As with the three year crop rotations and five year crop rotations, we divide our plot up after allowing for the permanent beds of comfrey, asparagus and rhubarb etc. In this case into four beds or ...

Some years ago we moved to a new house which had a tiny suburban garden giving little room for growing vegetables, mainly a small herb bed and some salad crops. Then I realised there was an allotment ...

Swede looks similar to turnip and is still known as ‘Swedish Turnip’ in America. It is a member of the brassica family so club root will be a problem if you have this on your plot. Swedes take 20-26 ...

Marrows are cucurbits (the same family as courgettes, squash and cucumbers). There is almost no difference betrween marrows and courgettes – just leave a courgette to grow and you have a marrow. The ...

Mark out with string and stakes where the path is to go, following the natural route where you actually walk. Then dig out the topsoil to a depth of 15cm (6″) or so. If stripping turf, stack that ...

Growing tomatoes, especially in the English summer, is not always an easy task! But the flavour of home grown tomatoes is unbeatable, no shop bought tomato can ever compete with a thin skinned variety ...

Plants affected by an attack will tend to wilt and droop, especially in hot weather. Plants may show a blueish tinge or yellowing of the leaves as if suffering from nutrient deficiency, which they are ...

The cabbage family (Brassica) has formed an important part of our diet for hundreds if not thousands of years. Because man has bred the plants for productivity and flavour over the years they are, ...

A guide to Winter plant protection on the plot - how to protect your crops from frost, snow, and Winter problems.

In the UK, allotments are small parcels of land rented to individuals usually for the purpose of growing food crops. There is no set standard size but the most common plot is 10 rods, an ancient ...

Capsicum is another name for both sweet, bell-shaped peppers and hot chilli peppers. In the UK, sweet peppers are normally a greenhouse crop although in a good summer it is possible to grow them ...

Loganberries are often said to be a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry but the truth is that they’re probably a blackberry sport (mutation). They were originally grown in 1881 by Judge James H ...