How to Grow

Removing weeds from the vegetable patch is easily the least glamorous and time consuming job of the lot. It's not all bad news as there are plenty of ways to make it easy on yourself so you can spend more time on the fun bits of growing your own!

To increase the success of your garden and vegetable growing it is important to protect your plants from adverse weather and wildlife.

Practising crop rotation can be of great benefit to your allotment or kitchen garden helping to reduce disease and increase yields.

Unfortunately, it's a fact of gardening life that your vegetable crops are not only a source of food for you and your family, but for a whole host of pests and diseases as well.

Watering your garden and vegetable plot effectively is not just beneficial to your plants but can help the environment too. Hosepipe bans are becoming a regular occurrence so make the most of your water with our useful tips and advice.

There's an old saying "feed the soil, and the soil will feed your plants." It's so true because just as we humans need vitamins and minerals in our diet for long term health, plants have requirements of their own so that they can grow up big and strong.

The pinnacle of the growing season is the harvest so it is important to know when to harvest and how best to store your precious vegetables.

The seasonality of gardening and understanding what needs to be done throughout the seasons is key to a successful garden.

Whether you have the luxury of a greenhouse or prefer to grow in a more rudimentary fashion, sowing seeds is fundamentally the same. The recipe for success is simple; provide them with warmth and moisture and the result is a home-grown dish of tasty fruit and vegetables.