Handy guides to becoming a grow-your-own vegetable expert
intensively bred plants, with huge double flowers, may not offer much to visiting insects in the way of nectar.
Instead, go for good nectar plants including foxgloves, wallflowers, verbena bonariensis and heleniums, as well as herbs including chives, borage and rosemary. For a list of nectar-rich plants visit the RHS (rhs.org).
DON’T... TIDY YOUR GARDEN TOO MUCH
IF you remove all leaves and other garden debris from your beds and borders, you’re effectively depriving any visiting wildlife from shelter and food.
Instead, tidy up (if you have to) in spring, when wildlife is
KEEN to grow your own fruit and veg? These gardening books should help you get started, says
ELLA WALKER
waking up rather than going to sleep. And at least plant some strong perennials such as sedum ‘herbstfreude’ whose seedheads will be left standing when you prune the rest, to provide birds and insects with shelter and food.
When pruning, save some of the bigger branches and logs to make a log pile in a quiet, sheltered part of the garden, which will provide insects with a haven in the cooler months.
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Huw Richards (£16.99, DK) ORGANIC veg champion and former child-YouTuber Huw Richards explains how to build up equipment through bartering, borrowing and making do. He has tips on propagating and taking cuttings and the basics of growing fruit and veg.
■ Mark Diacono (£10.99, Headline Home) photographer and
River Cottage alumnus,
Mark Diacono has a straightforward style that’s easy to follow and deals with more than 180 varieties of fruit and veg – including starting them off, spacing, picking and eating – and mixes familiar staples with exotics such as Tasmanian mountain pepper.
■ Val Bourne (£9.99, Bantam Press) WRITER, lecturer and organic gardener Val Bourne breaks down the swift jobs you can do monthby-month, and cheers you on to exploit every last usable scrap of daylight by making even the smallest outdoors jobs achievable and worth being proud of.
The Ten-Minute Gardener should provide inspiration for those just starting out and help those with busy lives to maximise
A
FIRSTLY, give it a once-over with scrunched up newspaper to remove the worst of the dirt.
You can buy specialist greenhouse glass cleaner, too.
Q
HOW often should I check greenhouse plants for pests and diseases?
Jill, via email
A
Barbara Evers, via email
CHECK the undersides of leaves for red spider mite, vine weevil and whitefly every moment they have to plough into their fruit and veg, without becoming overwhelmed by all there is to get done.
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Alice Vincent (£12.99, Ebury Press)
IDEAL for urban gardeners with little space to play with, it offers a crash course in nurturing herbs, salad leaves, tomatoes, chillies and courgettes (as well as a few flowers for your window boxes). They’re ingredients that will pep up your lunch but won’t require
■ whenever you water your plants. As you water little and often, it’s a good opportunity to do it.
On sunny days, make sure you ventilate your greenhouse to recirculate air amongst plants and cut back on humidity which may cause diseases to spread.
much digging.
Lucy Chamberlain (£16.99, DK)
IF there’s one thing a newbie veg-grower needs to know, it’s that the RHS is your most trusted resource and beloved touchstone.
The RHS website is good, but words on a paper page often hold more gravitas, and this updated version of a step-by-step classic guide will have you turning seeds into carrots, onions and