Handy Gardening Tips

Broad Beans

When your beans are over 2 feet tall and flowers are setting, pinch out the growth tip at the the top of the plant – this helps prevent black-fly invading the plant.

Cabbage / Sprouts etc

Brassicas love garden lime. Give your soil a good dusting of garden lime before planting. Also after six weeks of growth, clean the weeds around the stems and top dress with more lime – fork well in.

Note: remember to net all Brassicas if not,our bird & butterfly population will feed on them.

Leeks

Remember to wrap up your leeks in black heavy duty polythene. This will help them to blanch white and increase the amount of leek to eat. ( see Phil’s guide to growing great Leeks)

Parsnips

Grow seedlings in used kitchen roll tubes / alternative tubing filled with compost. When plant germinates and root begins to show from the bottom of the tube, plant out into your plot.

Chilli Peppers

Regularly feed with Seaweed Plant Food to make them grow bigger – they love it

Sweetcorn

Wrap polythene sheet around the sides of the sweetcorn bed. This will protect them from cold winds and enable them to grow better.

Tomatoes

When planting out either in greenhouse / garden don’t forget to also plant some french marigolds nearby. Marigolds give off pyrethrum as they grow – a great natural insect repellent.

Let us know your favourite tips and help others improve their crops!