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  In May you can sow, or plant out: beans, dwarf and runner: beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, and cauliflower: courgettes, cucumber, and kale: marrows, melons, parsnips, peas, pumpkins, radishes, spinach, spring onions, squash, sweetcorn, swiss...

You can plant almost anything in March, or you could, if the ground was not so depressingly wet. Walking on wet beds is not good for soil or carpets, and if the damp persists anything you have planted out might well rot. Raised beds, of course, are quick to warm and...

In a recent article on allotments, Julian Baggini says, "But let's not kid ourselves they reduce food miles or increase food security. The case for allotments is spiritual and psychological, not economic or environmental."  Don't you hate it when people confuse...

"Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret," says Horace. You can drive Nature out with a pitchfork, but she will always return. I don't know about you, but I am inclined to lend a respectful ear to a man who had the good sense to run away from the battle of...

April, then. Let us hope is is not as cold and dark as March has been. Keep some fleece handy, just in case. You can also use this to protect your carrots from root fly, though they are reasonably safe in raised beds or containers. Time to sow more peas, the last...

Scientists warned this month that we urgently need to transition to a green economy, because fossil fuel pollution risks pushing the Earth into a lasting and dangerous hothouse state. Even in Lewes we’ve experienced a heat wave, drought and flash flooding. It's...

Bertrand Russell said that when he talked to another philosopher, he felt that human happiness was no longer possible. When he talked to his gardener, he felt exactly the opposite. I bet he didn't talk to his gardener in December, when the poor fellow was hunched in...

I have recently been reminded that not everyone who reads this newsletter is a skilled and experienced gardener, and that perhaps a few words about the basics may, occasionally, be welcome. What follows is for those of you who get flustered when NPK ratios are...

  March I cannot remember what name was given to March in the French revolutionary calendar. Something to do with potatoes, I imagine: this is the month to buy, chit, and plant your first earlies. I understand that traditionalists would put things off a little...

   SNUG is a Transition Town Lewes enterprise, providing draught proofing services and workshops across East Sussex. Whether you want to draught proof your home yourself, or want an expert to do it, we’re here to help. more...