 Thursday, February 02, 2012 by Helen Gazeley (2 comments)
Blueberries have acquired something of super-hero status in recent years. They’re vaunted as cancer-busting because of their high anthocyanin content, while research showed that blueberry extract reduced the effects of ageing on animals’ brains. Could it get much better? Other fruits have similar properties, so don’t rush out and grub up half the fruit patch. Nor are they the only reason to grow blueberries but they’re certainly a good reason why you should persuade your bushes to fruit as well as possible. This, of course, means pruning. Read more...
Categories: blueberry pruning |
Friday, January 27, 2012 by Benedict Vanheems (4 comments)
Delicious as aubergines are (eggplants to those outside Europe), any of us growing in temperate climates will undoubtedly find them just a bit of a struggle. Aubergines hail from India, where temperatures can occasionally top 50C or 122F (yes, really!). So with cool, northern summers it should come as no surprise that these plants need as long a growing season as we can possibly muster; it’s very much a case of early to rise and late to bed for these tropical beauties! Read more...
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Thursday, January 19, 2012 by Ann Marie Hendry (9 comments)
Winter is usually considered a quiet time for gardeners but even in places where the soil is frozen and there is snow on the ground there are plenty of essential jobs to keep you busy. Good preparation now will pay off many times over when the weather warms up which is why I have compiled my best advice on winter preparation below, linking to many of our other articles for further advice… Read more...
Categories: winter |
Friday, January 13, 2012 by Helen Gazeley (12 comments)
If you find pruning fruit bushes difficult you’re certainly not alone. The diagrams in books may look very straight-forward, but it’s a whole different story when faced with your own, undiagrammatical, pruning challenge. Still, it has to be done if you’re not to end up with a tangle of unproductive branches and here, in the in the northern hemisphere, it’s just about the right time to get out the secateurs, although you can prune at any time during the plants’ dormant period, up until early spring. Read more...
Categories: pruning |
Friday, December 30, 2011 by Ann Marie Hendry (10 comments)
People often say to me that they’d love to grow their own food at home, but that a vegetable plot would look out of place in their garden. They imagine ruler-straight rows and unsightly muddy gaps where plants have been dug up, but I always tell them that they can have their cake (well, veg) and eat it too – the answer is to create a potager... Read more...
Categories: design planning |
Friday, December 23, 2011 by Benedict Vanheems (9 comments)
Received wisdom has many kitchen gardeners starting their onions off from sets – small, immature bulbs that swell to a respectable size within a few short months. But while sets are speedy, convenient and generally reliable, it’s worth noting that onions will also grow handsomely from seeds sown in the dark depths of winter. With all quiet on the veg front, it is reassuring to be doing something now that will carry us through to the new growing season that’s just weeks away. Read more...
Categories: onions seeds |
Thursday, December 15, 2011 by Helen Gazeley (7 comments)
Choosing what herbs to put in your garden can be just too tempting. There are so many, not to mention the vast numbers of cultivars. So many types of thyme have been bred, for example, that you could create an entire garden of them alone. So, the first point to remember is not to overstock.. They all need room to grow and breathe. Those mentioned in this article are all easy for beginners but, rather than give a definitive list of herbs, I’ve divided them the groupings to think about. After all, there’s no point in being told to grow sage if you can’t stand the taste... Read more...
Categories: herbs planning |
Friday, December 09, 2011 by Helen Gazeley (0 comments)
Winter is a fun time in gardening. Seed catalogues cascade through the letter-box, new varieties of vegetables beg us to order them, and, best of all, you can spend ages staring out of the window with a clear conscience as you plan for next year. Now, do you have a herb garden? Most of us have herbs dotted around our beds but there’s something delightful in having them massed in one area, putting all your flavourings together. So many herbs enjoy the same conditions that they make natural companions. Read more...
Categories: herbs planning |
Thursday, December 01, 2011 by Benedict Vanheems (1 comments)
It seems that quite a few of our favourite food items started life as something of an accident. Take, for example, our morning bowl of cornflakes, crisps (chips to North American readers), or the tender stems of pale rhubarb so beloved in crumbles. Each was discovered through absent-mindedness. Another gourmet delight born of a quirk of history is forced chicory. Like rhubarb, chicory can be ‘forced’ by removing mature roots to a warm, dark place in order to coax them into rapid and early growth. Why? Because what follows is a more tender, sweeter and altogether sumptuous experience than would otherwise be had. It’s a dark art, but a magnificent one! Read more...
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 Tuesday, November 22, 2011 by Barbara Pleasant (0 comments)
We eat a lot of pumpkin pie at my house, because after all a serving of pumpkin pie counts as a vegetable (we say this like a mantra). I also think that a slice a pumpkin pie represents the culmination of a growing season in one of the most delicious packages known to humankind, which is the best reason to make pumpkin pie often and well... Read more...
Categories: recipes |