09 May 2008 (0 comments)
A little while ago I was asked to produce a list of top tips for new vegetable gardeners. I suspect that it's a very individual matter but nonetheless it did sound interesting and got me thinking about all those things that aren't in the books but you just 'pick up'. So here's the first five of my recommendations, with numbers 6 to 10 following next week... Read more...
Categories: vegetable gardening |
02 May 2008 (2 comments)
Here at GrowVeg.com we have a bit of a unique perspective on vegetable gardening. Not only do we offer one of the most comprehensive sources of information about growing-your-own food but we also hold more details about people’s gardens than almost any other organisation, through our unique Garden Planning Tool. So we thought it would be really interesting to see just what people are growing this year and whether any emerging trends could be spotted... Read more...
Categories: gardening vegetables |
25 April 2008 (4 comments)
Should a vegetable garden look beautiful? For many people gardening is all about beauty and design. Garden centres and TV programs are full of ideas for giving your garden a ‘makeover’ with all the corresponding quick-fix solutions. Buy in a semi-grown bush, add some decking, build a fully-stocked pond in an afternoon… But for vegetable gardeners the emphasis is usually more on productivity – getting the best harvest efficiently and cheaply... Read more...
Categories: gardening layout |
18 April 2008 (0 comments)
It has been said that being a good parent involves first learning to have your child around you 24/7 and then learning to let them go. I think raising seedlings is very similar. At first giving them all the attention they need to have the best possible start is the vital thing. But soon it’s the letting them go that’s important, particularly when prize seedlings that have been nurtured for two months are about to face the outdoor world. As the grand day approaches, the last thing you want is a late frost killing them off, so learning how to ‘let them go’ is crucial... Read more...
Categories: gardening |
11 April 2008 (0 comments)
No-one can deny the huge surge in public interest in growing vegetables. Whether it’s a few tomato plants in grow-bags on the patio or a full-scale plot down the road, growing fresh produce is getting people excited about gardening again. But as well as the surge in interest in home-growing there seems to be a wider interest in where our food comes from and how we source our food. In response to this some radical gardening styles are emerging that have the potential to challenge our traditional image of the food-supply chain... Read more...
Categories: Gardening |
04 April 2008 (5 comments)
If there’s one pest that gardeners hate more than any other it’s slugs. After weeks of carefully raising small plants from seed, checking their moisture levels and carefully hardening them off outside, slugs can wreck it all. You take your prize seedlings, spend a hard day’s work planting them out and wake up the next morning to find them gone: often just the little stumps of stems and a slimy trail pointing the finger at the culprit. So what can be done? Read more...
Categories: organic gardening |
28 March 2008 (4 comments)
There is an art to gardening with children - one that I haven't yet mastered. I know we are not the only family who wants to get their children involved with the vegetable plot. The fresh air and exercise, the knowledge of healthy food sources and the satisfaction of home-grown plants – it all conjures up images of idyllic childhood experiences. But how can gardening compete with their activity-packed world, with Tennis lessons and Computer Games? Read more...
Categories: gardening vegetables children |
21 March 2008 (3 comments)
Most gardeners would agree that we have seen some rather odd climate changes in recent years and many would put that down to the impending threat of global warming. Scientists estimate that the world has seen an average increase of only 0.8 degrees Celcius and that much more is to come unless drastic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions is taken on a global scale. Even if we cut emissions, more warming will occur as the oceans form a great heat reservoir that delays the effect of the greenhouse gases that are being emitted today. So what has this all got to do with gardening? Read more...
Categories: gardening climate-change permaculture |
14 March 2008 (3 comments)
Potting compost is vital to starting off vegetable seedlings early and is something that nearly all gardeners buy. Yes, in theory you can make your own by sieving and sterilising your home-made compost and then mixing it with sand and some moisture-retaining ingredients. But few of us have the time or equipment to do so. So each year we buy millions of bags of potting compost without really knowing what goes into the bag. This week I set out to find out... Read more...
Categories: organic gardening seeds compost |
07 March 2008 (0 comments)
Yesterday the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) launched its ‘Grow Your Own Veg’ 2008 campaign. This year they are focusing on getting people to grow their own, even if they start as small as a container or window-box. They are also highlighting the economies of home-grown produce, claiming that over a working lifetime the average person who buys lunch could save £38,000 (US$76,000) by growing their own healthy version. So, with such a positive remit, why have I got reservations about the campaign…? Read more...
Categories: organic gardening |