One week on & the call to end peat sales continues to grow!📢 Last week we went to Downing Street to hand in our 16,000+ petition. Coming together as eNGOs, growers & supporters, we called for the destruction of peatlands to stop! There's still time to add your voice 👉 https://loom.ly/2owB_VM

Wooden cutlery make great #plasticfree plant labels. Here I've laid them on their sides as I have a glass cover over my seed trays but when stood up they are tall enough not to wick water as far as the writing (unlike eg lollipop sticks) swap for slate when planting outside #sustainable #gardening 🌱

My poor overwintered broad beans are making a bid for recovery 💚 followed usual routine, sow in Oct, move outside once germinated as they need cold to grow sturdy - but these just drowned 😥 first time it's ever gone wrong & now rethinking how I grow them in future #climatechange #gardening 🌱

Happy March! 💚 soon it'll be spring... I am planting by the #moon this year so here are this month's phases: 🌜1-2: waxing: flowers & salads 🌜 3: full: rest 🌜 4-11: waning: roots 🌜 12-18: waning: rest 🌜 19: new moon: rest 🌜 20-24: waxing: leafy veg 🌜 25-31: waxing: above ground annuals #gardening 🌱

Getting ready for planting and sowing 💚 if you have part-used bags of #peatfree compost left over from last year use with care: peat-free is best fresh, used within 6 months of buying. I bought this one last July (date is printed on the bag) - so mature plants and container top-ups only #gardening 🌱

16,742-strong petition for legislation this year to #EndPeatSales handed in to Downing Street! 💚 Supported by @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social, @davegoulson.bsky.social, @plantlifeuk.bsky.social, @gardenorganicuk.bsky.social, & #RHS Huge thanks to everyone who signed and shared! #EndPeatSales

Well done @sainsburysuk.bsky.social - bedding pansies grown 100% #peatfree 😍 so nice to shop with a clear conscience. It's such a shame we need to remember to double check b4 buying - with legislation to #endpeatsales we wouldn't have to actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal... #gardening 🌱

Big week for us at @peatfree.bsky.social - we're taking the petition to Downing Street 💚 over 16.200 people have now signed - smashing our original 10k target 🎉 solid proof of the public support we always knew was there 4 legislation to #endpeatsales actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

It's tidy-up time! I'm dashing out between showers to slowly clip out dead stems and reveal the start of the spring garden 💚 I try not to remove any debris from the garden - what doesn't go on the compost heap ends up in my dead hedge or chop'n'dropped back onto the borders as mulch #gardening 🌱

This is what 52 consecutive days of rain looks like: the #Somerset Levels hasn't had a full 24 hours of dry weather this year. Those are fields, gardens, roads. And still politicians & voters continue to shirk action on #climatechange. The cost of doing nothing is so much higher than acting now 😥

Love this new take on hanging baskets i spotted on the crocus.co.uk stand at the #GardenPressEvent this week 💚 like little plant-filled hammocks #gardening 🌱

Onion sets are such an easy way of planting 💚 normally u buy them packaged in nasty #plastic bags but at last weekend's Potato Day I picked up my supplies of red & white onions plus shallots by the scoop, tipped into paper bags. Why is this not common practice in garden centres too? 🤔 #gardening 🌱

Great day yesterday chatting all things new in horticulture at the Garden Press Event 💚 inc: 🌱 new #sustainable water retaining granules derived from paper & card 🌱 @gardenorganicuk.bsky.social collab on new app Fryd 🌱 crocus.co.uk now 100% #peatfree across the nursery & launching own brand compost

Chitting nicely 😊 this year Sarpo Axona (maincrop, blight resistant), Sagitta (2nd early) and Home Guard (1st early). You don't have to chit - makes no difference to growth rates except for new #potatoes, & even then not much. But it's useful for keeping tubers healthy till sowing time #gardening 🌱

Now my growing year has begun! Potato fairs are a great way to buy seed #potatoes, plus onions & shallots #plasticfree. Dozens of varieties inc blight resistant & heritage, sold by the tuber in paper bags. This one in Frome also had seed swaps, withy weavers, fruit trees & good cake 🎂 #gardening 🌱

Trying an experiment this spring: didn’t get around to sowing garlic in November (quite glad I didn't tbh as would probably have drowned). So instead I'm trying giving it the chilling it needs to form cloves by leaving the bulbs in the fridge for a few weeks - let's see how it goes! #gardening 🌱

Our long-eared friends are back - scrapes everywhere in one garden I look after. Best solution is mesh fence buried 15-30cm: fine for veg patches but in the open garden it's harder. In my garden Pip & Oakley keep bunnies away. Here we rely on temporary cages round new plantings #rabbits #gardening 🌱

Shhhhh.. whisper it (don't want to wake the weather gods)... think it might have stopped raining for a bit 🌦🌦🌦 Can't wait to get out in the garden again, first time this week 🙄 everything is waterlogged but I feel in my gardener's bones this could be the start of the end 💚 #hope #spring #gardening 🌱

It’s the start of National Apprenticeship Week! 🎉 Each year we take on up to 10 new horticultural apprentices to help shape and conserve the parks for the public to enjoy 🌳 Find out more about our apprenticeship scheme ▶️ https://bit.ly/3SKY6EZ.

No need to bother with forcing when you have a stand of Timperley's Early, my fave variety of #rhubarb 💚 I've been worrying about this one as it started sprouting in the warm spell before Xmas then new leaves nearly drowned in all this wet - but new growth looking better #phew #gardening 🌱

There's a big mature bamboo in a garden I look after - I wouldn't plant it in mine (v invasive) but super useful in someone else's 😂 around now strip lower leaves & cut out weedy stems to the base to leave thickest for harvesting as beansticks 💚 also brilliant at sequestering #carbon #gardening 🌱

A dry day means I can finally take a trip to the #allotment and cut back my hazel (thanks @sallynex.bsky.social for the reminder) Hazel canes are a great alternative to bamboo, and I have an unlimited supply each year. 🌱 #Gardening #UKGardening #VegetableGarden #AllotmentLife

Now collecting hazel poles before buds break, ready for summer beans: select straightest stems 2-4cm (2-3") thick and 2.5m (8ft) long. Trim off the tops (I stand next to the pole and reach up as high as I can to judge where to cut - tho depends how tall you are!) & save 4 peasticks #gardening 🌱

Wow... we've SMASHED through our 10,000 signature milestone and now heading to 12,000 🎉🎉🎉 Thank you so much to every one of you who's stood up & demanded legislation to #endpeatsales now: this is the public voice the govt needs to hear 💚 actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal... #gardening 🌱

The most boring pic on your feed today? 😂 But #sustainable gardeners find cardboard very exciting 😁 💚 thick cardboard: 📦 covers winter veg beds 📦 insulates tender plants 📦 suppresses perennial weeds 💚 thin cardboard: 📦 makes biodegradable pots 📦 + dividers in wooden seed trays #gardening 🌱

You are all amazing 😄 it’s really close now! 💞

Last chance to take hardwood cuttings before buds break: here red stemmed dogwood (Cornus alba) 💚 choose sturdy stems & cut into 45cm sections, trim base to just below a bud then prune away top growth to just above a bud, then simply bury about halfway deep in the ground & keep watered #gardening 🌱

One of the best benefits of RHS membership is you can choose seeds collected from RHS gardens 💚 growing perennials & shrubs from seed is 100% #sustainable & v satisfying 😊 This year the online system is down but you can still collect or email your choice www.rhs.org.uk/membership/r... #gardening 🌱

I do like a nicely trained loganberry 😍 one session in winter cutting out fruited canes then tying new ones into supports and you're done. Bending them over in loops helps them fruit even more. Bees go mad for flowers then laden with tart berries like giant raspberries all summer 💜 #gardening 🌱

Never have I been so glad to see the back of a month. Every day has felt a slog thru relentless rain. Full waterproofs all month & barely any gardening. This is #climatechange in action 🥺 i know Feb will probably be as bad but it's short, and spring is just behind 💚 #gardening 🌱 #hope #byebyejanuary

Well, actually I didn't have a clue about determinate and indeterminate potatoes, now thanks to this game-changing information in @growwithkg.bsky.social this month I now know I needn't earth up the Charlotte potatoes I'm growing at the allotment this year. 🌱

Fascinating visit yesterday to Durston's on the #Somerset Levels, investing heavily in developing new #peatfree range - but ongoing demand for peat means they need legislation to #endpeatsales to succeed. Peat petition now 8000 signatures+, sign here actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

Fave succession pairs to keep veg beds productive: June: ⏩ autumn-sown broad beans ➡️ courgettes ⏩ new potatoes ➡️ winter kale July: ⏩ onions, garlic ➡️ mangetout peas or dwarf French beans Aug: ⏩ maincrop peas ➡️ mizuna & other oriental salads Sept: ⏩ summer squash ➡️ autumn sown onions #gardening 🌱

Back to garden planning: it's also important to plan your veg plot throughout the year not just 4 spring. Draw a plan for each month marking what & when you expect to sow and harvest that month: this shows when veg beds come empty and can be replanted to keep the harvest coming 💚 #gardening 🌱 #gyo

When you're cooped up.imside peering miserably at the rain lashing at the windows yet again... *this* is when you should be thinking about bumping up your water storage capacity. The more excess rain you can store now the better you'll be prepared for the summer droughts. #waterwise #gardening 🌱

The moon has been big in the sky this month... hunter moons, crescent slivers & torch-bright full moons. The moon governs water on our planet so I've long thought there may be something to moon gardening. Going to give it a go this year just for fun and see if I notice the difference 💛 #gardening 🌱

My 5 fave #bird friendly plants for even quite small gardens: Hawthorn Teasels Sunflowers Ivy (left to grow mature) Cirsium rivulare - or any thistle, if left to set seed Buy & plant now bare root, #peatfree & #plasticfree (or sow in spring 💚) @rspb.bsky.social #BigGardenBirdwatch #gardening 🌱

While we're on @rspb.bsky.social #BigGardenBirdWatch - chuck out your bird feeders. I don't feed #birds even in cold weather: artificial feed spreads disease, attracts rats & uses #plastic. Planting bird friendly trees & shrubs (start now) provides berries insects *and* shelter safely #gardening 🌱

So who's doing the @rspb.bsky.social #biggardenbirdwatch this weekend? 😍 all you need is one hour outside with a notebook so you can write down any feathery visitors 🐦🐦🐦 I'm hoping to find a gap in the rain once Storm Ingrid has blown through... www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch

My fave garden planning tool is the GrowVeg garden planner - essential kit for gardeners stuck indoors while the rain batters down outside 😁 super easy to use and lets you draw your growing space to scale & work out exactly what to grow where. Try it for 7 days free 💚 www.growveg.co.uk #gardening 🌱

We're asking for one thing that will provide clarity to an industry that's faced constant delays. Legislation is needed to give the #horticulture industry a timeline for phasing out #peat. Sign the petition for legislation in 2026: https://actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sales/#horticulture

Planning your veg growing year in advance is so important! Take time now to sketch your growing area to scale & work out what you'll grow where. You reduce waste as you'll know exactly how much you need to sow 💚 & you can plan ahead to keep your plot productive right thru the year #gyo #gardening 🌱

Redeem your stamp card today by sharing our petition with 4 friends! In all seriousness, sharing our e-action is a certified serotonin boost in the deep dark of January. Learn more and add your voice at actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sales #Allotment #Gardening #PeatFree

Every year it seems odder things happen: this year it's my roses budding into flower in January 🥺 Climate change is real: you can help scientists track how it's affecting plants by logging what you see with the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woo... #gardening 🌱

Filling in the gaps in my #seed stash level 2 complete! 😍 My Heritage Seed Library seeds are here - as well as practical winter squash and climbing beans, there's Hong cress (similar I think to American land cress) and a canteloupe melon just for a treat 💚 can't wait to get #gardening now 🌱

Working on a big #garden design project? Select your plants from the huge range supplied bare-root and you can do it #peatfree and #plasticfree too. Wholesaler Howard's Nurseries just released their new stock list - OG (open ground)= bare root 💚 www.howardnurseries.co.uk/ordering-onl... #gardening 🌱

You'll see many posts this month telling you what to sow now... but please don't take any notice 🙏 it's easy to provide warmth to germinate #seeds but not so easy to give them the light they need to grow into strong healthy seedlings. Wait another month for #spring - it'll be here soon! #gardening 🌱

Gazing out over the #Somerset Levels on a frosty misty morning 😍 #lovewhereyoulive #peatlands #naturalbeauty

Look look look! New French edition of my book out today 😍😍😍 this is v lovely for me as I'm a real francophile - my mum lived there for 20 years & I did too for a while 🇨🇵 In the UK this is How to Grow the Low Carbon Way www.books2door.com/products/978... all about eco-friendly #gardening techniques 🌱

Filling the gaps in my #seed stash stage 1 complete! I've grown two of these before: Telephone peas are the only maincrop for me, 8ft tall and weighed down with pods. And Bleu de Solaise is a lovely leek with slate blue leaves. The others are exciting and new! I will report back 😊 #gardening 🌱