Many moons ago I wrote a dissertation on crop plants for the future, sadly it was pre computers and I doubt wethter I could lay my hands on a copy of it now. It was back in the days when the quest to save the world’s food crisis was all about feeding the starving rather […]
In these days of credit crisis, what we grow to eat in our gardens and greenhouses plays a more and more important role in our lives. These days it’s not a lifestyle choice to grow your own, but a moral obligation and for many a commonsense solution to making ends meet. Greenhouse space is often […]
When you grow your own fruit, vegetables and greenhouse crops you fully understand the time and effort that is invested into every mouthful. The Grow Your Own fanatic is not going to waste a morsel; every tomato, bean and cucumber will be devoured with relish, or simply pickled, jammed or chutneyed, or just eaten fresh […]
A few days of sunshine and the greenhouse becomes a real summer hot house, just perfect for all your sun loving plants. And that’s of course why we have a greenhouse, to harness the energy of the sun and use it to boost plant growth and improve conditions for our hothouse flowers. While ventilation is […]
The unpredictability of the British summer has made me look at the greenhouse with fresh new eyes. First and foremost of course, it’s a protective space to grow, a place to sow and grow seedlings early and late in the season, extending the growing season so it joins at both ends. But it is also […]
Is it just me or do plant labels exist in a parallel universe? When you need some they are no where to be found, and yet they appear around the garden, like fallen tombstones seasoning the compost bin, the flower beds and the paths with a fine smattering of bright white plastic. Of course like […]
It’s been a really really tough time for all insects, good and bad. This long cold winter has bee especially bad for the bees, not just honeybees and bumble bees but the solitary bees too. Imagine enduring the long cold winter to be confronted by the coldest March for decades and then finding little in […]
I’ve always been a bit of a fan of weird and wonderful food plants. I love to forage in the woodland and hedgerows for ingredients to transform our diet and am fascinated by the food plants still used by native civilisations. Quinoa, amaranth, maize, potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and many more valuable crops were brought to […]
Most greenhouses are used to grow fruit, but usually it’s tomatoes. I can’t think of many greenhouse growers that don’t have a few tomato plants growing and fruiting over the summer months, but that’s not really the fruit that I mean. I’m talking about the fruit that you eat with ice cream, custard or cream […]
Another year in the greenhouse calendar and the greenhouse owner, me included, starts to plan, plot and plant for the year ahead. If not in practice just yet, then in the mind’s eye at least. Despite the greenhouse being a haven from the prevailing weather, the very presence of inclement climes can restrict greenhouse activity […]
Which came first: The grower then the greenhouse, or the greenhouse then the grower? The vast architectural wonders on show at our national botanic gardens are a beauty to behold, a statement of wealth and abundance and a result of the plant hunting mania that gripped the aristocracy with its green-fingered hunger for exotic rarities […]
It might seem an odd topic for my greenhouse feature, but worms really are a gardener’s best friend. If you have a greenhouse border then the chances are that you’ve got worms in it and all around the garden worms do a vital job of processing and aerating the soil, composting and generally improving soil […]
