Tag: get growing

How to grow your own potatoes in the veg plot

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Potatoes are a brilliant crop for beginner gardeners and practised vegetable growers alike. Get your own potato crop in the ground this year to start enjoying home-grown spuds!

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Potatoes grow from special seed tubers instead of seeds. Buy them from your local garden centre – they have been cleared of disease and bred to produce strong, viable plants.

Types of potato

There are three types of potatoes, earlies, second earlies and maincrops. The names refer to the time they are harvested.

Earlies are the easiest to grow and take up the least space in your garden. But the other two are simple crops and will give you loads of potatoes.

When to plant potatoes

Potato crops need different planting times depending on the exact variety, but here is a rough guide.

Earlies – plant in late March.

Second earlies – plant in early to mid-April.

Maincrop – plant in mid to late April.

How to chit potatoes

You’ll need to prepare the tubers before planting by chitting them. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult! They need to sprout before they go in the ground.

Stand them rose end up (that’s the end with the most eyes) in an old eggbox on a cool, well-lit windowsill. The eyes will sprout naturally, and the tubers are ready to plant when they are about 2.5cm long.

How to plant potatoes

Potatoes grow best in sunny spots that are not prone to frost. Dig a narrow trench about 13cm deep and line it with peat-free compost, general fertiliser or even grass clippings.

Space the seed tubers about 30cm apart for earlies, 38cm for second earlies and maincrop. If you’re growing in rows, leave 60-90cm between them and plant with the shoots facing towards the surface.

Handle the tubers carefully – the shoots can be quite brittle. Press over the soil and let nature do her work.

TIP: If you’re really short of space, plant two potato tubers in a large, well-drained container (at least 30cm wide and deep).

Growing potatoes

Remember, it is vital when the shoots begin to emerge from the earth to keep them as far away from the tubers as possible.

Bank up the earth over the emerging shoots, forcing them to grow up and away towards the light. Repeat until the shoots and ensuing leaves are well removed from the tuber.

Once the potatoes have begun to grow underground, your plants will need lots of water. If you have a dry spell, water regularly or your spuds will be stunted.

How to harvest potatoes

fresh organic potatoes in the field

Early varieties should be ready to harvest from June. I lift mine when I see the flowers. With earlies you can simply dig up and eat.

Second earlies and maincrop will stay in the ground a bit longer and need a bit more attention.

Two weeks before you want to lift them, cut off the growth at ground level. This gives their skins more time to toughen up.

Harvest second earlies in July and August, and maincrop varieties from late August to early October.

Harvesting is easy with a fork – just tease them out, being careful not to spike them. Now you’re ready for some home-made chips!

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For more garden planting ideas, check out my blog:

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Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas:

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link=”https://new.daviddomoney.com/quick-guide-to-pots-planters-containers/” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_self” link_attributes=”” alignment=”center” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” color=”custom” button_gradient_top_color=”rgba(1,149,51,0)” button_gradient_bottom_color=”rgba(1,149,51,0)” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”#0e540f” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”#0e540f” accent_color=”#0e540f” accent_hover_color=”#ffffff” type=”” bevel_color=”” size=”large” stretch=”yes” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” border_color=”#0e540f” border_hover_color=”#ffffff” border_top=”3px” border_right=”3px” border_bottom=”3px” border_left=”3px” border_radius_top_left=”0px” border_radius_top_right=”0px” border_radius_bottom_right=”0px” border_radius_bottom_left=”0px”]Pots and 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March 28, 2014
Grow your own veg with my planting calendar

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hands picking fresh lettuce in the vegetable garden

Are you thinking of growing your own veg this year? Put down those seeds until you have read my Ultimate Vegetable Planting Calendar. It’s a simple, easy-to-follow guide to growing all your favourite veg at home!

The calendar shows you the best times to sow, plant and harvest your crops so you can make the most of your plants.

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Download My Vegetable Planting Calendar Here

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[fusion_dropcap]Q[/fusion_dropcap] I only have a small garden, can I grow vegetable crops?

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[fusion_dropcap]A[/fusion_dropcap] Of course you can!

I know that many people are pushed for space, with waiting lists for allotments running into years in some places. But there are loads of ways to grow veg without having acres of land.

Many species of veg have dwarf varieties that don’t grow as tall, making them ideal for smaller gardens. Some grow best against a wall, climbing upwards to make the most of your space.

A lot of veg is also suited to container growing – pots, planters and growbags all work well. You can put containers on patios, balconies and even in cool conservatories, and small pots can be hung from railings and walls.

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small-strawberry-plant-container

Container growing is also ideal for people who rent their homes, as landlords don’t always allow you to dig up the garden. But containers allow you the freedom to grow almost anything you want, and can be picked up and transported to the next place if you move!

Very small plants can even be grown on sunny windowsills, providing it’s not sat over a radiator which will scorch the plant.

So you see, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe everyone should have a go at growing their own. It’s easier than it looks, and there really is nothing like eating food you’ve grown with your own hands.

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Have fun and good luck!

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For more garden planting ideas, check out my blog:

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Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas:

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last=”false” border_position=”all” border_sizes_top=”0″ border_sizes_bottom=”0″ border_sizes_left=”0″ border_sizes_right=”0″ first=”false” spacing_right=””][fusion_imageframe image_id=”43061|large” max_width=”” style_type=”none” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”none” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://new.daviddomoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/pots-and-planters-500×750.jpg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” sep_color=”” top_margin=”30px” bottom_margin=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”center” /][fusion_button link=”https://new.daviddomoney.com/quick-guide-to-pots-planters-containers/” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_self” link_attributes=”” alignment=”center” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” color=”custom” button_gradient_top_color=”rgba(1,149,51,0)” button_gradient_bottom_color=”rgba(1,149,51,0)” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”#0e540f” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”#0e540f” accent_color=”#0e540f” accent_hover_color=”#ffffff” type=”” bevel_color=”” size=”large” stretch=”yes” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” border_color=”#0e540f” border_hover_color=”#ffffff” border_top=”3px” border_right=”3px” border_bottom=”3px” border_left=”3px” border_radius_top_left=”0px” border_radius_top_right=”0px” border_radius_bottom_right=”0px” border_radius_bottom_left=”0px”]Pots and planters[/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column_inner][fusion_builder_column_inner type=”1_6″ layout=”1_6″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” dimension_margin=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” last=”true” border_position=”all” element_content=”” border_sizes_top=”0″ border_sizes_bottom=”0″ border_sizes_left=”0″ border_sizes_right=”0″ first=”false”][/fusion_builder_column_inner][/fusion_builder_row_inner][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_2″ layout=”1_2″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” 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March 7, 2014
Kate and Will Gnomes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2013

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For the Chelsea Flower Show, I transformed The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge into humourous garden gnomes to raise money for charity.

Gnomes

The prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show, lifted its long-term ban on gnomes for the first time in 2012. And I created funny gnome versions of Prince William and Kate Middleton for my exhibit at the show.

The ban is lifted for one year only, as part of the show’s centenary celebrations and to raise funds for the nationwide RHS Campaign for School Gardening. The RHS maintains that gnomes are not normally in keeping with the world-famous horticultural event. They fall into the category of ‘brightly-coloured mythical creatures’ (which is how the ban is described in RHS manuals).

Before the show, the RHS invited me to paint and decorate a gnome. But I never do things by halves. And decided to go one step further and create two gnomes to celebrate the then-impending addition to the Wills & Kate household. Kate’s gnome clearly shows her seven-month pregnancy bump. While William has the beaming smile of a proud soon-to-be father. Gnomes are often associated with bringing good luck, I could not think of a more popular couple that the nation was wishing good luck to at the time. I hope that Kate and Will liked the gnomes, and could see that they were made with great affection.

Kids

The humorous caricatures were first featured at the world-famous gardening event. Before being auctioned online to raise money for more kids to learn about gardening and horticulture in schools. The auction of these gnomes supported children in British schools up and down the country as they learned more about gardening through the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.

Good cause

The money raised went towards improving school gardens in over 16,500 schools. These schools have signed up for the campaign, which teaches over 3.5 million children about gardening and growing plants.

I came up with the idea for the gnomes and commissioned sculptor Jethro Crabb to make them. He had worked on countless famous faces previously as a portrait sculptor for Madame Tussauds. Jethro’s work can be seen at www.sculpturecommission.com.

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For more garden planting ideas, check out my blog:

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planters[/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column_inner][fusion_builder_column_inner type=”1_6″ layout=”1_6″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” dimension_margin=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” last=”true” border_position=”all” element_content=”” border_sizes_top=”0″ border_sizes_bottom=”0″ border_sizes_left=”0″ border_sizes_right=”0″ first=”false”][/fusion_builder_column_inner][/fusion_builder_row_inner][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_2″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” 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Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas:

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February 11, 2014