As many of you know we have worked with THE PIG on numerous occasions, building greenhouses for their kitchen gardens and collaborating during events. We always keep in touch with the team at THE PIG as they share their innovative growing ideas, new plans for their gardens and team up for exclusive events (including our collaboration in 2015 at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show)
We’ve recently caught up with Head Gardener, Ryan from THE PIG in the Forest, to share his five favourite things to grow in the greenhouse during the autumn and winter months.
Baby leaf mix – “We are growing 6 different types of baby leaf for the kitchen to use as garnish. Beet Bulls blood, Red Veined Sorrel, Red Russian Kale, Bi-coloured Shiso, Nasturtium Blue Pepe and Salad Shungiku Chrysanthemum Greens; these are all grown in trays on the benches and are ideal for adding colour and flavours to dishes.”- Bright and spicy salad mix – “In one of our glasshouse beds we are growing a bright and spicy salad mix which is a cut and crop again of two types of Pak Choi, Mustard, Tatsoi and Mizuna. This provides an excellent blend of salad leaves during the colder months.”
- Baby fennel – “We’re experimenting with growing a bulbing fennel, variety Zefa Fino, to harvest as a baby sized fennel from the other glasshouse bed that had been previously growing chillis over the summer.”
- Violas – “Originally grown in the kitchen garden, we have potted up some violas to house in the greenhouse. This provides the kitchen with some colourful edible flowers.”
- Herbs – “We will be overwintering some of our herbs from the kitchen garden; such as Lemon Verbena, Pineapple Sage and French Tarragon. By potting them up, we can prune them back hard and wait until the winter frost finishes and the temperature warms up again next spring. We are also trying to overwinter some tomatoes that self-seeded in our poly-tunnels.”
Baby leaf mix – “We are growing 6 different types of baby leaf for the kitchen to use as garnish. Beet Bulls blood, Red Veined Sorrel, Red Russian Kale, Bi-coloured Shiso, Nasturtium Blue Pepe and Salad Shungiku Chrysanthemum Greens; these are all grown in trays on the benches and are ideal for adding colour and flavours to dishes.”If you have a chance to visit one of THE PIG’s, we certainly recommend you pop into their kitchen garden whilst you are there. You can find out more on their website: www.thepighotel.com.
