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be fascinating to monitor how long the soil could be left without affecting yields of crops such as tomatoes.Meanwhile, I think I’ll just replace the top 20cm (8in), which will hopefully be sufficient for the tomatoes I'm about to plant...

from year to year; it is not an exact science, but it is 15cm or so tall and about 20cm or more wide at the base. The result of that tiny bit of extra effort in autumn is an early crop of gorgeously succulent garlic, with bulbs that have shown little

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

at the weekend, it was plain to see that the local slugs were showing no signs of slowing down. I uncovered several large clumps of their eggs; clear or slightly off-white spheres, each about 1-2mm in diameter (pictured, above). I gathered the eggs up in a pot

The soil here is rock solid. Fortunately, I planted the last of the garlic last week, before temperatures plummeted. Now, I'd need to use an ice axe, rather than a fork if I wanted to plant anything.I answered the door recently to a courier, who

Root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips don't like my garden. I can understand why: the soil is full of rocks, which can lead to the formation of forked roots. It also has a fair amount of clay, which causes the seeds to rot before they've even

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

I've always been fascinated by algae. These simple organisms take so many forms. Some are accurate indicators of water pollution, and some, like the blue-green alga spirulina, are a brilliant source of vitamin B12. But right now they've gone too far

soggy mess.One advantage of the rainfall has been the success of the biological control I applied to some areas of my kitchen garden. Nematodes are added to water and applied to the soil in spring. They thrive in warm, moist soil and when they come