Author Archives: Steve Jones

How To Grow Celery From Scraps

There are many reasons to regrow food from vegetable scraps, it’s environmentally friendly, economically viable, it gets kids interested, and it’s fun. It’s also really simple to do, see plants just want to grow and we can use that to our advantage. So read on to find out how to grow celery from scraps. What You Need To Grow Celery From Scraps A head of celery, organic if possible but this will work with non organic. A container that is water tight. A sunny windowsill. Patience. How To Grow Celery From Scraps When using your celery cut it leaving a… → Read More

Companion Planting Celery [What To Grow With Celery]

Not the easiest of vegetables to grow, but so satisfying when you get it right and the taste of home grown is far superior. As with most crops, celery will benefit from being grown with helpful neighbours. Companion planting celery with the following will be good for one or both of them. Companion Planting Celery As with all plants when looking for suitable companion plants we need to look at plants that are compatible. Not only with each other, but also with the sunlight and soil conditions needed for growing celery successfully. So what does celery prefer? Celery originated in… → Read More

Blossom End Rot What Is It and What To Do About It

Many gardeners are affected by blossom end rot, and it’s heart breaking to see your tomatoes inedible due to this damage. Don’t despair, it’s not all doom and gloom, and in most cases it’s an easy fix. So read on to find out how to identify it and how to deal with it. What Is The Blossom End? The blossom end is the end of the fruit furthest away from where the stalk joins the plant. It is literally the end the blossom was attached to, and that’s where we get blossom end rot. What Is Blossom End Rot? Blossom… → Read More

zucchini Turning Yellow And Rotting

Sadly this is a common problem and you’d be a very fortunate gardener if you never suffered this at some time. Don’t despair, things will improve and once you understand the problem you can start to solve it. So read on to see what you can do about zucchini (courgettes) turning yellow and rotting. Why Are My Zucchini Turning Yellow? There are a few answers to this question, some are more serious than others and some have easy cures. So the easiest and obvious one is there are yellow varieties of zucchini and if this is the case you don’t… → Read More

Bush Beans vs Pole Beans

Whether you grow bush (dwarf) beans or pole (vine) beans is really a matter of choice and maybe space. I prefer bush (dwarf) beans for reasons that will become apparent. So read on and make up your own mind on bush beans vs pole beans. Pole Or Bush Beans Beans go by many names, green beans, snap beans, and string beans are but a few. Whatever you call them they are all members of the legume family and for the most part grow through the warmer seasons of the year. Pole beans grow up supports and will sprawl along pathways… → Read More

How To Grow More Strawberries

Ask any strawberry grower what they would improve if they could and they will probably say… More fruit. Here in the UK we have a short fruiting season between frosts so it’s crucial to get as much from each plant as we can. Read on to find out how to grow more strawberries. Let’s start with the basics, because if the foundations are right then everything else should just fall into place. How To Grow More Strawberries Strawberries need free draining soil, full sunshine and to be sheltered from the wind. As with all plants the soil is the most… → Read More

How To Increase Cucumber Yield

Everybody wants to get the most from their plants, and if like me you grow organically, then we have to rely on nature. We can however give nature a helping hand and this is how to increase cucumber yield. All it takes is a few simple tricks to grow more cucumbers so read on for my top tips for increasing cucumber yield. How To Increase Cucumber Yield This year I’m only growing 2 cucumber plants, both in the same container and both in my unheated greenhouse. They came from a cheap packet of seeds (50p) I only sowed 2 seeds… → Read More

Weeds As Soil Indicators

There is an old story about a blind man who is looking at a piece of land for his daughter to purchase, he asks the seller to describe the land to him. After a short description he asks for a list of weeds growing on the land and makes his decision to buy based on that description. It’s a nice story and whether it’s true or not it does demonstrate the use of weeds as soil indicators. To be that knowledgeable about how plants grow in certain conditions that you don’t even have to see it to know would be… → Read More

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

How To Grow Green Onions From Cuttings

I was talking to my friend over at the no dig garden on youtube and he reminded me of a way to reuse spring onions. Green onions also known as spring onions and scallions are an easy crop to grow from seed. If you are into recycling then you need to learn how to grow green onions from cuttings. How To Grow Green Onions From Cuttings This is a great way to get young children into growing their own food as the results are really fast and it’s so simple. All you need is:- A bunch of green/spring onions A… → Read More