Can I sow seeds during hot weather?
Some seed refuses to germinate above a certain soil temperature rather than merely germinating slowly. Which crops are affected, and the techniques that get a summer sowing to come up.
beginner15 min4 min read
Growing Vegetables
Food you can realistically grow at home.
110 guides in Garden
How do I grow rhubarb, and when should I stop picking?
Planting a crown, the first-year rule that decides how long the plant lives, and why picking stops in midsummer.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I grow sprouting seeds and microgreens indoors?
Two different indoor crops that get confused — jar-sprouted seeds and compost-grown microgreens — with the hygiene that matters for one and not the other.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I heat a greenhouse cheaply in winter?
Deciding what temperature you actually need, insulating before heating, and the running costs of the realistic options.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I save seeds from my own plants?
Which plants come true from saved seed, how to dry and store it, and how long each type stays viable.
intermediate45 min2 min readHow do I stop seed trays drying out in the greenhouse?
Small cells in a sunny greenhouse can dry out in a single morning. Capillary matting, sand benches, covers and positioning — what actually holds moisture without drowning the seedlings.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy does my lettuce bolt so quickly?
The heat and stress triggers that send lettuce to seed, and the sowing, siting and variety choices that give a summer-long supply.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I stop condensation and damp in a greenhouse?
Why greenhouse damp is a winter problem rather than a summer one, and the ventilation, watering and hygiene changes that prevent grey mould.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I stop mint taking over the garden?
How mint spreads, the containment that actually works, and how to remove it from a bed it has already colonised.
beginner45 min3 min readWhy are my carrots forked and stunted?
The three causes of misshapen roots — stones, fresh manure and transplanting — and the soil preparation that produces straight carrots.
beginner25 min3 min readWhy do my seedlings wilt or collapse inside a propagator?
The lid that helps seeds germinate is the same lid that cooks and rots seedlings — when to take it off, and what the different collapses mean.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy have my onions bolted and gone to seed?
What triggers bolting in onions, whether a bolted bulb is still usable, and the planting choices that avoid it next year.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I stop a wooden raised bed rotting?
Which timbers last, why beds fail at the corners and the ground line first, and the details that take a bed from five years to twenty.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readDo I need a heated propagator?
What bottom heat genuinely changes, the small number of crops it matters for, and why it makes leggy seedlings worse unless you fix the light too.
beginner15 min4 min read