Firstly, thank you to anyone who replied to last week's mail expressing interest in information on plant feed for container growing. I am a bit tight for time this week and there is a lot to go throu ... Read more

Cabbage is a demanding plant both is the amount of nutrients it needs and the space it takes up in the garden. It really is easy to grow if you feed your soil properly to begin with and take preca ... Read more

The variety we use in our nursery is usually Red Rovite, it is a very reliable red cabbage to grow in Autumn and Winter. Where to grow: Although cabbage can tolerate shade they will do much ... Read more

Cabbage Pests & Diseases Cabbages and other brassicas have become a very important part of the vegetable garden in our climate. Different varieties of cabbages have been bred for productivity, s ... Read more

Recommended Varieties: Hispi F1 Where to grow: Cabbage needs a fertile moisture retentive soil with good drainage. The cabbages will remain in the ground through the Winter so in wet a ... Read more

Cabbage is a demanding plant from the amount of nutrients it needs and the space it takes up in the garden. It really is easy to grow if you feed your soil properly to begin with and take precauti ... Read more

Spring cabbage is delicious and tender and will be one of the first proper crops you can enjoy in the Spring. Remember Spring cabbage needs to be planted the previous Autumn to over winter and pro ... Read more

Seeing your vegetable crops decimated by garden pests can be a very disheartening sight, and it can happen seemingly overnight if proper preventative methods aren't applied. Once the garden pes ... Read more

The cauliflower is not the easiest of the brassica family to grow but a large white cauliflower with tight white curds is a thing of beauty and producing one a source of much satisfaction. Variety ... Read more

It might seem a bit premature talking about pest control in mid March as we have very little in the ground but I think it is worth learning how to avoid some common issues before they arise. As ... Read more

Kohlrabi sports a rosette of blueish-green leaves above a swollen stem. This almost globe-like stem makes it appear like a turnip growing on a cabbage root, in fact In German, Kohl means cabbage a ... Read more

As someone who makes a lot of mistakes, I have to say I absolutely love a clean slate. I can literally drag myself to the end of the year yet emerge completely transformed once the calendar rolls aro ... Read more

The Evolution of the Wild Cabbage Plant My recent bedtime reading has been 'The Blind Watchmaker' by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and I am now suffering from lack of sleep. The book is fas ... Read more

Last week I touched on succession sowing and said I would include my plan for this year and, being very organised these days (new years resolution), I am pleased to include it below. Not all of the p ... Read more

'Cavolo Nero' or 'Nero Di Toscana' is the only kale grown in Italy, simply because it is by far the best tasting kale. Its large strap like leaves are fantastic in a stir fry with excellent taste ... Read more

Raised bed vegetable garden plan.I include my 2016 vegetable garden plan below if anyone is interested in what I'll be growing next year. My garden is now split up into long raised beds with gravel ... Read more

As we move towards the beginning of May, things really start to move in the vegetable garden. Up until this point there have been very few seeds we can sow outside or seedlings we can plant out but t ... Read more

This week I thought I would concentrate on the polytunnel or greenhouse as there is a lot to be done in April both in terms of sowing new seed and in potting on tomato, chilli and sweet pepper plants ... Read more

  How To Plant & Grow Calabrese The supermarkets have helped to confuse the issue of what is broccoli and what a calabrese by calling both by either name. The large green heads you se ... Read more

Well, hello there folks. That's been a strange couple of weeks hasn't it? I apologise for the late mail but I have had the luminous vest on since last week as I've been packing orders in the warehous ... Read more

Lovely long slender stems, this variety makes a lovely, tasty baby leek for harvesting from mid summer onward. The flavour is no less impressive when eaten full size in the autumn. The leek is a g ... Read more

Hi folks, I hope you all had a good Easter break. I don't know what the weather has been like for you but we have had a very pleasant few days with warm sunshine and a definite whiff of Spring. While ... Read more

It really is incredible how things burst into life when we get a bit of warmth and sunshine, my little plot is suddenly a very different different place. It was such a nice day yesterday that we t ... Read more

Pak Choi (also called bok choy) is a mild flavoured Oriental vegetable in the same family as Chinese cabbage, Tatsoi and Wong Bok which are all grown the same way. Pak Choi can be eaten raw, stir ... Read more

I thought we'd start the garden update with a couple of photos taken last evening while having a walk on a local bog. The photo above is of Eriophorum angustifolium or bog cotton (oddly, th ... Read more

'Brigitte F1' has to be the best and most reliable brussels sprout variety with fantastic results every time. We recommend using an F1 hybrid sprout like Brigitte because the sprouts stay closed l ... Read more

The transition from May to June is a fantastic time in the vegetable garden as the crops you have planted or sown start to put on some proper growth and the garden starts to fill up. As you know I of ... Read more

While I am not a fan of of winter I do enjoy preparing for it. There is great satisfaction in harvesting and storing crops in October, protecting beds from heavy rain and generally put ... Read more