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
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Category: Vegetables
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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My take on a keyhole garden
A keyhole garden is a raised circular vegetable garden with a cut out or keyhole on one side for ease of access with a compost bin in the middle. They originated in Southern Africa where they were made popular by
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Unusual veg 1: Perennial onions
In this series of blogs on unusual vegetables I am looking at some of the quirky veg that I grow on my plot. I had a count up and I think I grow 50+ unusual types, so I’ll cover most
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