How do I grow plants from seed on a windowsill with no greenhouse?
Getting decent plants out of a British windowsill — the light, the temperature swing between day and night, and the sowing dates that actually work indoors.
beginner45 min5 min read
Growing Vegetables
Food you can realistically grow at home.
110 guides in Garden
Why are my radishes all leaf and no root?
Radishes fail in four predictable ways — crowding, heat, shade and over-rich soil — and all four show as leaf without a bulb, or a woody hot root.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy did my sweetcorn cobs only fill in patches?
Every kernel needs its own grain of pollen, which is why a row never fills and a block does — plus the variety separation that protects the flavour.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I get the most out of a growbag?
Four ways to plant a growbag and what each does to the root run — including ring culture, which roughly doubles the effective depth for the cost of two pots.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I grow carrots?
Stone-free soil, direct sowing and carrot fly protection — the three things that decide whether you get straight roots.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I grow strawberries?
Growing strawberries in beds, pots or hanging baskets — planting depth, runners, protection from birds and slugs, and when to replace plants.
beginner7 days3 min readHow do I keep a chilli plant alive over winter?
Chillies are perennials, and a plant kept through winter crops months earlier the following year — the cut-back, the conditions and the pest that ruins most attempts.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I prick out seedlings without killing them?
The right moment, the grip that does not crush the stem, and the depth that makes the difference between a stocky plant and a floppy one.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I protect seedlings from heat?
Seedlings are killed by heat in an afternoon, in conditions established plants shrug off, because their roots occupy a tiny volume that dries and heats faster than anything else in the garden.
beginner15 min4 min readShould I grow cordon or bush tomatoes?
The single difference that decides how you train, support and harvest a tomato plant — and which type suits a greenhouse, a bed, a pot and a hanging basket.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy are my Brussels sprouts loose and open instead of tight?
Blown sprouts come from loose soil, too much nitrogen and wind rock — the firm planting and staking that produce tight buttons, plus when stopping the plant helps.
intermediate15 min4 min readWhy are my garlic leaves going yellow?
Yellowing garlic is normal at one time of year and a warning at another — reading it by season, by which leaves, and ruling out white rot.
beginner12 min4 min readWhy does my spinach bolt almost as soon as it is up?
Spinach bolts on daylength rather than heat, which is why it behaves completely differently from lettuce — and why the answer is when you sow, not how you water.
beginner12 min3 min readWhy is my apple tree not producing fruit?
Working through age, pollination, frost, pruning and biennial bearing in the order that identifies most cases without guesswork.
intermediate30 min3 min readHow do I grow onions and garlic?
Planting from sets and cloves, the cold period garlic needs, and drying the crop so it stores.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I grow purple sprouting broccoli, and when do I pick it?
The long-season winter brassica that gives its crop in the hungry gap — sowing early enough, standing it through winter, and picking to keep it producing for weeks.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I harden off seedlings?
Acclimatising indoor-grown plants to outdoor conditions over a week or two, and why skipping it kills them.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I plan a year of growing vegetables?
Sequencing sowings, rotating crops and planning for a spread of harvests rather than one glut.
intermediate1 hr 30 min2 min readMy rhubarb has sent up a huge flower spike — what should I do?
A bolting rhubarb crown is telling you something about its age or its conditions — cut the spike out at once, and read what triggered it.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy are my stored onions going soft and rotting?
Onions that rot weeks after storage were nearly always lost at lifting — neck rot, poor curing, bolted bulbs and the storage conditions that finish the job.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I grow beans?
Growing runner and climbing French beans — support, sowing time, watering and the picking regime that keeps them producing.
beginner6 days2 min readHow do I grow greenhouse cucumbers properly?
All-female varieties, the umbrella training system, the humidity and warmth greenhouse cucumbers demand, and the male-flower rule that only applies to some types.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I grow peas and beans?
Sowing, supporting and picking regularly — plus why these crops improve the soil for whatever follows them.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I grow vegetables on a balcony?
Choosing crops and containers for a small outdoor space, and managing the wind, heat and watering it involves.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min read