The pumpkin patch vines are producing plenty of big buttery-yellow flowers now which are so pretty. Bees and other insects do a fantastic job of pollinating, but sometimes I hand pollinate my pumpkins and squash to be sure of success or to save seed from a particular variety. Hand pollination is really simple but first… Continue reading How To Hand Pollinate Pumpkins and Squash
Category: Growing Guides
How To Plant Leeks
I start sowing leeks from March onwards using large plant pots or a deep container, the seedlings are ready for planting when they're about the width of a pencil. Leeks are planted differently to other vegetables, known as 'dibbing in' this method will help to produce well blanched stems. Push a dibber into the soil… Continue reading How To Plant Leeks
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Easy Way to Plant Potatoes
I am very lazy when it comes to planting potatoes and not a fan of the traditional method of digging trenches, it just doesn't appeal to me. For many years I have planted potatoes without any real digging, using just a long-handled dibber or hand trowel to make small planting holes. I grow vegetables in… Continue reading Easy Way to Plant Potatoes
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How to Prune Raspberries
Raspberries are surprisingly easy to grow considering how expensive they are to buy in the shops. By growing summer and autumn fruiting you can pick raspberries from June right through to October, even November if the weather is particularly good. Summer and autumn fruiting raspberries have slightly different pruning requirements, here I will explain how… Continue reading How to Prune Raspberries
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How to Force Rhubarb
I grow a variety of rhubarb called Timperley Early on my allotment, I also have a couple of crowns in my garden. As the name suggests, you get an early crop compared to other rhubarb varieties. Timperley Early rhubarb patch in front of the allotment shed in January, just to demonstrate how early this variety… Continue reading How to Force Rhubarb
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Chitting Seed Potatoes
Seed potatoes are readily available from garden centres and seed merchants from early January, offering many different varieties to chose from. Produced to be disease-free they offer the best possible start with growing your own potatoes. You may have come across a gardening term called 'chitting' or 'chit', so what does this mean exactly? Chitting… Continue reading Chitting Seed Potatoes
Allotment Haven 