September is the real beginning of summer handing over to autumn, and although it is still a time of harvest, the cooler temperatures, shorter days and damper soils bring a different feel to work in the garden. It is a Read more »
At the time of writing, we are having a wet end to the summer, although I’m hoping that, just by stating that, the weather Gods will wake up and deliver us an ‘Indian Summer’ to balance out all the August Read more »
Gardens have a memory. What is happening in your garden, on any particular day, is not just a reflection of the prevailing conditions but also of factors that have influenced it over the whole time it has been in existence. Read more »
August—the time of plenty (sometimes even too much if good organisation and planning hasn’t been taken into account). Successional sowings are the key to managing outputs from the vegetable garden, but also to ensure the highest quality of produce is Read more »
I know it can’t be true, it’s merely a coincidence, but having promoted water saving last month it seems to have done nothing but rain ever since. Having had a relatively dry summer, last year, it is easy to forget Read more »
July is a time of abundance. We are harvesting cucumbers, tomatoes, French beans, padron peppers and courgettes along with all of the hardier spring sown crops like beetroot, chard, spring onions, kale and the like, as well as lots of Read more »
June is often the first month of the year when the abundance of plant growth, conspiring with higher temperatures, results in the need for wholesale irrigation, rather than the selective watering of newly planted areas, pots, containers etc., which has Read more »
At last the threat of frost has passed and the longest day of the year comes at the end of the month. With this brings the prospect of summer vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes and peppers. All of which were Read more »
If you are not a seriously committed, plant obsessed, sort of gardener then May may be the first month that your garden actually gets any proper attention. Everything is in growth, most plants have produced new leaves or top growth, Read more »
May marks a real change in the vegetable garden. Towards the end of the month we can be fairly certain of no frosts, so fleece can be taken off the spring plantings and rolled up for next year. It is Read more »