Paul Peacock’s Tips

It’s just over a month to the show and there is lots to do in the garden. More importantly, there is lots to plan. An old Hebrew proverb says “ When God was making the garden of Eden, he started with a plan!” Good advice. At the show this year there are lots of exhibits and events to help these plans come into fruition. First of all there are seeds! It was a canny step, putting the show in the very early Spring, because it is just the time to start things off! At the show you will find lots of seed companies to talk to – especially when it comes to growing produce and varieties not known to you…. Read More

Don’t let anyone tell you not to grow potatoes – especially main crop potatoes! There is a trend, these days, and a little thought out one at that. The theory goes like this – potatoes are cheap in the shops, and therefore there is no real reason to buy them. People say, “Grow something else instead.” Try sweet potatoes instead” – a good idea too, growing sweet potatoes, but not at the expense of good old fashioned ‘King Edwards’ and a good few rows of ‘Home Guard’. So, why is not growing main crop potatoes a bad idea? First of all the taste The best reason of them all! You simply cannot buy main crop potatoes from the supermarkets that… Read More

At The Edible Garden Show in March 2012, the NSALG (the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) will be exhibiting, to give you the run down about getting an allotment. You can join in to the nation’s fastest growing movement – allotmenting, and great fun it can be too. During the Second World War there were five million of them, so many falling into disrepair and neglect once people decided they would prefer to forget the austere years of the war. Allotments are experiencing a comeback in a big way! Most societies have a waiting list and you are likely to have to wait for several months, if not years, before you get your plot – such is the… Read More

The word ‘espalier’ comes from the Italian word that means ‘shoulder’. It is difficult to really work out why a tree that is trained to grow against a wall should be called a shoulder. But perhaps it is because there are a lot of branches, there must be a lot of shoulders! Another way of looking at it is the word ‘espalier’ can also be translated as ‘shoulder support’. An espalier is a supported tree trained in order to fit it against a wall or support. Actually, it is a lot better to grow an espalier against a wire, set either a few inches away from a wall or on a specially set post. This way you can grow a… Read More

The way plants are manipulated to grow in our plots is amazing. For a start, to watch plants being put into pots by machine is marvellous – you would hardly believe they would grow, but grow they do. Plants are generally small – even the biggest of trees are small in that the living layer is more or less on the outside. There are a number of very special cells that run in a ring around the plant, and some more at the very growing point at the tip of each stem or branch. These cells, called cambium, have a special use in plant growth, and we can use them to our advantage. EVOLUTION OF PLANTS – We have to… Read More

Well, I might as well spit it out! For most gardens, crop rotation is not as good as we make out. There – that feels better. However, I have now to justify this statement. Crop rotation was developed thousands of years ago, most likely because people recognised that yield reduces year-on-year. In many parts of the world the slash-and-burn method of growing was the easy answer to this. When the soil was worn out, go somewhere else – simple. Then, growing on a floodplain such as the Nile in Egypt, where the river brought silt, and therefore nutrients to the land every year, people would rely on this replenishment. But, when the river failed to flood, the fertility was reduced,… Read More

Watering tips – Pots and hanging baskets should be watered every day, even if there has been light rain. The constant flushing of the pot with water will remove any nutrients in the compost, so make sure you put some back. At least once a week put a little fertiliser in the water, or better still, buy those slow release pellets and set them in the compost. It is not always feasible to water the whole of the garden, especially if you have a hosepipe ban in force. You can bring some water to root level by deep hoeing. Work the hoe backwards and forwards through the top few inches of soil, and when this soil has become friable, start… Read More

The Eco-garden is becoming more popular around the country, and has at its heart the idea that most gardens are full of plants that have been imported from all over the world, and that their presence in the garden should not be tolerated because they bring with them environmental consequences. Take the mega-weed, Japanese Knotweed as an example. In Victorian times it was imported because it looked very elegant, with its dangling sets of snowy white flowers. But these days, should you have it in your garden it is against the law to keep it there! You are required to do your best to eradicate this plant, and councils regularly spend millions of pounds each year on a loosing battle… Read More

There are not a lot of techniques to master when you are thinking about keeping bees. Probably the most important  technique, and this relates to all animal husbandry on a small scale, is to develop the ability to like, to enjoy what you are doing. Consequently, gaining an empathy, a feeling for your bees is an important part of beekeeping. Secondly, the ability not to panic is important too. You will, at sometime in your career, be covered with bees, have them flying around your head and not really know what you are doing or looking for, but the ability to keep calm, reassemble the hive and walk away from your bees is all you really need in such circumstances…. Read More

Anyone with poultry, especially if you keep them on straw can have a ready-made substrate for growing mushrooms. Collect chicken poo and straw each month, this material is composted until it smells sweet. Actually this can be used around the garden, ideal for cabbages, and it also makes a great mulching material too. The compost has to get hot, so you need a cubic metre at least to allow the temperature to get hot enough to kill all the harmful bacteria. The compost is turned a couple of times to make sure everything has been in the centre, and is really hot in the process. The straw/poultry poo compost is then soaked in water, which is a vital part of… Read More