31st August 2018 Autumn

September looks dry for much of the UK: no dig means easier watering, see below. There are still plantings for outdoor veg and sowings for veg under cover. August gave welcome rain at times, 85mm/3.4i

14th November 2017 Autumn

Will it be a cold winter? Too early to say but the vegetables are telling us that winter has arrived.

30th October 2017 Autumn

There are many lovely harvests to make in November, and much to learn from how things have grown this year. The main sowing is broad beans, from now in colder areas until mid or late November in south

16th October 2017 Autumn

We have been clearing and planting under cover, making many harvests and filming for videos plus TV. I enjoyed working with the makers of Croatian programme Vrtlarica, about healthy living and food gr

1st October 2017 Autumn

Vegetables and apples are maturing ahead of normal. This makes some harvests for winter storage more difficult, such as hearted cabbages that are already fully developed and need cutting, in the warmt

15th September 2017 Autumn

The weather has been difficult but manageable, apart from damage to climbing beans. Leafy crops have enjoyed the rain and lack of sun more than fruiting ones. However September’s second half looks q

31st August 2017 Autumn

New season and Homeacres news – autumn is near and we need to prepare. Make new sowings, continue weeding and tidying including old brassica leaves and leek rust, watch for pests and tomato blig

16th November 2016 Autumn

In this darkening time of year, a path to good cheer is out in your plot, absorbing as much light as you can, harvesting, weeding, and mulching ground for next year. See the last section for detail

31st October 2016 Autumn

Winter is nearly here, time for some last and beautiful autumn harvests. The radish below were sown between lettuce which were still cropping. You can still sow garlic, and November is excellent for s

16th October 2016 Autumn

16.10.16, the middle of autumn and there is still no frost here, though I hear that some valleys and northern areas of Britain have frozen a little.  Because of autumn’s increasing mildness, over t

29th September 2016 Autumn

In recent years, October has been milder than average, sometimes with nicer weather than the preceding summer: last year it was 18C at Hallowe’en, the year before it was 21C! Its looking to be warm

11th September 2016 Autumn

At Homeacres, the first ten days of September were a gardener’s dream. Summer warmth continuing, of (average) 14C 57F by night and 21C 70F by day, also with 47mm (1.9in) rain falling onto dry soil.