What do you do with your old potting soil? The current heatwave is a good opportunity to turn dry dusty old soil into a useful mineral rich medium for use in next month’s winter planting. Ideally is to mix this new medium with matured home made compost but if that is not available then the …Read More about Recycling potting soil
Diary of a Brussels Kitchen Garden
Roasted lettuce
It is important for gardeners to know when to give up. Trying to grow summer salads in trays or containers in heatwave conditions is almost impossible, and a waste of water. The best salads are grown in the spring and autumn anyway. In the good old days Belgium summers were cool and wet and ideal …Read More about Roasted lettuce
Experimental tomatoes
In recent years European tomato growers have taken an interest in varieties from Eastern Europe; Russia, Poland, Ukraine and even Siberia. These sturdy types of tomato are often early starters, late finishers and have increased resistance to tomato blight and other health problems that affect tomatoes grown in poor or unpredictable weather conditions. The many …Read More about Experimental tomatoes
Regular city tomatoes
There was a time when growing tomatoes outside in Belgium was considered impossible, what with cold and wet summers. The last few years with heatwaves have changed this. Choosing which types of tomatoes to grow whether in garden soil beds or in pots on balconies or on roofs usually takes a year or two of …Read More about Regular city tomatoes
Heat wave gardening
The weather forecast for the next few weeks is very hot with temperatures between 26 and 31 degrees. With little or no rain in sight, these conditions have not been seen since the last major heatwave in Belgium in 1976. This poses serious problems for garden vegetables which may already be entering a state of …Read More about Heat wave gardening
Serious basil growing
Basil is a must-grow for the kitchen garden. Whether on a windowsill or balcony the plants take up little space and produce great results. In recent years, with changes in the weather, basil has become easier to grow in city spaces. Serious basil growing involves as many plants as possible that are harvested on a …Read More about Serious basil growing