What's new, what's growing, what we're learning. Updates, guides and stories for people who take their garden seriously.
Pears want warmth, flower early and almost always need a pollinator. How to solve the pear puzzle of spot, quince rootstock and a matching second variety.
Planted bare-root in the dormant season, almost any fruit tree establishes better than container stock. How to get spot, planting depth and the planting cut right, step by step.
It is not the variety that sets your fruit tree's size, but the rootstock. What M9, MM106 and seedling mean, and how to choose the right one when buying.
Winter pruning scares many, yet the basics fit on a beer mat. Thin out, deflect, head back, and the rule: steep grows, flat bears.
Variety, rootstock and spot decide the flavour, size and yield of your apple tree. How three questions lead you to the tree that fits your garden.
The apple winter cut follows the same order every year. Five steps from dead wood to fruiting wood, plus the trick against biennial bearing's glut and lean years.
Lamb's lettuce takes over the empty beds from late summer and supplies fresh, nutty greens into spring. The most common mistake is sowing too early and too warm. Here is how the cold germinator sprouts and how you harvest all winter.
You do not fertilise all berries the same. Acid-lovers like blueberries tolerate no lime, currants and gooseberries are potassium-hungry, raspberries undemanding. Here is how to sort your berries into a few groups and give each the right thing.
With a little system strawberries bear richly over years. Three decisions count: June-bearing or everbearing, planting in August and the clever handling of the runners. Plus the straw trick against grey mould.
