When is it too late to plant pumpkin seeds? And what can go wrong if you leave planting pumpkins until the last minute? Over the years I’ve started pumpkins seeds early, mid-season, and recklessly late. Sowing pumpkins…
Fruit trees are fairly easy to grow and many are hardy enough to cope with cold winters. Many fruit trees make a beautiful display of flowers in spring and require little maintenance apart from some watering and…
Summer is drawing to a close now, and our rows of bushy carrot tops look promising. We like to just pull a few carrots up before a meal when we need them, and leave the rest in…
The first time I needed to know how to get rid of rhubarb, I went about it all wrong. And that rhubarb plant was still haunting me the following summer, despite the fact I was trying to…
Propagating tomatoes from side shoots is a simple and satisfying method for turning one tomato plant into several! Tomato vines propagated from side shoots are an economical way of cloning plants grown from expensive F1 seed. This…
Tomato pruning mistakes are easily made, and they can dramatically affect the number of ripe tomatoes you get to harvest later in the season. Pruning tomatoes correctly is straightforward and only takes a few seconds per plant,…
Growing Japanese maple in pots is a great way to overcome having the wrong soil type, or an unfavorable climate for these graceful trees. There are lots of small and dwarf Japanese maples that are suitable for…
The biggest benefit of growing hostas in a pot or container of some sort, is reduction in slug damage. Hostas are extremely attractive to slugs and unless you live in a fairly dry zone, growing hostas means…
Mealy tomatoes are a massive disappointment. Last year I grew a tomato variety which is famous for being reliable and productive in my region for the first time. I waited eagerly for the fruit, which were basically…
I have a very pretty patch of chives in my garden and right now they are covered in flowers. Not only are they decorative, they are useful too. Chives are in fact related to onions, but unlike…
