Search - Articles

of salad leaves possible; lettuce, spinach, pak choi, mizuna, beetroot, watercress, parsley and chives, as well as tomatoes, beans, courgettes and new potatoes. Although I've tried growing them, I haven't had much success with either sweet potatoes or soya

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is always a good place to look for new 'grow your own' ideas.  The Growing Tastes Marquee this year was better than ever: my highlights for 2010 were garlic and blueberries.I could smell The Garlic Farm's beautiful

), the beans were stringy, the courgettes didn’t thrive and the lettuce was eaten by slugs.  My compost heap was good though. I’ve always loved a good compost heap.I had a break until a few years ago, when my dad brought me a couple of tomato plants to grow

. Seedlings need watering, as do flowering broad beans and garlic.I'm anxious to get tender crops planted outside so that I can set-up an automatic watering system in the greenhouse for my tomatoes and cucumbers. Chillies, sweet peppers and aubergines grow

Although I started planning what crops I'd like to grow this summer well before Christmas, my plans have just been turned upside down. The February issue of Gardeners' World Magazine contains a feature on '100 Best Veg' varieties, an inspirational

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

of the prolonged cold remains to be seen, yet I’m convinced that the aphids starting breeding earlier than ever this year. My dwarf runner beans, growing in massive pots, were the first victims, followed by the overwintering geraniums and pelargoniums

'll be the beans next, and the blackberries...it's a good thing I only have wild roses!! Someone please send us some dry weather to stop those little spores in their tracks!!

trumpets bursting open at tip of yellow courgettes are pure beauty – and yes, they are good enough to eat (deep fried in a tempura batter sounds appetising).Flowers adorn climbing beans, squash, tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, garlic chives and many more

, amaranth, squashes, broad beans and also lupins, which they harvested for their seeds.The terraces proved perfect for the production of food. The stone walls would warm up quickly, creating a warmer microclimate within the terrace and enabling some crops