Take action against lurking pests
Take action against lurking pests hoping to camp out in your greenhouse this winter - if you don't deal with them now they'll be waiting to infest your crops from for the moment you start planting next year. Winters are getting warmer, and that means pests are finding it easier to snuggle down in nooks and crannies. Not only are [...]
Plant out biennial wallflowers
Plant out biennial wallflowers for a dazzling display of colour next spring. Like foxgloves, sweet williams and forget-me-nots, wallflowers are sown one year to flower the next. But if you've missed the boat and forgotten to sow your own earlier this year, you'll find great value bare-root bundles and potted plants ready to go in our garden centre right now [...]
Harvest your haricots
Harvest your haricots for a filling and tasty addition to winter stews and soups which will keep you warm to the toes right through winter. If you're growing French beans, you're growing haricots: while many gardeners know how delicious slender green beans can be, we often forget about their secondary use, as dried haricots. In French gardens it's a staple [...]
Ripen your pumpkins
Ripen your pumpkins in the last of the autumn sunshine and they'll not only make fantastic Jack o'Lanterns for Hallowe'en, they'll also keep for months. There are loads of gorgeous pumpkin varieties around these days. For real whoppers to carve into spooky decorations for your doorstep, go for 'Atlantic Giant' or 'Hundredweight', but if space is limited try more modestly-proportioned [...]
Build a wildlife haven
Build a wildlife haven to provide shelter for minibeasts over winter and they'll quickly move in. Quite apart from the joy of having a garden buzzing with life, it's great for the environment and you'll also be attracting a free pollinating service plus built-in pest control for next season. Most creatures are searching for somewhere to spend the winter about [...]
Squirrel away summer surplus
Squirrel away your summer surplus for the cold winter months to come and you can still enjoy the delights of home-grown produce even when there's snow on the ground outside. Always choose your very best veg for storing: never put damaged fruit and veg to store as even the smallest hole starts rotting in storage and will rapidly infect its [...]