The Plant Notebook

Preparing plants for the growing season in the city allotment

Missing leaves, vanished plant labels and mysterious white residue left all over the trays, it was clear I was dealing with a high-stakes crime scene. It all got much more interesting when real-world news headlines connected the dots. A good detective riddle mixed with real-life gardening struggles. Small living wall kit for your vegetable garden A compact vertical garden that is perfect for growing herbs and vegetables, easy to care for and does not compromise on style. An i

Sowing seeds for a vertical city allotment.

Discover how over-applying chemicals weakens plants and how organic houseplant food and organic liquid seaweed can help build resilience especially in your potted plants.

Nope, neither do I. We have been super successful at selective breeding and creating hybrids. Some edibles of today look so wildly different to their original ancestors, it will be difficult not to gasp. Mexican grass Teosinte (Wild Corn, Genetic Literacy Project) and the modern corn. Take the modern corn. It is a product of 9000 years of selective breeding of the Mexican grass called Teosinte. 17th Century watermelons were thick skinned, less fleshy, seedy and bitter, car

Specifically, supermarket vs homegrown. It seems that over the past 80 years supermarket food has been losing nutrients and minerals at a rather hefty rate. Yellow courgette / yellow zucchini grown in a veggie garden kit The greatest reduction is in vital minerals such as sodium (-52%), iron (-50%), copper (-49%) and magnesium (-10%). ‘Records from the British Medical Research Council from 1940 to 1991 reveal that during this period carrots lost 75% of their copper and magne