Laurence's veggie growing blog

Laurence's veggie growing blog Set up during lockdown when many folk started to grow vegetables for the first time - I wanted them to avoid the mistakes I made when I started.

Use the search facility to find all the info' about a specific vegetable. Just click on the 3 dots.

We had a pleasant surprise yesterday on a visit to Lyme Regis in Dorset. Whilst walking through the lovely Langmoor Gard...
16/07/2026

We had a pleasant surprise yesterday on a visit to Lyme Regis in Dorset. Whilst walking through the lovely Langmoor Gardens we came across a vegetable plot! No idea who manages it but I love this sort of thing 😊

Open Gardens: Erica & I like to visit several Open Garden events each year.Of course, I make a beeline for those gardens...
22/06/2026

Open Gardens: Erica & I like to visit several Open Garden events each year.

Of course, I make a beeline for those gardens that contain vegetables! I often pick up gardening tips on these visits, as well as comparing how my crop is coming along compared to those who have opened their gardens.

The last visit of 2025 was the Open Gardens at Shapwick, Somerset. Shapwick is situated close to the Avalon Marches Nature reserve where, during the Winter months, I’ve witnessed some spectacular Starling Murmuration’s.

This year we have already visited Open Gardens at Montacute Village and Dulverton, again both in my Home County of Somerset.

All three villages have some beautiful gardens and great vegetable plots!

Yesterday we were in Dulverton and it didn’t disappoint. For me two of the highlights were a garden where the owner had integrated vegetables along with the flowers and another where a young couple had transformed their whole garden into a fruit and vegetable plot, including a polytunnel. They also had a plot for their two children, passing on their knowledge to the next generation. This couple have really excelled when it comes to growing fruit and vegetables creating a garden which provides nearly all of their year-round needs.

Look out for Open Gardens near to you, they make a great day out and you return home with lots of gardening tips!

Broad Beans: Your broad beans should be in full-flow atm. A tip when picking them - always pick the pods using a downwar...
18/06/2026

Broad Beans: Your broad beans should be in full-flow atm. A tip when picking them - always pick the pods using a downward pull. If you pull them upwards it can damage the stem you are pulling the pods from!

Also, remember to pinch out the tips of your plants to lesson blackfly problems. You should do this when the lowest set of flowers has formed small pods or if you see blackfly starting to infest the plant tips. Pinching out the tips also directs the plants efforts into the pods rather than growing the plant.

If you have enough .......... you can eat the tips - usually steamed or stir-fried.

Growbags: A little tip with Growbags ;-). they don't have to be used flat on the floor. Another way to use them is to cu...
12/06/2026

Growbags: A little tip with Growbags ;-). they don't have to be used flat on the floor. Another way to use them is to cut them in half and use them like large flower pots. Especially useful if you're trying to squeeze a plant into a tight spot.

Keeping a Greenhouse Cool: Today has recorded the hottest temperature on record for May in the UK. Whilst the main purpo...
25/05/2026

Keeping a Greenhouse Cool: Today has recorded the hottest temperature on record for May in the UK. Whilst the main purpose of a greenhouse is to trap the heat in, on days like today they get too hot and this can be damaging for our greenhouse plants.

There are many ways of keeping a greenhouse cool but I always go for the quick, easy and cheap ways!

Most of us already have Greenhouse venting systems that automatically opens a window when the temperature rises. One thing to note about these is that the cylinders do leak after a while and stop working properly. When this happens, you should be able to buy a new cylinder rather than replace the whole mechanism.

As this heatwave is predicted to last only a few days, today I removed a window directly opposite the door to allow air to move ‘through’ the greenhouse to prevent hot air stagnating. It’s easy to do and easy to reinstall the window when the days get cooler. Clearly you should wear gloves when handling glass and be very careful not to break the window when removing it, storing it and replacing it. What I should really do is get something that I tell myself every year I will buy and, to date, haven’t …….. that is a louvre vent window opener ……. then I wouldn’t have to remove any glass! Look them up – and when I eventually get mine, I’ll send you a pic!

Last year we had prolonged heat and I used Greenhouse Shading ‘Paint’ to lower the temperature in the greenhouse. You simply mix it with water and paint it onto the glass on the outside of the greenhouse where it dries. It forms a white, chalky coating on the glass preventing some of the shortwave radiation from the Sun entering the greenhouse (it is this shortwave radiation that converts to heat once inside the greenhouse). Some of this ‘paint’ will come off when it rains but it does last quite a long time and often, I’ve eventually had to remove it with a cloth, brush or even broom for the higher parts.

Finally, in the past I have used an old sheet pegged to the frame of the greenhouse to prevent some of the shortwave radiation entering the greenhouse. Again, this is a very temporary solution and only possible when there is little wind.

Shallots & Onions & Raised beds: We all had a very wet second half of the Winter! One of the good things about raised be...
03/03/2026

Shallots & Onions & Raised beds: We all had a very wet second half of the Winter! One of the good things about raised beds is that you can prepare the soil such that it drains well and is very quick to prepare. I can prepare the soil in my raised beds after the Winter in a couple of hours.

Living in the South of the UK I like to get my Shallots and Onion sets in the ground fairly early in the year if the weather isn’t too harsh. I started them off in the first week of February in trays in the potting shed and 3 ½ weeks later they were ready for planting in a raised bed that I prepared the day before. Before planting I added some well rotted farmyard manure to the soil along with a little slow release food in the form of small pellets.

I just clipped the roots a little before planting and covered them afterwards to protect them from birds and cats whilst they establish.

Happy New Year!I've had nearly a year off from the blog ...... and what a year it was ;-).I intend to blog more this yea...
19/02/2026

Happy New Year!

I've had nearly a year off from the blog ...... and what a year it was ;-).

I intend to blog more this year but remember there is a search facility and if you search any particular subject/vegetable you will receive all the posts relating to it.

This is my 2026 Planting/Sowing Plan - the vegetables in red are new vegetable varieties I'm trying this year.

Happy Growing!

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