seasonal
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Making Leaf Mould: Turn Autumn Leaves Into Gardening Gold
Right, I’m going to tell you about the best-kept secret in gardening. It’s free. It’s everywhere. And most people rake it up and chuck it in the green bin every autumn like it’s rubbish. I’m talking about leaves. Autumn leaves. Those beautiful golden, red, and brown things that fall off the trees every year and…
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Preparing for Frost: Protect Your Garden When the Temperature Drops
There’s a particular feeling you get when you check the weather forecast and see the little snowflake icon appear for the first time in autumn. Your stomach drops a bit, doesn’t it? Because you know that frost is coming, and if you haven’t done your prep, things are about to get ugly on the plot.…
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Growing Winter Greens: Fresh Leaves When You Need Them Most
Right, here’s something that proper winds me up. Every winter, I hear people say “there’s nothing to harvest in the garden until spring.” Rubbish. Absolute rubbish. If you’ve planned ahead even slightly, winter can be one of the most productive seasons for leafy greens. I’m talking fresh, nutritious, homegrown leaves when the supermarket is charging…
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Winterizing Your Greenhouse: Get Ready for the Cold Season
Alright, let’s have a proper chat about getting your greenhouse ready for winter, because I see people making the same mistakes every year — including myself, if I’m being honest. Your greenhouse is probably the most valuable asset on your plot, and yet come October, most people just shut the door and forget about it…
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Overwintering Garlic and Onions: Advanced Tips for Bigger Bulbs
Right then, let’s talk about one of the most satisfying things you can do in your garden come autumn — getting your garlic and onions tucked in for winter. Now I know what you’re thinking: “Tony, it’s getting cold, everything’s dying back, why on earth am I still out there planting stuff?” And honestly? That’s…
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Preparing Beds for Winter: Tuck Your Garden In for the Cold Months
Tucking the garden in for winter. That’s what this is really about. Think of it like putting the allotment to bed — making sure everything is snug, protected, and set up to wake up healthy in spring. It’s not the most glamorous job in gardening, but it’s one of the most important. What you do…
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Planting Garlic and Onions for Overwintering: Get Ahead for Next Year
Planting garlic and onions in autumn for overwintering. This is one of my favourite jobs of the year, and I’ll tell you why — it’s the closest thing to time travel in gardening. You stick cloves and sets in the ground now, in October or November, and then basically forget about them for months. They…
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Managing Autumn Pests and Diseases: Stay Vigilant as the Season Turns
You’d think that as the weather turns colder, pests and diseases would pack up and leave you alone. And while it’s true that a lot of the summer nuisances do slow down or disappear in autumn, there’s a whole different crew that takes over. Slugs go absolutely mental in the damp autumn weather. Fungal diseases…
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Preparing for Autumn Harvests: Make the Most of the Late Season
Autumn harvests. This is the big reward, people. The grand finale. Everything you’ve planted, tended, watered, worried about, and sworn at over the spring and summer — it all comes together in autumn. This is peak harvest season. The allotment is absolutely groaning with food and you can barely keep up with it. Tomatoes ripening…
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Planning a Winter Veg Garden: Fresh Food All Year Round
Planning a winter veg garden. Now this is where the clever gardeners separate themselves from the rest of us. And I say “us” because for years I was firmly in the “close the allotment gate in October and don’t go back until March” camp. The growing season was over, the beds were empty, and that…