Pumpkin

How to tell when your squash or pumpkin is ready to harvest

Not every pumpkin is orange, and not every orange pumpkin is ripe. Stachi explains the four reliable signs of ripeness you can feel and see — so you don't harvest too early or too late.

Pumpkins in the raised bed: what to do in July — and why it decides your September harvest

Frau Schneider writes: 'Stachi, my pumpkin is growing out of control. The vines are everywhere. What should I do?' I told her that right now — in July — she decides what ends up in her kitchen in September.

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.

Mulching a raised bed properly: straw or grass clippings — and how thin

A 5 cm mulch layer halves how often I water — I counted it over two summers. Why straw and grass clippings both work, the one mistake that always goes mouldy, and when to mulch.

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.

Feeding in June: when the hungry feeders need a top-up — and how you can tell

In spring the soil was full of strength, now the tomato and courgette are eating it up. When feeding again is really necessary, with what, and which sign you shouldn't ignore.