In hugelkultur, logs or other wood are buried beneath a hilled garden which slowly benefits from the wood's decomposition. When the best place you have to grow veggies and herbs is a sloping hillside, you can terrace your way to a garden that's beautiful,...
I won't plant my garlic until October, but between now and then I might sow a quick mustard cover crop to suppress weeds, or use the broadfork to aerate the soil deep down, all the while throwing on more compost.
I'm very keen to hear how you speed ripening along at the end of the season. This may seem like bizarre advice, but by making a plant work harder it will concentrate more of its efforts on fruit production and ripening.
Top Up Mulches for A Nutrient Boost Mulches of organic material applied earlier in the season may now be looking a little scant. None of these techniques are exactly rocket science, but by applying each you'll almost certainly be able to eke out more...
Make sure your garden provides year-round shelter for allies such as frogs, toads, insect-eating birds and beneficial insects such as ladybugs and hoverflies. And don't forget to report any pests you see at BigBugHunt.com .
Caterpillars prefer nasturtiums, so they'll be more likely to eat these instead of your cabbages. How to Sow Cabbage Cabbages may be started off in an outdoor seedbed to transplant once they're bigger, or under cover into modules or pots, which also enables...
Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of your garden while the weather's still clement – or ways to improve it for next summer! Make an area for relaxing in the garden where you can enjoy the results of all your hard work! The Perfect Place...
Health-Boosting Daikon Radishes In China there is an old saying that “when the radishes are in season, the pharmacists can close their shops”. They will keep for months. Popular varieties include ‘Red Meat', ‘Mantanghong', ‘Misato Rose' and...
Cover them with paper bags to stop them getting covered in dust. Some gardeners even dry produce in the oven, setting it at its lowest temperature and propping the door fractionally open to further moderate the temperate, though I imagine this method...
Napobrassica ) include swedes, winter turnips, yellow turnips, Swedish turnips, Russian turnips, Canadian turnips, and neeps. The best rutabagas are harvested from cool soil after autumn leaves start to fall.
...And the Worst Vegetables for Seed Saving Avoid saving seeds from the cabbage family. As with any vegetable, it's important to choose the very best plants to collect seed from. Saving these vegetable seeds isn't challenging and it's amazing how many...
Branches can quickly die of this disease. But remember, plums fruit on young wood. Plants Related to this Article Plum (Dwarf) Grow Guide Plum (Large) Grow Guide < All Guides Environmental stress can cause a similar silvering, but it's likely to affect...
Plants Related to this Article Chili Pepper Grow Guide Bugs, Beneficial Insects and Plant Diseases Greenhouse Whitefly Guide Cutworm Guide Colorado Potato Beetle Guide < All Guides
If it's exceptionally dry, water again a few hours later to recharge all that valuable soil moisture. Shade cloth can cast just enough shade to keep your plants happy in severe heat – and it's easily removed when the weather turns cooler.
If you've grown them in the ground, use a border fork to carefully dig the plants up, starting some way from the plant to avoid accidentally spearing your hard-won tubers. Harvesting and Storing Second Crop Potatoes The moment of truth is when the foliage...
Thinning Other Fruit Trees Pears need less thinning than apples but will still benefit from having young fruits thinned out to give consistent harvests. Early summer offers us a tempting taste of what's to come in the fruit garden.
Whitefly love the color yellow and will flock to the cards, only to get stuck and meet their end. And it gets worse. Grow some of them next to the greenhouse door to tempt these beneficial bugs closer.
Companions Beet, Chamomile, Carrot, Strawberry, Lettuce, Chinese Cabbage and Cabbage. In clay soil, use raised beds or rows. They will root during the winter, and multiply into a cluster in late spring or early summer.
Preventing Problems: Plants including buckwheat, borage, catnip and radishes attract numerous beneficial that can help control cucumber beetles. The Western version is slightly larger.
Companions Tomato, Squash, Strawberry and Pepper. Harvesting Cut back borage plants by half their size in midsummer to encourage reblooming. A fresh crop of plants can be planted in late summer for bloom in the fall.
Damage: When young onion plants wilt for no apparent reason, pull up a sample plant to check for legless worms (maggots) feeding on it roots. Tips: Yellow sticky traps or yellow pans of water can be used to monitor and trap onion flies.
Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Any average, well drained soil. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Valerian Aphids (General) Slug Snail
Spacing Single Plants: 1' 11" (60cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 1' 11" (60cm) with 1' 11" (60cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Start with a purchased plant, or obtain a rooted piece from a friend or neighbour who has an established clump.
Hot pepper sprays help to deter these nibblers. Tulips bloom at the same time as dogwoods and other spring-flowering trees in most climates. Clear primary colors create a festive effect in a mixed planting.
Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Fertile, well-drained soil. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Ageratum Aphids (General) Slug Snail
Spacing Single Plants: 1' 7" (50cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 1' 5" (45cm) with 1' 11" (60cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Start seedlings indoors or start with purchased plants.
Companions Onion, Onions and Radish. Harvesting Use a digging fork to loosen soil along outside of the planting before pulling roots. Position Sun or partial shade. Frost tolerant Yes.
