Bean

French beans in the raised bed: why you need to pick every two days

Beans stop producing the moment the first pods go too ripe. Miss a week of picking and the plant thinks it's done. How it happens, how to spot it, and why two minutes every other day makes all the difference.

Heavy, medium and light feeders: the nutrient table for your raised bed

Some plants eat a lot, some almost nothing. Knowing which is which lets you spread your bed's strength across the years — and stops you planting two hungry crops on the same spot two years running. The table plus the crop-rotation logic behind it.

The garden in July: what to sow now — and what's already on the plate

July is the loudest time in the raised bed: the first courgettes, cucumbers and tomatoes, and at the same time your last chance to sow for autumn. What still goes in now, what comes out, and the one trick that keeps freed-up gaps from sitting empty.

Aphids in the raised bed: what really helps in June — and why I don't spray anymore

First it's a few, then they sit in dense colonies on the shoot tips. Aphids are part of June. What works without poison, what's a waste of money, and who does the work for free.

Zucchini in a raised bed: why one plant is enough — and how to carry it through summer

One zucchini plant, two mistakes, a summer full of fruit. Watering, mildew, harvest: what the plant actually needs, without the garden jargon.

What goes into the bed in June — and what's already too late

June isn't the final sprint, it's a second start. What you can still plant, what you sow directly, and which crop to skip because that ship has sailed.