How to grow chillies and peppers from seed organically

Chillies and peppers are a really easy to grow, easy to use and easy to store…

Gardening in southern England’s changed climate

Where are we now, into the fifth summer on my allotment, and despite going into this…

How to grow organic purple sprouting broccoli and cook it

It wasn’t until I started growing my own vegetables I even clocked that purple sprouting broccoli…

A year in vegetable, fruit and herb photos

We’re taught not to play with our food but WHATEVS, I love arranging veg to show…

Allotment Month 49: growing up

My fourth year on the allotment has whooshed by and during the very wet start to…

Allotment Month 46: tomatoes, edamame, apples, raspberries and sunflowers!

At some point I really am planning to sow my salad crops for winter, I’ve been…

Allotment Month 43: priorities, supports and progress

Going into the fourth season on my allotment I’ve been pleased with how it’s shaping up.…

Allotment Month 42: weeding asparagus and carrots, potato, chilli and artichoke update

On Sunday I had the chance for a proper sesh down the allotment and it was…

My allotment plan for 2019

Hello vegetable fans! Recently I wrote about why I practice crop rotation on my allotment in…

Allotment month 38: don’t beat yourself up if things go wrong

I’ve just had the best day on my allotment for a long time. Zero degrees Celsius,…

Allotment Month 34: happy herbal, apple disaster, persistent prairie

Often I beat myself up about the state of my allotment, it never quite looks as…

Why I just chopped off every single dahlia flower

Oh no! What have I done?! Just as my dahlia trial beds on my allotment were…

Allotment month 32: cool as a cucurbit, hot as a herbal

2018 will go down as one of the most challenging years for gardeners, the freezing late…

Allotment month 31: here come the crops – gherkins, kohlrabi, edible flowers and more

After months of hard work, today the allotment is starting to give up its bounty with…

Allotment Month 26: sprucing and rearranging

Toward the end of autumn I find the battle against couch grass and other weeds relentless…

Add some zing this summer with the unnatural flowers of Zinnias

Zinnias are odd. Almost unlike any flower I’ve come across before, they just do not look…

Gardening jobs to do in October: harvesting, bulb planting, propagation by dividing, cutting and sowing

If like me, you may have been coasting along on a post-summer ‘put your feet up’.…

Allotment month 22: wasted produce, autumn flowering apples and snails

I’ve barely spent any time at the allotment in September. Bad Wallington. This has been a…

Dahlia swap!

No one else but me had set foot on my allotment since I’d owned it –…

Come into my world

A selection of photos from my perambulations over the last few months.

Allotment Month 17: dahlias, prairie and produce

It’s year two for my allotment and the layout I created for it originally is really…

Allotment: weed suppressant membrane – beating weeds organically

Month 13: my allotment has expanded a bit this year as I’ve taken on some unused…

The best potatoes to grow

Last year I grew a set of seven different potato cultivars and only really liked one…

44 Future gardening moments of 2016

Future gardening is the phrase I use to describe my personal take on the world. Be forward…

13 tips to help allotment newbies… by an allotment newbie!

Taking on an allotment for the first time is exciting and scary. I know because I’ve just…

Allotment month 12: proof is in the potatoes

It’s been a year since I was given my 125 sq metre allotment and what a…

Allotment Month 7: Potatoes growing, problems sowing

I’ve had my allotment for over half a year now – where did that time go?…

March 2016: Allotment woe to propagation pro

March has to be up there in my top three favourite months of the year. Yes…

My Allotment: month 1 – preparation and planning

I’ve had access to my allotment for a month now giving me time to assess it,…

My Allotment: Weeding

Today I had my first proper session at the allotment and I’d say that for the…

I have an allotment!

After a year of trying, this has all happened quite quickly: I have an allotment! 125…