Shannon Butcher

  • Feeding and watering

    Feeding and watering

    Watering is particularly important at seed sowing time, planting out and just after seedlings emerge. Once vegetables become established it is less important unless you garden on very free-draining soil.

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  • Plug plant essentials

    Plug plant essentials

    Sowing seeds isn’t the only way to raise the plants you need to achieve great harvests. Plug plants offer a convenient alternative to buying seeds, or as away to fill gaps or top up numbers if sowings fail for any…

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  • How to sow

    How to sow

    Some vegetables are sown direct and then thinned out as they grow and are harvested where they were originally sown.

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  • Hanging veg gardens

    Hanging veg gardens

    It is possible to grow an increasing range of tasty vegetables and herbs in hanging baskets, here are some top tips to get you started.

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  • Bag up your veg

    Bag up your veg

    Why not make use of the growing-bag to grow some great crops. The growing-bag is the perfect self contained veg-growing kit and averycosteffective method of container growing.

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  • Growing in containers

    Growing in containers

    So, what’s a container? This depends on what crops you are growing, for example lettuce and salad leaves can be grown in quite shallow containers. A small trough 17cm (7in) deep and 30cm (12in) long would suffice for a few…

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  • Starting the veg patch

    Starting the veg patch

    You can start a veg patch almost any time if you have a nice piece of bare soil. However, if you are starting from scratch and the area is still lawn or very weedy this is best treated with a…

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  • Improving your soil

    Improving your soil

    Having good soil is the foundation to producing successful crops. You can get a feel for what your soil type is like by squeezing ahandful. Does it stay together, moulded in asolid lump, or is it crumbly?

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  • The right tools for the job

    The right tools for the job

    One of the joys of growing fruit and veg is the fact that you don’t need any high tech equipment. Although it can be tempting to spend lots of money on kit, you will find that just afew good tools…

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  • Mudketeers diary – 10th Oct 2018

    Mudketeers diary – 10th Oct 2018

    Late bloomers My dahlias did not like the hot summer. They sat there doing nothing for ages. I think they were just waiting for cooler weather and now the display is lovely. This one is ‘Nicholas’. I am now hoping…

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  • Annual Tulip Festival returns to Arundel Castle

    Annual Tulip Festival returns to Arundel Castle

    38,000 tulips in bloom at Arundel Castle Visitors to Arundel Castle can expect to be wowed by all things bright and beautiful from mid-April to early May as Arundel Castle welcomes back its unique Annual Tulip Festival. More than 38,000…

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  • Diary dates for May

    Diary dates for May

    Shows & Festivals | Talks, Tours & Open Days | Apple Events | Fruit & Veg Growing Courses | & more…. PLEASE NOTE We have made every effort to ensure these details were correct at the time of going to…

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