All I want for Christmas this year is more time in the garden. Oh the pleasure that can be found in the idle pottering about of a summer evening, or the power harvesting of an autumn morning after the school run. I revert to childlike status, begging my family for “Just five more minutes” as […]
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We have a new project on the horizon. It’s not absolutely certain yet but we’re pretty sure we’re going ahead. All will be revealed anon but until then I thought I’d show you what that means for the garden. The squash and pumpkin vines were so lousy with blight that they looked just dreadful and […]
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Pumpkin before I’ve been generally pleased by the way that the pumpkins have grown vertically on a cane support in the garden. They actually haven’t fruited that much but that appears to have been down to poor pollination as I’ve had loads of tiny pumpkins develop and simply rot on the vine. Our tiny urban […]
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We’ve always been big fans of county shows and try to attend a couple every year. To be completely honest, our local on in Lambeth isn’t usually on the list, but I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a vegetable competition so I thought we’d try it. Pulling Yellowstone, Purple haze and resistafly carrots […]
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THE GERMINATOR This is a DIY that not only doesn’t take long, it doesn’t involve any tools at all and so is something I’m really pleased with. I’m always looking for new spaces to grow things in my garden but short of tine hover boards being invented in the next couple of weeks, I’ve always […]
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Poles holding a basket Unsurprisingly, the biggest challenge to the frustrated gardener when regarding their tiny urban garden with critical eyes is a lack of space. I’ve covered my fences and walls with wall planters, vertical garden planting bags and hung hanging baskets from every single supporting fence post and still I don’t think I […]
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Shamefully puny beetroots Last week I thought that I’d be enormously smug and plan a lovely afternoon of cooking with my toddler son. He’s always so happy when he’s perched on his tiny stepladder with his little apron on, cracking eggs or stirring things and tasting everything within reach. What could complete this middle class […]
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Ladybird in situ The day the aphids came back was a dark one. There they were, hordes of them swarming and pulsating all over my innocent strawberries and mint. I was beside myself in rage and frustration at their sheer numbers (previously I’ve always pulled aphids off by hand before their populations reach critical levels) […]
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Suspiciously similar seedlings In hindsight, I should have known that putting two types of tomato seedling (the tumbling “Losetto”and the climbing “Magic Mountain” in case you’re interested) together in a large pot separated only by a seedling tray was a mistake. It was perhaps inevitable that a cat would jolt the pot onto the floor […]
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Vile pulsating aphids – look how many there were! The other day I was busily getting ready to plant out a few tumbling cherry tomatoes when a greenfly landed on my hand. I absent-mindedly swiped it off and suddenly focused. A greenfly! Where had it come from? A quick glance around the garden revealed two […]
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London to Land Girl 