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The sudden drop in temperature has got me flustered. I know it shouldn’t, as every year by Halloween the weather has usually turned significantly colder.Well, the clocks have gone back, evenings have got darker, and the chilly weather confirms the end of the 2012 growing season. ...

Despite summer drought in my part of the East Midlands, my apple crop has been pretty good on most trees, but there’s just one problem. A much larger proportion of fruit than ever before has been pecked on the tree itself, resulting in small holes that soon lead to rotting.Now, I...

Should I feel guilty about heating my greenhouse? While I'm turning the heat down in my home to save energy, keep bills down, and reduce CO2 emissions, here I am considering heating my greenhouse to both protect plants through winter and provide

It takes quite a lot to tempt me outside in December, but once I’m coated, booted and scarved and do get outside, I suddenly realise quite how much there is to do. With my (rather unflattering) beanie hat snugly pulled down, it’s time to work through my Seasonal Checklist…1. Wrap...

At last, the warm weather has kick-started the season, and blossom is finally appearing.What a difference a year makes. Checking back at my diary, in 2012 the first 'Victoria' plum blossom opened on 28 March. One year on and the same plum tree only started blossoming last week, o...

handy during May just in case of frost. A covering will keep off a light frost, protecting blossom and buds from damage. So while it might not be possible to protect a wisteria trained to an arch or pergola, my modestly sized standard wisteria in a pot

or barrier it receives an electric 'shock' (or tingle), which forces it to turn around and go elsewhere. From my initial trials this year it appears to work. Hostas protected in this way in pots and borders look perfect, while some plants that I did

of action. As I don't have one the greenhouse offered my best alternative. I don't heat my greenhouse, so will just be providing a few degrees of protection plus shelter from freezing. I hope it will survive, despite the cold weather arriving early

in pots, including 'Frances Williams', and they're rarely attacked. A band of copper tape can be stuck right round the side of the pot to provide extra protection if you like, as slugs and snails hate passing over the tape and will turn away

protected.Of course there's an answer, and that's what fruit cages were invented for, but when you integrate soft fruits around the garden to make best use of space these aren't a viable solution. Large pieces of netting play a part, thrown over fruit