Grapes are tremendously satisfying plants to grow and hardy varieties such as white Theresa, an outstanding dual purpose variety, which produces unusually long, sparkling white berries with a fine aromatic flavour which ripen in late September, or black Muscat Bleu, which have a rich sweet flavour, can be grown outdoors. The best spot for planting Read More
If you grow your own fruit and vegetables you will no doubt have made jams and chutneys galore and probably given much of it away. So what are you going to do with the glut this year? The best advice is to make soft drinks, tisanes, wine and all manner of tipples and join the Read More
A fully productive greenhouse is similar to having a family pet – it will need a bit of your attention every day! Despite the hard work, once you’ve reaped the rewards of tasting your own chili peppers, peaches or tomatoes and raised your own garden plants for a fraction of the price charged at the Read More
Winter is a great time for sitting indoors with a hot drink and planning what you are going to grow on your allotment next year. But don’t just go for the same old dreary seed list, consider growing plants that not only taste great, but also have the ability to boost your libido? Passion boosters Read More
Now that pickles and preserves are no longer a necessity to get us through the winter when native fruits are scarce, they’ve become something of a delicacy. Homegrown and homemade enjoy a cachet that that can’t be matched by anything bought, however expensive. If you’re lucky enough to have an apple tree or perhaps some Read More
Are you after soft, supple skin? Then use rose hips as part of your beauty regime, says beauty expert, Angela Lopez of Belle-Toi (angelasbelletoi.com) in Bournemouth. Rose hips are the seedpods of roses and the orange-red bulbs of Rosa rugosa, which look somewhat squashed and tomato-like, are only edible but are a great source of Read More
You can buy garden-ready soft fruit bushes and strawberry plants that are bulging with ripening fruits from garden centres now. These are a bit more expensive than the bare rooted plants that nurserymen lift to order from their fields in autumn but it’s well worth taking this short cut to be able to PYO from Read More
Picking your own sweet and juicy strawberries straight from the plant, along with the satisfaction of having grown them yourself, is hard to beat. Any garden, even a balcony, is large enough to grow strawberries, and unlike many fruits they will crop well in pots, growing bags and even hanging baskets, as well as a Read More
getcomposting.com are working with councils across the UK to deliver great value compost bins, water butts and more to help you, so make your mantra this year “recycle and reuse”. Garantia Thermo-King compost bins are easy to fill and make speedy compost – cost for 600L size is around £65 Turning garden waste into Read More
This year, we are being encouraged to grow our own healthy food to reduce our carbon footprint even further. Vegetables are so easy and will grow just about anywhere – even a windowsill can be productive! It’s best though if you can designate a sunny spot in your garden. If you get an allotment you’ll also Read More
