From my first visit to St Ann’s Allotments, around 3 years ago, I knew I had to have a plot here. There was a certain magic to the place. No, I’m not a witch! I don’t mean weird midnight rituals and other dubious practices. I mean a real feeling of wonder and childlike glee at being immersed in a natural environment brimming…
Have you seen those very posh summerhouses at some of the larger garden centres? They tempt you inside and then you catch sight of the price. £10k, £15K or £20K. No problem. I’ll have two. And what about buying one of those expensive super-duper barbeques that the British weather will only allow me (or rather my wife)…
I moved into my house 20 years ago and enthusiastically installed my greenhouse and raised beds. Many solutions to pigeons, squirrels and other crop-raiding critters have been tried with little success. My heart fell when, after much lockdown attention, my red current and gooseberry bushes fell to the same fate, even before ripe this year!…
Have you tried spotting tree seedlings in your garden? Wood pigeons and squirrels are a pain if you’re trying to grow brassicas and beans. But then again, pigeon poop (poop from other birds may be available) is a great producer of free tree seedlings. Thanks to the pigeons and their friends gulping down tree…
Ingredients For the tabbouleh ½ cup spring onion tops, finely sliced ½ cup nasturtium leaves, chopped ½ cup climbing spinach, chopped ½ cup parsley, chopped ½ cup mint, chopped ½ cup coriander, chopped (optional) 200g tomatoes, finely chopped 200g sweet July-harvested gooseberries 100g cooked kasha (cracked buckwheat) For the dressing ¼ cup olive oil Juice and zest of 2 limes 1 tsp sugar Several fresh basil leaves 2…
It’s good to see that gardeners are experimenting with new crops and taking a serious interest in environmental management and biodiversity. Many of those interests are focused on what we eat, but there is a growing interest in what we wear. For many years we’ve become used to ‘plastic’ clothes, but traditional fibres such as…