Mwillis

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1426 )

• Harvesting Broad Beans

  

  Yesterday I picked the majority of the pods from my first row of Broad Beans.These are the "Witkiem Manita" ones, a row of 12 plants. This batch amounted to... Read more

  Posted on 19 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Courgette "Defender"

  

  This year I'm growing courgettes for the first time since our kids left home. One of our girls in particular was very fond of courgettes, and couldn't get enoug... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Burgeoning

  

  Isn't that a lovely word, "burgeoning"? It is the present participle of the verb "to burgeon", which means to begin to grow or increase rapidly; to flourish. Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Potting-up the PSB

  

  My Purple Sprouting Broccoli plants, sown on May 20th, had got big enough to transplant, so they have now been moved to individual 6-inch / 15cm pots. Read more

  Posted on 16 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Chillis - to Pinch Or Not to Pinch?

  

  When a chilli plant is young it is normally just a single stem with some leaves coming out of it, like this:However, the fruits of the chilli normally appear... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Tavira

  

  Jane and I have just returned from a week's holiday in Portugal. We stayed in a little town in the Eastern Algarve, called Tavira, a place with a long and varie... Read more

  Posted on 13 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Runner Beans - Tips and a Problem

  

  In the UK the Runner Bean is probably the most popular vegetable of all to grow - certainly the most visible, with its masses of red, white or bi-colour flowers. Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Broad Beans - Harvest in Sight...

  

  The Broad Beans are podding:I must say, growing Broad Beans can give you a few anxious moments. The plants you have so carefully nurtured produce all those... Read more

  Posted on 07 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Layering - a Different Way to Propagate Tomatoes.

  

  We all know the term "Vine-ripened tomatoes", don't we? Despite the fact that most people grow them in an upright stance, most tomato plants are vines and left... Read more

  Posted on 05 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Harvesting New Potatoes

  

  I harvested my first potatoes of the year this morning. This much-anticipated event is one of the highspots of the gardening calendar!This year I have 16 tubs o... Read more

  Posted on 03 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Summer-flowering Perennials

  

  I have high hopes of the Summer-flowering perennials that I planted-out in the early Spring. You may remember that I made lots of new plants last Autumn via... Read more

  Posted on 01 June 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Bank Holiday Blues

  

  Why is it that our Bank Holidays seem to be doomed to experience dismal weather? With monotonous regularity the storm clouds begin to gather on the Friday... Read more

  Posted on 30 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Late May Update

  

  Apart from occasional successional sowings of salads, my sowing and planting for this year is mostly done. It's now time to sit back and watch things grow.... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Softening the Edges

  

  This post will probably be of interest to anyone who is growing trailing plants, such as tomatoes, courgettes and squashes, in containers. Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• PSB - the Cycle Begins Again

  

  Everyone knows how fond I am of Purple Sprouting Broccoli! Now that this year's harvest is a thing of the past, it's time to start all over again because PSB... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Tomato Progress Report

  

  A couple of days ago the first flower opened on one of my tomato plants - a significant milestone in their development.Having had all those problems with... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• First Chilli Sets Fruit

  

  My chillis are definitely relieved that the weather has warmed-up. They don't have to spend their days cooped-up in the plastic greenhouses (although they are... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Planting Cucumbers and Courgettes

  

  At the weekend I decided to plant out my cucurbits. Don't get too excited - it was only two cucumber plants and one courgette! Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Potting-up Pelargonium Cuttings

  

  A couple of months ago I took some cuttings from an over-wintered Pelargonium plant, a "bog-standard" red one that I originally bought on a market somewhere.... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME

• Happy Beans

  

  My Runner Beans are in (planted).As previously advertised, I'm growing 12 "Scarlet Emperor" plants, one per pole. "Scarlet Emperor" is an old-fashioned... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2017 GARDENING, HOME