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Author: Eli
Can I grow carrots in a container?
Now I swore I wasn’t going to grow any winter veg and here I am mucking about with carrots. So here’s the thing, a while ago I planted two lots of carrots. The first lot I planted directly into the raised beds. The second lot I planted in the root trainers in the greenhouse. To… Read more
Hydrangeas over winter
Today is the start of something really interesting which we’ll be covering over multiple posts and videos over the winter and beyond. Hydrangeas. However, as we have to start somewhere, I thought a brilliant place to start might just be winter and how we look after our plants because that way we can make sure… Read more
Let’s be honest about Autumn and our state of mind
I’m currently looking out at the rain and wind and wondering if I’ll ever get into the garden again. It feels like there has been constant heavy rain for weeks. I know that’s not accurate, there will definitely have been mixes of rain and dry but because I can only really get into the garden… Read more
How to sharpen your garden tools
Those of you who know me, know I have a bit of an obsession for sharpening tools and knives. I think things should be properly looked after, properly sharp so that they do the job they are meant to safetly and well. I suspect it’s from my background in luthieriship where I worked with such… Read more
Wrapping gifts is easy… try a greenhouse
Boy oh boy do we have a damn good chuckle to share with you guys today… this weekend… we wrapped the greenhouse. Yup, you read that correctly, we WRAPPED THE GREENHOUSE. OK let’s go back to the start… it will all make sense that way. For you guys who have been following our adventures all… Read more
Get rid of fungus gnats (those annoying little black flies on your house plants)
This is going to be a bit of an awkward post to write because I know you guys really won’t want to see lots of pictures of beasties. But it’s also a big topic and something I’ve been asked about a lot, so I think it’s important we cover it here. Basically, if you have… Read more
So how hot does my greenhouse get?
I’m starting to get organised for the colder months coming and I’m spending a bit of time taking stock of the garden, of what’s hardy and can stay outside and what will need a wee bit of love and support once the weather turns. I’ve started planning what I can grow and where and even… Read more
Extending a flower bed and adding a path
It’s been forever since we did any major jobs in the garden, I think replacing the raised beds might have been the only big job for a few years now. We managed to get things how we wanted them quite early on, so it’s meant we didn’t really have to think about it. But, as… Read more
My experiment: growing courgettes in a quadgrow
I’m doing one of my mad experiments in the garden again. It’s completely unplanned but hey ho. I had a spare quadgrow sitting gathering dust and two scrawny little courgette plant babies that I was going to bin. So I thought, if it doesn’t work then it’s no loss. So they got planted up into… Read more
My top 5 tips to help you to have a successful strawberry growing season
We have had the most unbelievably awesome, strawberry growing season this year. To be fair, it’s not always been that way, but this year! WOW! So I thought today would be a fantastic chance to share some of my experience with you guys and give you my top tips so that next year, we can… Read more
Before you buy a greenhouse
We’ve had so many chats with subscribers about greenhouses over the last couple of years that we thought it might be a useful thing for us to put all of those chats (well the useful bits) down in one place as a kind of useful reference for anyone thinking about buying a greenhouse. Cause after… Read more
At last, success with my hotbin composter
At last, I can truly celebrate success with my hotbin composter. It’s taken a while but finally I am seeing my hard work pay off and I’m getting some lovely usable compost. You guys have been with me on this journey as I’ve battled to get the ratios right, the moisture level under control and… Read more
Using neem oil in the garden to combat pests
In our previous blog post, we talked about the timeless pest control method of soap sprays for the garden. Today we are going to look at its sister remedy, neem oil. Again, it’s one of those traditional gardener’s remedies passed down through the generations and is still used in lots of organic gardens today. But… Read more
Insecticidal soap sprays in your garden: not all soaps are made equal
It’s that time of year when we are seeing the pests appear on plants in the garden, this year it has been aphids swarming the hellebore, black currants, hydrangea and aquilegia, but I know from experience, they will eventually find the greenhouse and the peppers and soft herbs will be a target. So I thought… Read more
Foxgloves from seed to extravaganza
Our garden is currently awash with blooms and I’m pretty excited so I have to share it with you. Cause you know, that’s the rules. Awash I tell you! Remember way back last autumn when I took you around with me and collected seeds from some of the flower heads, like the foxgloves, petunias, viola,… Read more
Stop leggy basil plants
It’s brilliant having fresh herbs when you are cooking (or making a wee cocktail), so obviously we want to make that brilliantness last as long as possible 🙂 That’s where some clever “pruning” and some propagation come in. Whether you’re growing herbs along with me or you have bought some plants from your local shop… Read more
Watering your plants and seedlings from below in the greenhouse
An other Eli experiment in the greenhouse, so you don’t have to. Consistent, hassle-free watering is the absolute holy grail of gardeners, be it a daily thing or if you were planning on going off for a wee holiday (one-day folks, lockdown won’t last forever). To an extent, I have this covered with my quadgrow… Read more
How to keep shop-bought herbs alive
I refer to the herb plants from our supermarkets as a gateway drug, because let’s be honest, for an awful lot of people, it’s the first baby steps they make towards gardening. Fresh herbs for cooking is one of the grow your own adventures most of us go on, and then we are hooked. But… Read more
Looking around for the positives
This blog post has actually been a really hard one to set down. I’m pretty sure a lot of you guys out there are struggling a little bit just now like I am, and although I wouldn’t say I am in any way feeling down, I am absolutely struggling for motivation, to do anything. I… Read more