Over the last few years my kids have got involved with lots of different aspects of gardening; they've sown seeds, harvested crops, dug, planted, watered, weeded and simply played in the mud. They love all of it, but if you asked them what their favourite gardening job was, they'd say growing plants from seeds every time.I can understand why. There's just something so magical about planting a seed, watering it, and watching ...
How to grow potatoes in a bag
It's potato planting time!I think it's impossible to beat the taste of homegrown new potatoes, and they're not difficult to grow at all. In fact they're a brilliant veg to grow with kids; they're nice and chunky to handle when planting, the kids get to pile soil on them as they grow, and harvest time is basically a treasure hunt as all those lovely spuds are unearthed!If you've got lots of room in the garden or at an allotment, you ...
Growing sunflowers with children
Have you planted any seeds yet this year? Now's the ideal time to get growing, and if you're looking for easy seeds to grow with children it's hard to beat sunflowers.As well as producing seriously impressive blooms, sunflower seeds are easy for little hands to deal with, and pretty low maintenance to grow. They're also brilliant for local wildlife; the flowers are great for bees and other pollinating insects, and birds love to eat ...
What to Plant Now – May
With spring in full flow and summer just around the corner, May can feel like a hectic month in the garden. Trying to stay on top of seedlings, weeds and watering, I always feel like there are lots of plates to keep spinning. It’s all good fun though!And the planting has only just begun really. May is the first month of the year when the risk of frost dwindles away, and this makes it the ideal time to get lots of less ...
What to plant now – Container Vegetables
So we’re into April - which means the growing season is well and truly underway and you can really get cracking with sowing seeds. You may not have an allotment or a large vegetable plot in the garden, but there are lots of vegetables that can be grown really successfully in containers. Here are my top container vegetables to plant this month.Carrots Carrots have a bit of a reputation for being tricky to grow, because they don’t like ...
Taking the RSPB Wild Challenge: spotting signs of spring and sowing sunflowers
Last year we had a great time partnering with RSPB on family-friendly activities that would help to give nature a home in our garden. You might remember that we planted wildflower seeds, grew flowers for butterflies, made a frog and toad abode, grew plants for moths, and made a bird bath. It was a busy year! We’re thrilled to be working with RSPB again on some fun new projects. Over the next few months we’ll be bringing you more ...
The kit you really need for growing seeds
We may still be trying to wave goodbye to winter, but if you’re even remotely green-fingered your thoughts are bound to be turning to what plants you want to grow this year. I’ve already spent a lovely afternoon with the kids planning what to grow on their plots, and a couple of evenings working out what I want to grow in our garden and allotment over the coming months. I've done my seed order and now it’s a case of waiting for the ...
What to plant now – March
The arrival of March really is the start of the growing season in my mind - even if the weather isn't in agreement and it’s still freezing outside! If you’re raring to go in the garden or allotment, here are some ideas for what to plant this month. Peas I’ve always planted my peas direct into their growing site later in the spring, but this year I’m going to get them started earlier. This month you can sow peas (and broad beans if you haven’t ...
My top plants for your late Winter garden
We’re heading towards the last ‘official’ weeks of winter, phew! With spring not far off in the garden, it’s only natural to be a bit impatient for that rush of colour that the warmer weather brings. Our garden has been looking decidedly drab all Winter; for the last couple of years I’ve promised myself in December that I will make some changes to our planting, to stop this lack of interest continuing into another year. ...
What to plant now – February
We’re almost there.... February is underway and spring is just around the corner. I still want it to hurry up though!It really won’t be long before I’m up to my neck in packets of seed and fussing over my labelled pots like a mother hen. But the fact remains that it’s still winter, and most plants just won’t tolerate being started off until the weather warms up a bit and the light improves. There are some that will happily get ...