That’s it now, it’s been pending for a while, but the greenhouse is in for a shock, hopefully a pleasant shock, but nevertheless a surprise. It’s time, I think for a tidy up. After a summer like no other, I’m ashamed to say that it’s actually a struggle to get through the greenhouse door at […]
It’s the summer holidays and a great time to get the kids interested in plants. You can’t force-feed anyone to love gardening like you do, but you can introduce children to a few of the joys to inspire them. Plants are perfect for this. The plant kingdom contains some amazing specimens that grow in extraordinary […]
It might seem an odd topic for this month’s Bean Feast, but unless there’s a problem rain doesn’t actually fall inside a greenhouse. This means that despite the recent deluge, your greenhouse plants (and mine) still need some of the wet stuff to keep them growing and that’s the topical topic for this month’s Bean […]
When it’s potting and planting time in the greenhouse the very act of labelling every single pot can almost seem to double the workload. But every gardener, well unless they’ve got a memory of a database, needs to keep records of some sort. It’s not about being obsessive; it’s about keeping note of good doers, […]
Growing your own produce is second nature to a united society of gardeners, most of whom have a greenhouse as the top tool in their gardening kit. There’s not much point in growing your own food if you can’t trial a few new things, try something different and grow what you want. Generally growing from […]
Gardeners are often blamed for wasting water, but this I feel is completely wrong. Most gardeners revere this precious resource and respond to plants by watering only when completely necessary. Real gardeners understand that plants need to grow strong roots towards the water table and be less dependent on supplementary watering. It is perhaps our […]
For a long time I’ve been fascinated about the effect of the moon on plant growth. I’m no expert and there are plenty of places to learn more, but the pulling power of the moon on the tides and lifecycle of the planet must in some way affect not just plant growth but life in […]
Things have changed a lot since I did my degree in botany many, many moons ago. In those (prehistoric) days research into plant genetic engineering wasn’t really funded by big business, it was championed by small university science labs around the country all hoping to find the magical cure for the world food shortage. How […]
When the seed catalogues start diving through the letterbox you know spring is nearly here. For the avid gardener and plantaholic there is nothing nicer than settling into a comfy chair surrounded by seed catalogues, botanical reference books and a drink of something special, hot chocolate is a good winter choice! Many gardeners have a […]
First it was baby veg; tiny immature carrots, embryonic courgettes, baby beets, weeny turnips and other developing fruits and roots, just barely recognisable. Top class chefs and star studded restaurants lightly steamed these kindergarten crops for the delectation of their clientele, while gardeners struggled with concept of harvesting hard grown crops weeks and sometimes months […]
The magic of seeds never fails to inspire me. You start with a (usually) brown, wizened hard capsule of some sort and within days, weeks, months or years, an almost exact replica of the parent plant reaches maturity and makes its own fruit and seed. Some seeds such as salads, brassicas, peas and beans, germinate […]
Following on from my late sowing theme last month, I’m not sure whether sowing winter salads constitutes late sowing for this year or early sowing for next, but since it is a ploy to provide winter salads all year round I don’t think it really matters. Just because it’s October doesn’t mean that sowing and […]
