When you’ve got a greenhouse you’ve got everything you need to be productive in terms of homegrown fruit and vegetables. Whether you are starting out, or an experienced gardener, growing potatoes is one of the easiest and most rewarding crops you can grow. With a greenhouse you can get your potatoes off to the best […]
We’ve had so much rain in the last few weeks that the greenhouse has been a haven from the elements. The gutters on my greenhouse were filled with needles from next door’s ancient cedar of Lebanon and when it rained they overflowed violently. It didn’t take long to clear them out and free up the […]
Many winter flowers are highly scented to attract any pollinating insects that are brave enough to forage outside on a still and hopefully sunny day. In the garden many of these winter stalwarts are already in flower. I had great intentions to plant some prepared hyacinths in August and September so that I had plenty […]
I’ve left the greenhouse to it’s own devices for the last few days as I’ve been working away. Normally I leave the key with a neighbour, who diligently waters everything in my absence, but most of the established plants are at the end of their cropping period so they didn’t need much attention really. Now […]
By September the greenhouse is starting to look a bit tired, well not so much the greenhouse, more the plants inside. I often think that the plants I’ve chosen to grow inside the confines of my wonderful glasshouse are almost forced into productivity, a little bit like battery hens, cooped into a small space to […]
Most gardeners will have saved a few seeds over the years. Runner beans are the most likely candidate and one of the easiest seeds to save. There are lots of reasons to save seed, it’s a technique used by man since the early days of farming. By selecting from the strongest, most prolific plants gradually […]
One of the most magical things about gardening is taking a cutting and watching it suddenly start to grow into a whole new plant. That moment when you can’t resist the temptation any longer and you tug on it gently. If it resists you know it’s been a success and has already rooted and started […]
If your greenhouse is like mine at the moment, it’s full of tubs of French beans, pots of tomatoes, planters with cucumbers, courgettes and masses of salads. I’ve even been sowing a new batch of seeds late in the season to keep everything growing. If you read gardening books and seed packets you always get […]
One of the best things about having a garden and a greenhouse is that when you have been away for a few days you know that there is something fresh to eat when you get home. It’s amazing how much the plants grow in just a short space of time. You can go away one […]
If there is one thing I absolutely hate about my greenhouse in the summer, it is the buzzing flies that accumulate in the apex of the roof in hot weather. I hate the noise that they make; that incessant buzzing sound as they flit around above my head and interrupt my silent thoughts. I hate […]
Everyone loves the smell and the taste of strawberries. But when a small bowlful can cost the earth, isn’t it time you grew your own? The flavour of these home-grown fruit far outweighs anything you can buy in the supermarket and even if you only pick a handful of fruit for the first year, you […]
When you are growing plenty of plants to eat it can be particularly disheartening to find that other creatures are helping themselves to your hard grown crops. Now I don’t mind sharing the odd fruit or veg in the garden, I can hardly complain if a hungry creature needs to feed its offspring, but I […]
