Autumn can become awash with brown and reds as leaves on the trees prepare to fall. The array of summer colours has died off, and there is a risk the garden can look rather tired. I started sowing flowers two years ago and picked up a packet of cosmos. At the time, I knew very…
Two jobs for the weekend – late September
After a period of just letting things grow, it’s getting busier in the garden again. Work done now means less work next season then you can focus on timing seed sowing and planting rather than spending time on maintenance. Tidy up Now is an excellent time to get back into the garden and tidy up….
Coming to the end of the season
Our days have remained hot, 27 degrees Celsius on the day I started writing this, but our nights are starting to cool. The mornings greet us with crisp air signifying the change from summer to autumn, and you can feel the shift of seasons happening each day. We have a few weeks of official summer…
What to sow in September
Autumn is just under a month away, and the spring sown crops are ending. Cold nights and cooler days are coming, but there are still things you can grow from seed before putting the veg patch to bed or planting out a winter crop. The key to selecting your plants for sowing at this time…
Homemade Compost
Plants, whether flowers, vegetables or fruit, will need nutrients, minerals and water to germinate, grow and be productive. Whether you have a small or large garden, you will need to feed your plants, where compost comes in. You can buy compost, but that adds cost to your gardening when you have a lot of materials…
Heatwave in the UK
Recently, a heatwave swept across the UK, and I have had to look at how I can help keep my plants and animals alive. The heatwaves are not over, and we can expect more in the coming month.
Decoy Planting to Protect Vegetables
Over the past few months, I have invested time, energy and money into growing plants to produce food. Finding missing seedlings or leaves stripped bare by slugs and other pests can be very demotivating. In previous years I would have put slug pellets down around my plants to protect them. This year I wanted to…
Subsidised compost bin
Buying compost is one of the highest costs in my garden. I use new compost each year to grow potatoes in grow bags, sow seeds and mulch the veg patch and flower beds. I moved to peat-free compost, which is better for the environment, but it does cost more. The Miracle Grow Peat Free Compost…
Progress – Vegetable Garden
In my last few blog posts, I have talked about getting behind on this year’s growth (The first sowing of 2022, Better Late than Never & Transplanting from greenhouse to veg patch). In part, this was due to the fantastic weather we had in April and May, which felt more like summer than spring, but…
Transplanting from greenhouse to veg patch
The months are passing quickly, and I feel I am running behind, but today I have been able to get outside and transplant some plants from my greenhouse to the vegetable patch. I’ve spent a fair amount of time preparing the vegetable patch, which has delayed transplanting by a few weeks. Last year we put…
My Gardening Journey 