Kathy Slack On Growing Your Own ‘From The Veg Patch’ To Use In The Kitchen
Contributions From KATHY SLACK
The author of ‘From The Veg Patch’, Kathy Slack is a chef with a particular fondness for growing her own vegetables. She has won various awards including the Soil Association Best Organic Blogger Award and has a large following online, where she shares many growing tips and recipes with her followers.
Kathy Slack is an award-winning garden writer and chef whose passion lies in growing her own vegetables and utilising them in her kitchen.
In fact, Kathy has helped thousands of UK home growers to try growing their own, with her debut cookbook, ‘From The Veg Patch’, being hailed as one of the best cookery books released in 2021.1Team, D. (2021, October). The 25 best cookbooks of 2021. Delicious. Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/this-years-best-cookbooks/
I spoke with Kathy to find out where this love of vegetables came from and to uncover any tips from the garden she has developed over the years.
Imagery featured in this article is provided courtesy of Stephanie McLeod.
How Did You First Get Into Growing Your Own Vegetables?
“I’m a cook who loves nature, so I suppose it was inevitable,” Kathy shares.
“I’d been working in advertising in London for over a decade until, predictably, depression took hold and burnout got the better of me. I found solace and peace in the garden and started, almost accidentally, growing some vegetables.
“As soon as that first seedling appeared, I was hooked.”
Why Are You So Passionate About Growing Your Own?
“It’s a kind of therapy for me. When things get too much, I head out to the garden, tinker with the beans, chat to the lettuce and pull up a few weeds.
“Seeing things grow and watching nature carry on reminds me that, even when you feel like the world is falling down around your ears, there is hope, life and beauty all around.
“All that from growing a radish!”
What Are Your Favourite Vegetables To Grow In The Garden And Why?
“I don’t have lots of space so I focus on the things I really like to eat. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people grow stuff they don’t love.
“I also prioritise crops that taste significantly better when they are homegrown, like tomatoes and carrots. I don’t grow many cabbages because they take up so much space, but I love kale and can pack it in more.”
Do You Have Any Advice On Crop Rotation?
“Honestly, I’m nervous about confessing this, but I rarely bother with it,” admits Kathy.
“I have small raised beds which I add homemade compost to every year, plus I tend to mix up all my veg anyway, growing peas amongst the brassicas and potatoes amidst the courgettes.
“I think it’s important if you have big patches of one crop, but when growing on a small-scale, haphazard growing like mine seems to survive without it.”
What’s Next For You?
“It’s the festival season for me, so I’ll be going around food and literary festivals all over the UK to deliver cookery demos of recipes from my cookbook, From The Veg Patch,” she says.
“Come autumn, I’ll be back at my desk writing an exciting new project and working on my new newsletter, Tales From The Veg Patch.”
What Would You Say To Those Who Are Thinking About Giving Vegetable Growing A Go?
“Get growing! Even if it’s just a pot of basil.
“The feeling of joy when you see a seed germinate is second only to the thrill of plucking the fully grown harvest and biting into it.
“To be eating something that didn’t exist 8 or 10 weeks ago and having watched it grow is truly magical – and highly addictive!”
