What's new, what's growing, what we're learning. Updates, guides and stories for people who take their garden seriously.
The spade cuts, the digging fork breaks, the Sauzahn loosens without turning. Which digging tool suits sand, loam and stony ground, why digging over fell out of fashion, and when it still has to happen.
Coffee grounds do not acidify soil, eggshells do not stop slugs, banana skins rot in the planting hole: what is really inside the five most popular kitchen leftovers, and how to use them properly.
One kilo of greenery to ten litres of water: how to turn nettle, comfrey and horsetail into fertiliser and plant tonic, how far to dilute, and how to take the stink out of the barrel.
Frost-killed or winter-hardy? How to cover empty beds with green manure in late summer, which type fits when, and how to work it in properly come spring.
When your compost heap just rots into slime instead of turning to humus, it's almost always one of four usual causes. Here's how to make the diagnosis, kick-start decomposition with turning and a nettle starter, and avoid the classic mistakes.
Why daily watering weakens your plants and why deep, infrequent watering almost always wins. With clear amounts for beds, pots and lawn, the finger test, and tricks that save you watering rounds.
A layer of mulch saves water, slows weeds and builds humus. But mulch is not just mulch: why fresh grass clippings rot, why bark does not belong on the vegetable bed, and how the right material in the right place protects your soil.
Why organic fertiliser takes a quite different path from mineral feed, what the three nutrients N, P and K really do, which organic fertilisers are worth it, and why with the amount less is almost always more.
Garden and kitchen waste become the best fertiliser you can get for free. Why the whole secret lies in the ratio of green and brown material, how to avoid rot, and what must never go on the compost.
