With the summer heatwave resumed, following cool wet conditions, it is understandable garden plants are confused and distressed. While tomatoes are flourishing, summer salads are struggling, particularly those grown in containers, going to seed or becoming tough and unpalatable. Thank goodness for the chards which suffer the conditions far better. Kitchen gardeners love the daily …Read More about Summer Chard
Summer lull
The busyness of spring has passed and summer garden crops are now established and growing. Now is gentle maintenance time, tying up tomatoes, tidying beans and cucumbers and using up salad crops. The weather has been very changeable with cool wet days and now some extra warm days. Keeping an eye on the weather forecast …Read More about Summer lull
Rainy trays
Rain is generally welcome in hot summer months, a nice break from the heatwaves. The lower temperatures that accompany rain make this a useful time to start new salad crops, especially in trays which dry out too much in heatwave conditions. It is even worth clearing out any older salads that have toughened up in …Read More about Rainy trays
Training tomatoes
All tomato plants benefit from support as they grow. Besides supporting the plants in winds or bad weather, supporting the plant’s shape as it grows increases the eventual harvest and helps ensure good air flow around the plant preventing disease. While pot or bush tomatoes grow well on a single garden cane, climbers and vine …Read More about Training tomatoes
Courgettes and Cucumbers
In terms of productivity, there is nothing better than courgettes and cucumbers for the small city garden. Courgettes will grow well in large containers or in one square metre of soil bed and produce 2 or 3 courgettes per week over a long growing period. Cucumbers will grow in smaller pots (6 litres) or in …Read More about Courgettes and Cucumbers
Summer showers
Most gardeners look forward to a bit of summer rain, the farmers certainly need it, but in recent summers this rain comes hard and fast and damages a lot of young flowering plants. It is worth trying to erect some shade covering over vulnerable plants to break up the downpour. The saturation of the soil …Read More about Summer showers