A warm spell, followed by several days of unpredictable wet, cold weather with four seasons in one day is typical of March and has left the soil in most parts of the country cold and waterlogged. Seeds only germinate when the soil is warm and moist; sow too early, even if it is the suggested […]

Beetroot is an excellent vegetable which is packed with goodness, so it’s always worth sowing a few. Sow just enough for your needs at monthly intervals for a constant supply. The first sowings can be made under cloches in early March, providing soil temperatures are not below 7C (44F) for harvest in late May or […]

The arrival of February is a reminder that spring is just one step closer, it quickens the heartbeat, brightens the spirit and sends gardeners running to the greenhouse to start the seed sowing season. Plants like peppers, chillies and aubergines which need a long growing season, up to five months to mature should be sown […]

Once we’ve passed the shortest day and January rumbles slowly on towards spring, life is filled with a twinkling sense of optimism in the knowledge that the grey days are numbered and within weeks we will be seed sowing and working contentedly in a garden bathed in warm spring sunshine. At this time of the […]

December began with strong winds and heavy rain, setting the tone for the start of another potentially mild, wet winter. It blew all of the remaining leaves from the ‘Silver Birch’ in my garden and has concentrated them all to one side of the garden, alongside those that have already fallen, making them easier to […]

Over the past few years there has been a major resurgence of interest in vegetable growing on as people discover the joys and health benefits of home grown food for the table but you can add more interest to your ‘five portions a day’ by growing apples or pears. Forget any ideas of giant unmanageable […]

At the beginning of the month, I was privileged to give the annual Percy Picton Memorial lecture at Colwall gardening club, the timing was perfect for a visit to the Old Court Nursery and Picton Gardens, home to the National Collection of Asters. Ernest Ballard of Colwall near Malvern, a chemist in the family cider […]

Ambushed by recent tomato blight I’m going to clear some of my summer greenhouse crops and start my autumn tidy up earlier than planned. Returning from holiday to find my tomato plants browned and collapsed was no surprise, it had rained incessantly and even with adequate ventilation, the combined humidity indoors and out provided perfect […]

Now is the time to prune Wisteria to ensure you have plenty of flowers next spring. First, tie in any new shoots to extend the existing network of branches or to fill in gaps, then using sharp secateurs, shorten this years growth to about 30cm. This restricts growth and improves circulation allowing any sun we […]

Looking at the rainfall levels it seems that the prediction that this summer would be hotter than the last, might have been a little optimistic. All of that wonderful rainwater is free and it’s too good to waste so I’ve been buying water butts to put around the house, garage and greenhouse. There’s a range […]

When it’s a sunny day, you’ll often find me out in the garden, pushing a hoe. It’s an environmentally friendly form of weed control that I find relaxing and therapeutic. There are three types of hoes, the Dutch or push hoe that cuts the weeds like a blade, the draw hoe with a blade at […]