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Buying Vegetable Plug Plants: What I Bought for my Winter Vegetable Garden

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The tomatoes are finally turning red, the courgettes are turning into marrows, the beds are looking tired (they are not the only ones in this heat!). Are you wondering is this it, for the year? It’s not time to give up, just yet, as there’s Winter vegetables waiting to be grown. Kale Plug Plants have arrived! “They are here!” I cried, “my plants are here”. My husband and daughter look at me as it to say yes her plants have arrived but so what?! To me, a box of living, breathing plants, is an exciting thing, it’s a box of goodness to unwrap in August (an early Christmas present if you will). I know this box of tiny little plug plants, will soon be a harvest of nutritious greens, piled up on my families plates, next to the rest of the roast dinner, in winter season, staving off those nasty bacteria illness bugs. It might not mean something to my husband and daughter, but this certainly means something to me, I am a vegetable growing addict who learned how to grow veg...
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What to Sow in August: The Great Raised Bed Staring Competition

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You wander into the garden, after the recent heatwaves, and it is all looking a bit ‘crispy’. One raised bed has a few tomato plants clinging on for dear life, with curled leaves and green tomatoes and the other raised bed has 2 chard seedlings, a rogue sunflower and a tired lettuce plant that has bolted, you are too exhausted to even pull it out, saying you are leaving it for the wildlife and the thought of free seeds for next year. You walk past the third raised bed, rather sheepishly as you are dreading looking under the courgette plant for the 8th courgette, that’s auditioning to become a marrow. The 8th Courgette – Please stop now, no more! You stop and stare and your empty raised beds stare back, they have been bare ground, encouraging a ‘weed’ gathering for 3 weeks, now since the onions and garlic were harvested. And the question is, is it really worth sowing anything now? Will it all wither in the next heatwave which wasn’t forecasted but has now appea...
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Think Like a Grower: What Your Plant Leaves are Trying to Tell You

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Plants can’t speak but they do have the capacity to reveal clues about distress and discomfort they are feeling through their leaves. Plants are trying to tell you something through the dots, marks, colour and texture of their leaves. Plants are hoping you pick up on some tell-tale signs so you might be able to fix their woes. Learning to read a plants cry for help is one of the skills that turns a beginner into a confident grower. Think like a Grower and look beyond the problem itself and ask yourself why is the plant behaving in this way? Is it stressed, too wet, too dry or is something attacking it? Plants are talking all the time through their leaves, you just need to know what they are trying to say. Why Leaves Tell a Story Plants cannot tell us the problems they are facing or if theres something bothering them by picking up a phone or sending a message saying “I’m thirsty.” However they do communicate to us through changes in their leaves and growing ...
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The Best Watering Systems for Vegetable Gardens & Greenhouse – Pros & Cons

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Consistent watering is one of the most important things a Vegetable Gardener has to consider during the Summer months when growing warm loving vegetables like tomatoes, aubergine, cucumbers and sweet peppers. Automatic watering systems will take ‘you’ out of the equation, that is ‘you’ standing and watering every plant, every evening and instead get on with watering itself, when you are at work or on holiday. Watering – How long to reach the roots? You will be surprised at how long you’ll have to stand with the hose pipe on the same part of the soil to even reach the roots of a plant. It’s 15 minutes on average, watering the same spot in your garden to water 6 inches of soil from the surface down to the roots. This watering fact surprised me, in how much time this would take to water my entire garden on a deep soaking, just so the plants get what they need. I do love to switch off from my 9 to 5 job in the garden in the evening, watering and observing nature, howe...
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Think Like a Tomato Plant: What Your Tomato Plants are Trying to Tell You

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Welcome to the Think Like a Plant series. This is a new collection of vegetable growing articles designed to help you think like a grower by understanding the plants you grow. Instead of simply following gardening instructions, this series explores what vegetable plants, like tomatoes, actually need to grow well, stay healthy, and produce strong harvests. Once you understand what a tomato plant wants, from warmth and watering to light, airflow, and nutrients, you can garden with more confidence, spot problems earlier, and make smarter growing decisions in your garden or greenhouse. What does my Tomato Plant actually want? Try thinking like Tomato plant by observing their behaviour, notice patterns when growing them like how much water they need and try to understand what the plant is trying to achieve. Tomato Plants No 1 Goal ‘Grow strong enough to produce fruits and seeds’ Here are the steps that the Tomato Plant takes to achieve this goal: Leaves abs...
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Sowing Courgettes in April (Not May) is your ticket to an Earlier Harvest

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Waiting is something Gardening teaches us along with patience. It’s worth knowing that not everything happens instantly and that’s part of the growing process. Whilst you can’t rush growth, you can choose when it begins. The earlier you sow, the earlier the harvest. This why it’s better to sow Courgettes in April and not May, to give them the head start they need. Courgettes are one of the most cost effective vegetable to grow. Sow 1 seed and get about 5 plus courgettes off that plant, maybe more. Courgette seeds start from 39p from UK seed suppliers so this is great value and you are getting courgettes back for your money. Can you Sow Courgettes Outdoors in April in the UK? Courgette’s are classed as Tender vegetables which means they are susceptible to frost. This means that whilst you are ‘winging it’ by putting those Tomato plants in the greenhouse, hoping not to get too many cold nights or frost. It’s not going to work for Courgettes as they need heat (indoor sunny windowsill...
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