Why 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 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 container plants look great in year one and terrible in year two?
The four things that all run out at once at the end of a container plant's first season, why the decline is so predictable, and the spring routine that prevents it.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy is my compost not breaking down?
The green-to-brown balance, moisture and air — diagnosing which one is missing from what the heap looks and smells like.
beginner45 min2 min readHow deep should I plant a clematis?
Why clematis are the one garden plant deliberately planted deeper than they were growing, how much deeper, and the three other planting details that decide whether it thrives or sulks.
beginner40 min6 min readHow do I attract wildlife to my garden?
The changes that most increase garden biodiversity — water, shelter, food and doing less — in rough order of impact.
beginner2 hr2 min readHow do I collect and use rainwater in the garden?
Sizing and siting butts, linking them, keeping the water usable, and where rainwater is genuinely better than tap water.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I drill a drainage hole in a pot without cracking it?
Getting a hole through terracotta, glazed ceramic, plastic or metal without splitting the pot: the right bit, why speed is the enemy, and the water that does most of the work.
intermediate15 min3 min readHow do I fix a hanging basket bracket so it does not pull out of the wall?
Why the top screw is the one that fails, what a watered basket really weighs, and how to fix a bracket into brick, block, render and timber so it stays there.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I fix a waterlogged garden?
Working out why water sits, and the range of responses from improving the soil to planting for the conditions.
intermediate3 hr2 min readHow do I get rid of a tree stump?
The four realistic options — grinding, digging, chemical treatment and patience — what each actually costs in effort and money, and how to choose between them.
intermediate5 hr6 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 raspberries, currants and blueberries?
Planting, pruning and netting the three main soft fruits, each of which fruits on different wood.
intermediate1 hr 30 min2 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 readHow do I help garden wildlife in hot weather?
Water is the thing that matters, and how you provide it decides whether it helps or drowns things. What birds, hedgehogs, bees and amphibians actually need in a drought.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I install a French drain in a garden?
Where a French drain does and does not help, the fall and materials it needs, and the outfall question that has to be answered before you dig.
advanced10 hr4 min readHow do I know when apples are ready to pick?
The lift-and-twist test, what the pips tell you, and why an early apple and a keeping apple are picked at completely different stages of ripeness.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I level a bumpy lawn?
Top dressing shallow hollows, lifting the turf for deeper ones, and why rolling a lawn makes bumps worse rather than better.
intermediate3 hr3 min readHow do I prevent tomato and potato blight?
Recognising blight early, the conditions that trigger it, and the growing choices that avoid it entirely.
intermediate30 min2 min readHow do I protect a garden during a heatwave?
What to do before, during and after a hot spell — which plants to prioritise, what shading actually helps, and the jobs to stop doing until it passes.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I protect plants from frost?
What frost actually damages, the protection that works, and how to help a plant that has already been hit.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I stake a newly planted tree?
Why a low short stake produces a stronger tree than a tall one, where the stake goes relative to the wind, and when to take it off.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I stop weeds growing between paving slabs?
Why weeds keep coming back in the same joints, the methods that clear them without spraying, and the jointing that stops them for years.
beginner2 hr3 min read