I find it best to water as early in the day as possible – this not only helps prevent plants from getting scorched if water gets on the leaves, it also prevents them from sitting in wet compost during the colder night-time hours.
Then, as greenhouse crops ripen, I like to increase the feeding to twice a week to help encourage the best fruit I can get from the plants. Personally, I use either homemade comfrey feed or a good organic tomato or seaweed feed. After watering the plants, I always damp down the paving slabs in the greenhouse as well; this causes a little more humidity and helps to prevent red spider mites as they like it dry. While there, it’s best to remove yellowing leaves from any plant and those that are shading fruit. By allowing the sun to get to the fruit it will ripen better and ultimately taste better too.
NEW BASIL FOR OLD
The basil plants which I grow with my tomatoes are constantly harvested through the summer. However, I like to create new plants which can replace the ones growing when they start to flower. Simply snip a 15cm (6in) stem from the plant, strip the bottom half of leaves and put it in a glass of water out of direct sun. Within a few weeks, there will be roots and the cutting can then be potted up and grown on to give a later crop of leaves without having to start plants from seed.
CHRISTMAS CROPPERS
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DIGGING THE DIRT PARSNIP WARS
All's fair in love and war, as John Holloway recounts the friendly rivalry he shares with fellow allotmenteer Joe
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT GROWING IN CONTAINERS
Want to grow fruit in pots on your patio or in your backyard? Top tips and advice this month from fruit expert David Patch
ASPARAGUS TIPS
Asparagus can be expensive to buy in the shops, but given a little space and time, it’s easy to grow this gourmet treat in your own back garden. Here’s how...
THE CREATURE FEATURE Beauty and the thief
We all know how valuable bees are on the plot - without their pollinating power, our harvests would be pretty pathetic. This month, Jack Edmonds takes a look at some common April plot visitors, the mining bees, and the parasitic nomad bees out to spoil their fun...
Paying it forward
We meet Ross Pearson, a gardening writer and horticultural lecturer from Northumberland, who was inspired and helped by his grandfather and now passes on his experience to the next generation of gardeners
HARD TO BEET
Tony Flanagan offers a whistle-stop guide to growing this much-loved root and picks out some varieties you might like to try
FLOWERS TO feast on!
In this extract taken from A Floral Feast: A Guide to Growing and Cooking with Edible Flowers, Foliage, Herbs and Seeds, Carolyn Dunster focuses on three beautiful and popular annuals
HUW'S HEROES!
This month Huw Richards explains a method of organising your choice of crop varieties - with reliable stalwarts on the one side and those offering something more demanding on the other
Kitchen +Garden TOP PICKS
It's time to get growing and you'll need the very best products for sure-fire success this spring. Check out this selection of must-have products from some of our trusted partners, which should be on your shopping list this month
MIND THE GAP
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shows you how to plug the 'hungry gap' in spring and have ready supplies of home-grown food all year round