Gardening

Or are they picking onions? We need your advice, please Not sure our Danish organic shallots are quite what they seemed (but then my written Danish is shamefully poor). Pulled them because the stems had dropped and the bulbs seemed soft. And now I am wondering if something’s been lost in translation. They have happily [...]

Celebrating the rainbow coloured summer allotment Sitting down to Saturday lunch with summer salad: ruby-stemmed baby chard, bulls blood, purple basil, orange and yellow calendula petals, red nasturtium and blue borage and every shade of green salad leaf you could ever want. A feast for the eyes that dances on the taste buds, too. From [...]

The organic entrepreneur, 55, on 70s disco music, new potatoes, and being addicted to salt scrub I’ve never been starstruck. Famous people often turn out to be complete idiots when I’d thought they’d be fantastic. I was useless at school. I’d sit and daydream, thinking: “When I grow up I’m going to be a model.” [...]

Your pond could be harbouring a would-be killer, says Jane Perrone Do you know what’s lurking in your garden pond? OK, so it may well be frozen over right now, but have a look at the pictures above. See anything familiar? Although I think I could just about identify parrot’s feather, having spent ages fishing [...]

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Will orange peel make my compost too acidic. Plus the seed-grown avocado in need of moisture I make my own compost, but have been told I should avoid citrus fruits because they make the compost too acidic and the worms hate this. I make orange juice for the family every day, and it seems a [...]

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Warm weather bring the sleeping borlotti to life So, summer’s here. Despite the grizly mizzly bank holiday we finally sit down to our first broad bean supper of the year (figure the sweet baby pods we’ve been eating whole on site don’t really count). Loosely chopped, quickly steamed, drizzled with grassy oil, eaten with pan-fried [...]

Our former River Cafe cook is inspired by Elizabeth David While everything else is just beginning, the sorrel which has been growing for months, is starting to go to seed. Little rust coloured spots are appearing on the leaves, which make it rather beautiful but remind me it’s time to make the final pick. Sorrel [...]

Conservative MP for Richmond Park and green campaigner wants annual budget for schools, hospitals and care homes to be spent on local, organic and sustainable food Zac Goldsmith is urging ministers to kickstart a revolution in eating habits by ensuring that all schools, hospitals and care homes start using healthy, environmentally friendly, sustainable food. A [...]

US owner Dean Foods believed to have hired NM Rothschild to examine options including sale of dairy products maker The American owner of Rachel’s Organic is believed to have hoisted the “for sale” sign above the maker of dairy products from yoghurts and butter to chocolate desserts, with an asking price of £20m. Horizon Organic [...]

• Call for separate food waste collection and composting at home• Reduction of landfill also targets public buildings and industry The government should bring in “mandatory collection” of food waste from homes and a ban on leftovers going to landfill to help reduce the amount of rubbish dumped in England, according to a report by [...]

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Snow drifts and badger tracks at the summerhouse The first time I saw the seas freeze is when I met my mother-in-law (though we have both seen something of a thaw since then). But now the bay at the back of the ‘summerhouse’ is largely frozen over and the solstice snow is still 10cm thick [...]

Much excitement planning for the year ahead at the London Potato Fair Sunday morning I set off to East Dulwich (or at least I think it was East Dulwich, my mental map of the city doesn’t cover large parts of south east London) to visit the annual Potato Fair and Seedy Sunday held on the [...]

Move will make Green & Black’s the world’s leading manufacturer of organic Fairtrade chocolate Organic chocolate maker Green & Black’s today pledged to switch its entire worldwide food and beverage range to Fairtrade by the end of next year, in a groundbreaking move that will make it the world’s leading manufacturer of organic Fairtrade chocolate. [...]

Lucy Siegle on the return of the slop bucket If it’s all in the wording and presentation then the rumoured mandatory brown, sweaty-looking plastic box habitually referred to as a “slop bucket” is hardly likely to coax the nation to take food-waste recycling to its collective bosom. A less hysterical vision includes giving these objects [...]

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Fairtrade chocolate does more than keep consumers sweet – it keeps children off plantations and puts money in the pockets of the poor It’s Chocolate Week, in case you needed an excuse for more chocolate consumption. But to help you do good while indulging yourself, at Ethical Consumer magazine we’ve rated the most ethical chocolate [...]

Rachel Surtees of A Growing Obsession on setting up a cheap and cheerful wormery I opened the door to find my friend stood there with a bottle of vino in one hand and a box of worms in the other. Hurrah. I recently decided that it would be a good (read green) idea to start [...]

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There really are nutritional benefits, as research to be published next year will show Ben Goldacre says the Soil Association‘s criticism of the recent Food Standards Agency research on nutrients is “not about organic food” and that “the emotive commentary in favour of organic farming bundles together diverse and legitimate concerns about unchecked capitalism in [...]

Your chance to quiz the Soil Association on organics and its spat with the Food Standards Agency This week’s You Ask, They Answer guest has been in the headlines a lot recently, but not always for the reasons it would like. Now, with the start of Organic Fortnight, the Soil Association is hoping to regain [...]

Contaminated manure is still proving a problem for some growers. Photograph: Mulsanne/Flickr/Some rights reserved Last summer, growers were alarmed by the contamination of manure with aminopyralid, a weedkiller used on pasture. Aminopyralid sales were suspended by Dow Chemical Company, the RHS and others dished out advice on how to deal with contaminated ground and the [...]

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Three years ago, I bought a bottlebrush plant cutting at an open garden visit. I put it in a pot and placed it in a sunny position, and in winter I wrap it up in an unheated greenhouse. For some reason it has never flowered and now looks straggly.Callistemons are the ultimate weird and wonderful Aussie [...]

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• More people are growing their own seasonal produce • Sideline products account for increasing proportion of sales An increase in amateur gardeners keen to grow their own food is taking its toll on organic farms and shops that deliver vegetable boxes. Hundreds of health food shops and farms around the country now offer a [...]

Do we dare hope to survive without blight on site Almost too anxious to talk about it, but we are heading into a critical stage for the tomatoes. We are trialling only three of Fern Verrow’s Oli Rose at the plot, plus one nameless self-seeder (though we didn’t grow any last year?) At home we [...]

The cropping of all available ground is of the utmost importance for only a limited area of the garden will he available for vegetable growing and the best possible.usc must be made of it. A 4-course rotation of crops should be followed where possible for there are many advantages to be gained by it. The [...]

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Decades after she dug for victory, Queen Elizabeth gives the royal seal of approval to the grow-your-own movement As a 14-year-old, she picked up a spade and joined with the rest of wartime Britain in the Dig for Victory campaign. Seven decades later, though no longer wielding the spade herself, the Queen, 83, has again [...]

Study finds even ethically-conscious customers swapping to cheaper brands for weekly grocery shop British consumers who in the past were willing to pay a premium for organic, Fairtrade and eco-friendly goods are now turning their backs on buying ethical in favour of cheaper shopping bills, according to a survey. It is a trend that is [...]

Classification: Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Angiosperms Family: Sapindaceae Genus: Acer Species: A. palmatum As the name implies Japanese maple is a woody plant species native to Japan. It is also found in Korea and China. It is now grown in many parts of the temperate world and many different cultivars with attractive leaf shapes and colors [...]

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Q Dear Nigel, A few weeks ago you suggested that rhubarb leaves made excellent compost. My father always told me not to put rhubarb leaves on the compost heap as they were poisonous. Can you enlighten me please?Priscilla A Yes, rhubarb leaves are certainly poisonous, but I can find no evidence anywhere to back up [...]

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Another year, another Chelsea, and I’m asking myself, why does the RHS still tolerate peat at its garden shows? Especially when climate change was again a prominent theme at last week’s event. Not only are peatlands important habitats, they are also vital in the fight against global warming. Healthy peat bogs store carbon and once [...]

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Decades after she dug for victory, Queen Elizabeth gives the royal seal of approval to the grow-your-own movement As a 14-year-old, she picked up a spade and joined with the rest of wartime Britain in the Dig for Victory campaign. Seven decades later, though no longer wielding the spade herself, the Queen, 83, has again [...]

A weekend of visitors, sunshine, corn and crowns Where to start? With the Queen becoming the latest ‘celebrity’ to have an alotment (though not totally sure she qualifies under the enclosures act, which had thought was to protect peasants from posh people)? But happily doff my cloth cap to anything that encourages growing organic food, [...]

Christening our crooked wooden path at the end of the plot When we took over our space we quickly decided to build a walkway along the side bordering Ruth’s. There’s a steep bank down to her allotment with a narrow and treacherous path running along the top. It starts gentle enough by the pumpkin pit [...]

Beans, bees, barbecues and bolting chard Perhaps the best weekend ever at the plot: lots of weeding to do, lots of broad beans to crop, and lots and lots of sunshine. Got there at 7am Saturday to water and check on weeds and the salsify flowers. Will have to do something about the salsify soon: [...]

Sensual overload at the summerhouse Woke up early at the beach hut on Saturday to find myself a stranger in a strange land To explain: a new bank of umbellifers (I think) has swamped the southern border, with the silver birch and blue cedar almost disappearing under a 5ft wall of white pollen. The rugosa, [...]

River cafe cook Stevie Parle on the secret to herb recipes I love herbs. Growing them, picking, chopping, tearing, pounding and frying them makes me happy. I recently decided to never again buy supermarket herbs. I hate the little plastic packets and try to grow all the herbs I need on the deck of my [...]

Time for summery colours and flavours So our formerly veggie-free roof terrace is now home to three stray tomato plants. Strange really, as my over-excitement over growing tomato seed started our allotment addiction. Used to worry at work about the baby seedlings out in the cold and wet, like abandoned kittens, so was completely ill-equipped [...]

Spicing up our garden salad with salsify flowers Recently, I have only been at the allotment in the afternoon or evening when the newly formed flowers of the salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) are tightly closed. The buds are pretty in themselves, fine conical twists of a dusty green, hiding regal purple petals. It’s known as ‘Jack [...]

Happiness is seed-shaped I’m still getting used to the magnificence of this spring. I can’t remember one like it. The blossom has been heavier and more splendid than I have ever seen. The emerging leaves on the trees softer, fresher and unfeasibly green. Even the masses of dandelions floating in the grass have taken my [...]

Everything you need to know about sowing and growing this month As the weather gets warmer, the sowing options widen. In May many tender plants can now be sown outside. By the time they will have emerged from the soil, all danger of frost should be over. As the seed propagated inside will grow faster [...]

Time to get some herbs and salads in Sun-saturated weekend. Saturday spent potting up windowboxes and pots on the roof terrace. Am aware of slightly neglecting this space since the allotment came into my life and admit the sight of of an organic veggie growbag momentarily quickened my pulse, but there is something serene about [...]

Summer starts when the beans and the beet break though Tuesday evening at the plot. It is a ‘leaf day‘, the first for a while and I am keen to get in salad and spinach seed. The claytonia has flowered, so too last year’s rocket. Even the mizuna is a foot high and getting nettley, [...]

Seed and sunshine by the sea: there is no beating the retreat Three days of hot sunshine with one day of cold eerie mist echoing with fog horns and melancholic gulls meant we got pretty much everything done we wanted for the Easter weekend. We scattered meadow seed, we espaliered the pears, we sowed Spencer [...]

Red, white and blue: how heritage potatoes come in colours Piece in today’s Guardian in praise of heritage potatoes. We have long been fans of growing more interesting seed varieties and have had some success with Red Duke of York and Roseval among others. But this year’s trip to the London Potato Fair, where we [...]

Wow, what a weekend. Wonderful weather and kids happy to sit and play in the sandpit for several hours at a time. The element of gardening that I miss most since having children is ‘pottering’. I can make planned, strategic hits, usually 20 minutes or so long, or beg days of childcare for big jobs, [...]

There is no denying the signs of spring First, I would like to apologise to the plot. You see, I am too easily distracted by gaudy Indian opulence and it takes me time to adjust to subtlety. Which is just a long-winded way of saying that after the sun-saturated fertility of the Keralan coconut groves [...]

Leicestershire council spends £6,000 on system to find out where grass is too long Lawnmowers in Leicestershire have been fitted with satellite navigation systems to help council gardeners find where the grass is too long. Leicestershire county council splashed out £6,000 on the technology, which will enable 14 ride-on mowers to be tracked from the [...]

You might think that the lack of a decent composting system was the least of the Palestinian people’s troubles. But you’d be wrong. For those involved in Bustan Quraaqa (“the Tortoise Garden”), a permaculture farm set up last year in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, composting has become about dignity, self-reliance [...]

Clivia miniata: mine after a 20-year wait. Photograph: yichuanshen/Flickr/Some rights reserved I first saw it in my teenage bible, DG Hessayon’s The Houseplant Expert, and it was love at first sight. I was seduced by Clivia miniata‘s acid-orange exotic flowers and glossy straplike leaves. For some reason, I never got hold of one – probably [...]

Celebrated gardener and writer Vita Sackville-West wrote a weekly column called In Your Garden for the Observer for 15 years. This column was published on February 26 1950 A purple anemone. Vita Sackville-West recommended Anemone × fulgens Saint Bavo Group. Photograph: Antediluvial/Flickr/Some rights reserved A dear neighbour bought me a tussie-mussie this week. The dictionary [...]

Popular panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time with a deep love of his native Yorkshire Geoffrey Smith, who has died aged 80, was a populist gardening expert whose genial outings on radio and television were backed by formidable knowledge and experience. He perfected an accessible style which made light of his learning, not only through broadcasting [...]

Christopher Lloyd wrote a gardening column for the Guardian for 17 years until his death in 2006. This piece was published on February 28 1998 A weeping cherry tree. Photograph: corrieb/Flickr/Some rights reserved Contrasting weeping habits with the way trees and shrubs usually grow has a wide appeal, but how are we to make a [...]

Home-grown veg, free cuttings and seed swapping can turn your garden into the ultimate environment for cheap living. Dan Pearson reveals where to make the best investments – and how to conjure something out of nothing Real gardening, not the TV makeover kind, has always revolved around the idea of thriftiness and making do with [...]

Pick up your tools, pull on your gloves and get outside: the growing season is here and it’s time to sow broad beans, pot on wild primroses and start off onion and garlic, says Carol Klein Feeling the weak warmth of the sun on your neck for the first time in the new year gives [...]

Give shrubs a boost This is a good moment – just before growth starts – to renovate shrubs. Old and overgrown shrubs stop flowering well or simply get too big for their boots. You could show them who’s boss by chopping them to the ground; many shrubs won’t care. However, you will almost always sacrifice [...]

Are you a victim of allotment envy? Photograph: Addictive Picasso/Flickr/Some rights reserved Cemeteries, roundabouts, car parks – no piece of land is immune from the allotmenteers in waiting who are desperate to find some space to grow while they languish on a waiting list for a plot. I’ve written a piece for the G2 section [...]