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It can be much trickier changing the soil in a greenhouse trench than in a garden border. I’m lucky to have trenches with brick bases, but my heart goes out to anyone with borders glazed to the base. It's so easy to break panes when excavating soil

I'm passionate about growing garlic. I successfully grow lots of garlic at home, despite the fact that I garden on a very heavy, clay soil.Garlic thrives in a well-balanced soil that is fairly loose, so the bulbs can expand properly. It does less

I couldn't be happier. The sun is shining and it almost feels as if spring is here.  Just last week there was standing water in the bottom few feet of one of my plots; the soil was completely submerged and saturated. Conditions were so wet

It’s that time of year when one has to admit that some of that scrumptious summer veg is well and truly past its best. Suddenly, it's time to clear away spent plants and prepare the soil for autumn and winter plantings.Forking over some soil

germinated.I've recently installed some raised beds, which should make growing root crops easier. I'm also growing parsnips and carrots in woven polythene planters. Filled with a mixture of some sandy imported soil, a bit of the native soil and a little well

Once again it poured with rain at the weekend, so my heavy clay soil was too wet to be worked. Instead, I made for the greenhouse, to do a spot of cleaning.I spent a thoroughly productive couple of hours, jet washing the glass inside and out

that I use would have been much help.)So, I planted them later than usual, and then, last week, they were suddenly subjected to a heat wave! To compensate for this dramatic change in weather I drenched the soil around the plants' roots as often

with either a piece of old carpet, some cardboard or some black polythene. Then plant the tubers, re-covering the soil with fleece or a mini-tunnel to keep them warm. The advantages of growing spuds early is that you miss the blight fungus that kills off so

of exciting things to eat, including the remains of the chard and straggly brassicas.My hens also make a fair amount of fresh fertiliser, which I allow to rot down for at least six months, before returning to the vegetable plot.They can get in the way though

and expertise it takes to get fruit trees ready and trained to this level.Once new trees are bought and planted in newly enriched soil, you can look forward to the first crop in a few years time. If you’re intending to buy new fruit trees this spring, I