Search - Articles

are beginning to turn, the apples are ready, the Nerines are just starting and the last tomatoes are still warm in the greenhouse.Enjoy it now because tomorrow anything could happen (and, probably, it will rain).

of this traditional feast is still a pungent memory. Rosemary is a very versatile herb when used in cooking; it works well with lamb, casseroles, tomato sauces, roast vegetables, egg dishes, apples, summer wine cups and oils. It also aids digestion of fatty foods

.Among my sowings this year is Chilli Pepper 'Anaheim' which came in a free seed packet with the April issue of Gardeners' World Magazine. The packet also contains Basil 'Sweet Green', Tomato 'Gartenperle' and oriental mixed salad leaves, so I'll be well

, tomatoes, beans and peas. Ornamental plants, especially roses and delphiniums, are also affected. This abnormal growth has been attributed to a weedkiller, which is widely used by farmers on grassland to kill broad-leafed weeds, such as chickweeed, fat hen

aminopyralid, which distorted and sometimes killed crops. Plants most affected included potatoes and tomatoes, peas and beans, carrots and lettuce. Aminopyralid is slow to break down, so it seems likely that it could cause problems for some years.So, to give

on hardy plants instead? There's nothing wrong with parsnips, carrots and brassicas, but I am rather partial to tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines. My dilemma continues…

it into the mud. Everyone else is sowing tomatoes and chillies, excitedly tending seedlings. I'm transplanting grass.

tomato fertiliser during summer to encourage flower bud development.All this is really irrelevant if at the very moment the flowers are coming to their peak the weather changes for the worse. Frost can damage flower buds and young new shoots, so I haven

any more spores about than absolutely necessary) I confined each plant to the bin bag.The stems had gone from sturdy bright green to fuzzy and fungal within the space of 48 hours. Tomorrow I will pick all the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers

for sowing next year's coriander crop. Allow the seeds to ripen fully on the plant before harvesting.In the greenhouse I save seed from chillies, tomatoes and sweet peppers. The rule of thumb here is not to save seed from F1 hybrid varieties, as their progeny