How to force spring bulbs for winter blooms
The window of opportunity for planting bulbs to flower for Christmas may close in the early autumn, but there’s still time to bring spring colour forward into winter.
Drought tolerant plants
With our increasingly dry summers and hosepipe bans, it’s more important than ever to choose drought tolerant plants which can tolerate our challenging conditions. Here are some of our recommendations…
Catch Cropping
Harvesting crops is a double-edged endeavour. While we have the wonderful sense of satisfaction that comes with growing our own vegetables, the very act of harvesting it can leave us…
Top Ten Allotment Staples: Best Vegetable Varieties to Grow
New to growing veg, and not sure where to start? Or simply faced with too much choice? To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together a selection of tried…
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…
The Basics of Organic Gardening & Tips on Sustainability
Organic gardening and organic growing mean to team up and work alongside natural systems and cycles in your garden. In this scenario, there is very little use of manufactured chemical…
5 reasons everyone should grow chillies at home
We asked gardening author and allotmenteer, Rob Smith, why everyone should try growing these flavour-packed and ornamental little fruits. Here’s what he said…
The best tasting chillies to grow at home – from mild to wild
From the mild jalapeño to the scorching Carolina Reaper, expert grower Rob Smith discusses their unique and interesting flavours and versatile culinary uses to help you choose the best varieties…
What are the 5 main types of chilli pepper?
To help you choose the best varieties to grow in the UK, we asked chilli expert Rob Smith to summarise each of the five main types.
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;…