Choosing containers for food crops: a cheaper route
Put choosing containers for food crops back into a real week, with overtime, travel and days you cannot be bothered. Any plan that only survives good…
Mixing your own potting soil: the few lines you need
If you have already tried mixing your own potting soil and dropped it, the fault is usually in the setup: a starting point set too high, an…
Placing base fertiliser: standard, rhythm, floor
Let us set the limits of placing base fertiliser first: it reliably improves a visible record of growth, and it does not deliver overnight. Anything…
Sowing density for lettuce: when to change approach
Anyone who has spent time on sowing density for lettuce has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Cutting spring onions again and again: out of the misconceptions
Let us set the limits of cutting spring onions again and again first: it reliably improves herbs within reach, and it does not deliver overnight.…
Staking tomatoes properly: key points and exceptions
If you have already tried staking tomatoes properly and dropped it, the fault is usually in the setup: a starting point set too high, an environment…
Peppers in containers: when to change approach
Separate two things in peppers in containers: the outcome you want and the action you can sustain. When the gap is too wide, shrink the action…
Hand-pollinating cucumbers: why it keeps failing
Advice on hand-pollinating cucumbers tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience…
What strawberries need in a pot: when to change approach
Anyone who has spent time on what strawberries need in a pot has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Getting coriander to germinate: for a first attempt
Separate two things in getting coriander to germinate: the outcome you want and the action you can sustain. When the gap is too wide, shrink the…
How deep to sow radishes: standard, rhythm, floor
Most people want how deep to sow radishes to make things better. The workable version of that goal is steadier: a floor you can hit on a bad day.…
How much weight a balcony holds: out of the misconceptions
Let us set the limits of how much weight a balcony holds first: it reliably improves plants that stop dying on you, and it does not deliver…
When and how much to water: out of the misconceptions
Advice on when and how much to water tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience…
The rhythm of feeding: breaking the problem apart
Most people do not fail at the rhythm of feeding from misunderstanding it. They fail because understanding is not doing. What follows is the doing…
Physical pest control: it isn't actually complicated
Anyone who has spent time on physical pest control has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not another…
Insulating a balcony for winter: what you only learn by doing
Anyone who has spent time on insulating a balcony for winter has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Using seed trays: breaking the problem apart
Anyone who has spent time on using seed trays has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not another…
Rotation and resting soil: out of the misconceptions
Anyone who has spent time on rotation and resting soil has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Judging when to harvest: out of the misconceptions
There is plenty written about judging when to harvest and little you can act on. This piece stays concrete: every action can be done by the balcony…
Kitchen waste composting: the few lines you need
Advice on kitchen waste composting tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience and…