Latest news with #vegetablegarden
Vogue
21 hours ago
- General
- Vogue
The Simple Pleasures of a Stoop Vegetable Garden
During World War II, American families grew 'victory gardens' in their backyard—a patriotic way to fight food shortages and help troops by diverting the need for fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs. In a way, the collection of plants currently sitting on the stoop of my Brooklyn apartment is its own little kind of victory garden. A concerted effort to care for something tangible, that also may just feed me at some point this summer (as long as I stick to my watering schedule). Earlier this year, I interviewed a series of New Yorkers about what they were buying ahead of Trump's potential incoming tariffs. Julia Fox, star of Uncut Gems and girl about town, told me, 'I bought seeds to plant my own food, just in case.' At a time when everything seems to be a recession indicator, a vegetable garden may be the most hopeful one to consider. This isn't my first summer spent trying to keep plants alive on my porch. Last year, my tomato plant limped along as I went out of town, only to come back and revive it at the last possible moment. I ended the season having enjoyed exactly five juicy little tomatoes. But they were undoubtedly delicious—sun warmed and bursting with flavor. As I've seen more people in my online universe talk both jokingly and semi-seriously about curating a vegetable garden of their own in particularly insecure times, I thought it might be a nice occasion to brush up on a few tips and tricks in caring for your own little collection of pots and planters with the help of Corey Blant, the director of urban agriculture at New York Restoration Project (a program which, fun fact, was founded by Bette Midler in 1995). NYRP works in partnership with communities all over New York City to create and preserve community gardens and green spaces. It's never too late to start Each winter, I tell myself that I'll start early on my planting projects, but the reality is life often gets in the way of planting seeds early in the season. The good news, according to Blant, is that it's never too late to start on something. 'Not two hours ago, I planted zucchini from seed at a garden in Astoria,' he tells me over FaceTime, his face tan and his fingers dusty from a day in the soil. While he notes that at this point in the season, it's too late to plant delicate lettuces, it's prime time for squash, eggplant, and zucchini, all of which thrive in summer heat. Blant adds that herbs are a great option no matter what point in the season—'mint is going to be super vigorous, [as well as] sage and basil.' Come mid-August, you can even start to plant seeds for cold-loving veggies like cauliflower and kale. If planting straight from seed is intimidating, head to your local hardware store and pick up a few starts (baby plants ready to go into the ground), which can be a little more forgiving. This year, I've set out my pots with a mix of tomatoes, habanero peppers, and basil, and despite the current temps climbing towards 100 degrees, I've been faithfully watering them and watching as my first little veggies begin to appear. Make the most of what you have Whether you have a backyard plot, a free stoop or a little space on your fire escape, make the most of your space. If you're building a garden in a yard, go for a raised bed with quality soil or compost. 'Start with that super high quality, super nutrient dense soil,' Blant says. Soil, sun, water… if you give the plants as much of that as possible, you're setting them up for success from the jump.' On my stoop, I use a mix of pots that I've amassed over the year, using the bigger ones for plants that I know tend to take over, like tomatoes. Smaller pots house basil and herbs. I try to use pots that have holes in the bottom for drainage, along with a saucer to catch the water that tends to spill out when I douse them. I picked up soil from my local hardware store, and also take the chance to grab NYC-made compost when I come across it at a farmer's market or other local event (as an ardent composter, it's a full circle moment!).
BBC News
07-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Raucous peacock chomps through Marlborough's veg patches
An unclaimed male peacock has become the talk of a rural community, having ravaged vegetable patches and woken neighbours with his alarming early morning as he's been named, first appeared in Marlborough in Wiltshire earlier this summer and has since been pictured on roofs and in addition to disrupting sleep, he's disrupted the local ecosystem, challenging cats and pigeons that stray into his has even taking to pecking on doors in what are deemed to be attempts to gain even more food. Resident Eric Gilbert said the bird had an apparently boundless appetite."It does like a breakfast off my runner beans, and a couple of mornings I found it in the middle of my lettuce patch, having a breakfast of my lettuce leaves," he said."It is quite vocal. People do find it gets them up about half past five in the morning with quite a raucous sound." Neighbour Angela Newberry has also had the pleasure of regular visits."Very early in the morning, he taps on the window for food," she said."He's very annoying, because he's got no snooze button."She said she does not feed Percy because "he helps himself to my veg trug anyway, so I don't need to". Another neighbour, Frances Hughes, said that Percy was very picky, seemingly feasting on the most prized parts of gardens."I think he's quite keen on vegetables but he only does five star dining," she said."He's certainly eating bulbs. He has destroyed a neighbour's vegetable patch."The neighbours have even set up a group chat to alert each other to Percy's while the peacock has divided opinion, locals agree it would be strange if he were to leave.
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
In my poor growing season, edible flowers are a small, tasty win
My partner and I have a ritual that makes an appearance at this time of year. When we sit down for dinner, we count up how many crops from the garden we've managed to incorporate into our meal. As I've said in previous columns, I'm not having the best growing season despite the abundance of sunshine, so I'm relying on small, edible wins this summer. (Edible flowers have become more of a feature than ever in our kitchen.) There aren't many plants that I grow solely for their blooms – edible or not – but fortunately, there are a fair few crops that just happen to produce flowers you can eat, meaning it's likely you, too, might be growing some edible flowers already. For the first few springs in my veg patch, I sowed the seeds of calendula, violas and nasturtiums as beneficial companion plants to encourage pollinators. Six growing seasons later and these stalwarts reappear reliably when the soil is warm enough. Calendula produce bright flowers whose petals can be scattered on a salad, but my preference is nasturtiums, which have a punchy, peppery flavour. The smiley-faced violas taste subtly sweet and are ideal for decorating cakes. Many of the annual and perennial herbs in our vegetable gardens not only produce flavoursome leaves but beautiful and delicious flowers, too. Chives develop bright purple pom-poms that taste like the oniony leaves but are milder. Dill is another plant that I adore but, given it often bolts before I've harvested all the leaves I'd hoped for, I'm grateful that their flowers are also edible. Rosemary, thyme and, of course, lavender flowers are all edible and make a pretty garnish on a summer dish or cake. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion There are a number of vegetables whose flowers are worth tasting. Courgette flowers – both pollen-bearing and fruit-bearing – are delicious, especially when prepared the Italian way – stuffed with a mild cheese and herbs, lightly battered and fried. The cute little flowers of peas and beans taste like a sweet, floral iteration of the fruit counterpart. (Be careful not to mistakenly harvest ornamental sweetpea flowers as these are toxic.) It's worth bearing in mind that harvesting the flowers of fruiting plants will have an impact on your yield. Not a problem if you're picking more courgettes than you can comfortably offload, but an issue if you've only got a few beanstalks and were hoping to fill your freezer. When harvesting, be mindful not to crush petals as you gently shake off any creatures that might be hiding inside. Petals don't take kindly to being vigorously washed but you can dip them in water and leave on a tea towel to dry. While not all these flowers offer up palette-igniting flavours, our dinners have never been prettier.
The Independent
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
David Beckham has Victoria in stitches over his wonky carrot
had wife Victoria in stitches at his wonky carrots as the newly knighted former professional footballer proudly showed off his vegetable patch. David posted a video update of his vegetable garden on Instagram on Saturday (21 June) saying, "not exactly what I expected but to be fair it had Lady Beckham laughing." He went on to say, Victoria, "sorry about my carrot." The former England captain and Manchester United midfielder was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours list on June 13.
The Independent
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Sir David Beckham has Victoria in stitches over his wonky carrot
had wife Victoria in stitches at his wonky carrots as the newly knighted former professional footballer proudly showed off his vegetable patch. David posted a video update of his vegetable garden on instagram saying, "not exactly what I expected but to be fair it had Lady Beckham laughing." He went on to say, Victoria, "sorry about my carrot." Beckham was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours list on June 13.
