We hope this will be a growing section as members send us their own gardening tips (and corrections to our tips!). We are looking for ideas that people have tried and that really work for gardeners here. There is a list of fruit and vegetable varieties that work well here, as well as some that don’t.
- Good Varieties for Hollin LaneHere are some vegetable varieties that do well here. Please give us your own favourites with a few words saying why you like them.
- Not So Good Varieties for Hollin LaneSome fruit and vegetable varieties just don’t work here. Please give us your own experience with a few words about what the problem was.
- Allium Leaf Miner in NovemberCover leeks, onions, garlic through November.
- Bean SqueezingWhen are they ready to pick?
- Borlotti BeansI struggle to find things that work on my plot, but French beans Borlotti beans are my favourite…
- Compost HeapsGillian North’s recipe for success!
- Disposing of WeedsEven couch grass and bindweed roots can be composted if you know how.
- Eating NasturtiumsYes, really!
- Exhibiting Vegetables and FruitTips for showing veg and fruit.
- Make Your Own Seed and Potting CompostMake your own seed and potting composts …
- Making CompostHere are the slides from the talk on Making Compost from the 2011 AGM.
- Mini Root CellarSimple way to keep root crops fresh and safe through the winter.
- Onion SetsGillian’s tip for getting the most from your onions and garlic.
- Pea and Bean WeevilThe pea and bean weevil is hard to spot, but its damage to peas and beans is easy to see …
- Peat Free CompostsA report by Rosie Hall for Hollin Lane Allotment Association
- Potato BlightBlight usually hits our potatoes in warm, damp weather in August.
- PotatoesExtend the season for earlies and avoid blight on maincrops…
- RatsSome professional advice
- Rats, Squirrels Eating Sweet CornI noticed about that squirrels (probably) were starting to eat my ripening sweetcorn …
- Slug Slime on FingersNext time you get slug slime on your fingers try this…
- Sowing SeedsGillian’s ‘three for one’ planting tip…
- Summer Pruning: Apples and PearsWhen and how to do it.
- Winter Pruning Apples and PearsBetween Nov. and early March in UK.