Growing potatoes? Top tips for the summer
Some ‘earlies’ may be ready for harvesting in the next week or so, other ‘maincrops’ can stay in the ground for a couple more months. Here’s a guide to growing,…
Problems and Pests
Keep Carrot Fly at Bay with Netting & Companions
Carrot Fly has an annoying habit of ruining the roots, so that instead of pulling up beautiful carrots like the ones pictured, you end up pulling up a sad looking…
5 essentials for keeping pests at bay this year
Slugs, aphids, caterpillars… these pests can be disheartening if they eat more of your veggies than you do. Prevention is better than cure! Planting lots of companion plants is a…
What Biological Pest Controls are Out There?
There are various different types of biological pest control that you can buy online from mail order specialist suppliers; these biological controls include things like nematodes for slug control, ladybird…
Sometimes Snails are Worse than Slugs
These small garden snails have quickly established a family network in the tops of some Brussels sprouts plants. Snails often climb higher than slugs and, because they have their shells,…
Do I need to keep brassicas netted over winter?
We nearly always recommend that you net any brassicas – kale, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower etc – in your plot using a mesh netting. This will help to keep butterflies from…
Leaf problems are common in early autumn
If you’re seeing powdery mildew on courgettes and squashes, or burnt looking edges and yellowing leaves on beans, or spots on spinach, don’t worry too much – you’re not doing…
Ants & Aphids
Dry weather is likely to have provided the perfect conditions for ants to really get to work this season. For the most part, they do little harm, but do be…
Chewy, Stringy Celery?
Conditions have not been ideal for growing celery this summer – it is a thirsty plant, and the long, dry spells have been unfavourable. If you have harvested some recently,…
A Brassica Health Check
With the recent heatwave, cool-loving brassicas may need a little bit of extra care. This article looks at a few different things, from discoloured leaves and caterpillar damage, to cabbage…
Mildew on peas
Late summer brings mildew to pea plants of all types, sugarsnap, garden and mangetout. You’ll recognise it from the white coating on the leaves, which will rapidly spread across the…
3 tips for dealing with aphids
Aphids (greenfly, blackfly, whitefly etc) can be a real pain in the veg patch. They’re not particularly fussy and will happily make themselves at home on many of your veg…