat!

Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is just a week away and ready to celebrate its 30th year running with breath-taking displays, inspiring gardens and a celebration of nature’s boundless creativity...

With much of the Autumn Harvest now in, many of the kitchen gardens beds are revealing bare soil. These will be allowed to rest for a while then, manure will be added to them and they will be dug over in the Spring ready for the new season crops.

September has seen the garden transform from the lush green opulence of summer to the soft golden decay of autumn. It never ceases to amaze me how the seasons change in a blink of an eye. One day we are experiencing gloriously hot sunny days and the next we are reaching for jumpers and wellingtons and reaching for cloches and fleece.

As the garden prepares to burst into life, you can be sure that the local pest population is slowly stretching, stirring and sleepily emerging from winter hibernation too with rumbling stomachs and big plans on how to fill them - all involving your plants

And now, the Biggest Pest of All...! In a recent survey, an incredible 88% of gardeners confessed to loathing slugs – and their partners in crime, snails – more than any other garden pest.

Well the first month of this year has been a real mixture of weather. It started with rain wind and frosts then as the month marched on the temperatures really started to drop but none of the white stuff. Some weeks I was beginning to wonder if we were going to see the sun again then as the month ended the snow arrived, but not a lot and very, very cold temperatures.

Well the wintry weather has finally hit the east coast, its coming down thick and fast at the kitchen garden!

An important job to start now is slug control because these greedy little creatures will quite happily munch through all your crop and leave you with a few stalks to cry over. I highly recommend Nemaslug as it is a natural biological slug killer you apply every 6 weeks until all the crops are harvested, I would also recommend applying it with the Nemasprayer as it distributes the product easily and evenly.

Seeds are shooting up in every seed tray and pot in the Greenhouse. The broccoli, brussel sprouts, aubergine, celery and celeriac have been moved into an unheated propagator to free up space for more seed sowing and tomato plants that have been potted on can now be moved into the raised border bed in pots.

Winter's late blast does not affect propagation and the Potato chitting debate continues

Very picturesque - but not so good for progressing the project! - design plans are finalised

A fierce battle rages in the Garden - but who is winning?

Climatic experts have long been insisting that global warming is inevitable, and in the next few years we are likely to see changes in our weather

Finally, some sun on our backs! Another busy month in the garden - find out about our new lodgers, how the potatoes are getting on, our slug-busting ideas and much more!

Mid April and finally the sun has cut through the misty grey East Anglian sea haze which can hang so close it feels like I am wearing a cold and damp blanket across my shoulders.

At last things are warming up in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden - but the improved weather brings new problems to solve. Meet my new assistant and discover my plans for the Chelsea Flower Show...

A Stephanie's KItchen Garden update with a difference this month - we've commisioned our company photographer Martin Fiddes to produce a pictorial record of April in the garden!

Continuing our resume of the produce on the kitchen table this month..

The endless, hot sunny days of July were soon washed away by the regular deluges of August, but although I was half-drowned most of the time, the plants loved it!

You've got to take your hat off to Mother Nature she laid on the perfect conditions for slugs and snails to procreate during the wet months of June and July

Where does the time go? Already it's August and the scales have tipped and we have now passed the midpoint of this year's summer...

As I am writing this the heavens have opened and there is a roar or thunder accompanied by a crack of lightning and I am reluctant to say is this the end of summer? We certainly hope not here in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden as our plants have got plenty of life in them yet - we still need some much yearned for sunshine to ripen them off...

No excuses for combining two months again - read on and you'll find out just how busy I've been! The film crew are back for 'Stephanie's Kitchen Garden 2'; I've invited 8 leading garden journalists for a Press Day and there's the usual summer gardening jobs to complete...

A bi-monthly offering from Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this time around but with good reason! We've had a film crew on site producing more informative video clips for our website, the unseasonable summer weather to contend with and all the associated problems this brings so the keyboard's been gathering dust! Read on to find out what summer 2011 has brought us...

Hark back, if you will, to my last update from the Kitchen Garden when I was sidelined with my ankle injury

Christmas hullaballo doesn't mean the garden grinds to a halt. There's leeks to harvest, bushes to prune and leaves to collect - all before the weather turns really nasty...

We're still waiting for winter to arrive in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden! Although it's nice to work in this unseasonably mild weather, there's a nagging suspicision that something nasty weatherwise is lurking around the corner. We'll worry about that when it happens though and in the meantime, you can find out how our plans for 2012 are progressing and plenty more

The legume bed has proved extremely popular

Harrod Horticultural receives a commendation at the World's premier Gardening Show

An Oasis of green in the Kitchen Garden

From the Kitchen Garden to the Kitchen Table - we bring you up to date on exactly what has been happening to the crops harvested in the Kitchen Garden so far

As we are well into the New Year, garden thoughts have turned to the spring and summer and what will be growing in the Kitchen Garden. If ever a plan was required, it's now

Pricking out tomatoes is one job that seems to take such a long time, I try to save such jobs for more the more inclement days, those frosty mornings just keep coming

A review of February's garden activities including a visit from a tree pruning expert, a look in the greenhouse, some early strawberry planting and much more

With fingers burning from icy damp and numb toes I grapple with the monthly chores in the Kitchen Garden. All sense of decorum is lost in the scrabble to stay warm

Finally, the worst winter for 30 years draws to a close. We celebrate with news from the greenhouse, our plans for peas this year and how to chit your potatoes...

February in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden can be likened to a ticking time bomb - everything is primed and ready to go for the March seed sowing and growing explosion!

It's the calm before the seed sowing storm in the Kitchen Garden this month with preparations for arguably the busiest gardening month of the year well underway. Lynn's been busy grappling with bags of horse manure, we've had frozen seed potatoes to deal with and the greenhouse is starting to fill up already. Find out more about February in the Kitchen Garden along with what we've got planned for March below

The arrival of the Yuletide Season and the New Year brings fruit trees, a potting shed and a long list of jobs!

This must be the worst time of year, with slate grey skies day after day and the garden practically devoid of colour. It really seems like nature has packed up and gone away for a couple of weeks just after Christmas!

A look back at the early days of the Kitchen Garden, a welcome delivery of manure and what's likely to be growing in 2008...

After the season's festivities I was itching to get back in the garden, breathing fresh air and away from the television and sofa, alas I was thwarted by the unrelenting cold spell we endured.

Just because it's snowing doesn't mean the garden stops! We've got horse manure to spread and a greenhouse to clean - and how's that rhubarb coming on...?

January quiet in the garden? I don't think so! Read what trainee horticulturist Courtney has been up to this past month, including results of her Christmas crops

The start of a new year is an exciting time and that's very much the case in the Kitchen Garden. We've got big plans for 2012 and although we're busy making improvements to the garden during January, it won't be long before the seed sowing season is here. Find out more about how tree surgeons are improving the light levels in our garden, how our sweet peas and spuds are progressing and what we intend to do in February - it's all here

A mystery is unfolding in the Kitchen Garden during the long hot days of the summer - just who is responsible for eating the runner bean plants?

July is a month of plenty; green tomatoes turn a welcome rosy red (or yellow, or stripy, or green, or even purple if you choose), soft fruits drip from canes or hang like jewel clusters from bushes...

Phew! What with a Customer Focus Group meeting, a Press Day event and all the preparation both these days entail, it's been a busy July in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. We've also been harvesting blackcurrants (and putting them to good use!), avoiding snakes but catching mice and lamenting the sad demise of our bees...

It feels like deja vu reading July 2011's kitchen garden update - rain, rain and more rain. Our English summers seem to be having a common theme these days and the lack of sunshine is affecting our crops but as the saying goes England in this 'green and pleasant land', us gardeners will carry on gardening and we will get a good crop of vegetables this summer!

Now the Chelsea Show is over I can get back to tending the garden - can anyone remind me how to get there?

The Harrod Horticultural Kitchen Garden is usually a hectic place to be, but this last month has really taken the frantic biscuit

June sees the garden looking it's finest, and we've got hedgehog tales; a broad bean update; Sharon's new carrot growing idea and some Teepees give a Wild West flavour...

It is already June in the Kitchen Garden, and now we can really see, smell and taste the fruits of our labours. The garden is vibrant with bright colours of Calendula and Nasturtium. Heady scents of sweet peas waft from obelisks...

It's been another distinctly underwhelming month weatherwise in the Kitchen Garden although the beans and potatoes in particular have defied the weather and are looking good! Unfortunately we will have to insist on some sun for our squashes and the wet and windy spring has left its legacy too - find out why and more...

A bi-monthly update this time around as I'm out and about, hunting down new products - but that hasn't stopped me developing a solution to mice, raising my vegetable cage and creating a support frame for my Stephanie's Kitchen Garden tomatoes ...

Sowing the Seeds for 2006 -It's going to be a busy year in the Kitchen Garden and I've already started sowing our Organic vegetable seeds

The Heavy Duty Steel Fruit Cage arrives and the paths take shape

The Kitchen Garden is now Rabbit proof - or is it?

Greenhouse crops are flourishing and the A-Tom frame plants thrive

Seventeen degrees celcius certainly seems to indicate that Spring is finally here, and the Kitchen Garden is starting to awaken!

I always thought that it was hares that went mad in March, but this year it seems to be the weather! March is always a busy month in the Kitchen Garden

March in the kitchen garden has been a meterelogical puzzle; find out how we coped with inclement weather, started planting potatoes, took care of our early crops

Pricking out Tomatoes is one job that seems to take such a long time, I try to save such jobs for more the more inclement days, those frosty mornings just keep coming.

Spring is here - no it's not! What is happening with our weather? Unperturbed, March sees potatoes planted, strawberries given a trim and some new additions to Stephanie's Kitchen Garden...

There's been a seed sowing frenzy in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month as our horticultural trainee Courtney gets set for the season. She's taken a break from her seed trays, propagator and vermiculite to plant out potatoes and set some horseradish roots

Spring strolls into the Kitchen Garden armed with the deadly combination of warm, sunny days and cold, frosty nights - just the kind of extremes of conditions the trays and trays of seedlings in the greenhouse don't want. And it's the greenhouse where 90% of our March garden time has been spent, with a few trips outside to weed, feed and plant. Find out more about how we've coped with spring in the Kitchen Garden below...

As usual, May has been a very busy time in the garden. I've been at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we have new raised beds to build and Kate's got hedges to trim

Lady May arrives in the garden, whirling her skirts in mischievous east coast winds. Contrary she blows hot and cold, catching unfortunate gardeners unawares. This is the time to be on your guard; armed with fleece, cloche and hoe we try to tame her. With plant food, string and supports we struggle to keep up with her.

This month, I've got the feedback from Chelsea and another RHS show date for your diary; aphids are proving a pest and I'll tell you why my runner beans are sure to be a success this year - all in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden Diary ...

Arguably the busiest month of the gardening year, May in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden is no exception. Dropped in at the vegetable growing deep end is Lynn, our new horticultural advisor and you can read about what she's been up to in her first couple of weeks at the helm! And with aubergine-keen slugs and snails to battle with and the preparations for the RHS Chelsea Show, there's never a dull moment...

'Four Seasons in One Day' sang 80's-90's Antipodean pop stars Crowded House and that's not a bad way to describe May 2012! A start to the month which seemed more akin to February was in complete contrast to a scorching finale which saw our Kitchen Garden plants - and the weeds - go mad! The weather aside, it's been a great month with the culmination an RHS Chelsea Flower Show award double! Find out more below...

The winter starts to fire off it's weather arrows and we clean the garden from top to bottom!

With even more products appearing in the horticultural marketplace, it's been decided to boost the staff numbers in the Kitchen Garden too

November in the Kitchen Garden and there is that familiar sound again, the soft rustle of a million leaves just waiting to fall

Winter has well and truly arrived at the Kitchen Garden but as all good gardeners know, there's still plenty to keep us occupied through the bleakest months of the year. Leaf clearing continues apace, we've compost to tend to and mice to battle with as well as harvesting and preparing all those lovely winter root veg - find out more below...

Time for Courtney to make her literary bow as my Kitchen Garden trainee takes you through the final two months of the year.

As it's Halloween, we concentrate on the nasties in the greenhouse and how to get rid of them

A bit like Romeo and Juliet, or perhaps oil and water. Fire and ice even. And to that list you can add gardening and a broken ankle!

A breath of that crisp autumn air and the sight of low sunlight illuminating the golden leaves, inspires me to roll up my fleece sleeves and get stuck in to all those essential tasks.

October sees the Kitchen Garden - and me - recovering after a frantic summer, so it's back to a monthly report. There's still loads going on; I'm harvesting the last of the summer fruit, planting garlic and cleaning down the greenhouse - and that's just for starters...

It's the season of leaves in the Kitchen Garden but our vegetable growing activities run alongside sweeping up; we've been building a carrot clamp, unearthing our parsnips and trying to coax our sprouts into a pre-Xmas growth spurt. With garlic to plant and beans and peas popping into rootrainers under glass for an early 2012 crop, October has been another busy month in the Kitchen Garden...

Those heavy August rains certainly had an effect on the Kitchen Garden plants as they spent most of September producing fruit of fantastic shapes and colours

September here at the Kitchen Garden has been a bumper month for many crops and a disappointment for others as that wet, wet August took its toll.

The arrival of a film crew, a lowdown on our glut of tomatoes and how to grow carrots of the highest quality - as usual, it's been an eventful month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden...

You can certainly feel the chill of the autumnal air now and the leaves on the trees are starting to change colour and fall, you could begin to think that there is not much to do in the kitchen now but don't be fooled by the change of season as September was a busy month in the garden with a flurry of seed sowing, harvesting and general jobs to do before the chilly weather sets in. Read on to see what Lynn has been up to this month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden.

At last Spring has arrived here in the Kitchen Garden. The sunshine has arrived in force and, despite some chilly nights lingering on, everything is starting to grow. With the first half of April being so cold, the Kitchen Garden is behind on where we would normally expect our vegetables to be at this time of year, but the recent warm weather has given us the chance to start growing in earnest.

It has been all systems go in Stephanie's kitchen garden this April. The mild weather has got everything putting on lots of growth and is keeping us busy. The greenhouse has been a hive of industry and is currently packed with lovely healthy plants and seedlings. Outside, the pear arch is dripping with beautiful blossom and the apple trees are covered with pink buds ready to burst into flower. The growing season is well and truly underway.

As I write this, the sun is beating down on yet another hot and sunny day. August has been a month of beautiful summer weather, but dare I say we are praying for some rain in the Harrod Kitchen Garden. The crops are revelling in the lovely warm conditions, but our water butts are now empty and we are using mains water for all our watering. A good rainfall would soon have the water butts full again...

August has been a month of extremes, beginning with hot sunny weather and ending with chilly autumn nights and plenty of rain. This has brought its share of challenges and kept us on our toes. It's been a month of successes and failures.

We've had our first snowfall of the Winter in the Kitchen Garden this month. A beautiful white, festive blanket covering everything in sight. Jo quickly took the netting off our vegetable cage to prevent the snow from weighing the net down and causing it to sag. She also shook the snow off our Slot and Lock portable cages. Luckily we had all our tender plants fleeced and ready for a cold snap.

December in the Kitchen Garden is all about planning for the New Year ahead. As the garden is cleared of last season's crops and prepared for the coming year, it is a good time to look back on our successes and failures of the past year. I have been drawing up my plan of the garden for 2014 and placing my seed orders. My next rainy day task is to peruse the latest Harrod brochure. There are some new Harrod Wire Obelisks that will look lovely with sweet peas growing up them...

December has been a very productive month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The weather has been very cold, but also dry allowing us to crack on with lots of structural and maintenance jobs. It's an ideal time of year to make changes to the garden whilst most of it is in its winter dormancy and less likely to be damaged or disturbed.

It has felt more like Easter than Christmas this month, as the weather has been incredibly mild. Unfortunately the sun has been conspicuous by its absence and we have lots of grey days and plenty of rain. No sign of a white Christmas in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this year.

It now feels like it has been Winter forever, and that Spring will never arrive. Sunny days have been few and far between in the Kitchen Garden. Most of February has been cloudy, dark and very cold. Inside our greenhouse, however, Spring has already arrived in force.

Spring has well and truly sprung in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month. We've been enjoying some mild temperatures and the sun has come out at last. We've had very few frosts and the garden is beginning to awaken from its winter sleep. The birds have been enjoying the new feeding stations and, on sunny days, they are showing their appreciation by filling the air with birdsong. We've even seen our first bee!

Wow! What a month it's been. As the New Year came in we were basking in mild weather and now, as I write this, we have eight inches of snow! One minute we are opening the greenhouse door to ventilate it and then next we are covering everything in fleece to protect it from the extreme low temperatures. It's certainly a month for keeping an eye on the weather forecast.

It is hard to believe that this time last year the Kitchen Garden was covered with a thick blanket of snow. The weather has certainly been milder this winter and it shows. The overwintering crops are enjoying the conditions and are well forward on last year. However, as all kitchen gardeners know only too well, the weather can change in a heartbeat, so the fleece and cloches are on hand just in case....

The new year has at last brought some seasonal cold and frosty weather to Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. For me these are ideal conditions for a healthy garden, as sub zero temperatures help to cleanse the garden of some overwintering pests and diseases. It also sweetens the brussel sprouts and parsnips to make them tastier than ever. Better still the blue skies and sunshine bring an added beauty to the garden that has been missing during the dark, grey days we've seen so often of late.

Phew! What a scorcher July has been. Here in the Kitchen Garden temperatures have been soaring. Our crops have been thriving with so much sun and warmth and we have been harvesting aplenty. With the all watering, feeding and harvesting, it's been busy, busy, busy!

We are now well into the main harvesting season in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month with trugs full of beautiful fruit and vegetables being delivered to the kitchen on a regular basis. The weather has been a healthy combination of hot, sunny and showers providing perfect growing conditions for all our crops.

Typical - we develop a water saving irrigation plan for Stephanie's Kitchen Garden and it finally pours with rain! In this month's update you can find out from new Kitchen Gardener Lynn how the extensive new watering system will benefit the garden; there's a pest update and you can find out what we're picking too! All in all, another busy month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden...

At last the harvest has begun in earnest in the Kitchen Garden. It feels like it's been a long time coming as we are obviously delayed this year due to the weather. This month we have been harvesting kale, sprouting broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, salad leaves, spring onions, rocket, rhubarb and new potatoes. Picking lots of delicious organic produce is so satisfying and the very best part of kitchen gardening.

The growing season is in full swing here in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The garden and greenhouse are packed with crops and we have been harvesting lots of lovely fruit and vegetables all month. June is one of the busiest months of the growing year and I sometimes have to remind myself to stop for a moment and take some time to simply admire how lovely the garden is looking. These moments don't last for long, however, as the urge to grab a spade or secateurs is often too much for me to resist!

As I am writing this, the sun has briefly peeped through the clouds, an uncommon sight in the Kitchen Garden recently. We have been lucky enough to have escaped the latest load of snow, but a biting fierce easterly wind is dragging the temperatures down and we are suffering harsh night time frosts. Cloches and fleece have been our best friends in the Kitchen Garden, protecting our precious crops from the awful weather.

What a difference a year makes. Last year in March we still had snow and freezing temperatures and spring was nowhere in sight. This year, the garden is enjoying warm, sunny days and the crops are much further forward. We are harvesting broccoli, rhubarb, chard, spinach and kale and our broad beans are flowering and covered in bees. Our parsnip seedlings are already appearing through the soil.

The late Spring has certainly proved to be a challenge to vegetable growers this year, but despite the slow start, the Kitchen Garden is filling out with lush green growth all around. We've harvested our first cucumbers this month and tomatoes are rapidly appearing on the plants in the greenhouse, waiting hopefully for some warm sunshine to ripen them ready for eating.

We have had the perfect growing weather in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month. It's been a mixture of warm sunshine and steady rain and the crops are really thriving. Unfortunately so are the weeds! And the pests are beginning to arrive as well....

I love November. The first light frosts have arrived, but still there are days warm enough to garden in your shirt sleeves. This month has been all about finishing the clearing and tidying of the garden and preparing for Winter. This is one of my favourite jobs of the year. The clear, freshly dug ground is oozing with the promise of what's to come next year. I already have it all planned in my head!

November has been a cold and miserable month in the Kitchen Garden. The sun has put in a few brief appearances, but on the whole it has been damp and grey. However, whatever the weather, there is always plenty of work to be done. When the rain is pouring down, I head into the greenhouse and shed to catch up with the Big Winter Tidy Up.

We have had some really wild weather in the Kitchen Garden in November - high winds, storms, torrential downpours and generally wet, mild days. The winds have brought the leaves down off the trees in abundance, with plenty more still to come. As regular readers will know, I am not a lover of clearing leaves and wet ones are even worse! I am hoping that December will bring us some calmer, brighter days.....

November in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden has been a busy and eventful one. The weather has certainly kept us on our toes. We've experienced high winds and heavy rain along and later on, the first frosts of the year. But November 2015 will probably long be remembered as the month that box blight hit the garden.

Happy Halloween everyone! Congratulations if you have grown some great pumpkins this year, with the weather we've had to contend with this summer you have done very well! Now Autumn is upon us or maybe Winter has arrived early? The shorter and darker days are here too so less gardening time for all those keen gardeners out there. All I know is that it's been very chilly of late and everything is looking decidedly messy in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, all the rain and the falling leaves have kick started our Autumn clean up with a vengeance. Read on to see what else we've been up to this month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we hope you will find some inspiration to get out there and get stuck in!

The harvest has been gathered and stored and the big tidy up has begun in earnest in the Kitchen Garden this month.

The clocks have gone back, the days are growing shorter and the big autumn tidy up is well under way. However the weather has been unseasonably mild which has meant some plants are still producing a crop at a time when they would normally have been consigned to the compost bin. We are still harvesting courgettes at the end of October in Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden.

The harvest is in and our larder is now well stocked with squashes, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The freezer is full of French beans, runner beans, raspberries and blackberries. They should keep us going through the long winter ahead, along with the sprouts, leeks, celeriac, parsnips and broccoli still to be harvested.

September has been a busy month with the harvest in full swing in the Kitchen Garden. We've also had a taste of Winter weather which was quite a shock after the long hot summer. But at last some rain, so our waterbutts are full again and the garden is looking refreshed.

We've been enjoying an Indian summer in the Kitchen Garden this month. We have seen the longest dry spell of the summer and the irrigation all around the garden has been working hard to keep our crops happy. The warm temperatures have meant that many summer crops are still being harvested well into the autumn. It's certainly been a bumper harvest this year.

September has seen Autumn sneak slowly in to Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The days have still been warm and sunny, but the nights have turned cold and the effects are being shown all around the garden. Leaves are beginning to change colour and it won't be long before the Great British Rake Off begins!

The heavy machinery rolls in as the Kitchen Garden Site is cleared

We showcase the latest models destined to appear on the Kitchen Garden catwalk this winter

This week in the kitchen garden it has been a week of planting out, the last of the runner beans (Enorma) have been put in. This year we are doing more successional sowing, to give a longer harvest period and to hopefully avoid a glut of any one vegetable.

The big summer harvest has reached a crescendo in the kitchen garden this month, with large trugs full of produce making their way to the kitchen. We have been picking huge bowls full of blueberries, raspberries and, in the last few days, blackberries. French and runner beans and courgettes have also been providing a bumper crop with much more to come. The greenhouse is producing more cucumbers and tomatoes than we can eat and the aubergine harvest has been the best we have had in recent years.

The garden has undertaken a dramatic transformation this month; from the bare brown soil of winter to the sea of green that the warm spring sunshine brings. The weather has been very mild this month and plants all around the garden are putting on lots of new growth.

The garden is tidy, the potting shed has been spring cleaned and the greenhouse is gleaming. Overwintering crops are snugly nestled in a heated tent of bubble wrap. We are ready for the festive break; the only time of year that I leave the garden and disappear into the house.

We are at that stage in the Kitchen Gardening year where there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. The watering and feeding regime is still at its peak despite summer showers helping us out. The weeds have slowed down their growth a little, but still require regular attention. And the harvest is now occupying much of our time; picking beans and berries, tomatoes, aubergines, and many other delicious crops.

The kitchen garden is thriving and a lot of work has been done this week, the celery and celeriac have been planted in their final positions and seem to be very happy. The last of the courgette plants have been planted now too

Unfortunately the vegetables you are attempting to grow for your own consumption are also much loved by lots of pests which exist in your garden - here are our most common garden pests .

It's still feeling a little chilly in the kitchen garden, but the weather is definitely improving a bit now. The forecast for the coming weekend is warm and sunny and we will be making the most of the welcome fine conditions to get on with the many jobs that need doing at this time of the year.

This week in the Kitchen Garden, we will be planting out peas. We have been growing Pea 'Norli?' in root trainers in the cold frame and they are now at a really good size to be planted out. We will be training them up an obelisk.

Despite a very wet winter, we have had lovely dry warm weather of late which has dried out the soil. April is a crucial month for garlic as the bulbs are forming ready for harvest in a couple of month?s time.

It has been another week of tidying in the kitchen garden especially in the greenhouse. The long sweet peppers and bell peppers have been harvested and all the plants removed along with the aubergines and we have harvested an amazing crop of sweet potatoes.

It's been a week of tidying in the kitchen garden, we have cleared out all the plants that have stopped producing and relegated them to the compost bin and started our Autumn planting of perpetual spinach, Pak choi, early sprouting broccoli and kale.

We have been supplying netting since 1954 so we think we know a thing or two about it! Our Top 10 of Garden Netting Tips will help you choose the right netting and protect your plants throughout the year.

Over the last week there seems to have been a surge in pests in the kitchen garden, with the calabrese plants being the worst hit by an unknown culprit!

The cold weather means that the woodfire is now being used in the house and we regularly collect the ash to use in the kitchen garden. The wood ash is a great helper in the garden

The recent warm spring weather has brought a growth spurt to all areas of the garden, rhododendrons are beginning to flower and our young vegetable plants are getting bigger by the minute. Unfortunately the weeds are also enjoying the conditions and are thriving!

With lots of activity over the last couple of weeks the Harrod Horticultural HQ greenhouse and raised beds are coming along really well, helped by the sun finally making an appearance!

On the subject of wet weather and flooding (see July 6th's entry), it's worth considering a rather topical Royal Horticultural Society report says horticulturist Martin Fiddes.

With drought summers increasingly predicted due to global warming, accompanied by hose pipe bans likely to come again in many areas, it certainly makes sense to wise up to potential water shortages in your garden.

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we are going to be planting out our leeks. The seeds were sown into a raised bed back in March and are now a good size to be transplanted into the ground.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting out our Spring Cabbages. These have been growing away in our cold frame waiting for a space to become available in our vegetable cage.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be getting back out into the garden following the Christmas break. There is plenty of digging to be done it is an ideal way to work off those Christmas excesses!

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be continuing with our regular feeding regime. We have been feeding established crops and newly planted vegetables with fish, blood and bone or poultry manure. These need to be reapplied every six weeks during the growing season.

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we have been giving the greenhouse windows a thorough clean.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be completing our garden plan for 2015. Since the garden was first built, we have kept a plan of what is grown where in the garden. This allows us to maintain crop rotation as well as keeping a record of what has grown where in the past. We keep it hung on the wall in the potting shed and use it to refer to when we are completing our seed order

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be emptying our compost bins ready to begin filling them up again throughout the summer.

The weather has at last warmed up and our crops now need more care and attention to keep them productive. We like to use fish, blood and bone every six weeks on our leafy crops such as brassicas, spinach and chard, and seaweed feed on flowering crops such as courgettes and beans.

This week it's all about the brassica's, planting out our sprouts, broccoli and kale now that the plants have been hardening off.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be sowing our sweetcorn, courgettes, squash, runner beans and French beans in the greenhouse. We will also be sowing more salads and peas to ensure a succession of crops.

There are lots of jobs planned this week as the season gets into full swing - beans to be planted out, potatoes to be earthed up again and even more seed sowing!

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will be treating our fruit trees to a bit of TLC. Earlier in the month we replaced the glue bands on all our fruit trees and our job this week is to give them a winter wash.

It's late in the year for ground frosts in our part of the UK and the cold nights are really holding us up in our planting out. Our greenhouse and cold frame are bursting with plants that we would normally have planted out by now.

Our greenhouse crops are coming to the end of their lives. The tomatoes have all been harvested and we will be clearing the old plants and consigning them to the compost heap. The pots, tomato towers, plant halos and slot and lock frame and will be brushed clean and set aside for scrubbing and cleaning during the winter months.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be awaiting the delivery of our vegetable plants. Having harvested our onions, shallots and garlic has we have some space for more crops in the Kitchen Garden.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be harvesting our blackcurrants. The branches of our blackcurrant bushes are laden with plump juicy berries. Armed with a trug and a kneeler we'll choose a sunny day and head into the fruit cage to pick and string the berries. Then it will be off to the kitchen to make delicious jam.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be harvesting the pears from our pear arch. After they have been picked the pears will be put through a fruit press to be turned into delicious organic pear juice. A real treat!

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be digging up our Desiree potatoes. Last week Jo dug up our other maincrop potatoes which were Cara. This is very early to be harvesting our spuds and we wouldn't normally do this until October, but we were unlucky enough to get Blight this year and had to remove the tops of the potato plants a few weeks ago.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be harvesting our sweet potatoes. This is always an event greeted with trepidation and excitement and I must to confess to having already felt down into the soil to see what size tubers might be waiting for us.

The seed sowing continues and keeping the plants fed and watered is now key to a successful harvest over the coming months...

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week keeping our wild birds well fed through the worst of the winter weather. Whilst some birds are unwelcome in the kitchen garden, others are helpful when it comes to pest control.

We're off to the Chelsea Flower Show for a few days, so will need to leave our plants in good shape for our absence.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be turning our attention to our rhubarb patch. Last year at this time we divided some of our existing plants to extend our crop and these grew well throughout the year putting on plenty of growth. At this time of year, the plants benefit from a generous mulch of well rotted manure or garden compost.

Lots to do in the Kitchen Garden this week as the season really gets into gear. Sunshine and showers over the last week has been great for the plants, but meant more work to keep everything under control, especially the weeds!

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting garlic. This is one of our favourite crops and this year we are growing Picardy Wight and Carcassone Wight.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting our Christmas dinner. Our parsnips and sprouts have been growing since February and are looking very promising. We have also frozen some peas and runner beans to join them on our Christmas plate.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting out our broad bean plants and our shallots. These have spent the past week in the cold frame acclimatising to the weather and are now ready to be planted in their final growing space. The ground has already been dug over and fertilised with fish, blood and bone.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be planting out our leeks. It's a little later than we would normally like to plant them, but they always follow our new potatoes into the ground and these are a little late being harvested due to the cold spring. The leeks are good size plants though, so should have plenty of time to get to a good size before the winter.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting our potatoes. These have been chitting in trays for several weeks and have healthy shoots forming. The ground has already been prepared by digging in well rotted manure and some home made compost.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be planting out our runner beans and climbing French beans. We sowed the seed in rootrainers in the greenhouse a few weeks ago and they are now good sized plants. Last week they were placed in the cold frame to harden off. Now that the night time temperatures have at last warmed up we can plant them out into the garden.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be planting out our sweetcorn. The plants have spent the past couple of week in our cold frame waiting for the temperatures to warm up and hardening off. They are now big enough to survive outside. We will be covering them with cloches just in case a cold night threatens. These will be removed in a few weeks time.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting strawberries. Our existing plants are 3 years old and this year our crop was not as good as previously. Strawberries need renewing every three years to maintain a vigorous healthy crop.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be pricking out some of our new little seedlings in the greenhouse. The heated propagator is a hive of activity and some of the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are ready to be transferred to small pots.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be pruning our trained fruit trees. Our espalier apple trees have put on lots of growth and this is the perfect time of year to restore their shape.

It's an exciting time at the kitchen garden - some of our seedlings are starting to emerge in the heated propagator and really starting to get the feeling that Spring is on its way...

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will be setting up our irrigation ready for the coming season. We are currently experiencing a dry spell in East Anglia and haven?t had significant rainfall for a couple of weeks. Pots and beds are looking dry and we have already had to water our onion and garlic crops to try and prevent rust setting in later on.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be sowing spinach and chard into our mangers for overwintering. Our summer salad leaves are almost finished as they are beginning to succumb to the cold autumn nights. We will be clearing these and replacing them with winter crops. The mangers will then have their covers put on to give the seeds a snug environment to germinate in, as well as added protection over the winter.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be sowing the first seeds of 2015. Last week we finished cleaning all the pots and staging and the greenhouse and all its contents look as good as new.

We have been working hard to prepare a raised bed for our sweet potato crop - they looked so good last year on our pyramid obelisk we just had to do it again.

This week In the Kitchen Garden we will be planting out the remaining tender vegetables currently taking shelter in our cold frame. Courgettes and squash will be planted out into the last remaining places in the garden. The garden will then be full with only small spaces for salads to be squeezed in.

The heated propagator and growlight have been cleaned and assembled and are ready for the first sowings of the year. We will begin with aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, chillies, celery and celeriac.

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will be starting the war on slugs and snails. According to recent press reports, this year is predicted to be a bad one when it comes to our slimy enemies, so we will be taking steps to ensure they don?t get the upper hand in our garden.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be hanging out the wasp traps. Last year we were infested with them and they destroyed our blackberry crop so this year we are prepared early to prevent a repeat disaster.

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will begin the winter clean of all our pots and tools. Last year I treated myself to a Sneeboer tool maintenance kit and gave all our tools some thorough care and attention.

Guest Blog Post by Sophie van Gerwen of Old House in the Shires - Spring is always a busy time in the garden but I think the lockdown in the UK has increased everyones connection to their garden or outdoor space.

Caterpillars develop from eggs laid by Moths and Butterflies. There are many different species and many that produce caterpillars damaging to plants. Some of the most damaging for brassica plants are the cabbage white caterpillars; the large cabbage white (Pieris brassicae) and the small cabbage white (Pieris rapae).

The runner bean trench has now been dug, we have had to dig this quite deep as we have lots of tree roots invading the ground and we want to make sure we get them all out. This also means we have a nice deep trench to fill with lovely manure and water retaining mediums.

Winter has certainly arrived in the kitchen garden this month, it has been cold, wet and very windy. We have been able to harvest a few winter vegetables this month more spinach, leeks, celeriac and the first of the parsnips these have been of good size but unfortunately they have forked a bit.