15th May 2022 Featured, Spring

A brief update at a busy time of remarkable growth. No dig is a huge help in keeping up to date, most notably because there are fewer weeds to deal with. Nonetheless remove any new weed growth you see

16th April 2022 Featured, Spring

Spring is rushing in. I hope you enjoy my tips from Homeacres, and a look at what we are up to. The featured photo is morning of 16th March, the lettuce cover briefly removed We have started an offer

29th March 2022 Featured, Spring

Spring is here, in its usual stop start fashion. If you still have snow, may it melt soon. Be prepared for frost in many areas, and do not rush to sow plants which need warmth. For example I sow cucum

10th March 2022 Featured, Spring

The second half of March sees much more sowing, planting, raking and weeding outside, than at any time since late summer. I’m sorry though that you may be reading this with snow on the ground in

19th February 2022 Featured, Winter

January was sunny and calm, February has been dramatic and especially with recent high wind. Nearby at Yeovilton there was a 72mph gust at 1pm on 18th (Storm Eunice), and I’m grateful that the d

27th January 2022 Featured, Winter

Slowly the energy rises in February. I love the feeling of growth stirring, but be patient before making first sowings. I wait until mid February, then sow under cover radish and turnip multisown, let

23rd November 2021 Featured, Winter

The wonderful and life-increasing jobs of early winter, if you have not already done them, are to feed soil organisms with mulches of organic matter on the surface. We are using 2.5cm (measure after i

28th October 2021 Autumn, Featured

The change of clocks is matching a change of weather, and in both senses it’s now wintry more than autumnal. Follow my tips below for a last few sowings, making more and better compost, and enjo

3rd October 2021 Autumn, Featured

  September was lovely here, with gentle weather and abundant growth. We have continued to transplant outside, including spinach, spring onions, mustards, chervil and spring cabbage. In the green

28th August 2021 Autumn, Featured

After some dry summers recently, when we dreamed of having more rain, this summer we had welcome rain and growth has been abundant. And the other result is slugs, snails and late blight, especially on

26th July 2021 Featured, Summer

Everything happens in July! No dig makes it all easier and quicker. You can replant a lot of your garden, after harvests of early plantings. Clear beds to replant as soon as you can, because every day

14th June 2021 Featured, Summer

The cold spring is a distant memory! We have had three weeks of warm weather with day temperatures averaging 22 C and night temperatures averaging 9C 48F. Light levels are at a maximum so many plants

31st May 2021 Featured, Summer

Much of May has been cold, and this followed a remarkably cold April. The legacy is plant growth a long way behind what one expects at this time. May’s final five days have been warmer, afternoo

12th May 2021 Featured, Spring

In gardening one is often comparing the weather and conditions with those of the year before. So far, spring 2021 has been diametrically different to 2020! For those of you who started last year, you

28th April 2021 Featured, Spring

Weather rules. This is turning into a difficult spring, with temperatures significantly below average – in particular by night. In the UK, there have been more frosts in April than in any other

15th April 2021 Featured, Spring

A difficult spring so far, with a lack of warmth and frosts down to -4.5 C here, nine frosts in the last 12 nights. However it has been dry! And although that means watering new transplants, it also m

29th March 2021 Featured, Spring

Transplanting times are here, but watch out for cold weather too. Plants ready now are frost hardy, such as lettuce, peas, onions and broccoli. I advise to wait until mid April before sowing frost ten

13th March 2021 Featured, Spring

It has been a different kind of winter here, somehow cold and damp in a more damaging way than 2018, when we had bitter winds in March but with less damage to plants. See the broad bean photos below.

28th February 2021 Featured, Spring

This is a full on time for a propagation, although also there is no rush to sow tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, sweetcorn et cetera. Spring is also good for making new beds, which you can actually do

30th January 2021 Featured, Winter

February looks to be cold.  And we have not done much garden work in January… oh wait, I bought an acre of new land, the pasture to south east of Homeacres, which used to have horses. I find it

28th November 2020 Featured, Winter

Autumn has continued very nicely here, as in my new video. November has been almost as mild as October, and less wet with a close-to-average 76mm/3in rain. However winter is now arriving in the north