Thyme is an other Mediterranean herb which is very common in english gardens. Thyme has very attractive foliage, and long-lasting, pretty flowers. Easy to grow and as other Mediterranean herbs drought tolerant. This perennial grows up to 35 cm tall. Thymol gives the plants their unique flavour and it is antiseptic an active ingredient in many mouthwash. Thyme is widely used to flavour many meat and root vegetable dishes. Very easy to dry herb, but if you grow a few plants in your garden you can even pinch them a bit during the winter.

Growing thyme is best by dividing existing plants. The plant has to be at least 3 years old. Just dig up your plant and divide the roots and pot them into a pot or just plant them straight where they are to grow. However if you don’t have a thyme plant in your garden you can grow thyme from seeds too. Make sure you cut the plants only sparingly the first year.

Thyme seeds are very tiny, just sprinkle them on the surface of ordinary potting compost in small pots or trays and push the seeds down with your hand into the compost and sprinkle or preferably sieve a bit of compost on the top. The best time is to sow the is from late March through the spring. Water the pots or trays from the bottom, for this you will need a saucer or use very fine rose on your watering can to make sure you do not disturb the fine germinating thyme seeds. Keep the seeds in a warm place at a temperature of 20 Celsius and above for best results.  After the seeds germinated, which can take up to 2 weeks, keep them in the house or the greenhouse. You can buy our thyme seeds here.

When the seedlings about 10 cm tall harden them off by putting them outside during the day and putting them back inside for the cold nights. This will ensure that the plants will not get a shock when you plant them outside to their final position. Or if you planting them outside in the summer you do not need to harden them off. Many people buy the pot plants from the supermarket and then plant them in their garden. This is a great way to reuse your herb plants as thyme is a perennial and will grow happily outside.

The plants are really not that fussy, can grow well in poor soils on a sunny location. As thyme is quite small the best is to plant them on the border of your herb or flower garden. The bees love the thyme flowers.
After 3 – 4 years the plants can get woody and produce less useful leaves, this is the time when you need to dig up the plant and divide them into  3 – 4 smaller plants. For best results pot the dividends into a medium-sized pot and plant them back into the garden after about a month.

Do you have any experience growing thyme in your garden or allotment, or just in your house in pots? Share your ideas below…

We are in the busiest time of the gardening year. With greenhouses fit to bursting and our plots filling up with seeds and plants. We all have too much to do and too little time in which to do it. The weeds of course are growing even faster than our crops are. Many folks are so busy these days with work, families and of course the garden. What we need is a solution to weeds that doesn’t mean constant work, a solution that will last at least for the season. Also a solution that is not expensive and one that for many like me, is ‘eco friendly’. When I moved back home and took over my mothers neglected garden, I was taken aback by the amount of nettles, buttercups, docks, bindweed and couch grass there was. It was a solid mass in places. I need a solution that was fairly cheap and easy.  I had an accident and injured my back, so I was not fit enough to dig all the perennial weeds out.

The solution, MULCHING! I had read alot about muching and decided this was for me. I set about lifting any plants I wanted to keep, and got rid of others in the way. I filled in any dips or holes, just to make it roughly level. Where I wanted to place 3 raised beds was one of the worst areas, it was solid with couch grass and perennial buttercups. I went down to my local Nursery and purchased 10 metres of heavy weight woven weed membrane, this cost me £30. This was laid over the weedy area and weighted down with stones and soil while I waited for the raised beds I’d ordered. Each day I walked over my weed membrane to flatten the weeds, I didn’t take long for it to settle down. My raised bed kits arrived and after I assembled them I placed them on top on the membrane.The beds were filled and planted up, and because of the membrane no weeds can or have after 4 years come through. I spread bark chippings on the paths between and they also remain weed free.

I had other areas not so easy to deal with. I had a long shrub and flower border that in between the plants had very weedy spots. Large clumps of nettles and areas of thick couch grass. My solution for them was cardboard. I always have cardboard boxes around. Open the boxes out and cut them to fit inbetween the plants, smothering the weeds. If It’s dry, water the cardboard once in position, then cover with a layer of bark or old compost. This can be used to cover large or small areas. It may need to be renewed annually as it does rot down, but it is quick, cheap and easy to do.

You can use rings of cardboard around the base of fruit bushes or use weed membrane for a longer term solution. Either works well and if topped by compost or bark looks good.

On the plot, cardboard can be used between rows of veg, or rings of it around larger plants. Layers of newspaper can be used in the same way. Just keep moist. You can also use a mulch of compost, old grow bags, well rotted manure or even grass cuttings around large veg plants or ornamentals. If using a loose organic mulch, the layer needs to be 3-4ins deep. Renew as neccessary throughout the season.

The idea behind mulching is a simple one. Mulching cuts out light, light is need for growth, so no light, weeds die. It also conserves moisture. Only mulch on top of moist ground.

If you have a very weedy area you wish to clear, but dont need to use the plot straight away. Mulching with weed membrane or cardboard is a great way of doing it, you can also use old carpet. Cover the weedy area with your chosen mulch, weight it down to exclude light, then leave it. In a few months, no weeds and no digging.

For anyone who hasn’t the time or inclination to weed each week, or like me has injury problems, mulching is the answer to having a neat and weed free plot or garden without the tedious or heavy work.

Place copper ring or wire around the plants you would like to protect. The copper reacts with their slime so the slugs will not cross it. Some folks say it works some say it does not. Well, try it yourself; if you have a big slug infestation which can be he case in this rainy spring, then use more than one method at the same time for the best results.

Sprinkle about an inch thick layer of sharp material around the plants. The best is crushed egg shells as it is a really good fertilizer too as breaks down later in the season. You can use sharp grit too in and around pots or a thick layer of sawdust; it will stick to their bodies so they will avoid the area eventually.

Fill jars with beer and place them around the plants. The slugs will fall in and drown.

Place huge chunks of grapefruit peels in the garden. The slugs will gather underneath, you will have to collect them in the morning and … well it’s up to you what you do with them.

On the long term make sure you have an area near to your garden dedicated to wildlife. Hedgehogs, rove beetles, centipedes and slowworms love slugs and snails. Dig your garden in the autumn and rake it well this will bring the eggs closer to the surface so the frost will kill them in the winter.

Does any of this work for you? Do you know any other organic method? Please leave your comments below…

If you garden at home of course it is much easier, I think anyway I have never tried that way. First time this year I am planning to have some herbs in the small garden that is all.

I am a very bad time manager, and too busy with hmm I don’t really know what with but definitely not sitting around watching  footy and drinking beer lol…  So believe it or not my greenhouse looked like this today

Last years cape gooseberry debris and some weeds, and all around the greenhouse weeds and weeds and more weeds. I tackled the problem and removed the rubbish and the tired soil and replaced it with new compost. Planted some peppers into their final position, to be honest they have been in the greenhouse for about three weeks now. I always start the peppers indoors quite early around middle of February. This year I decided not to grow Jalapeno, I do like it but it does not have too much heat and wanted to give more room to the habaneros.  I also managed to repot the tomatoes. I started them middle of March in the conservatory. They were desperate for bigger pots and more room now, so I moved them to the greenhouse straight away without hardening off. I found that tomatoes are quite hardy in the sense that after they reach a certain size you cannot really kill them, so I think they will be just fine even in the next few very cold nights.

Looks better doesn’t it?!

This weekend I will cut the grass and dig, dig and dig. It is so amazing what you can achieve in 2 days if the weather is nice and you really just go for it. Come on weeds I am up for an other fight this year! Oh gardening isn’t it beautiful ==>> keeps you fit and in the end you will eat (hopefully) the tastiest and healthiest fruits and veggies ever! Go out there this weekend, the weather forecast seems good, and sort your gardens and plots out!

Beans really are quick off the mark and are a fantastic project if you have children as they’re large enough to handle and quick to sprout and grow. Plus there’s always tales of beanstalks and giants to keep them enthralled.

Whether growing for produce or for ornamental purpose runner beans really are great to grow and very prolific. As their name suggests they run, climb and twine all over the place adding great vertical height to any garden or allotment plot. I like to grow my beans over wigwams but any structure made of bamboo canes or other materials will suffice.

To sow your seeds simply plunge an individual seed in to a small pot, module or toilet roll tube filled with compost and water it well. Ideally you want to place seeds around 5cm (2”) deep. Leave these to germinate and grow on until all risk of frost has passed, planting out at the end of the month.

To get plants growing well you can train them to start growing up canes or poles by tying them loosely, after that they will climb with great gusto. Keep an eye out for slugs and snails and for aphids, which can wreak havoc.

Three to try:

• Runner Bean ‘Painted Lady’ – A decorative and productive plant with bicoloured flowers. A favourite plant for people looking for that something slightly deifferent.
• Runner Bean ‘Enorma’ – As its name suggest this plant produces very long bean pods and is a great bean to grow if you want high yield or fancy entering the competition arena.
• Runner Bean ‘Hestia’ – A dwarf Runner Bean that is great for growing in containers or beds and borders.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody shrub growing up to 1.8 m tall but normally it grows about 1 metre tall here in the UK; a very hardy plant living up to 20 years. The plant originates from the Mediterranean and it is very tolerant to drought. The name Rosemary comes from Latin rosmarinus which means the dew of the sea; as in the Mediterranean near the sea the plants survive on the humidity alone.

Rosemary is an evergreen shrub and has purple, blue or white flowers and has needle like leaves. Rosemary has got many medicinal and culinary uses thanks to its high level of camphor, carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and many other bioactive compounds.

Rosemary is drought tolerant and thrives on low fertile soils too, and my favourite thing about rosemary is that from an established bush you can harvest all year around and it is delicious on your Sunday roasts!

Growing Rosemary from Cuttings

Take cuttings from a healthy plant with lots of new growth in June, cut 7-9 cm shoots off the plant with a sharp knife. Strip the leaves of the bottom half of the cuttings and place pop them into a sand and ordinary potting compost mixture into small pots, place the 3 or 4 cuttings per pot on the edge of the pot. Place the pot in a propagator or seal it into a clear plastic bag and put it somewhere out of direct sunlight.

If you have a hormone rooting powder (you may if you grow lots of plants from cuttings) dip the ends into that before planting. You can even put the cuttings into water just for experimenting; I had successful rooting just popping them into clear water for a few weeks. The roots should form in 6-8 weeks; you can check if you are successful by gently tagging the cuttings, you will feel the roots holding them back (hopefully).

Transplant them into individual pots and plant them out to their final position when a decent size root ball is formed.

Growing Rosemary from Seeds

It is not easy to grow rosemary from seeds but if you don’t have access to a mature plant to take cuttings and you don’t want to buy a plant from the nursery this is an alternative option.

Sow the seeds in good quality seed sowing compost about 1 cm deep. Use a saucer to water the pot. Keep them warm on a sunny windowsill or propagator. The germination can be eradicated and slow. Once the seedlings are up make sure you don’t overwater them, remember rosemary is drought tolerant and even at the seedling stage it is easy to overwater them. Click Here to buy seeds.

You can grow rosemary as a houseplant in a pot. A sunny windowsill or conservatory is the best place to grow rosemary. Repot the plants once a year into a slightly bigger pot; shake the tired compost off the root ball beforehand.

There seems to be a lot of questions arising from problems with Squashes and Pumpkins this season.  The Cucubit family which includes Squashes, Pumpkins, Melons, Cucumbers and Courgettes seem to be causing many folks trouble. Many have told of poor germination or not germinating at all. This sowing season has been cold and wet. Even indoors the nights and some days have been much cooler and damper than usual, this is often the cause of poor germination. Cucubits in particular hate been cold and wet. They originate mainly from South and Central America, this tells you they like it warm. They do like lots of water when it’s warm and they are growing strongly in the garden, but not as seedlings, wet will kill them. Cool damp conditions cause seeds to rot before germinating and seedlings to rot at the base at soil level.

Sowing: Sow all the cucbits on their side, not flat. This helps moisture run off the seed, not lie on it. Use a good seed compost, you can add perlite for even better drainage. Dont plant too deep, even the large pumpkin seeds are fine with a one centimetre covering of compost. Place somewhere warm, a windowsill is fine, but remember if nights are cold or frost is forcast, bring them inside the curtains not against the cold glass. Water only when they need it. Keep them just moist, I like to keep them on the dry side of moist. If you have the pots in a gravel tray or similar, pour excess water away after about half an hour. Dont let the pots sit in a wet tray.

There is still time to sow any of the cucubits. You can sow inside now or outside in early June, depending on weather and location. Just remember, they hate cold and wet, even when they are large plants they dont do well in a poor summer. Courgettes probably do best in our cool summers. I always grow melons and cucumbers indoors. I have only grown the small varieties of pumpkin, but as I have more room this year, I’m giving the big ones a go.

Stinging nettle – Urtica dioica

If you have an allotment plot or a garden you must have some stinging nettles growing somewhere and you think it is very hard to get rid of this perennial weed.  It has a fast growing yellow rhizome and as it is a perennial it is best to keep it at bay or will take over your garden. This plant is used as a medicinal pant and as a food source too. And the plants are high in nitrogen which is why it is used as a compost activator and to make liquid feed. The best time is to use nettles as a feed is before flowering because the plants are somewhat low in phosphorus, but high in nitrogen, magnesium and iron.

Comfrey – Symphytum officinale

This plant is a quite common perennial herb which is full of nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. Comfrey is very similar in appearance to borage as they are in the same family Boragonaceae. The roots grow really deep to get all the goodness from the soil what other plants cannot get to. Some tests showed that a home made comfrey liquid can contain more NPK than many of the commercially available liquid feeds. If you have a good source of comfrey it is recommended to throw them on your compost heap. To encourage flowering and the setting of the fruits it is the best to use a mix of nettle and comfrey in your liquid feed.

 Making the feed

Collect nettle and comfrey foliage and place them in a container, tub or just a small bucket. Put half a brick on top of the leaves, this will ensure that the leaves will stay under water. Fill your container with water and cover the top; and let the foliage rot down, which takes about 10 days, depends how warm the weather is of course. You will know when your feed is ready as it will be really smelly. Dilute your feed until it is a light green in colour and water your tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and any other fruits and vegetables too. For best results use this feed once a week.

If you dilute the feed even further you can spray it on your plants, this will make the plant tissue stronger and make the life of sucking insects harder.

The Tomato plants that we have grow from seed or purchased as plants are now growing fast. A question often asked by new gardeners is ‘Do I remove the side shoots from my tomato plant’? Well that depends, there are two basic types of tomato.

The first are called ‘Determinate’ or Bush types. These include varieties like ‘Tumbler’, ‘Totem’, ‘Minibelle’ and ‘Vilma’. You DO NOT remove the side shoots. These tomato plants know what they are doing, hense the name Determinate. They will grow outwards forming a mound or stay small and bushy.

The second type are called ‘Indeterminate’ commonly called Cordon or Vine tomatoes. This group include varieties like ‘Moneymaker’, ‘Alicante‘, ‘Sungold‘, ‘Gardeners Delight‘ and ‘Black Krim‘ This group contains the largest number of varieties that most people grow and you DO remove the side shoots from these plants. This is done to leave one stem which carry single leaves and the fruit trusses.

Most seed packets and plant labels will tell you if it is ‘Determinate’ Dont remove side shoots or ‘Indeterminate’ Do remove side shoots.

If still in doubt, do ask seller or on this site for help.

Despite their flaws they are undoubtedly one of the best vegetables to grow at home or at the allotment. A fresh, crunchy carrot is a joy to eat and the home grown ones always taste infinitely more carroty and delicious. Kids love them, which makes it all the more worthwhile and they are versatile in the kitchen, used in soups, as boiled vegetables, grated in salads or even juiced or pureed.

For those of you that have poor or stony ground, may lack the space needed for conventional roots or lack a garden altogether then Carrot Paris Market Atlas may just be the right Carrot for you. As a globe type root this beautiful orange, golfball-like delight doesn’t require deep soil to grow. It can also be grown very well in containers, which being raised up will also help to prevent carrot fly problems.

To sow in rows simply create a drill in cultivated soil or compost about 1 cm deep, leaving 30-35cm between the rows. Cover rows with a light covering of soil and water well. Alternatively, you can broadcast sow seeds in to a particular area or container. This will allow you to harvest baby carrots when thinning and your main crop later on.
Thin out when seedlings are 10-15cm long, or when you can see that competition is getting too great, leaving 2-3cm between plants, depending on how large you want your root to be. By thinning at night you can reduce the effects of Carrot fly as they are not active at this time.