How do I make compost that actually breaks down quickly?
Why a trickle-fed bin never heats up, and how to build a heap in one go that reaches 60°C and is finished in a few months.
intermediate3 hr5 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
How do I make my garden lower maintenance?
Design and planting choices that genuinely cut the work, rather than the ones that sound like they will.
beginner2 hr2 min readHow do I plant for year-round interest?
Building from structure outwards, the months most gardens miss, and the small number of plants that do the winter work.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I prune a shrub?
The general principles of pruning — what to cut, where to cut, and the timing rule that determines whether you get flowers next year.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I stop slugs eating my plants?
What genuinely works against slugs, what does not, and how to protect the vulnerable plants specifically.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I stop wasps and flies ruining eating outside?
Removing what attracts them, decoys, and why swatting makes it worse.
beginner30 min3 min readHow hot is too hot in a greenhouse?
The temperatures at which growth slows, pollination fails, ripening stops and damage begins are all different. Which one you have hit tells you how urgently to act.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat do I do about Japanese knotweed on my boundary?
How to identify it properly, why the disposal rules matter more than the killing, what to do when it is coming from next door, and the mortgage and legal implications.
advanced1 hr6 min readWhat vegetables can I sow in autumn to overwinter?
The crops that genuinely benefit from an autumn start in the UK, the timing that decides whether they survive, and the ones that will simply rot.
beginner20 min5 min readWhy are my cabbages not hearting up?
A cabbage builds a frame of outer leaves and then folds the centre — the four things that limit the frame, and why loose planting is the one nobody expects.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy are my cucumbers bitter, stunted or misshapen?
Bitterness, curled fruit and stunted ends all come from stress or pollination — and the male-flower question that only applies to some varieties.
intermediate15 min4 min readWhy are my seedlings tall, thin and falling over?
Why seedlings stretch, whether a leggy seedling can be saved, and the light, temperature and airflow changes that prevent it.
beginner25 min3 min readWhy do my tomatoes have black sunken bottoms?
Blossom end rot is a watering problem, not a disease and not usually a calcium shortage — what actually causes it and how to stop it mid-season.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy has my grass seed not come up?
The four things that stop grass seed germinating — soil temperature, moisture, seed-to-soil contact and birds — and how to tell which one you have.
beginner30 min3 min readWhy is my plant dropping its leaves?
Which leaves fall, how fast, and what happened two weeks ago — the three questions that separate a change of conditions from root damage from normal shedding.
beginner18 min5 min readWhy is my plant leggy and stretched?
Stretching is a search for light — how to confirm that, where to cut, and why pinching early prevents it entirely.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy is my rhubarb thin and spindly?
Thin stalks come from an exhausted or congested crown, shade, competition or over-picking — and dividing an old crown is the fix that transforms most of them.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy is there black sooty mould on my plant?
The mould is harmless and the insects above it are the real problem — how to find them, and why treating the black film alone never works.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy will my petrol lawnmower not start?
A four-check sequence in the order that finds it fastest — fuel, spark, air and the safety interlocks — and why old petrol causes most spring no-starts.
beginner45 min6 min readCan I reduce the height of a leylandii hedge?
The one-way rule that governs leylandii — you can take the top off, but you cannot narrow it into brown wood — and how to plan a reduction that does not leave a permanent scar.
intermediate4 hr5 min readGlass or polycarbonate — which greenhouse glazing is better?
Light transmission, insulation, safety, lifespan and cost compared honestly — and the reason most people end up choosing on breakage risk rather than on growing performance.
beginner12 min4 min readHow do I grow things in a shady garden?
Distinguishing types of shade, choosing plants that genuinely thrive in it, and improving what light there is.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I start a garden from nothing?
Assessing what you have before buying anything, and a first-year plan that does not become overwhelming.
beginner4 hr2 min readHow do I stop pigeons stripping my cabbages and sprouts?
Pigeon damage looks like caterpillar damage but happens in winter — the netting specification that actually holds them off, and why every scare device stops working.
beginner45 min4 min read