In autumn everyone lines their greenhouses with bubblewrap to keep the warmth in. Then, once that has served its purpose, about now, everyone takes it all off again. But then it gets a bit hot and bright in the greenhouse so we all get up a ladder and paint it with shading paint, which then […]
I hate – almost to the point of wanting to stop growing them – tomato seedlings that have been in the house too long. Every time you water them the water spills out all over the windowsills (it’s gloss paint so it’s almost a waterproof tray, right) and it’s enough of a faff dashing to […]
Here are the lettuces I sowed in the greenhouse earlier in the year, ready for harvesting. They may not look ready to you, but I am following Charles Dowding’s method, and if Charles says they’re ready, they’re ready. Charles is salad leaf Zen master. His approach is a little different to the usual cut and […]
A few years ago I got the opportunity to visit Jersey at potato harvesting time. I spent a couple of days scrambling up hillsides by the sea, too steep for tractors and so worked by hand, with tools on pulleys. You felt that if you lost your footing you would tumble into the sea, desperately […]
The other day I got the urge. You know the one: a spare hour, sun shining, greenhouse warmer than it’s felt for months… ‘Tomatoes!’ I thought. I could sow some tomatoes in the propagator, and get really ahead of things this year. I will have ripe, luscious tomatoes in July, June even! A little voice […]
Perhaps gardening suits those who peer over fences, always thinking there is something better to be had from life. Im not alone in longing for blue skies in the dank depths of winter, but I’m also guilty of yearning for chilly days and cosy log fires when sitting on a beach. It is just gone […]
It’s safe to say it hasn’t been a vintage year for tomatoes and I think mine have fared worse than most. A late start, a dull, cool summer, and a decision to leave my bubblewrap up as shading (it seemed like a masterstroke at the time) have left me with an abundance of ripening tomatoes, […]
I normally have such rotten luck with basil – rotting, wilting, keeling over at who knows what – that this year I spread the risk. Rather than rely on the famously stroppy sweet basil for all my basil needs, I tried out a few others. Expecting the usual death and destruction, I sowed about 30 […]
It is time to deck my halls and I have found myself foraging in the greenhouse for materials. Of course there are a couple of rules to the making of a wreath, and one of those is that the majority of it must be made of evergreens, and you wont find any of those in […]
