4th December 2018 Small Garden, Spring, Videos

Homeacres small garden of 25sqm/270sqft, no dig and compost-mulched. See the evolution of this space through a year of planting and picking a wide range of vegetables and herbs, with little weeding ne

4th December 2018 Autumn, Sowing, Spring, Videos

Broad or FAVA beans are a hardy vegetable which tolerates some frost. In my garden, zone 8 climate with average winter lows of -6 to -8C/20F, broad beans get their roots down in autumn and sit quietly

16th May 2018 Spring

May is proving way sunnier than April, as spring merges into summer. However there are still cool nights – we are forecast a ground frost on 18th. I hope you are enjoying some fine leafy harvest

30th April 2018 Spring

We can hope for better weather in May… after the least sunny April I have ever recorded. Temperatures however were close to normal, thanks to the cloud cover keeping nights mild and frost-free. Soon

15th April 2018 Spring

The first two weeks of April here were more like December, in terms of light levels. However after the new moon tonight (15th-16th) and it’s associated rain, there is a change to ten days of warmer

30th March 2018 Spring

It’s the weather stupid! April is starting very wet here, cold and even colder to the north. We are late with outdoor sowings and plantings, I have not even sown parsnips yet. This blog looks at way

16th March 2018 Spring

As the weather goes from cold to mild to cold again, one thing is constant, soil. Undisturbed, compost-mulched ground helps plants to maintain health and grow whenever conditions allow. Soon it will b

27th February 2018 Spring

Cold conditions in Europe mean a slow start to spring: it’s -7C/19F with windchill, as I write this. On the other hand there is more time to mulch and feed soil, if you have not already. Early s

15th May 2017 Spring

There is still so much to sow and plant. Now is good to sow cabbages for autumn hearting, Brussels sprouts, French and runner beans, sweetcorn, more carrots, lettuce and multisow beetroot, even leeks

30th April 2017 Spring

Until the cold final week, April at Homeacres was a good growing month. Temperatures and sunshine hours were slightly above average, while rainfall was a record low amount until 30th, just 7.6mm (0.3

15th April 2017 Spring

(plus see Homeacres no dig on BBC Gardeners World, Friday 21st April, 6 minute film) A burst of warmth, now spring reminds us that it is indeed spring and not summer. For much of the UK, there are sti

31st March 2017 Spring

Here, it has been much warmer than usual in March: the day-night average temperature was 9C/48F and we had no frost at all, breaking my records of 40 years. It has also been the dullest March since 20