After a series of out-takes Alan welcomes us to his amazing Hampshire garden.
For the last 2 months Alan has been in lock down with just his wife Alison and tells us his garden has been his 'salvation' and how wonderful a garden is at these times.
Alan has been receiving messages for new gardeners who have taken up growing their own, to encourage and inspire Alan is going to share his knowledge with us.
Grow Your Own At Home With Alan Titchmarsh features the whole Love Your Garden team of David Domoney, Katie Rushworth and Frances Tophill.
The team are also joining Alan to share their gardens and ideas so that we can transform our own gardens.
'Join me and the team as we show you the wonderful world of growing your own'.
Alan says although he loves his whole garden he cannot be without his veg patch.
You need plenty of sun and good soil, Alan has chalk, clay and flint so not good soil.
He has 3 giant raised bed that he constructed 15 years ago, so he can control the soil in them.
One is for herbs, and a main mixed bed with shallots and strawberries at the end so they are in easy reach for the grandchildren.
Todays lesson is growing vegetables from seeds and the first job is to prepare the soil.
Any soil improving like adding compost and manure needed to be done in the Autumn and Alan uses an organic fertiliser on the soil.
Any soil improving like adding compost and manure needed to be done in the Autumn and Alan uses an organic fertiliser on the soil.
Most of the popular vegetables can be sown from Late May into the summer months.
Radish is a quick growing vegetable that can be sown March to August and an easy grow for beginners.
He starts by using a garden line to get a straight drill which he uses a cane to do.
Mrs T then gets stuck on the floor filming the low down shots!
He plants the seed an inch apart, he then covers the seed and waters well.
Seeds need to be kept moist and not left to dry out. Pause for Mrs T to sneeze.
Alan then talks about buying veg plants like the bean plugs he is putting in.
He recommends checking the label for spacing instructions.
His advice is to just 'give it a go'.
Raised beds are a simple and stylish way to add veg and fruit to any garden.
David Domoney uses his vegetable garden to feed his growing young family at home in Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire.
He lives with his partner and camera woman Adele Holdsworth and their three children.
His grow your own area is at the bottom of his garden where he has a greenhouse and some functional raised beds.
He wants an even bigger growing area so this weeks job is to add three new growing areas for whole year round produce.
David is making two new raised beds in front of his greenhouse which he got from his local garden centre for £80 each.
He has lined the beds with waterproof plastic/membrane to stop them rotting and fills with multi-purpose compost.
To improve the look of the new planting area, David has added edging board, weed proof membrane and white chippings.
A wicker weaved obelisk is added to each bed for the climbers like peas and beans.
You can make your own wigwam out of canes or sticks tied together.
Radish is a quick growing vegetable that can be sown March to August and an easy grow for beginners.
He starts by using a garden line to get a straight drill which he uses a cane to do.
Mrs T then gets stuck on the floor filming the low down shots!
He plants the seed an inch apart, he then covers the seed and waters well.
Seeds need to be kept moist and not left to dry out. Pause for Mrs T to sneeze.
Alan then talks about buying veg plants like the bean plugs he is putting in.
He recommends checking the label for spacing instructions.
His advice is to just 'give it a go'.
Raised beds are a simple and stylish way to add veg and fruit to any garden.
David Domoney uses his vegetable garden to feed his growing young family at home in Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire.
He lives with his partner and camera woman Adele Holdsworth and their three children.
His grow your own area is at the bottom of his garden where he has a greenhouse and some functional raised beds.
He wants an even bigger growing area so this weeks job is to add three new growing areas for whole year round produce.
David is making two new raised beds in front of his greenhouse which he got from his local garden centre for £80 each.
He has lined the beds with waterproof plastic/membrane to stop them rotting and fills with multi-purpose compost.
To improve the look of the new planting area, David has added edging board, weed proof membrane and white chippings.
A wicker weaved obelisk is added to each bed for the climbers like peas and beans.
You can make your own wigwam out of canes or sticks tied together.
Now is a good time to grow peas, they can be from seed or bought in plugs.
In one of the planters he is planting Spinach plants and in the other he is planting carrot plants.
David then plants some onion plants and some Viola for colour.
The bed needs to constantly produce so he adds lettuce that will be ready quite quickly, followed by Peas and the rest will follow.
Once planted your vegetables will need caring for like regular watering and fertilising Alan uses blood, bone and fish meal.
I prefer Chicken manure pellets Pete Free 🌻
To use it on Strawberries you just scatter it around them and do it again in June and then it just needs water for it to soak in.
To feed plants in pots or containers, a liquid feed is better.
Katie Rushworth is at home with her husband Andrew Edwards and the family in Balidon, Yorkshire.
She wants to bring some of the outdoors into her amazing kitchen as you can still grow things even if you do not have a garden.
A herb display in a box makes for an attractive indoor garden, and Katie is making her own using wood she has had delivered.
Old pallets or off cuts will also do to make the crate type boxes and they are very easy to make.
She makes a frame of battens then covers the ends with timber and then the sides forming a crate.
She lines it with a hessian sack then waterproof liner/membrane.
Katie is not cutting drainage holes as it is going inside so she will will water it sparingly.
She fills it with compost and plants it with herbs suitable for making Italian food and pizza, so she is calling it a 'Pizza box'.
The first herb she plants is Rosemary, to be used for her husbands amazing pizza and due to the smell of the herb when its cooking.
Katie also adds Thyme, Chives and 2 types of Basil, the normal supermarket bought kind and African Blue Basil.
She repeats the box making but the second box she is planting up a 'Gin and Tonic Box'.
Botanical plants are added for flavoured gins, she plants Lemon Verbena, Fennel, and Mint.
Katie also has a Dwarf Lemon Tree that she is potting up, however these can be difficult to grow.
She adds peat free compost and enough slow release fertiliser for 6 months to a pot.
In the Summer it also needs spraying with Liquid Seaweed feed to keep it fruiting and healthy.
Do not over water it and hopefully it will be keeping you in lemons for your G&T.
The crates are added to her kitchen workspace and look stunning.
Katie and Andrew quickly put the 'Gin and Tonic Box' to the test.
A garden full of vegetables in the Summer can still be an attractive space.
Alan visits a garden in a past Love your Garden Episode from Series 9 Episode 4 in Charlbury.
The vegetable beds are not hidden away by using obelisks and good looking veg.
They can be part of the garden and combined with herbs and flowers.
They can be part of the garden and combined with herbs and flowers.
Fruit trees grow along the walls and there are whole beds full of Strawberries.
Flowers and vegetables are combined with Herbs for a cottage garden look.
The Box balls and Topiary give all year round interest.
'A beautiful kitchen garden can nourish the soul as well as the tummy'
The Box balls and Topiary give all year round interest.
'A beautiful kitchen garden can nourish the soul as well as the tummy'
Frances Tophill and her partner have just moved into a small terrace house in Folkstone, Kent.
It only has a small 3 metre garden and she wants it to be colourful and full of ingredients for cooking.
Frances plan is for 3 different grow your own areas but this week she is starting with a wall planter.
Her first job is to paint the dull wall on the side of the house, which she does not enjoy doing at all.
The planter will be Asymmetrical and filled with pots to brighten the dull space.
The planter will be used for planting against a warm wall.
A warm wall means that Frances can grow some more unusual plants like Vietnamese Coriander.
As well as having attractive leaves it has a hot taste that just gets hotter and hotter the more you chew on it.
You can take cuttings from it by rooting them in water and repotting them.
By using this method you would have a constant supply of coriander.
Frances is growing Ginger from a shop bought tuber which you plant shallow on the flat side and put on a sunny window sill to start sprouting.
In about a year the roots should have spread so she can harvest them.
The other end of the wall she is planting Espalier fruit trees.
She has a 'Laxton Fortune' Apple Tree and a Heritage variety 'Ingrid Marie'.
Espalier tree are grown to spreads outwards on a wall using wires and she is planting 2 compatible trees for pollination so she should get fruit this year.
Frances is also planting the base of the trees for some instant colour.
Next we are returning to a garden first seen in Love our garden Series 10 Episode 2, which is a garden on a roof.
We visits Wendy Shilam and her rooftop garden that includes an incredible mix of fruit, vegetables and plants with quirky touches.
She has a shed and greenhouse and trellis to add height and has beans and flowers growing on them.
Alan is in his huge greenhouse to show us how to grow tomatoes.
Alan is in his huge greenhouse to show us how to grow tomatoes.
Tomatoes are grown from seeds and are planted in February to March.
It is too late to grow from seed for this year but you can buy the plants easily at most garden centres.
Tomatoes are tender and do not like being cold so they are best not planted outside until June.
Alan has 3 different varieties, Tumbler is a bush Tomato, Money Maker is a classic readily grown variety and Sun Gold is a Golden Tomato.
After planting most Tomato plants need some sort of stake to support them.
They will need to be kept somewhere warm like a greenhouse, windowsill or sunny spot until June, if you are growing them outside.
They can also be planted in bags or grow bags.
Alan hopes we are now inspired to have a go at growing your own and don't forget to water either early morning or in the evening.
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