Growing perennial kale
I’ve just planted out a row of 5 new perennial kale plants that I propagated last winter. These are Taunton Deane kale (or cottagers kale) which can grow up to 2m or more so will create a barrier between my
Continue reading
Category: Edibles
Create your own polyculture bed
As a new gardener many years ago, all the books I read described growing vegetables in a rotation with neat, weed-free rows. But over the years, I have moved to a polyculture approach in which I grow a number of
Continue reading
Phacelia and soil regeneration
To celebrate World Soil Day, I’m writing about soil regeneration. You hear this term tossed around but what does this mean and how is it achieved? Simply, soil regeneration means rebuilding soil organic matter and improving soil life. Many soils
Continue reading
Biochar – why its so valuable in the garden
I’ve used biochar for many years after seeing the results of horticultural trials where it was mixed into potting compost. Seedlings grown with added biochar had healthy shoots and a better root system compared with those without. My own very
Continue reading
Publication day has arrived
Finally – its publication day for the Healthy Vegetable Garden!!! Huge thanks to all at @chelseagreenbooks in the UK and US for all their amazing work – really proud to be one of their authors.Thanks too to the people who
Continue reading
Why grow nasturtiums in the veg plot?
My veg plot has Nasturtiums everywhere – it’s not just that they look good, attract insects and are tasty in salads ( it’s a really punchy, peppery taste) but they are brilliant trap plants. You can see from the photo
Continue reading
Onions with a living mulch
These Ailsa Craig onions were grown from seeds, not sets. Sown in modules in Feb / March and transplanted in April and May. They are later than set grown, but looking good. Not only is it much cheaper to raise
Continue reading
RHS Hampton Court – the allotment area
There is so much to see at Hampton Court from beautiful prairie-style gardens to the more extreme plane wrecks, but I’m focusing on one area that I found truly inspiring and I hope the many visitors that I saw admiring
Continue reading
What to sow in summer
As we get into summer and I start harvesting the first vegetables, I can’t be the only one to think – have I sown enough? Perhaps something has failed, the pesky birds have destroyed some seedlings or the slugs have
Continue reading
Aminopyralids and killer compost
Lockdown sent people into their gardens. They have spent hours nurturing their green spaces and while garden centres remained closed, the online suppliers of seeds, compost and other gardenalia were deluged with orders. We saw a shortage of loo rolls,
Continue reading
