It feels strange to be writing about heat loving plants like aubergines as Britain is gripped by unseasonally cold weather. Kitchen gardening is about always thinking ahead, anticipating and planning for what is to come, so I have been happy thinking about warm summer days as I wrap myself up in layers of thermals and woollens!
blog/featured/gardening/homesteading/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/propagation/winter
Sowing aubergines, chillies and sweet peppers for summer and autumn harvests
I absolutely love growing aubergines. Incredibly versatile for so many different recipes, I love all of the different colours and shapes, how some are seriously spiky and of course the delicious taste.
blog/Bruton/featured/homesteading/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/permaculture/winter
Getting ready for sowing!
I am really looking forward to getting into to the swing of spring sowing, but as this morning’s weather demonstrated in no uncertain terms, it is still very much winter!
back garden/blog/Bruton/featured/front garden/Homeacres/homesteading/making a no dig bed/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/preparing the soil/winter
Making a no dig bed on frozen grassy ground
In the bleak mid-winter, frost made the earth stand hard as iron, water like a stone. No problem for no dig gardeners – Charles and I decided to make another bed at Homeacres!
blog/FAQ/featured/gardening/Homeacres/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/You tube
Top 10 FAQ – How to start your No Dig Garden
We are often asked to start no dig gardens and so Charles, the admin team of our Facebook group and I have come up with the Top Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions.
If we haven’t covered your questions, please ask them in the comments here (or on the Facebook group if you are a member) and we will answer them as soon as we can.
There’s a lot more information in our (Award Winning!!) book, No Dig Organic Home and Garden, in Charles’ other books, on his website and his You Tube Channel.
allotment/autumn/blog/Bruton/countryside/featured/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/organic/permaculture
No Dig Allotment November Update
My allotment has been quite neglected recently. All of my travels (Yorkshire for a wedding, then Thailand and Laos, with a work trip to Ireland just 2 days after returning), my work and autumnal weather suddenly arriving after a mild sunny spell – quite a shock after Thailand for me! – has meant that I am not quite where I would like to be for November 22nd. Nevermind though, it will all get done and I have had a lovely time.
allotment/autumn/back garden/blog/featured/front garden/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/winter
(Almost!) last plantings of the year
This is the eighth in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
back garden/blog/featured/homesteading/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel
How to take tomato cuttings to plant out next year
This is the seventh in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
back garden/blog/featured/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/winter
Time to plant
This is the sixth in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/homesteading/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/winter
Clearing the polytunnel for new plantings
This is the fifth in my series of blogs, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/front garden/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/preserving/winter
Planning the next stages for an abundant polytunnel
This is the fourth in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel
Picking, propagation, preparing, preserving
This is the third blog of my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/blog/featured/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/winter
Sow now! for winter and spring harvests
This is the second part of my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find them easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/winter
Growing for winter harvests: what to sow and when!
Now is the time to start planning and sowing for late autumn, winter and spring harvests, no hungry gap in 2018! Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my sowing, planting, soil preparation and other seasonal plans for growing under cover and outside.
autumn/blog/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/summer
Late summer polytunnel
It is the first day of September and autumn has been in the air now for a few weeks, earlier than usual here in Somerset. The garden is full of vegetables, fruit and flowers, bright with sunflowers and snapdragons, but now when I rise at 5 am the sky is still dark and the curtains remain drawn until almost 6 o’clock. I have ordered firewood…
back garden/blog/Bruton/featured/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/potions/preserving/recipes/seasonal cooking/summer
A cornucopia of summer soft fruit … with recipes for homemade cassis and blackcurrant wine
Perennial fruit bushes play a key role in my garden, producing an abundance of delicious berries during summer months. These I preserve, to enjoy year round: jewel coloured jams, cordials, liqueurs, chutneys and other delicious additions to my homegrown larder.
blog/interviews/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/You tube
You Tube No Dig Interview
On Monday 3rd July, I was interviewed by Jen Gale about my work, in particular about the ethical aspects of it. This was the first interview for her new series entitled “Meet the Changemaker”. All of these interviews will be uploaded so anyone can view for free onto Jen’s You Tube channel Jen Gale – Ethical Business Coach,
blog/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/potions/preparing the soil
Horsetail potions
Some comfort perhaps for those who are dealing with horsetail in their gardens and allotments … at least it is useful!
blog/featured/gardening/homesteading/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/organic/permaculture/preparing the soil
Why grow No Dig?
My first real introduction to no dig gardening was when I started working with Charles in his market garden at Lower Farm nine years or so ago. He lived in a nearby village, so I had heard of Charles and his methods (local shops sold his mixed salad leaves too) and borrowed his book Organic Gardening, the Natural No Dig Way from the library but didn’t see it in action until I visited his farm for the job interview – it looked amazing! Learning about Charles’ method through experiencing it, his way of working with the soil and nature felt natural and I was soon wanting to apply the methods to my allotment and garden.
allotment/back garden/blog/Bruton/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/summer
Clearing and planting
I’ve mostly been concentrating on my at home garden, so it was a real pleasure to be able to spend some time at my allotment, getting ready for everything that will be planted there over the next week or so.
I’d let the brassicas go to flower for the wildlife, but now needed most of the space for new plantings.