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. If you have a clay soil, wait until the end of MarchFor best results, warm soil beneath cloches for a couple of weeks before sowingSow seed in June for a crop of tender, baby parsnips at Christmas.Advice on growing vegetablesRead Jane Moore's blog

vegetables, you will get a heavier crop if you grow leeks in a well-lit position, with soil that has been improved by the addition of plenty of organic matter. Leek seedsMulti-purpose compostPots or seed traysGarden forkStringBroom or large dibberWatering can

Discover how Chris Beardshaw ripens tomatoes on the vine after lifting the whole plant, in our step-by-step video guide, with advice on how and where to store the plant. autumnMore advice on growing tomatoesVideo advice on growing tomatoes outdoorsJoe Swift's video guide to grow...

Saving seed from your favourite tomatoes is a simple process and could save you money on buying seeds next year. If you grow more than one variety it's likely bees will have cross-pollinated them, so you could be growing your own brand new variety of tomato.Choose open-pollinated...

growing vegetablesMagnesium deficiencyLeatherjacketsCabbage white caterpillarsCourgette rot

and the soil around it with a fungicide suitable for the control of rust fungus.roses, fruit trees, ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, vegetables spring, summer, autumnOther problems affecting garden plantsHollyhock rustRose rustBlack spotIris leaf spot

Growing tomatoes with ring-culture pots involves surrounding the crop with a bottomless ring and adding layers of compost at 10-14 day intervals. This encourages the tomato to root from the stem so it can take up more water and nutrients than it would get from the growing bag alo...

Tomato blight, a fungal infection called Phytophthora infestans, spreads by wind and water-splash. It also attacks potatoes, and is triggered by warm, wet conditions, making outdoor tomatoes more susceptible than those in a greenhouse. The crop is quickly ruined, and even if it's...

The fungus that causes this problem spreads rapidly in the warm, humid conditions of a greenhouse. It usually becomes apparent on the lowest tomato leaves from early or midsummer, which develop yellow blotches on the upper leaf surface. The leaves eventually turn brown and wither...

Tomatoes will thrive in a greenhouse in midsummer with the right light, warmth, water and feed. But there's no point in ruining your hard work by watching the plant collapse under its own weight, when some simple staking will save the day. Nor do you want too many leaves when it'...