Search - Articles

Cover rhubarb with an old bucket to exclude light and encourage early pickings of long tender stalksPrune gooseberry bushes to open up the centre of the bush to improve air circulationChit seed potatoes in trays in a bright, frost-free position

to come.I do an awful lot of shopping by mail order, not because I don't like my local garden centre (on the contrary - it's fab) but because it's fun flicking through all the catalogues, working out just how many varieties of salad potato we can

I've had some cracking crops this year. Some are tried and tested varieties that I know are good and reliable, while some vegetable varieties are completely new to me.I've grown quite a few potatoes, my favourite variety, ‘Charlotte’, has performed

'Helichrysum petiolare x2Parrot's beak, Lotus berthelotii x2Large, deep pot Multi-purpose compost, crocksCover the bottom of the container with crocks, then half-fill it with compost. Carefully ease the plants out of their pots.Make the blue potato bush the centrepiece

Cover rows of strawberries with cloches to encourage early fruitingPlant early potatoes outside in rows, or in large pots of compostSpray fruit trees and bushes with fungicide to prevent powdery mildew disease attacking themPick off faded

of polythene for early sowingsPlant out maincrop potatoesPlant asparagus crownsSow the following crops this week if conditions are suitable: beetroot, parsnips, turnips, onions, peas and mangetout, broad beans, lettuce and salad leaves, spinach, radish, rocket

, to attract beneficial insectsThin out seedlings from earlier sowingsEarth-up potatoes by pulling soil up around their stemsBuy pheromone traps to hang in apple and plum trees to control pestsSow seeds of the following crops this week if conditions are fine

in growing bagsHarvest early potatoes, carrots and salad cropsPrune the sideshoots of gooseberry bushes back to just five leavesCut out congested raspberry canes at soil level, or those popping up in pathsFeed all crops with a liquid fertiliserSow seeds

into the sunshine and rest them on bricks to ripenIdentify plants showing symptoms of potato blight, and immediately remove affected leaves and stemsOrder garlic bulbs and onion sets for autumn plantingPrune out fruited canes on summer-cropping raspberries

Pick ripe apples and store the best in fruit cratesDig up strawberry runners and pot them upNet autumn raspberries and blackberries to protect them from birdsLift and dry maincrop potatoes and store in paper sacks in a cool, dark placePot up a few