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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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I Want to Grow Jacket Potatoes

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For years I have planted 1st early potato tubers in 30L containers and although overjoyed at the harvest, I have become disappointed at how tiny some of the potatoes were. This year I’m taking action I want to grow jacket potato sized potatoes and I’m growing them in a raised bed. What variety of Potatoes will grow larger than others? The 2 main larger potato varieties are: King Edward (I’m growing), Maris Piper. What 3 things make a difference to be able to grow larger potatoes? Bed Preparation – Dig compost into the holes or trench you plant the potatoes into. Chitting – Put the tubers in an egg box in a cool light place for 4-6 weeks, for the potatoes to sprout purple shoots. These will help boost the starting growth in the soil. Spacing – Larger potatoes need more room to grow, so make sure you space your potatoes apart otherwise they will take up each other’s nutrients. Chitting – Purple Sprouts When to Plant Maincrop Potatoes in Raised Beds Maincrop Potatoe...
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Grow Vegetables on a Budget: Cheap Seeds That Actually Work

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New Vegetable Seeds are always exciting to buy, but do they really need to be expensive? Many beginner gardeners assume that growing vegetables requires premium seed brands and lots of money. In this year’s Veg Lab Experiment, I have decided to test that idea by growing a range of the cheapest vegetable seeds I could find. My Goal is simple: to see whether budget vegetable seeds grow just as well as more expensive brands and to show that growing vegetables on a budget is completely possible for beginners. If you have ever wondered whether cheap vegetable seeds are worth buying, my experiment might surprise you. It’s a Myth that Vegetable Growing is expensive Broad Bean Seeds With premium seed brands, shiny tools in the garden centre and Pinterest style gardens that look expensive, you could be forgiven for thinking growing your own vegetables is expensive. A trip to the garden centre or viewing seed catalogues, is an easy trap to fall into and you’ll start thinking expensive...
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