Search - Articles

and preparing our beds for planting. This allotment business is not for the faint-hearted.I have a certain routine to preparing my beds for planting, which is dependent on my crop rotation plan. This way I know which beds to add organic matter to and which ones

certainly went by the book. I'm so glad we planted them - there's no finer fruit than the raspberry.I do have one regret, though: we should have planted an asparagus bed. It would be cropping beautifully by now, with tasty spears thrusting out of the ground

revived, enthusiasm has soared and the plot is looking rather good. I've done an awful lot of clearing and weeding and now I've started digging over the raised beds. Garlic, broad bean and autumn onion set planting is only weeks away, so I thought I might

and turn a blind eye to other areas of the plot that need attention. My purple sprouting broccoli, for example, is now in full flower. I won't be using that bed until I'm ready to plant sweetcorn, so I may as well leave the blooming broccoli to provide

good had hoeing conditions this year, have we?Now it's high time for a good weed through the plot, which will also prepare the beds for my autumn plantings of garlic and onions. I usually hand weed - it's time consuming but very satisfying - alternating

'm not growing two crops of the same family in the same spot more than once every three years. Of course, like every other plan, my crop rotation sketch is subject to change, according to what's ready for planting and which beds I've prepared. I'm also often

I am ashamed to admit that I still haven't got all my garlic in. I know the experts say I should have planted it in October or November, but I got a bit distracted by the apple harvest from a neighbour's garden, and spent all my time making jam

.I planted them into a well-firmed bed, which is the key to growing good sprouts. A loose soil leads to 'blown' open sprouts rather than nice, tight little buttons.I've also earthed up the stems as they've grown, which keeps them firmly rooted in the ground

or garden weeds for good measure, just in case you thought it was all a bit too idyllic.It's been a week or so since I last popped up to the plot and things have grown hugely in that time. Some plants have gone over already - the last couple of leeks have

it looks like. (We've had it where I work - very nasty - have to avoid growing onions and all alliums for years!I know that onion beds need to be kept weeded in summer or the onions become stressed and bolt, producing a flower spike that saps all