AG garden editor, Kris Collins, is dusting off the heated propagator to gets his favourite summer crops underway
Fill cells with seed and cuttings compost. I sieve mine first, to take out all the lumps so there are no obstructions for root development.
Water the trays before sowing, to settle the compost and help seeds to stick firmly in place. Watering afterwards…
I’m in my garden whenever I can manage it, but I have to admit that even I struggled to get out there this week. There was no snow, but the soil was rock-hard and frozen so no digging action for me!
Because of this I took advantage of my greenhouse and managed a bit of sowing, mostly chilies (with a few…
Get plants started now, for bigger plants and bigger crops, says AG garden writer, Michelle Wheeler
If you have a heated propagator or a space on a warm, bright windowsill, sow tomatoes seeds this weekend. Here’s how:
1 Fill a 3in (9cm) pot with good quality seed compost; level the surface, firm down and water in. Pots are better than modular trays…
The heat of different chillies is measured using the Scoville scale, which marks the degree of dilution of the chilli sample in a sugar solution. A rating of 100,000 means the extract had to be diluted 100,000 with the sugar solution for its heat to be undetectable.
Chilli Variety
Scoville Rating
Naga Jolokia
855,000-1,041,427
Dorset Naga
876,000-970,000
Red …
If you are sorting through old seed packets through the winter months use this handy table to decide whether seeds are worth keeping. For more info on seed viability, proper storage and testing seeds before the main sowing season, see Amateur Gardening 21 Jan 2012, available at news agents and other outlets from 17 Jan.
Veg and flower seeds and how…
Deck the halls with a difference, says AG gardening editor Kris Collins
This is a great alternative to traditional Christmas decorations. Use up surplus apple harvests or buy a few bags from the supermarket. Take a walk and see what berries you can find to add to the display. Treat yourself to a floristry foam cone or create your own shape…
There are a few timely jobs to do if you want a good crop of citrus fruit this year, says Kris
Pruning
REMOVAL OF larger branches is best done in winter, but to encourage a bushy habit and increase branching lower down, new growths should now have their tips removed as they reach 4-6in (10-15cm) in length
Watering and feeding
WATER PLANTS at least…
THE TOMATO has long been a favourite with us Brits. We started growing it as long ago as 1554 and it’s still as popular as ever.
Well, that’s not entirely true. If you’d visited my garden last summer you’d have noticed the air had taken on a blue hue, thanks to me getting rather upset about the state of my tomato…
