Forage in our Kitchen Garden

Forage for your meals in our kitchen garden

With the notes of bird song being heard across the countryside signalling the arrival of spring, our estate has awakened, and the growth of produce has begun. As the days become longer and the weather warms, our soil fills with the rich goodness needed to help feed the produce which guests are welcome to pick from the original Grade 2 listed working kitchen garden to cook with during their stay. With the nurturing love and care from our gardening team we look forward to sharing the fulfilling growth of produce over the summer months.

This year’s produce:

Onion F1 Santero:

HARVEST AUGUST – SEPTEMBER

The added flavour to most dishes, they are by far one of the easiest vegetables to grow. The medical benefits have been recognised since ancient times, where onions would be used to treat headaches, mouth sores and heart disease. The Allium Cepa Santero onion is rounded in shape with a golden, light brown skin.

Lettuce

HARVEST APRIL – OCTOBER

The wonderfully crisp, fresh base to any salad, lettuce seems to be the vegetable we get through the most during the summer months. With a limp and slightly sweet taste, salads are a great source of nutritional benefits.

Celery Loretta

HARVEST SEPT – NOV

Part of the carrot family, celery is a great crunchy addition to any salad and a wonderful snack to dip into hummus. We have also recently found it to be a great alternative to onion in cooking.

Broccoli:

HARVEST MARCH – APRIL

On trend with the purple theme, this is the second year of purple sprouting broccoli. With a high content of antioxidants, you will never want to go back to your everyday green.

Carrots:

HARVEST AUGUST – DEC

Pulling that first carrot out of the ground, drizzling with honey and roasting them in the oven is quite the experience, and in doing so you are locking in the nutrients that gives them a beautiful texture. Keeping on theme with our purple colour scheme, we have introduced purple carrots to the garden which are especially rich in powerful antioxidants known to fight inflammation and benefit certain health conditions.

Beetroot:

HARVEST JULY – OCTOBER

Tasting nothing like shop-bought beetroot, we highly recommend you try this succulent vegetable grown in the heart of the walled garden. Five known health benefits of this vegetable are its anti-cancer properties, lowering of blood pressure, supporting energy levels, improving digestive health and being an anti inflammatory.

Potatoes:

The melting of butter onto a fluffy hot potato has always been a culinary highlight. For many years now we have grown potatoes along the garden wall in a sunny spot.

French beans:

HARVEST JUNE – OCTOBER

A new addition to the growing list this year, eaten raw, steamed, boiled, stir-fried, or baked. Being both beneficial to a healthy heart and protecting our gut health, disorders like irritable bowel syndrome can highly benefit from the introduction of this vegetable, as these beans are low in the FODMAP, which can help to improve symptoms of digestive disorders.

Large edible flower bud artichokes:

Artichokes are a newfound love for us since moving to Peplow. With a mild nutty taste similar to asparagus, it’s a great vegetable to experiment with in the kitchen. Also known to have many health benefits, the leaf extract is known to help the gut in alleviating symptoms of indigestion and is great for those with IBS.

Asparagus:

An exciting journey to commence this year with the introduction of Asparagus, three years from now we hope to have our first healthy harvest.

Courgettes: 

A healthy plate of courgettes on the side of any home-made dish is always a nice alternative to your everyday peas or green beans. Grilled, stewed, roasted, fried, stuffed, sliced or even shaved raw into salads, a small courgette with a firm skin is best for a variety of our British dishes. The flowers of this vegetable can also be consumed and are lovely fried up.