Tag Archives: water

Why Are Earth Worms Good For The Soil

Why Are Earth Worms Good For The Soil

As far as growing produce goes, the most important ingredient to get right is the soil. If you think about it, you are growing living plants and they need living soil to grow in, nutrient rich soil full of living organisms. Why are earth worms good for the soil? Because they help to create it. Why Are Earth Worms Good For The Soil The presence of earth worms indicates a healthy soil. Dig one spade depth into your soil, if you reveal earth worms then you have good healthy soil. To explain this better we need to look at how… → Read More

The Benefits Of Companion Planting

the benefits of companion planting

As anyone who follows my blog will know, I am a big fan of companion planting. I have, over a number of years witnessed the benefits of companion planting both environmentally and financially. So this post is dedicated to sharing some of these benefits  with you. What’s The Idea Behind Companion Planting? It’s  a  really simple concept, by growing certain plants close to other types of plants you will encourage increased yields and much more vigorous growth. In a nutshell, healthier plants and more produce without the need for harmful chemicals. Companion planting is by no means a new concept,… → Read More

How To Conserve Water During Heatwaves

How To Conserve Water During Heatwaves

This summer has been unusually hot in the UK and particularly in Essex where I am based and I have been looking at ways to cut down on watering my plants. So this post is all about how to conserve water during heatwaves. On my allotment, once the water butts are empty, I have to use the water trough which is situated some distance from my plot. This is a problem every year but it’s even worse when it is so hot and everywhere is so dry. To water my plot adequately it takes 18 watering cans, each containing 2… → Read More

How To Grow The Tastiest Tomatoes

How To Grow The Tastiest Tomatoes

How To Grow The Tastiest Tomatoes No matter how many gardeners you talk to, they will all have their own preferences as to which variety of tomato is the best to grow. I have heard so many stories that if I had any it would make my hair curl. 🙂 So in answer to the question how to grow the tastiest tomatoes let’s  break it down to basics. The Secret To Growing Tasty Tomatoes As with all crops the first thing is to get the growing medium right. If you’re growing outside add plenty of well rotted manure or compost… → Read More

The Number One Secret To Growing Great Plants

The Number One

Ask any gardener the secret to growing and they will all give you a different answer, but here is the number one secret to growing great plants. This is of course my own personal belief but it is based on years of gardening experience. Good Soil Having good soil is an important factor in growing great plants, the soil is where the plants get their nutrients from so of course good soil is a necessary element. This is why every season I add well rotted manure and fresh compost to my soil. Adding compost and / or manure will improve… → Read More

Cinnamon And Its Benefits In The Garden

cinnamon and it's benefits in the garden..

Cinnamon And It’s Benefits In The Garden Cinnamon is a spice that has been used since the days of ancient Egypt, Its health benefits are widely known. What is not so widely known is the use of cinnamon and its benefits in the garden. What Is Cinnamon? Famed for its medicinal properties for thousands of years, cinnamon is made from the inner bark of trees of the genus Cinnamomum. The bark is removed by cutting the stems of the tree, the inner bark is then extracted and the woody parts removed. As it dries the strips curl into rolls, these… → Read More

How To Stop Runner Beans Drying Out

how to save seeds from runner beans

runner beans

If like me you can’t always get to water your plot you need as many tricks as you can find to stop your plants from losing too much moisture, so this post is called how to stop runner beans drying out but this technique works equally  well for squashes, tomatoes etc.For more information on Growing squashes  click the link.  It’s important that runner beans don’t dry out because when runner beans do get dry they get stringy. Step one – How to stop runner beans drying out   The first thing to do is to dig a trench roughly a… → Read More

Air pruning

Air pruning pot

Every where I look lately there seems to be a reference to Air pruning, so I thought I’d look in to it. After some hours of research it appears to be a good idea. So what’s it all about? Well basically, its about letting the roots of your pot plants come into contact with the air which will “burn” them. Thus stopping plants becoming root bound. What happens with pot plants is that over time the roots reach the side of the pot and then start growing around the inside of the pot eventually strangling the plant and killing it…. → Read More

Successful seed germination

germinating seeds

In all the years I have been growing vegetables seed germination has been somewhat sporadic, but I have discovered a successful seed germination technique which so far has a 100% germination rate. I have only tried this with tomato seeds so far but I used 13 seeds and I have 13 seedlings. So now I am trying many different seeds in the hope that they will be as successful. Parsnips are always a seed that I have a problem germinating( last year I managed 12 parsnips out of 36 seeds) so I have now applied the following technique to my… → Read More