When thinking of learning how to vegetable garden, thoughts firstly turn to those vegetables that are sown in spring and eaten through the summer and in to autumn. However, there are vegetable varieties that the vegetable gardener can grow for winter consumption as suggested by Sarah Raven in her column in The Telegraph. Chicory and kale are [...]Winter Vegetable Growing Ideas is a post from: Gardening and Wildlife Read Full Story

How to vegetable garden in December with hints and tips about growing vegetables and herbs. If November has not been very cold and affected crops and the ground we can be fairly sure that December will make up for it. The calendar may say it is the end of the year but us for gardeners it is the time to plan for the next growing season and at the same time clear and tidy up after a busy growing year. The shortest day is in December and although the weather may be cold and damp there is optimi... Read Full Story

Going through town I stopped for a chat at a market stall that is run by a local farming family. Needless to say they sell vegetables that they grow on their own farm and, if they do not have enough of a variety to crop and bring to the stall that week, they buy from their local farmer friends. The fruit that they sell is locally grown where possible, the exceptions being things like bananas. To attract custom my friend has a habit of shouting “home grown bananas”. Now if anyone believes that... Read Full Story

Everything you need to know about growing your own vegetables, now there is a bold statement. The first question you should be asking is whether it is possible to teach you everything and whether it is really necessary.  Firstly the desire to create a home grown vegetable garden is truly commendable and the right thing to do if you have any suitable garden space, whether large or small. What you have to decide is whether the grow your own vegetable garden route is right for you as it is a lo... Read Full Story

When I saw the headline in The Seattle Times Newspaper “10 Steps to a 30 minute garden” my first thought was “Oh no, not yet another of those quick garden makeover fixes”. There have been so many of those television programmes where gardening gurus have been called in to do a makeover in anywhere from [...]Not Another Garden Quick Fix? is a post from: Gardening and Wildlife Read Full Story

November in the garden last year was a bit bleak to say the least. Early really cold weather finished off the annuals and the dahlias had to be put into storage. What a difference this year. The weather did turn cold, the cold winds suggested a repeat of last year but instead the cold winds went away and unseasonal mild weather returned. The result is that the Dahlias are still looking good, the Cosmos are still stars in the border, Geraniums are still flowering en mass and Busy Lizzies (Impa... Read Full Story

How to vegetable garden in November includes tips on harvesting vegetables and protecting our crops. Winter weather is approaching and we gardeners have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. The start of November may be mild one year and the next very cold so caution has to be the watchword.   With new seed catalogues arriving through the post vegetable garden planning for next year can begin and this brings optimism and thoughts of next spring. Inevitably there will be new varieties t... Read Full Story

I strolled out into the garden to check what tasks needed to go onto the list of things to do and, although I have seen it before, I was amazed to see several eruptions in the garden. There is no other way to describe it. The awful Honey Fungus has decided that the time is right to send up its toadstools. One day there is nothing and the next there is this mass of toadstools so strong that they push anything in their path out of their way. Digging down to remove the horrors I found that it wa... Read Full Story

It is sad to read today that the memorial to one of the most famous gardeners of modern times has been vandalised by mindless idiots. Unfortunately, as we are all too aware, it is not just the well known and famous personalities that are targets of this type of mindless behaviour but when it does [...]Memorial to Gardening Legend Percy Thrower is Destroyed is a post from: Gardening and Wildlife Read Full Story

When you go away on holiday in the height of summer it is always a worry that friends or neighbours cannot get round often enough to keep up the watering. Everyone is busy and they cannot be expected to lavish all the love and care that you would yourself. One of the good things about taking a vacation this time of the year is that most things will survive well enough with a watering every other day. This has been the case with my week away rambling in the wilds enjoying the fresh air. The b... Read Full Story