March on the Allotment Garden
By Richard Chivers For gardeners, the arrival of March arouses a sensation others savour only at Christmas. Winter is always a long season for us allotmenteers. Dark, cold and when…
January and the Allotment Garden
By Richard Chivers When Christmas has passed and life resumes its normality, the biggest problem I find as a gardener is that January is a frustratingly long month. When I…
How to make your own compost – and why we all should
As any gardener will tell you, the compost heap is the beating heart of a garden. The cherished ‘black gold’ is essential for the health of your garden and plants;…
How To Grow Autumn-Planting Garlic
Planting autumn garlic from October to January will provide you with a crop from May to July next year. A member of the onion family, garlic is a staple of…
June Vegetable Garden
With the 21st June being the longest day this is a month of wonderfully long daylight hours, warmth and sunshine. Ideal conditions for plants to grow strongly. The flower garden…
Allotment Jobs for May
May is a busy time in the allotment or veg patch. With temperatures rising, plants are growing apace and need more and more attention with watering, hardening off, potting up…
Sweet Pea Care & Maintenance
Highly fragrant & well-loved by gardeners, sweet peas are a staple in most flower gardens & cottage garden planting schemes. Easy to grow, and available in a variety of colours,…
February on the Allotment Garden
By Richard Chivers February can be a tricky month for an allotment gardener. It’s a month that teases us a little. In meteorological terms it’s the final full month of…
February’s Primrose
The native primrose (primula vulgaris) is the prima flower or “first rose” of the year. Even though it is clearly not a rose! This heralds of spring is traditionally pale…
Preserving Surplus Crops
Much of what we grow is best eaten fresh. Often, cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas don’t even make it as far as the kitchen, and ripe sweetcorn cobs go…