by Kristina Mathew | Jun 24, 2020 | Gardening Posts, Vegetables
Calabrese broccoli is known for being rich in nutrients and what can be better than home-grown broccoli that you can be proud of. Many people love it fresh, whereas some prefer to stir fry their broccoli before consuming this nutrient-rich delight. It is not as hard to grow broccoli as many people consider it to be. Following a few simple steps would help you grow this nutrient-rich delight right in your backyard.
©Thompson & Morgan – It is not as hard to grow broccoli as many people consider it to be!
Sowing
Broccoli seeds must be sown in from March to July. To enjoy the continuous flow of homegrown broccoli, you can sow a few plants every month from April to July.
Calabrese broccoli is not a fan of root disturbance. Hence a modular seed tray can be the perfect choice to start your seeds. Fill the tray with compost and remove any excess soil. Now create a depression in the soil using your fingertip and sow 1 seed per module. After this, cover your seeds with another layer of soil and brush off the excess to make sure the seed is properly covered.
Once you are done with the sowing of seeds, water the soil gently, to avoid disturbance of the soil. The tray can now be placed in a polytunnel, windowsill, cold frame, or your greenhouse. The seeds must be ready to be planted out in about 5 weeks. Once this process of is complete, you can move on to the planting step.
Planting Out
Vegetable gardening is most successful if you take care to choose the right position for your crops. Calabrese broccoli is a sun-loving crop. Choose a location in your garden that has six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. The young plants must be transplanted at a distance of 45cm to 65cm apart to allow the plants to develop, and impress your neighbours.
©Shutterstock – Choose a location in your garden that has six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day.
To plant the seedling, use a trowel to dig a small hole in the soil a little larger than the “plug plant”. Once you have successfully planted the seedling, use your fingers to carefully press the soil back around the roots. Now gently water around the plant to settle the soil.
Watering
The plant must be watered frequently as broccoli loves moisture to grow. However, make sure the soil does not turn soggy due to constant watering; otherwise, it would hamper the plant’s growth. Investing in a decent hosepipe can be a useful addition to your vegetable plot to save you time and effort.
©Shutterstock – Keep Broccoli plants well watered.
Harvesting
This is one of the most critical parts of growing broccoli. If you miss the correct timing of harvesting your broccoli, then the heads will go to seed and be inedible.
Depending on the month of sowing and overall weather conditions, your Calabrese should be ready to harvest between July and October. Once the heads are four to seven inches with dense and tight flower buds, it is the right time to harvest your broccoli. If you notice that the flower buds are starting to open, then harvest immediately without any further delay.
Don’t panic if you end up with too much Broccoli all at the same time. If you have too much then the spare heads can be frozen and used later.
©Shutterstock – Broccoli makes a tasty and nutritious side dish.
Find more growers’ guides and other delicious crops to enjoy at our brassicas hub page.
My name is Kristina and gardening defines a part of what I am. Since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with plants and flowers of all kind. Once you plant them with your own hands and witness them grow, it adds to your belief on positive aspects of life. I’m an owner and editor of gardenigit.com, providing in-depth advises to different aspects of gardening.
by Elle Meager | Jun 1, 2020 | Fragrant plants, Gardening Posts, Herbs, Perennials, Top 10, Vegetables
Herbs are incredibly useful for culinary and medicinal purposes. Perennial herbs get to spread their roots for many years, so they’re great at looking after themselves. They’ll provide you with harvest after harvest, thriving on little to no TLC. There’s no need to re-plant them every year, saving you many hours of hard work in the garden. To find out how to grow herbs in any space, head over to our herb hub page.
There is an herb to suit everyone, from mint tea to roasted fennel. Here is my top ten of easy to grow perennial herbs you plant once and harvest for years to come.
1 . Mint
Mint is incredibly versatile and one of the easiest perennial herbs to grow. The more you harvest, the more they grow. Mint is a vigorous, creeping herb. It can spread quickly throughout your garden. Keep mint in pots to keep it contained in small gardens. Its spreading habit makes it a great ground cover and weed suppressor in large gardens and permaculture gardens.
©Elle Meager – Pineapple Mint is a vigorous, creeping herb.
2. Chives
No onions in the pantry? No problem! Perennial chives will do most jobs onions do, with a milder flavour.
Chives grow best in loose, moist soil in full sun. They’ll grow well in the garden and in pots. They love growing with tomatoes and roses, you can harvest just a leaf or two, and a spray of chive tea helps prevent and treat fungal diseases on plants.
3. Rosemary
Rosemary and Sage, which is number 9 in our top 10, are a match made in heaven. They encourage growth in each other, so grab one of each! Rosemary loves a sunny position in the garden and can grow as tall as 2m high, depending on the variety.
Everything about this herb smells wonderful, hang some bunches in your wardrobes and add to meat, bread, and anything else you’d add garlic to.
4. Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm makes a delicious, refreshing tea. It’s also known as “Cure-All” because of its soothing properties. Culpeper recommend Lemon Balm for its ability to aid digestion and “expel melancholy spirits”. Research backs up Culpeper’s statement. A sniff of Lemon Balm always makes me happy.
©Elle Meager – Lemon Balm makes a delicious, refreshing tea.
Lemon Balm is not a fussy herb. Grow it in loose soil with regular watering, in a sunny or shady position. Grow more from cuttings or seeds.
5. Comfrey
Despite all the negative news you may have heard about Comfrey, no garden should do without it. Even if you don’t eat it, it’s incredibly valuable as a soil improver.
Comfrey has a deep root system. Not only does it loosen the soil for your other plants, it also draws up deep nutrients so that other plants can use it. It’s a valuable green mulch and the more you cut, the more it grows. Comfrey is one of the best companions for Asparagus.
©Elle Meager – Comfrey is incredibly valuable as a soil improver.
6. Fennel
Fennel grows 1-2 meters tall with fern-like foliage. It’s best as a loner, in a corner by itself or a spot where nothing else will thrive as it can stunt the growth of other plants.
Fennel loves full sun and grows in acidic as well as alkaline soils. It’s one of the few herbs that doesn’t mind growing under big trees. Fennel seeds make a great tea. Cutting the seed heads as soon as they’re mature encourages more growth.
7. Oregano
What’s a good tomato sauce without oregano? Easy to grow, highly productive, and perennial to boot. Loves well-draining soil and a sunny position. Oregano grows equally well in pots as it does in the garden.
©Shutterstock – What’s a good tomato sauce without oregano?
8. Thyme
Thyme is a small bush with lovely, dainty flowers. A little goes a long way when it comes to Thyme. It’s a great digestion aid, so add a few leaves to each meal. Thyme is a great companion plant, especially for the Brassica (cabbage) family. Cabbage moth is the bane of the cabbage grower and Thyme can help you repel these bugs.
9. Sage
It’s no surprise Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about Sage. Not many dishes are as wonderful as Sage butter sauce! Grow your own Sage in the garden or pots, in full sun to part shade. It’s susceptible to rot and fungal disease in wet conditions so excellent drainage is a must.
©Shutterstock – Grow your own Sage in the garden or pots, in full sun to part shade.
10. Tarragon
Its Latin name, Artemisia dracunculus, refers to Tarragon’s tangled root system. “Dracunculus” means “little dragon”. Because of its tangled, dense roots, it’s beneficial to divide the roots every few years.
Tarragon loves sun, dislikes wet soil. Besides dividing the root system, there’s not much Tarragon needs from you to thrive. It has lovely yellow flowers too, bees and insects love them.
Ornamental perennial plants are excellent performers in the garden too, find a link to our top ten at our perennial hub page.
My husband and I bought our homestead 17 years ago. My life is devoted to turning it into a permaculture heaven, a food forest for humans and animals alike. I’m a mum of two lovely girl, rescue animal collector, and blogger at https://www.outdoorhappens.com. You’ll find me sharing my life and experience in homesteading, gardening, and self-sufficiency there. I have a BA in Management, Dip. Editing, Adv. Cert. in Naturopathy, specialising in Herbal Medicine, and am currently studying a Permaculture Design certificate as well as Master Gardener.
by Andrew Gaumond | May 20, 2020 | Flowers, Gardening Posts, Gardening Tips, inspiration for the garden, Perennials, Summer gardening
Peonies are a famed ornamental flowering plant in the genus Paeonia. Their stunning, voluminous blooms are on show for a short season each year running from late spring through to early summer. They’ve long been a favourite of many a gardener and the best floristry studios where they feature prominently in weddings, bridal bouquets, table centrepieces, and floral arrangements. What’s more, the venerable Peony also has a fascinating story to tell across history and in modern culture. Plus, we’ll share 5 of our favourite peony growing tips. Read on!
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I’ve long been fascinated with the world of flowers and floral design. Today, I’m the Editorial Director at Petal Republic – a site dedicated to uncovering exceptional floristry around the world and showcasing the best flowers and plants for every occasion and living environment.
Andrew also holds a BSc degree in Plant Sciences and has trained professionally at leading floristry schools in London and Paris. Visit his LinkedIn to learn more.
by Sara Taylor | May 12, 2020 | Gardening Posts, House plants
Calathea is one of the prettiest tropical houseplants from the Marantaceae family that you can have in your home or office.
If you want to create a jungle feel in your home, then you simply have to include some leafy Calathea plants. All of them require similar care, which makes your job easier.
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Sara Elizabeth Taylor has been a lover of things that grow, and that love has been a major part of her life. She’s a biologist specialising in flora and is also a passionate indoor gardener. You can find her at @indoorgardennook.
Within her house, located in the middle of the bustling city, Sara hides her lush and beautiful indoor garden, full of both decorative plants and of various fruits and vegetables. Throughout the years she has amassed a lot of experience regarding gardening and is more than eager to share all of her knowledge and exchange tips and tricks with gardening enthusiasts both young and old.
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
by Thompson & Morgan | Apr 10, 2020 | Gardening Posts, Vegetables
Growing your own fresh fruit and veg is hugely rewarding
Image: Wollertz
Decided to try to grow your own? Growing veg in your garden takes less effort than you might think and is a cost-effective way to enjoy delicious herbs, fruit and vegetables.
To help you take your first steps, some of our favourite gardening bloggers have kindly shared their top tips, perfected over many years of trial and error. Here are our handy hints…
Where’s the best place to grow vegetables?
Where are you thinking of growing your veg? An old flower bed, new raised beds, containers or maybe a window box? Wherever you decide to plant your produce, the location should satisfy three basic criteria: good soil, some sunshine, and stable growing conditions.
The best soil is a rich loam – it’s fertile and holds moisture without becoming waterlogged. If that doesn’t sound like the soil in your back garden, don’t despair – adding plenty of organic material helps to improve poor soils, and if your soil is prone to waterlogging – build raised beds.
South-facing plots make good veg gardens because they get the best of the sunshine throughout the day. But just because your garden lacks the perfect orientation doesn’t mean it can’t be productive – some veg, like salad leaves and brassicas, prefer slightly shadier conditions. Avoid planting fruit and veg in areas that suffer from extreme conditions – choose somewhere sheltered away from cold winds and pelting rain.
How to choose vegetables for a small garden
You don’t need a big garden to grow lots of tasty veg, but if you’re short on space, it’s important to plant smartly. Mark Willis of the perennially informative blog Mark’s Veg Plot uses a scientific planting scheme he learned from garden writer Joy Larkcom – the Value for Space Rating. VSR takes into account things like crop yield per square metre, growing time, availability of the crop and its quality relative to supermarket purchases. So what’s the best thing to grow if space is at a premium? Mark says:
“The best examples of VSR are in the herb department. Herbs don’t take up much space, and they are usually expensive to buy (and never available when you want them).
Richard, producer of ever-popular The Veg Grower Podcast, adopts a similarly scientific approach. Under his scoring system, top marks go to asparagus, tomatoes and garlic, which is great because he likes all three!
In a small garden, Caro Shrives at The Urban Veg Patch goes for small plants that work hard. She says: “Plants that keep on cropping are a good choice; compact courgette plants look good, have vibrant flowers and provide a decent amount of small courgettes without overwhelm.”
If you’re really short of square footage, Youtube presenter Kelly, of Kelly’s Kitchen Garden, suggests vertical growing: “Growing crops like beans, cucumbers and some types of squash up trellis, supports and cane wigwams can save a lot of space.”
And if you have no garden at all? Kelly says that as long as you have a balcony or somewhere to stand a few pots, you can still grow fresh produce in containers or window boxes: “I’ve had fantastic success growing lettuce in containers. By picking individual leaves to increase yield, I harvested 5.5lbs (2.5kg) from a container measuring no more than two square feet.”
Grow what you like to eat
These tumbling tomatoes are perfect for patio containers or hanging baskets
Image: Tomato ‘Tumbling Tom Red’ from Thompson & Morgan
If you’re lucky enough to have room to grow whatever you like, how do you narrow down the choice? We asked our favourite bloggers that very question – the consensus – though growing expensive or rare veg is a fun and tasty sideline – concentrate on growing what you enjoy eating.
There’s little point cultivating exotic veg if you won’t eat it reckons Pete Polanyk of Weeds up to me Knees. Pete, whose blog offers a wealth of encouragement for beginner gardeners recommends bog standard spuds, tomatoes, runner beans, peas, carrots, beetroots, onions, garlic and herbs. Simple fare maybe, but “they’re a lot more tasty, fresh from the garden.”
Jackie Gulland of Reclaiming Paradise agrees, saying that you’ll be surprised by the flavour of freshly picked produce from your own garden. Although she has an allotment, she explains why she still grows some of her favourites at home:
“The garden [is ideal] for picking herbs to throw in your cooking or a handful of soft fruit for your breakfast and for keeping on top of beans and peas which can grow too fast to eat sometimes. It’s great to go out after work and see what there is that you can have for an evening meal, rather than planning further in advance.
Whether you go for the VSR method or simply plant what you think you’ll enjoy, it’s important to feed your soil and rotate your crops. Avoid planting the same thing in the same place each year to help keep your ground fertile and free of pests.
Start small
Just a small patch of soil and a few pots are enough to get started
Image: Joanne Dale
A well-planted plot of about 12’ x 10’ is the ideal size to supply most of a family of four’s summer and autumn veg needs (with a little left over for freezing). If you start small, you won’t get overwhelmed with veg you can’t eat.
If you’re just testing the water to see if you like growing veg, why not follow Pete’s lead? He planted tomatoes in his flower beds next to his dahlias, pointing out that there’s nothing wrong with a bit of gardening anarchy.
Other options for the first-timer might include planting a few containers. Richard’s a great fan of growing new potatoes this way:
“They’re easy to look after and, if grown in pots, can be moved around if needed. They don’t take much care – plenty of water and food as they are hungry and thirsty plants, and that’s about it. The flavour of homegrown new potatoes far exceeds anything you can buy too.
You might also consider building a raised bed which doesn’t need to take up much space and can easily produce a significant quantity of your favourite veg. Use good quality seeds and plug plants, avoid planting your veg too close together, water well and reap the rewards.
Growing alone? Caro does too. She says: ”It’s tempting to give up when things don’t work out. Joining a local horticultural society, visiting kitchen gardens and attending courses and talks gave me more confidence. Growing food should be fun!”
5 top tips from our brilliant bloggers
- “The most cost-effective crops are the ones that are expensive to buy [in a shop] and don’t keep well – such as Purple Sprouting Broccoli and salads…[but] my favourites are still tomatoes and chillies.” Mark – Mark’s Veg Plot
- “Growing your own is a good way to try unusual veg, especially if you have children. I grow yellow beans, oca, spaghetti squash, sweet red gooseberries – none of which is available in the shops – and physalis (Cape Gooseberries) that taste much nicer freshly picked.” Caro Shrives – The Urban Veg Patch
- “We have rosemary, thyme and bay in the garden that we planted years ago. They’re easy to grow, you just bung them in and voila, you’ve got fresh herbs when you need them.” Pete Polanyk – Weeds up to me knees
- “I try and practise successional (staggered) sowing with salad leaves. This gives our household plenty of delicious salad leaves all year round saving us having to buy those expensive bags from the supermarket.” Richard – The Veg Grower Podcast
- “Things like peas, radishes, salad/spring onions and deliciously sweet turnips are on my budget list – great for the beginner gardener and take up very little space.” Kelly – Kelly’s Kitchen Garden
If you’re thinking about growing your own vegetables we hope our gardening bloggers and YouTubers have provided the inspiration and advice you need to get started. As Kelly says: “Just give it a go and have fun!”
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.
