Tag Archives: compost

How To Stop Runner Beans Drying Out

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

A Moment Of Serendipity

Young rhubarb (serendipity)

Serendipity – A Definition According to dictionary.com Serendipity is defined as “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident”. Put plainly I would say it’s being in the right place at the right time. Why a post on Serendipity? Well a couple of weeks ago I was at my allotment when a Serendipitous ( if that’s even a word ) moment occurred and I would like to share it here. Working Hard I had been planning to turn my current pallet based compost bins into a rhubarb bed since last year when I added three plastic compost bins to my… → 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

Don’t dismiss the Dandelions

Dandelions

Don’t dismiss Dandelions as just another problem weed to get rid of. Like Comfrey ,Dandelions have long tap roots which allow them to absorb minerals that other shallow rooted plants can’t reach. All parts of the Dandelion are edible, flowers, leaves, and roots. Dandelions contain the following:- Vitamin A Vitamin B Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Vitamin P Iron Potassium Zinc Calcium Lecithin Magnesium Niacin Phosphorus Boron Young Dandelion leaves can be used in salads and are quite sweet but older, fully grown leaves tend to be bitter and should be stripped from the central stem as the… → Read More

How to make a yew hedge

recently planted yew hedge

At the Big Garden we have been getting battered by the strong winds recently and as a result of this quite a few of the hurdle fence panels around the herb garden have been severely damaged. So it was decided to replace them with a living fence (yew hedge). The first step is to remove fence panels, once this is done, dig a trench roughly a spades depth keeping it as straight as possible (we used a string stretched between two stakes) and mix in some compost then water thoroughly then place each plant approximately one foot (30cms) apart. Spread the roots out… → Read More

How To Make Comfrey Tea [Organic Comfrey Plant Food Guide]

How I make my own comfrey tea

What Is Comfrey? Comfrey is a herb that back in the middle ages was used by healers for all manner of conditions including acne, varicose veins and many others but its alternative name of “knit bone” gives a clue as to its main use back in the day, to speed up the healing of broken bones. Well I can’t tell you if any of that is true, all I can tell you is that as a plant food comfrey tea is second to none. Comfrey has a tap root (like a dandelion root) which penetrates deep into the sub soil,… → Read More

How to improve your soil

So basically, good compost equals good soil.There is no secret to making compost just a few simple rules. Firstly site your bin on the soil this is important because you need to allow the worms access to your bin because basically worms create compost, they are the ultimate recycle factory. The worms eat your waste and the waste that they produce is compost so compost is worm poo. Not only worms but other insects and micro-organisms etc.. found in soil that feed on decomposing plant material. The bin should be sited so that it is exposed to at least six hours… → Read More