What did I do wrong in the vegetable garden!? Part 1
So just what did I do wrong in the vegetable garden!? Some years, try as we might, doing everything by the book, things seem to conspire against us. At other times our plants either fail […]
Gardening
Elder Folklore and Growing
Just as the end of summer is marked by elderberries, the start of summer is always marked by the blossoming of the Elder-tree (Sambucus nigra). In this article we cover elder folklore and growing tips […]
Irrigation
Irrigation Regardless if you believe in climate change or not you cannot deny our weather is becoming more unpredictable. In the past we could rely on steady spring showers watering all our newly planted seedlings. […]
Encouraging pollinating insects into your vegetable garden by Mandy Allen
Many thanks to our latest guest blogger Mandy Allen, aka Millymollymandy, one of the longest standing and most loyal selfsufficientish forum members. She lives the good life in over in Chateau Moorhen, France and is a prolific gardener, nature […]
Growing in a small space 2 – Getting more from your crops
Growing in a small space means you not only have to decide carefully what you want to grow, you also need to make the most of it come harvest time. There are very simple choices […]
Understanding crop rotation
The different systems of crop rotation are as varied as the people who employ them. Some will have a four year plan and others will rotate every three years. Some will always start with potatoes […]
Where to garden if you don’t have one, Part 2
In the first part of where to garden I covered garden share schemes and community gardens. These are the obvious first choices but they are by no means all there is to offer for the […]
Where to garden if you don’t have one part 1
David Attenborough has described humans a “plague on the earth”. This ever-increasing ‘plague’ of humans has meant less room for what was once a necessity, a small patch of land which to grow food. However, […]
Green Manure
Soil is a very complex living thing. In just one gram there can be over a 1000 million organisms, most of them beneficial to the gardener. These organisms help weather rocks, releasing their mineral content […]
No-Dig Gardening
The following article first appeared in ‘Grow your own’ magazine back in February as part of my ‘Theory Behind…’ series. In traditional gardening and farming, land is weeded and/or cleared of crops before a soil […]