Along with seeds and plants, potting soil has traditionally been one the most expensive items in my gardening budget. I often used several large bales of Pro-Mix BX every year until I finally decided to make my own planting medium. It isn’t difficult to do. The first step is to decide what ingredients you’ll include […]
Snowdrops are an endangered species now, and as for frost… welcome to the winter wonderland. I was on my way to visit winter. Real, authentic winter – so the invite said. I wasn’t quite there yet. Big black slugs glided over the sign that read ‘GalanthoArk – 200m’. It pointed to the huge domed greenhouse […]
What to do? As the west draws ever more settlers to its wide-open spaces, the region becomes more densely packed. Development along the stretch of Interstate 25 pretty much from well north of Denver, and south nearly to Pueblo is fast becoming one giant megalopolis. Yet people want to garden, keen to turn their postage […]
I often ask myself, why I’m a gardener. The answer’s somewhat mundane. I was a twin and we shared a small bedroom in a terraced house. We had entirely different personalities because we were fraternal, rather than identical twins My twin brother was the beautiful one. He got the curly golden hair, the navy-blue eyes […]
This coming spring is the perfect time to add trees to your garden. And as you decide what to plant, have you considered allergies? Allergies, especially to windborne pollen, are on the rise around the world. But Thomas Ogren says you can create a garden full of low-allergy trees and other plants—and he should know. […]
What’s the best way to label plants and seedlings?? Even the most knowledgeable gardener needs to use plant labels. It’s all very well being able to identify what different plant seedlings look like, but if you are growing from seed you also need to know the variety. But the problem with plant labels is that […]
It is about this time of year that I start getting a little twitchy to do some sowing in the greenhouse. This is a bit unfortunate, as it is way too early for the vast majority of things. The exception is chillies and pea shoots, and so I have sown them both. They are sown […]
Much vaunted for its health value and expensive to purchase Turmeric is the swollen root of Curcuma longa, a decorative greenhouse plant with large leaves. This flavourful colouring spice is grown in huge quantities in Asian countries for many dishes and it’s essential for Indian curries. Used since Classical times as the dried root or […]
Plants like peppers, chillies and aubergines, which need a long growing season should be sown this month. If you sow them now, they will ripen but leave too late and they will not. The third week in February is ideal, mid-March is fine and the first week in April is the limit. They need light, […]
