Why did my plant suddenly collapse and die?
A plant that was fine last week and flat this week has had its plumbing cut — the short list of things that do that, checked from the ground up.
intermediate20 min5 min read
Garden
Seasonal, practical gardening for people with a normal garden and a normal amount of time. Timings are given for a temperate northern-hemisphere climate — adjust for yours.
687 guides
Why do my apples have a hole and a maggot inside?
Telling codling moth from apple sawfly by the damage they leave, and the traps, hygiene and timing that reduce the population without spraying a tree in flower.
beginner45 min5 min readWhy do my hanging baskets need watering twice a day?
The four things about a basket that make it dry faster than any pot on the ground, and the changes that halve the watering.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy does my basil keep dying?
Why supermarket basil collapses within a fortnight, and the light, water and pinching regime that keeps a plant going all summer.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy does my patio flood when it rains?
The four reasons paving holds water — no fall, the wrong fall, blocked joints and nowhere to drain to — and which of them you can fix without relaying.
intermediate2 hr4 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 readWhy is my rose not flowering?
Working through light, feeding, pruning, suckers and rose replant disease to find why a rose produces growth and no blooms.
beginner25 min3 min readDo pots really need drainage holes?
Why a pot with no hole kills plants that look thirsty, how to use a decorative container that cannot be drilled, and when a saucer helps and when it does not.
beginner20 min4 min readHow and when should I clean a greenhouse?
The autumn clean that decides how well a greenhouse performs all winter — glass, overlaps, gutters, frame and floor — and why the light gain is worth the afternoon it takes.
beginner3 hr4 min readHow do I bring a neglected old apple tree back into production?
The three-winter programme that turns an overgrown, unpickable apple tree back into a productive one, and the quarter-of-the-crown rule that stops it turning into a thicket.
advanced4 hr5 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 move an established shrub without killing it?
The season, the rootball size and the aftercare that decide whether a moved shrub survives, plus the plants that will not tolerate it at all.
intermediate3 hr4 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 readHow do I prune a fruit tree?
The three cuts that matter, when each type of fruit tree should be pruned, and why less is usually better.
intermediate2 hr2 min readHow do I remove a large branch from a tree?
The three-cut method that stops the bark tearing, where the final cut goes, and the point at which this becomes a job for a professional.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow often should I feed through the season?
A feeding year that separates the three completely different regimes — open ground, containers, and things you want to flower and fruit — plus the date after which nitrogen does harm.
beginner20 min4 min readIs lawn weed and feed safe for pets and children?
What is actually in these products, what the real exposure route is, how long to keep everyone off, and the low-chemical alternatives that suit a garden with a dog in it.
beginner20 min4 min readIs my plant pot-bound, and what do I do about it?
The three stages of root congestion, the signs that identify each, and why circling roots have to be cut rather than teased apart.
beginner20 min5 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 readWhat actually grows well in heavy clay soil?
The plants that genuinely thrive on clay rather than merely survive it, and the reasoning that lets you judge anything not on the list.
beginner25 min4 min readWhat is crown reduction, and is topping a tree bad?
The four kinds of crown work, what each is actually for, and why topping — cutting a tree off at a height — creates a more dangerous tree than the one you started with.
intermediate25 min5 min read