garden

A very late harvest

February 25, 2008

Last carrot harvestWe’re rapidly moving into spring. The trees are starting to bud, and there is blossom in the nature reserve next to the house. So this weekend we pulled on our boots and headed out to the plot to bring in the last of the carrots and sprouts, turn out another bag of potatoes and assess the cabbages and leeks.

Read the full article →

Lazy broad beans and cat grass

February 11, 2008

Two weeks on, the broad beans and cat grass are showing very little in the way of signs of life. Is it too early to be planting out? Are the optimistic seed packets lying to us?

Read the full article →

What food is in season right now? Part 2: summer

February 10, 2008

Yesterday we took a look at what food is in season right now, and explained how having a good general knowledge of what can be locally produced at any time of the year is key to successful planning of your plot. Today we’re taking a look at the summer months from April through to September, [...]

Read the full article →

What food is in season right now? Part 1: winter

February 9, 2008

Isabella Beeton, famed for her Book of Household Management, wrote in an era before air-freighted bananas and a fridge in every home, and so her lists of what was in season at any time (or available from careful storage) are a good guide to simplifying the process of deciding what to grow, and when.

Read the full article →

Five must-have tools for growing vegetables

February 8, 2008

You can’t grow your own food, keep chickens or generate your own electricity without access to the outside world (herbs aside), and so before you start living the dream it’s necessary to get hold of a few outdoor essentials. Here are five affordable must-haves, including a bargain £20 greenhouse.

Read the full article →

What seeds should you plant in February?

February 2, 2008

It’s the start of a new month, so time to plan what should be planted in February. It’s not yet properly spring and conditions are cold, so the more you can start off in pots in the greenhouse or under cover, the better. Here we’ve picked five key crops. Most can be put straight into the plot.

Read the full article →

First signs of spring

January 21, 2008

Blagger isn’t about growing flowers, but there are some daffodils in the garden, which were planted before I bought the house. They’re a useful indicator of the changing seasons, and a reminder that it’s time to start planning in earnest what you’re going to plant this year. This morning, after a weekend away, I headed [...]

Read the full article →

The Butt Butt water butt

January 19, 2008

It’s weeks like this when you wish you had more than one water butt. Rain, rain and more rain, with only a slight respite on Monday. If you could somehow catch it all you’d be watering for free until June. I’ve got one butt at the back of the outhouse, and I have another one [...]

Read the full article →

The pre-spring clear-up

January 7, 2008

The garden has been a bit neglected since Christmas. The lawn doesn’t need mowing at this time of year, of course, and apart from the daffodil bulbs coming up there’s not much happening with flowers, but the plot was getting decidedly weedy and the greenhouse was cluttered with old pots and plants that never quite [...]

Read the full article →

Recycling too far

November 23, 2007

I’m all for reusing where possible, and grey water is a big waste area, but I don’t think I could bring myself to organise the plot’s water requirements along the lines suggested by this book. I found it in Foyles at lunchtime and it’s very comprehensive, even going to great lengths to explain the kind [...]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →