Tony Flanagan, Author at Kitchen Garden Magazine Page 13 of 14

ANTONY WOODLAND GARDEN REOPENS FOR 2017

10th February 2017 Tony Flanagan News

One of Cornwall’s most beautiful gardens, Antony Woodland Garden, reopens to the public on 1st March. Renowned as a haven of peace and tranquillity, the gardens are just a short ferry ride away from the hustle and bustle of Plymouth. This year the Carew Pole Garden Trust, which runs the gardens, is hoping more people than ever before will visit…

Growing broad beans under cover

6th May 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog

If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel you can guarantee yourself a very early crop of broad beans in May Not only are broad beans delicious if picked young, they are easy to grow too. I usually grow a crop outside but have given up sowing in autumn as the wind just plays havoc with them as I have a…

Pollinating indoor strawberries

25th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

If you’ve been growing strawberries under cover, don’t forget you can help with their pollination It’s April and the strawberries in my polytunnel are starting to flower, which is great! However, although strawberries are self-fertile (which means they are self-pollinating) they may need a little help if you’re growing them under cover. Outside strawberry flowers will have the wind and…

Sowing Carrots

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Here are a few tips you might find useful for sowing carrots The main sowing period is March through to June, though I have sown in July too with good results Don’t sow in soil that has been freshly manured or your carrots will fork If sowing in early spring, warm the ground up a little by covering it with…

Carolina Reaper’: too hot to handle?

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

So why grow the world’s hottest chilli? Well, a bit like climbing Mount Everest, ‘cos it’s there! Well here’s a chilli that needs some careful handling…literally. The ‘Carolina Reaper’ is the hottest chilli in the world. Chillies are one of my favourite plants so I thought – more out of curiosity than anything else – I’d give this one a…

The Millipede: Friend or Foe?

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Here’s a little creature you’re bound to come across as you work the soil, so what should you do when you find one? You will often find these little beauties in the soil. They are thinnish (compared to grubs), brown, segmented and when you pick them up they will curl themselves up. Oh yes, and they have lots of pairs…

What’s in a hoe?

13th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

In addition to Dutch hoes, there are plenty of other types on the market but which one is best for you? SpeedhoePersonally, I think it’s hard to beat a Dutch hoe for weeding, especially between rows. A lot depends on what you’re growing, the space you have and whether on the level or in a raised bed. In our April…

Recycle your compost bags

13th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Tips and Advice

Don’t throw your compost bags away, you can use them for container growing, especially early potatoes…. Compost bags are ideal as containers for growing early potatoes. So here’s how to do it: Roll the sides of each bag down half way. Add multi-purpose compost to a depth of 15cm (6inches) Plant one or two seed potatoes (first or second earlies)…

Why chives?

12th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Chives are not only great in the kitchen but they’re a truly beautiful herb when left to flower I do get impatient waiting for spring onions to mature so I tend to use chives in salads instead. They’re easy to cultivate and, as a perennial herb, they’re there for cutting year on year. If you have a herb patch, the…

Oh no! Leggy Seedlings!

23rd March 2016 Tony Flanagan Tips and Advice

Do your seedlings look like this? It’s not unusual if we start sowing indoors early that we get leggy seedlings I’ve often had this problem with tomato and pepper seedlings. So keen to get sowing and making a head start! Anyone else want to plead ‘guilty’? Seedlings become leggy if they have insufficient light and so therefore go in search…

VIDEO: Top Tips for March

2nd March 2016 Tony Flanagan Tips and Advice, Video

There’s so much to do this month. Check out our range of tip-top videos from Steve and Tony packed with how-to guides and advice! Sowing carrots with Steve Ott Checking forced rhubarb with Tony Flanagan Sowing lettuce with Steve Ott…

The cow’s digestive system could revolutionise renewable energy

25th February 2016 Tony Flanagan News

Scientists look at the way relatively unknown fungi works inside the guts of herbivores in hopes of revolutionising biomass technology. Professor Theodorou, leader of the Agricultural Centre of Sustainable Energy Systems (ACSES) at Harper Adams University, is among the group of scientists researching the potential benefits of these gut fungi. He said: “Renewable technologies are looking to use renewable plant…

Green fingers at the ready

24th February 2016 Tony Flanagan News

Are you proud of your garden and what you grow in it? Then enter the North Lincolnshire garden competition for your chance to win £100 The competition is split into seven categories: • Best large garden (over 100 square metres) • Best medium garden (up to 100 square metres) • Best small garden (up to 50 square metres) • Best allotment •…

BLUEBELL WALKS AT RODE HALL

24th February 2016 Tony Flanagan News

Experience one of the finest Bluebell Walks in the North West at Rode Hall and Gardens in Cheshire New for 2016, visitors can enjoy Rode’s carpets of ancient bluebells even more extensively due to the recent discovery and restoration of an old path through the Old Wood, previously used by villagers walking to the House in the 1800s. A magical stroll…