How to Garden - Gardening Tips & Advice for the Irish Garden

The First Step to Plant Propagation is Storing Your Seeds

Feb

18

2013

We all know that growing from seed is a great way to grow your own plants at a minimal cost and a great way to get to know more about your plants. But you can take it one step further by collecting and storing last year’s seeds for propagating the next spring. Of course the ...

Sowing Peas From Seed in an Autumn Garden

Feb

18

2013

October is certainly a time for harvesting our vegetable plots but that doesn’t spell the end of our years work as we can get right back to planting with a range of hardy late spring crops such as spring cabbage, spring onions, spinach, lettuce while other crops that can be sown in autumn for a ...

How to Best Position Your Greenhouse or Polytunnel

Feb

18

2013

If you intend on buying a greenhouse this year the first thing you must consider is the location. The location you choose will determine the success of the crops you grow as well as the durability and longevity of the structure. Also the area you have available will also determine the size and type of ...

The (Tree) Stakes Have Been Raised With Our Windy Weather

Feb

18

2013

A new season and more weather woos for the Irish gardener. The frost of course isn’t behind us but a new battle has begun in the garden. The move away from the cold winter days and the arrival of milder weather brings with it strong and sometimes gale force winds. Windy weather can cause severe ...

Cabbage or Carrots? Which Grows Better in your Soil?

Feb

18

2013

At the beginning of the growing gardeners need to make the tough decisions on which vegetables to grow this year and which vegetables to exclude. Certainly not an easy decision to make as I’m sure we would like to grow every type of vegetable out there from Melons to Mange touts but unfortunately we are ...

Rotate Your Beans For a Successful Vegetable Plot

Feb

18

2013

Crop rotation is both essential and simply to do, so why is it that so few of us do it? Rotating vegetables is essential for three reasons: To conserve soil nutrients and fertility To prevent the build up of pests and soil borne diseases To add nutrients to the soil Really any one of ...

Growing Exotic Seeds With a Propagator Kit

Feb

7

2013

Some of the tastiest and most interesting fruits and vegetables are more akin to warmer climates then what we have here in Ireland and growing such plants has not been an option and can’t be done on a large scale. It is however possible to grow a small amount of exotic plants and seeds in ...

Make Your Own Garden Cloche

Feb

7

2013

Garden cloches are an essential tool for all gardeners as they protect delicate and tender crops in their early stages and they increase soil and air temperatures in early spring and late autumn extending the gardeners growing season. Cloches also extend the range of vegetables that can be sown and even help to protect crops ...

Remember to Label Your Plant Pots

Feb

7

2013

Gardening should be all about trial and error, there is no reason why every gardener shouldn’t try his or her hand at growing all manner of different flowers and fruits. The beauty of gardening is that if you do it right then you’ll have a lovely new plant, and if you do it wrong; well, ...

A Bench Cover Can Really Save your Furniture Over the Winter Months

Feb

7

2013

The chill is setting in and all ideas of al fresco dinning have long past. With the sun setting by 5pm in the evening it’s a wonder how everyone can even manage 10 minutes in the garden. With all that in mind it seems unnecessary to have your patio furniture and garden bench sitting out ...