The weather may still be very changeable and unpredictable but we’ve started to make some progress at last. Tilling has begun in earnest and seed beds have been made for the first direct sowings of Radishes, Salad Crops and Baby Turnips next...
Well we finally got to do some work outdoors this week. We began rotavating in the gorgeous autumn sunshine after a shaky start to the day with drizzle and grey skies. The soil came up to a beautiful tilth considering all the rain we’ve had ...
‘”The Plan” never survives initial contact’ was a common saying in my previous line of work. It means that no matter how much you plan for something once you begin it never goes the way you expected. That seems to be the wa...
Soil is probably the most valuable asset in the garden. Without it where do we grow? So it's important to look after it and where possible improve it. Its not just muck. It’s a complex ecosystem that needs to be properly managed to get the b...
Seeds are the foundation of so much in the garden. We have begun sowing for the year ahead in the past week. Planning ahead and knowing when and how much to sow is vital to getting the most out of your garden. If your seed isn’t good quality, all th...
Officially the new year starts on the first of January. For the gardener this can seem a quite arbitrary date for the beginning of a new gardening year. In fact it could be argued that a gardening year never really ends or begins. Many crops and p...
It's always good to try new things in the garden so this year we’re going to try something that I’ve read about for years but never tried. Growing new potatoes for Christmas. And yes, I know its sacrilege to mention that festiv...
There is nothing so disheartening as having your crop destroyed after all the hard work you’ve put into it. This can happen so easily with your brassica crops at this time of year. The culprit is the Cabbage White Butterfly. Don’t be f...
Health and safety is something that we all get a bit careless with from time to time. We’re all convinced that we’re indestructible or that we’d never be that stupid. Neither statement is true unfortun...
Plants, like people, need regular feeding. And like people it needs to be the correct balance of nutrients for them to perform to their best. Knowing the right food for your plants makes all the difference.Without getting into the science too deeply, ther...
Tools and equipment are a significant expense for both the hobby and professional gardener alike. As with most things in life you get what you pay for and price is usually a good reflection of the quality of the product being offered. When buying tools tr...
All of the hard work seems to be paying off at last. Our first crops came ready for harvest last week and it never rains but it pours. Pak Choi, Baby Turnips, Radishes, Mustard Mix and Butterhead Lettuce are all ready for the kitchen now. When we started ...
The heat in our polytunnel has become noticeably more intense this week with the early summer sun finally showing itself. While the rise in temperatures and light intensity are to be welcomed after a cold and drab spring, care needs to be taken with plant...
Hardening off is very important for plants that have been raised under glass or in a polytunnel. In simple terms it means gradually getting them used to the cooler conditions outside. Simply taking them straight from the glasshouse to their planting posit...
Water seems to be the major topic of political debate at the moment and rightly so for such an important resource. For gardeners water has always been a matter of keen discussion. Either there’s too much water or not enough water. When there’s...
Weeds are a plant growing in the wrong place it has been said. This is very true. Like all plants weeds simply want to grow and reproduce. Some of them can be quite attractive. The field Pansy, Forget Me Not and Willow Herb are all very beautiful in their...
Don’t panic!!! I seem to remember that those words were embossed on the cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy according to Douglas Adams. This year they should be printed on the front cover of every gardening publication. That’s because...
Just a quick update on what’s been happening in the garden recently. We’ve managed to get the second tilling completed between the showers and some beds have been made. Many of the seeds sown in February are now ready to be planted out and thi...
Polytunnels are a great asset to any gardener from the smallest hobby gardener to the largest commercial producer. They can allow us to grow more tender plants than would normally be possible in our climate and also extend the growing season of our more t...
Weather seems to be our national obsession. It seems to be the opening topic of so many conversations in our lives, and it seems to be the cause of so much of our dissatisfaction. As gardeners this is particularly true. It’s always too wet, too dry,...
Potatoes are a good starting point for the novice vegetable grower. Firstly, they are relatively straightforward to grow and secondly they are great for breaking up the freshly dug soil in a new veggie garden. As they grow they loosen the soil and as they...
Gluts are a problem for most gardeners and especially for the novice vegetable gardener. We’ve all faced the situation of twelve cabbages ready for harvest at one time. And lets face it, there’s only so much bacon, spuds and cabbage a person c...
Picking stones is a drudge. There’s nothing satisfying or glamorous about it. Cold, wet hands covered in sticky mud. It’s even more dispiriting when you realize that the next time you dig or till there will be as many stones to be found as whe...
Hi and welcome to our new weekly garden blog from the School of Food. My name is John and I am the new head gardener. At the moment we are busy preparing the ground for our new vegetable garden. Our colleague from GIY, Dermot Carey, is bringing his extens...
