Soil is only as good as the nutrients within it…. When we lift our produce we also lift the nutrients from the soil that the plant has used to grow. Over time and cultivation this can leave the soil depleted…especially if we leave the soil bare over winter and that can effect yields and disease in plants from Chlorosis and poor growth due to Nitrogen or soft growth which allows aphids or disease to take hold. Regularly adding organic matter to your plots can help improve soil structure and texture as well as reintroduce lost nutrients but sometimes an extra boost can help! Here’s a run down of ..read more

Get your craft on with these super easy newspaper pots, perfect for starting seeds! When taking steps to adopt a greener lifestyle it’s not all about spending a fortune on ethical clothing brands or paying to offset your carbon. Whilst these are brilliant steps to take there are also simple ways of making changes starting at home! Building greener foundations can start with the kit you use in the garden! Firstly, not all pots are created equal and yes there are some amazing plastic alternatives out there as well as recyclable pots but why not start with what you already have at home! Newspape ..read more

I was excited recently to hear from the team at Primoza recently about their new product that they are crowdfunding for to launch in the UK. My ears immediately pricked up when they mentioned the growable calendar! Now before I get into it, I did receive both of the calendars for free in exchange for an honest review. But I was under no obligation to give a positive review and all opinions are my own. So firstly…..here they are! Firstly, what is there to say about it. It’s literally a growable calendar! There’s two types available Back to the Roots, which is packed full of veggies and herbs ..read more

*This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks. Nature provides us with so many useful herbs that we use in cooking but more than that so many can support our health and wellbeing. But building an apothecary at home to support you can be a little daunting and you should always know how to handle and store the plants you want to use.  There is a great book by Erin Lovell Verinder called Plants for the People that offers great advice on storing and assessing the viability of the herbs you harvest for your apothecary that I thoro ..read more

I don’t consider myself a fair weather plotter (well maybe a little!) but there won’t be many days that I will be venturing out onto the plot in January. In reality the ground on our plot will be mostly waterlogged or frozen so even a bit of therapeutic digging is pretty much out of the question this month. But there are some things you can do and this month and most of my prep will revolve around indoor activity. Here’s our list of things to be getting on with while we dream of springtime! Photo by Emile Guillemot Harvesting We’ve so far not had much of a successful over winter harvest so ou ..read more

Grow Your Own *This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks. Tis nearly the season of giving!! Well it’s going to be a mighty different year this year with us all going in and out of various versions of lockdown these year the holiday season it’s going to be difficult to predict! With life as stressful as it is right now and I don’t know about you but I think it gets harder and harder to think of gifts to get people every year. (Especially since we’ve started being a lot more aware of what we are buying!) We’ve pulled together a C ..read more

Are you looking for an improved yard? Looking to start an herb garden? However, you are just not sure how easy it will be to maintain? We have all planted something in the garden with the best intentions only to see it wither and die. Sad but true, Right! Following some simple tips will make maintaining a herb garden so much easier. No more watching plants wither in front of your eyes with some early planning.   What Herbs to Grow? The first part of the planning comes in what you will be growing in your new herb garden. Growing something that you will not use is the first mistake, I see p ..read more

*This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks. The British winter can be tough on your garden. It is cold, unpredictable, and wet, complete with frost and potential snow, all of which can have a drastic effect on the health of your beloved plants. As the colder months draw in, it’s time to prepare your garden or allotment as best as you can to help it weather the hard times ahead. Part of your gardening preparations should always focus on your soil, as this can be the locus of many winter issues. By ensuring your soil is in top co ..read more

For years, soil testing was the preserve of “science geeks” who relied on £10 pH meters that, curiously enough, tended to give a different reading each time they were used, and devised planting strategies with often mixed results. Meanwhile, the majority of us just got on with it because we knew our gardens and what would - and would not - do well in them. Alas, that is changing and there’s more than just knowing the pH of our soil at stake as the number of people starting to grow their own and focusing on eating local goes through the roof. However, while growing and eating local, even homegr ..read more

Basil is a staple ingredient in our house as we make a lot of Pesto based dishes, especially during the Courgette glut in July. We’ve found a great Courgette Pesto recipe here! We propagate Basil in pots all year round and always have one pot in use while another is growing and whilst this fabulous fragrant herb is easy to grow it can also be super eager to bolt. However, the bonus to that is a ready supply of seeds! (Although a slightly more bitter leaf!) You don’t just have to grow Basil in pots as you’ll see here and it’s also thought to make a great companion plant for tomatoes (and even ..read more