How’s your garden, now that we’re properly into winter? This shift in the season has made a welcome change, there’s a kind of stillness in mine as everything quietens down. Generally it’s still a work in progress, so we’ll skim over that until I have more to report back to you …. except I have […]
How To Grow Hollyhocks
Welcome to the start of another sunny week, I’m getting used to this weather and it’s motivating me to get out into the garden and water before the sun gets really hot, especially the plants in pots by the front door. Have you noticed what a good year this has been for hollyhocks? They seem […]
Bees’ Needs Week
Did you know it’s Bees’ Needs Week? And their needs really matter these days, so there’s this a big push to get gardeners, farmers and growers to help pollinating insects to survive and thrive. These small, precious creatures are vital for producing food, carrying pollen between flowers as they feed in our own gardens, and […]
How To Make A Bug Hotel.
It isn’t easy being an organic gardener, there are times when I’m really tempted to grab some glyphosate and blast the weeds. They do seem to be winning at the moment, mainly because I haven’t kept up with gardening, what with all the rain. But I don’t think chemicals have been used on our garden […]
Life in the earth
Not only are the plants in the garden making lots of fresh vibrant growth, there’s a lot of wildlife activity too. I’ve seen persistent little blue tits and robins flying round the garden gathering nesting material, whittling bits of string off the tree where the bird-feeders hung in winter, and rootling around plants…. this is […]
Attracting pollinating insects into your garden
I’m making an extra effort this year to have plants in the garden that attract pollinating insects, there are so many plants that fit the bill, so it’s pretty easy. This is my little contribution to help bees and all the other insects that are declining in numbers. Apparently the reasons for the reduction in […]
Quick guide: kitchen-waste into garden compost.
Here’s a simple thing you can do that’ll make the plants in your garden bigger and better, reduce your carbon foot-print, benefit wildlife, and give a helping hand to organic gardeners….whats more it doesn’t cost a penny. It’s all about transforming kitchen-waste into rich, sweet-smelling crumbly garden compost that will do wonders for your garden. […]
My allotment experience from start to finish.
I hope you’ve had a good christmas holiday and that you’re looking forward to 2016. There’ll be a big change next year and we’re getting ready to leave the allotment, so come and have a look round before I close the gate for the last time at the end of the month. Two years ago […]
What to do at the allotment in November
I like November at the allotment, it’s good to clear out all the old plants, pull up the bean-posts and restore a sense of order to what has become a bit of a jumble. The joy of weeding at this time of year is that most of them won’t re-grow, and if bare soil is […]
Simply growing vegetables organically
A good moment happened at the allotment a few days ago, I usually arrive and see lots of things that need to be done, and a to-do list appears in my head. But on this day I stood back, and looked over the area that 13 months ago was covered waist-high in nettles and bind-weed, […]
How I’m getting rid of weeds in my garden.
Our new garden has some good stuff in it, like the lovely old brick wall down one side, a few pretty hellebores and a magnificent magnolia tree. It’s got good bones, but there are also a few eye-sores, the cement-block wall behind the garage isn’t very pretty and there are plenty of brambles and weeds to […]
How to kill weeds in your garden without using chemicals.
No doubt you’ve noticed that weeds are growing like mad during this hot, damp summer. The problem with weeds is that they compete with plants for food and water, they’re very good at it and when they get a grip can smother neighbouring plants. I don’t have a problem with them in my garden, except […]
Simple tips for organic gardening
Organic gardening, does it all sound a bit worthy, a bit ‘good life’ and scruffy? Do you have an image of watching helplessly as precious plants get munched by pests and not being able to do anything about it? Well no, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Plants in organic gardens grow strong and […]
3 tips to avoid using chemicals to kill garden weeds.
Picture a garden in summer sunshine with lots of birdsong, the gentle buzz of bumble bees and healthy, pretty plants. Apart from the lovely song, birds in the garden will eat up all sorts of pests that attack your plants and we need bees to pollinate fruit and flowers. So we need to encourage […]