Search - Articles

, cardboard and anything else I can find. This will help to insulate it against the lowest temperatures and kick-start decomposition. It's especially important to have a decent amount of compost this year as I won't be buying any manure. I just hope a winter

!I was busy, though, while the snow was lying deep and crisp and even all over the allotment. I spent a couple of happy evenings planning the plot and deciding on my crop rotations for this year. I kept to my New Year resolution and decided to only plant

'll also add compost to the bottom of the trench before planting the potatoes, as they're such greedy, speedy growers.Onions really love growing in firm ground, so ideally, it should have been prepared in the autumn or winter, then left to go really hard

on coming back. I dug out as many of the deep white roots as I could in winter, but it's a bit like digging for Australia - you'll never get there. Bindweed is very like couch grass in that respect, which is another of my allotment problems.As an organic

need the bed for my butternut squashes which I've potted on and put outside to harden off before planting them out later on this month.It's sad to see the kale go, but next winter's crop is already underway. This time I'm giving the trendy black kale

easy and surprisingly pleasing – it’s great to be looking forward to next season as the winter draws in.

of new potatoes through the season. I can't remember all the varieties off the top of my head but the list includes: Annabelle, Charlotte, Picasso, Golden Wonder and Red Duke of York. Impressive hey?! We're also growing a long keeper to store over winter

of my maincrop potatoes towards the end of September, dry them off in the garage and then bag them up to store and eat through the winter. We're still eating them now.To ensure a good crop you should 'chit' your potatoes before planting them. This simply

.It seems wrong, somehow, to water pots and containers in damp, chilly weather, but they do need the occasional water when conditions are dry. I don't have any pots at the allotment — I'd never be able to keep them watered in the height of summer — but I do

with the idea of bunging in a few extra winter and spring crops such as purple sprouting broccoli, kale and cabbage. And I'd like a few fairly quick croppers to see me through late summer and autumn, but I can't think of anything other than kohl rabi that'll do