3 min read
Autumn green manures: choose a cover and plan its end
Rye, vetch and field beans do different jobs. Choose according to sowing conditions, soil and the next crop, then decide how you will terminate the cover.
- Autumn
- Green manure
- Soil
The blog
Marmanda's notebook.
Long, sourced articles about the vegetable garden: what to plant and when, which pairings actually hold up, how to read a sowing calendar.
3 min read
Clay soil in a vegetable garden: when to work it
Check whether clay is ready to work, keep traffic off wet beds and choose improvements for the problem you observe. A practical guide to soil condition, organic matter and drainage.
- Small garden
- Planning
- Soil
- Clay soil
4 min read
Vegetable garden mulch: leaves, grass cuttings or wood chips
Compare leaf mulch and other garden materials by crop, bed and season. Learn where to spread them, when to uncover a seed row and what to check beneath the cover.
- Autumn
- Mulch
- Small garden
- Soil
3 min read
Slugs in the vegetable garden: observe and protect
Identify what is eating your seedlings, check the vulnerable rows and use targeted hand-picking. Adjust damp debris around crops while keeping useful mulch and garden wildlife.
- Slugs
- Small garden
- Sowing
- Soil
3 min read
How deep should a raised vegetable bed be?
Check the bed base and the soil beneath before choosing a depth. Compare open beds with containers on paving, then match the available root zone and drainage to your crops.
- Raised bed
- Small garden
- Planning
- Soil
3 min read
Watering a vegetable garden: check before you water
Check moisture below the surface before watering. Adapt your method to seedlings, established crops, rainfall and containers, and keep a simple record of what works in your garden.
- Watering
- Small garden
- Planning
- Soil
7 min read
Which way should a vegetable garden face, and how many hours of sun does it really need
Sunlight is the one garden constraint you cannot amend or irrigate your way out of. Here is how to actually measure the light on your plot, and what each level of exposure will genuinely grow.
- Light and aspect
- Small garden
- Soil
6 min read
Why Do My Tomatoes Have Black Bottoms? Blossom End Rot Explained
Blossom end rot is not a disease, not a fungus, and almost never a shortage of calcium in your soil. It is a water supply problem inside the plant, which changes entirely what you should do about it.
- Diseases
- Soil
- Tomato
6 min read
How to Rotate Crops in a Vegetable Garden (and Why It Is Harder Than You Are Told)
Crop rotation rests on two specific mechanisms, not on a magic rule. Here is how to think in botanical families, why nightshades deserve your attention first, and how to make trade-offs when your plot is only a couple of hundred square feet.
- Diseases
- Rotation
- Soil
8 min read
What to plant in October: sowing, planting and garden jobs
Garlic, shallots, lamb's lettuce, spinach or green manure: what you can plant and sow in October, with the limits imposed by climate and soil.
- Calendar
- October
- Soil
Turn the reading into a garden.
Marmanda turns this advice into a dated, placed plan for your own plot.