Author Archives: Steve Jones

Companion Planting Brassicas

All plants growing in the wild, grow in companion to other plants, so it’s ok to do this in your garden. However, there are some plants that do better with others, and some that will be problematic. Companion planting brassicas will give your brassica plants the best companions, and show you what not to grow with brassicas. What Are Brassicas? In easy terms, brassicas are all members of the cabbage family, and so members include:- Cabbage Cauliflowers Broccoli Calabrese Kale Brussel Sprouts Collard Greens There are also some members of the brassica family that might surprise you, like Turnips Kohlrabi… → Read More

Companion Plants For Fruit Trees

In traditional orchards, fruit trees were grown in rows but as stand alone plants and relied on each others blooms to attract pollinators. As amatuer gardeners, we need all the help we can to get things pollinated. So here is a list of useful companion plants for fruit trees. Companion Plants For Fruit Trees The idea of companion planting is not a new concept, in fact there are records dating back 10,000 years of companion planting practises. It’s basically the principle of growing plants close together for the health and improvement of one or more of the plants. Many of… → Read More

Kratky Hydroponics System Explained

I’m always on the look out for new ways to grow vegetables, and I’ve recently heard a lot about hydroponics. I’ve been looking at all different systems, and the most convenient for my purposes looks like the Kratky method. Once I had the Kratky hydroponics system explained to me I decided to have a go at it. Hydroponic Systems Explained As far as I can tell, there are 3 main methods of hydroponic growth systems so let’s have a quick look at them all and see what differences there are. Aquaponics An aquaponic system uses the waste from fish or… → Read More

Easy Vegetables To Grow In Pots

Not everyone has a large garden or allotment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own vegetables. There are many easy vegetables to grow in pots and in this post you’ll find the easiest. Even if you’ve never grown anything in your life, after reading this I guarantee you’ll be able to harvest your own home grown healthy vegetables. Easy Vegetables To Grow In Pots Some of the following are very easy to grow and some take slightly more care, so let’s start with the easiest and work up to the slightly more difficult. A quick word about seed… → Read More

How To Grow Vegetables Indoors (Beginners Indoor Gardening)

Growing vegetables indoors is a great way to get cheap organic food for your family, without having to have a large garden or allotment. Many people get into indoor gardening because they simply don’t have the space outside to grow vegetables. But it’s not just people lacking in space, it’s also people who don’t want to give up gardening throughout the winter. Because unlike conventional gardening, indoor gardening can be done throughout the whole year! In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about indoor gardening and a few different indoor gardening options you can try out today…. → Read More

Companion Planting Benefits In The Organic Garden

To my mind we are way beyond does companion planting work. There have been numerous scientific studies on the pros and cons of companion planting. But the companion planting benefits in the organic garden cannot be over stated. In this post I’ll list the main companion planting benefits in the organic garden, benefits like:- Trap Cropping Climate Co-operation Biochemical Pest Control Biodiversity Nitrogen Symbiosis Attracting Beneficial Insects I’ll do my best to explain things in a way we can all understand, without too many complicated phrases. Let’s start with the history of companion planting. A Word About The History Of… → Read More

What Not To Grow With Walnut Trees

For nearly 2,000 years there has been documented evidence of what not to grow with walnut trees. Pliny the Elder, the famous historian wrote “The shadow of the walnut tree is poison to all plants within its compass”. This allelopathic property is a toxin that helps to preserve the walnut tree from competitors. Back in the 1800s scientists discovered the compound juglone was responsible for killing near by plants. This compound is found in the leaves, branches, fruits, and is also excreted from the roots. Not all plants are bothered by juglone, but those that are will suffer from yellowing… → Read More

What Is Mycorrhizal Fungi?

Every gardening site or book I pick up lately mentions mycorrhizal fungi and how it is mutually beneficial to plants. But just what is mycorrhizal fungi? And how should it be used? What Is Mycorrhizal Fungi? This is an interesting subject and also much easier to understand than to describe. So let’s break it down a bit. Mycorrhizal Fungi Definition-Biology According to biologydictionary.net, mycorrhizal fungi translates to “fungus-root” and in most cases the mycorrhizal fungi is either inside the plant roots or attached to them. They have a symbiotic relationship which means they both benefit from being joined together. The… → Read More

15 Gardening Myths Exposed

There have been many gardening myths spreading around the net and I just wanted to clear up a few of them. 15 gardening myths exposed is the result of my gardening experience over the past 20 odd years. I hope you find it useful. 15 Gardening Myths Exposed Here then, are my top 15 gardening myths exposed some are quite obvious but others might just surprise you. It’s my belief that everything should be challenged to see if it is actually true. So many times the reasoning behind these things is suspect. You often hear things like “we’ve always done… → Read More

How To Grow Garlic

Although garlic takes a fair while to grow, it’s worth the wait. Fresh home grown garlic tastes amazing, so much better than shop bought garlic. It’s not a hard crop to look after, so let’s look at how to grow garlic. How To Grow Garlic Garlic is relatively easy to grow, in fact under normal conditions once planted garlic pretty much thrives on neglect. The secret as with most crops is soil preparation, for garlic to grow properly it needs loose, free draining, fertile soil. Fork in some well rotted manure or compost a couple of weeks before planting. You… → Read More