Allotment tips and tricks

Tips and tricks for your allotment

With help from our local garden centres, we’ve grabbed the top growing tips to create a trug load of handy how-tos for your garden!

Whether you’ve only got a window planter or a patch full of greens – there are plenty of ways to make the most of your garden space this National Allotment Week.

Here’s our list:

Watering

August is usually one of the hottest months of the year, but with hosepipe bans in place across most of the borough, it’s important to find other ways to conserve water and keep your plants healthy.

Here’s a tip:

Consider using a water butt to collect rainwater and use this to water your plants. Water butts are best kept in the shade with a lid on to help prevent evaporation and they are a great, easy way to give your plants access to water.

To avoid water waste when using your valuable rainwater, here’s a trick:

Get your water directly to the roots where it’s needed by creating a reusable funnel with an old water bottle. Just cut off the bottom, remove the cap and stick the cap side down and into the ground to help channel your water into the dirt!

To avoid water waste when using your valuable rainwater, here’s a trick:

Get your water directly to the roots where it’s needed by creating a reusable funnel with an old water bottle. Just cut off the bottom, remove the cap and stick the cap side down and into the ground to help channel your water into the dirt!

Growing from above

Hanging baskets are a really easy way to bring life into your garden, even if your space is limited. They’re lightweight and take up no floor space whatsoever.

As an added bonus, you can hang them pretty much anywhere, which means you can spice up those otherwise plain walls and give your garden that charming, cosy feel.

If your hanging baskets have struggled to grow this year, here’s a tip from our friends at Silversprings Garden Centre in Titchfield:

Did you know that tomato food is great for hanging baskets? When you’re constantly watering them in the summer heat, you’re actually washing away nutrients too!

So, using slow-release, liquid food like Tomorite will help to keep them going for longer.

Harvest season

August is the perfect time to harvest all those tasty veggies you’ve been growing over the year. But for those who’ve fought a war with bugs eating away at your greens, here’s a trick:

Silversprings recommend planting marigolds between your plots. They’ll help to keep those pesky invaders away while inviting welcome ones, such as bees!

Or if you’re stuck on where to start, Stewarts Garden Centre have a tip for you:

August is the perfect time to get any potatoes left in the ground out before the slugs get them! Sweetcorn and autumn raspberries will also be ready to pick this month, alongside any other veggies you’ve got on your plot as they become ripe.

Harvested all your veggies and are not sure what to do with them? You can find a selection of recipes here… see what takes your fancy!

Happy harvesting!

To find out more about our fab local garden centres, check out their socials!

Stewarts Garden Centre

Silversprings Garden Centre