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and disease resistance. Potassium is naturally found in wood ash and deep-rooted plants like comfrey. I grow comfrey in the garden and use it to make a liquid feed for my fruiting crops.It's also important not to let leafy crops, like lettuce, or root crops

My experience of growing tomatoes has been relatively trouble-free. My outdoor plants often get blight towards the end of the season, but even then it doesn't seem to affect the crop too much. Once my plants refused to grow after I transplanted them

injected by the feeding aphids.It seemed that my efforts at an early sowing of beans were doomed, but eventually the plants sprang into life. They were admittedly rather lax, after their ‘soft life’ in the greenhouse, but that didn’t adversely affect

in hanging baskets and pumpkins confused with courgettes, but everything was slightly leggy (due to the short days and low levels of sunlight) and there were too many plants for me to look after each one properly.Most plants ended up growing well eventually

hoped the clover would fix nitrogen in the soil, which would directly feed the chillies and encourage new leaves to grow. This seemed to work, and before long the plants were in full leaf and flower and attracting lots of hoverflies.I did get some

I’ve just been outside picking strawberries. Despite the colder nights my plants are still fruiting away and I hope they’ll have enough energy left to fruit again at the right time next year.None of the fruits have been damaged by birds – perhaps

, and appreciate the benefit of eating delicious, fresh home-grown produce. Helpful growing plants can be downloaded from this website, so check these out today.The 2011 campaign concludes with a Harvest Weekend in September, providing tips and advice on storing

.This week I'll be picking my first greenhouse cucumbers. I'm growing 'Tiffany', a powdery mildew-resistant variety, and my three plants are carrying at least 20 fruits between them. All the family love cucumber, so this is one thing we won't have to buy

I've just thrown a 'plant party', as part of 'Grow Your Own' Week. This involved my friends coming to my flat and learning how to sow tomatoes and chillies. We also discussed pricking out, transplanting, feeding and watering. It reminded me of my

to continue growing. Plants can then be picked over for several weeks before becoming exhausted, and needing to be replaced. All they'll need is regular watering and the addition of an occasional liquid feed to encourage new growth.Salads also need sowing