Congratulations to Jo  – the lucky winner of last week’s competition to win an exclusive tea set belonging to Pearl Lowe.  We were really impressed with Jo’s creativity and intriguing choice of location for her micro allotment.

The Sow Your Own competition has now closed. A massive thank you to everybody who entered – the quality of entries was exceptional. All entries are now with our expert panel and we will announce the lucky winner shortly.

Thanks again to everybody who entered and best of luck!

Growing your own isn’t just a Spring thing. With less bugs and more moisture in the air, there are plenty of vegetables and herbs that will thrive during the colder months. Cabbage varieties, kale, turnip and broad beans are all good options for Autumn growing but are better grown in an outdoor space. For inside growing, there are several salad options to have a go at. Winter lettuce is easy to grow indoors and doesn’t take up too much space. Spring onions, giant red mustard and mizuna are also worth a try. Similar to Summer growing, keep them well-watered but not soaking, and pick the outside leaves rather than the whole plant in order to encourage re-growth.

If you’d like more information on what to grow and how to grow it, take a look at Rocket Gardens’ growing guides or if you’d like a bit of help getting growing, take a look at our range of instant garden boxes.

Thanks for all your questions, we’ve taken a selection of them and put to our resident green-fingered expert Rocket Rob and here’s what he had to say.

With all the good weather we’ve been having this summer will my peppers and chillies do as well outdoors? (Dan Knowlson)

Peppers and chillies can definitely be grown outside, especially in the summer. They love plenty of sunshine, so a sunny patio is an ideal spot for them.

What is a calabrese and how do you know when it’s ready? (Will Lambeth)
Calabrese, often recognised as broccoli (although technically they’re a bit different!) is a great autumn vegetable to grow. They usually harvest in September/October. As they grow, a central bud develops which then increases in size and the familiar-looking florets develop. This head can grow up to 400g but smaller is fine too!

I’ve just moved to a new house and have a garden for the first time.  I’m desperate to start growing my own but what is a good veg to start growing in August? (Suzanne Donaldson)

There are plenty of vegetables that you can plant in summer for an autumn harvest. Kale is a really good option for growing during the autumn and there are several tasty varieties to choose from, including Cavolo Nero and Red Russian, which are easy to grow and are tasty in soups and stews. Broad beans and spring onions are also a good option.  Salads such as Mizuna, Giant red mustard, lettuce and corn salad will do well at this time of year and are also quick growing, which can be a bonus.

For those that want to get a head start, our friends at Rocket Gardens can provide you with baby organic plants that are all ready to be transplanted straight into your micro garden.

Rocket Rob and Tim Maddams, Head Chef at the famous River Cottage Canteen, had an exhausting morning yesterday talking to a total of ten radio stations across the UK about Cafedirect’s Sow Your Own campaign! The duo provided useful hints and tips for even the most specific questions, like how to make beetroot hummus! Rob revealed how his dad loves to grow carrots in his old car tyres, whilst Tim talked about his favourite produce of the season? sugarsnap peas (and they’re so deliciously sweet that he often eats more than he manages to collect!). Rob also swears by worm-cast to give your seeds the best possible chance, although his main piece of advice for the day was don’t be afraid to give it a grow! Grab any household item, throw in some compost,keep it watered and watch it flourish!

Lots of the interviews were live but you will still be able to listen to Rob and Tim’s inspiring advice on all things related to growing and cooking your own produce on the following stations:

·     Dune 107.9: Friday 27th August, 8.15am
·     BBC Coventry & Warwickshire: Thursday 26th August, 10.20am-11.10am
·     BCB 106.6 FM: Friday 27th August, 11.15am
·     BBC Cornwall: Saturday 28th August, 9am-12pm

You only have a week left to enter our competition to win a gastronomic trip to Gidleigh Park Hotel, including an overnight stay and morning in the prestigious two Michelin Star Kitchen of Michael Caines MBE, including a lunch for two.  All you need to do is email syo@cafedirect.co.uk a picture of a plant growing in an unusual object ?

And the prize for most creative planting this week goes to Penny for her magical top hat, planted up with tasty basil grown straight from Cafédirect’s seeds on packs.

We’ll be running our third and final spot prize this week – the prize is Pearl Lowe’s vintage tea set!  Whether it’s a flower, plant, fruit, veg or herbs we can’t wait to see where you are growing things this summer.

Email a picture of any unusual object planted up by midday on Tuesday 31st August to syo@cafedirect.co.uk. As well as being entered into the entry of the week spot prize draw, it’ll also be entered into the main competition for the Gidleigh Park prize.  We’ll be back next Tuesday to announce the winner.

Congratulations to Beverly, winner of last week’s mini-competition for Wayne Hemmingway’s fun pair of mugs.  Beverly wowed us with her imaginative planting of a tea pot!

We’ll be running our second spot prize this week, awarded to the most creative planting of an every day object, and the prize is this classic mixing bowl which was kindly donated by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at the start of our Sow Your Own campaign.  Whether it’s a flower, plant, fruit, veg or herbs we can’t wait to see what you are growing things in this summer.

Email your pics by midday on Monday 23^rd August to syo@cafedirect.co.uk. As well as being entered into the entry of the week spot prize draw, they’ll also be entered into the main competition for the Gidleigh Park prize.  We’ll be back next Tuesday to announce the winner.

Homegrown tomatoes are, quite simply, amazing! The smell is divine and the taste is enough to make you want to never buy another tomato again. Luckily, they also lend themselves to being grown indoors.

Admittedly, it is getting a little late to be starting out with tomatoes but there’s no reason why you won’t still get a crop from them if you use slightly more mature plants than baby seedlings.

They like being kept warm and having plenty of sunshine.  Over/underwatering can lead to some problems with tomatoes. Cafédirect saw this for themselves in their roof-garden but by following these tips they still got some tasty tomatoes! It sounds a bit weird but keeping a banana near your tomato plants can help the fruit ripen quicker.

Tomatoes are so versatile, eaten raw in salads or cooked in sauces, the list is endless. And, if you tomatoes fail to ripen, you can always make scrumptious green tomato chutney.

With less than three weeks to go until our Sow Your Own competition draws to a close we have a special spot prize up for grabs for the entry of the week.  So, the main prize is the chance to win a stint in the kitchen of Michael Caines MBE, along with a meal for two in the two Michelin Starred restaurant and an overnight stay at the glorious Gidleigh Park. (terms and conditions apply)

We’ll also be rewarding your creativity this week, so the most creative planting solution (which, to clarify, can be any kind of unusual microgarden – well, a plant growing in an unusual object will win this rather fashionable pair of mugs donated by our friend Wayne Hemingway.  You may remember seeing pictures of these mugs before – planted up at the start of the campaign – and they’ve been producing tasty salad leaves ever since over at Cafedirect HQ.  Email your pics by midday on Monday 16^th August to syo@cafedirect.co.uk. As well as being entered into the entry of the week spot prize draw,  they’ll also be entered into the main competition for the Gidleigh Park prize.

Here are some pics to get you inspired…

At this time of year, all your hard work tending your plants should be paying off with lots of delicious vegetables to be picked and enjoyed. If you’re lucky enough to have more harvest than you can eat yourself, you may want to consider freezing some of the produce because any vegetables will still taste delicious several months after freezing.

Peas and beans are ideal for home freezing. Simply ‘blanch’ beans by boiling them in water for a few minutes, pop them into plastic bags and into the freezer. Peas need to be shelled before being blanched and frozen young and juicy, rather than older and starchier.

Tomatoes are very versatile and can be frozen raw or cooked. If left raw, you will need to cook them after defrosting as they will go a bit mushy but this is perfectly harmless.

Herbs are also perfect for freezing and, unlike dried herbs, can be used in the same quantities as when fresh. Although herbs will look limp when defrosted, this will not affect their flavour as this will stay for several months after being frozen.

I love the delicious taste of cold soup on a hot summer’s day. Using some of my freshly grown basil – I have created this quick and easy vegetable soup recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 small leeks
• 1 peeled potato
• 1 onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 medium zucchini
• A dozen green beans
• 2 peeled carrots
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 3 medium garlic cloves
• Fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Method

Cut the leeks, potato, onion, celery, zucchini, green beans, and carrots into 1/4 inch diced cubes.

In a 6-quart stockpot, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the water.  Add the vegetables and sauté over medium-low heat until all the water evaporates.  Do not brown the vegetables.

Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Cook at a gentle boil for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, put the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Pulse until pureed.

Stir the puree into the cooked soup.  Do not let the soup return to a boil.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.  Serve the soup hot or cold from a tureen or in individual bowls.

Serves 6.