Get your garden summer-ready with easy-to-follow tips for beginner gardeners. This section breaks down the basics for a range of sun-loving veggies.
Broad beans are frost hardy annual vegetables that can be planted in autumn, winter or spring, and will germinate outdoors at temperatures as low as 2oC (36oF). Once germinated they will, in theory, tolerate anything down to -10oC (14oF). Also known as fava beans, these deliciously earthy pulses are incredibly easy to grow, but also…
Cross-pollinating cucumbers, to cut a long story short, won’t actually harm your crop, but it will change it, and if you intend to save seeds you need to take some serious precautions to make sure you know exactly what you’re growing next year. In some cases, cross-pollination is actually pretty essential for cucumbers to crop…
To prune or not to prune? This is the question many gardeners ask themselves when it comes to cherry tomatoes. Some don’t touch them at all, others prune them diligently, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. Cherry tomatoes are a different kind of beast – and they really do grow into beasts – so I personally prefer pruning just to keep them under control.
Nothing makes me happier than purchasing more and more packets of seeds. Looking through all those colourful sachets showing vegetables and flowers at their best, with new and exciting varieties that promise tastier, more reliable crops being bred all the time. ‘Do I really need that packet of seed?’ Is a question I should ask…
Peas are some of the easiest and most exciting crops to grow in your garden. They’re among the first spring crops to pop up and their hardy seedlings can easily withstand light frost and cold spells. You can sow pea seeds directly in the ground or undercover and they should provide you with a steady supply of pea shoots and pea pods.
Don’t be embarrassed – it happens to the best of us. You invested money and time into your precious pea seedlings, only to find after a few months that they aren’t doing well at all. Before you write off this season as a loss, let’s uncover why your peas aren’t producing, and what adjustments you can make to save this season’s crop.