Category Archives: how tos

Gardening How To’s Archive. Here are all of my gardening how to guides.

How To Grow Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem Artichokes are one of the easiest plants to grow, just bury a piece of root in soil and it will grow. Better growth will of course be obtained given the right conditions. So in this post I’ll tell you all I know about Jerusalem Artichokes, What they are, where they come from and of course how to grow them. What Are Jerusalem Artichokes? Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus Tuberosus ) is a perennial plant which grows to a height of 10 ft. The flowers look like small Sunflowers, and are grown for their edible root. Many names are attributed to this… → Read More

How To Grow Parsnips

There is no real secret in how to grow parsnips, but there are a few helpful tips that will make the process easier. So in this post I’ll reveal all the tricks and tips I’ve learned over the years to get the best from your parsnip seeds. Parsnips have such a poor germination reputation, this is due to a number of factors. The First Trick To Growing Parsnips The first tip is very simple always use fresh seed. This gives you the best chance of success the fresher the seed, the more viable it is, and so the easier it… → Read More

How To Save Seeds From Runner Beans

If you have grown a variety of beans that you have enjoyed, and it wasn’t an F1 hybrid then it is well worth saving seeds for next year. F1 hybrids will not come true to type but if you’re not too bothered about staying true to type then save some anyway. So here’s how to save seeds from runner beans. How to save Seeds from Runner Beans Towards the end of the growing season, after you have been picking runner beans for a while and have frozen enough to see you through the winter, leave some beans growing on the… → Read More

How To Grow Onions From Onion Sets

Follow my blog with Bloglovin The benefits of growing onions are many, for me the main advantage is the fact that they are organic. I also like to grow onions over winter and the only successful way to do this is with sets. So here we go, how to grow onions from onion sets. What Are Onion Sets? Onion sets are small onions that have been started as seeds in a commercial nursery and sold on at the size of a bulb. The advantage of using sets over seeds are: They are big enough to plant at the right distance… → Read More

How To Freeze Runner Beans

runner beans

So after just coming home from the allotment with 15 lb of runner beans I decided it’s time to fill the freezer. There are, after all only so many runner beans you can eat, so here’s how to freeze runner beans in easy steps. How To Freeze Runner Beans The beans are picked and washed. That’s the only real difference on freezing runner beans to freezing broad beans, as broad beans have to be podded. Step One Step one is in two parts, firstly fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Whilst the water is boiling… → Read More

How To Grow Leeks

Leeks are one of my favourite winter vegetables, with their subtle onion overtones but they are usually expensive in the shops so let’s have a look at how to grow leeks. How To Grow Leeks The first step in growing leeks is to select the variety you wish to grow. It is possible to buy leek plants to plant out in spring but I think it is much more fun to start off your own seeds and then transplant them to the plot when they are big enough. Another good reason to start them off yourself is the amount of… → Read More

How to help plants to grow organically

As you know if you follow my posts, I like to grow my food organically. That doesn’t mean I don’t use fertilizer, I do but obviously I use organic fertilizer. So with that in mind I thought I would share with you the various feeds etc… I use on my plot. So how to help plants grow organically. How to help plants grow organically All plants need feeding at some point during their growing cycle. I usually feed mine when either they are in flower or, in the case of brassicas, when they look slightly off colour. The only vegetables… → Read More

How to pollinate vegetables

Pollinating my cucumber plant in my greenhouse

I have been asked the question how to pollinate vegetables quite a lot lately so here’s a post to try to explain the ways I’ve had success with pollination and to show the best techniques as I see them. The Best Way To Pollinate Vegetables The best way to pollinate vegetables is of course, the natural way. What is the natural way? Well by allowing Bees and Butterflies to gain access to your vegetables and letting them do what they do. Which is to gather nectar and in the process as they fly from flower to flower they spread pollen… → Read More

How To Freeze Broad Beans

Just got back from the allotment with two full buckets of Broad Beans. Obviously I won’t use that many Broad Beans at once so I need to store them, so I thought I’d share with you how to freeze Broad Beans. How To Freeze Broad Beans There are many different schools of thought and techniques for keeping Broad beans,from drying them bottling them but for me the most convenient way is to freeze them. This leads us to our first choice, whether to blanche them or not. Blanching is the term used to describe the process of par-boiling the Beans… → Read More

Poached Egg Plant Companion Planting

Companion Planting with Poached Egg Plants

There has been a trend recently of people wanting to fight insect infestations by organic/natural methods with the emphasis on companion planting and using Poached Egg Plants in particular. The problem with that as far as I can see is that there doesn’t seem to be much relevant information out there so I thought it was about time to dedicate a post on the subject. What Is A Poached Egg Plant The Poached Egg Plant (Latin name Limnanthes Douglasii) is an annual plant with open flowers that are white around the outside with a yellow middle that resembles a poached… → Read More