Radish

Harvesting kohlrabi at the right time: how to tell before it turns woody

My neighbour Frau Schneider brought me a kohlrabi the size of a coconut last week. It tasted like wood. Here's how to catch that moment before it's too late.

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.

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.

The raised bed in the first heatwave: when shade helps — and when it hurts

The first 30-degree week arrives earlier every year than you'd think. What in the raised bed really needs shade, what the sun can handle, and why a shade net is sometimes the wrong move.

First harvest week — radishes out, lettuce in

This week the first things come out of the raised bed — radishes are ready, cut-and-come-again lettuce is harvestable, some herbs need their first trim. And while you harvest, it's the moment for the next succession sowing. Here's the plan for the next 14 days.

Companion planting table for raised beds — the pairings that matter

A companion-planting table to print: good neighbours, bad neighbours, three all-rounders. Plus the five pairs that get you 80 % of the effect — if you only want to remember five.