Journal/Authors

Arthur Meade

Arthur Meade

Vegetable Garden & Seasons

55 articles

Arthur has worked the same allotment for thirty years and measures the calendar in sowings, not months. He writes practical, no-nonsense guides to growing food and keeping a garden honest through the seasons — and has little patience for folklore that doesn't survive contact with a real plot.

Articles by Arthur Meade

Vegetable Garden · 7 min

Starting a Vegetable Garden: A First-Season Plan

How to start a vegetable garden from scratch in one season — site, soil, five easy crops, and the mistakes to skip.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min

Raised Beds vs Containers: Which Should You Grow In?

Raised beds give volume and yield; containers give control and portability. A practical guide to picking (or combining) the two.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min

Companion Planting: What Actually Works

Which vegetable companions have real evidence behind them, which are folklore, and a simple planting plan you can copy.

Vegetable Garden · 5 min

How to Water a Vegetable Garden Without Killing It

How much, how often, and when to water vegetables — with a simple schedule for beds and containers.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min

Tomato Problems: A Visual Diagnosis Guide

Blossom end rot, cracks, curl, blight and yellow leaves — how to tell them apart and fix them fast.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min

When to Plant Vegetables: A Month-by-Month Calendar

A month-by-month guide to sowing and planting popular vegetables — indoor starts, direct sows and transplants.

The Maltese Falcon superyacht under full DynaRig sail off Malta

Seasonal · 7 min read

Gardens at Sea: The Secret World of Plants on Superyachts

From Azzam to the Maltese Falcon and Black Pearl — the biggest yachts in the world carry living plants at sea. Here's what they grow, why, and how their crews keep it alive against salt, wind and UV.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Why Your Basil Is Flowering (and How to Stop It)

Basil bolting in summer heat turns leaves bitter. Learn why it flowers, how to pinch it back, and how to keep a plant productive all season.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Courgette (Zucchini) Flowers but No Fruit? Here's the Fix

Courgette flowering but nothing to pick? Male-first flowers, poor pollination and heat are the usual culprits — and hand-pollination fixes most of it.

Seasonal · 7 min read

When (and How) to Prune Lavender

Late summer is the moment to prune lavender. When to cut, how far down to go, and the old-wood rule that keeps plants compact for years.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Tomato Blight: How to Identify and Treat Late Blight

Brown greasy patches on your tomatoes in a wet summer? How to spot late blight fast, tell it from early blight, and save the rest of your crop.

Seasonal · 6 min read

Deadheading in Late Summer: Keep the Flowers Coming

Which flowers to deadhead in late summer for more blooms, how it works, the right technique, and which plants to leave alone for seed and wildlife.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

How to Ripen Green Tomatoes at the End of the Season

End of season and still picking green tomatoes? Here's how to ripen them fast — using ethylene, a banana, the right temperature, or the whole vine.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

When to Harvest Onions (and How to Cure Them for Storage)

How to know when onions are ready to harvest — the tops-falling-over signal — plus how to cure and store them so they last well into winter.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

When to Harvest Onions: Signs They're Ready, Plus Curing and Storage

How to know when onions are ready to harvest, how to lift and cure them, and how to store them so they keep for months.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Blossom End Rot: Why Your Tomatoes Turn Black Underneath

Black, leathery patches on the bottom of tomatoes are blossom end rot. Learn the real cause — and why calcium sprays rarely fix it.

Seasonal · 6 min read

How to Harvest and Dry Herbs from Your Garden

When and how to harvest garden herbs, plus the best way to dry or freeze each one — air-drying, dehydrator, oven, and storage tips.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min read

What to Plant in August for a Fall Harvest

August is a second spring for the vegetable garden. 12 crops to sow now for autumn harvests, plus the frost-date maths that makes it work.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

How to Save Tomato Seeds for Next Year

Save tomato seeds in August: the fermentation method step by step, quick paper-towel alternative, drying, storage, and which varieties come true.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min read

What to Plant in September for Autumn and Winter Harvests

What to plant in September: fast salads and roots to harvest before frost, garlic and onions to overwinter, cover crops and spring bulbs.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

When to Plant Garlic (and How to Do It Right)

Garlic goes in the ground in autumn, 2–6 weeks before it freezes. Exact timing by climate, hardneck vs softneck, depth, spacing, and mulch.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

How to Propagate Strawberries from Runners

Turn strawberry runners into free plants: peg plantlets into pots in late summer, sever after 4–6 weeks, and plant out in time for next year's crop.

Seasonal · 6 min read

How and When to Prune Wisteria

Prune wisteria twice a year: summer (July–August) back to 5–6 leaves, winter (Jan–Feb) to 2–3 buds. Steps for a wall of flowers next spring.

Seasonal · 6 min read

When (and How) to Divide Perennials

When to divide hostas, daylilies, irises, peonies and grasses, how to split a clump step by step, and the aftercare that helps divisions thrive.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Collect and Save Flower Seeds

Late summer is seed-saving season. How to collect flower seeds, dry and store them properly, and which flowers are easiest — step by step.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Cucumber Leaves Turning Yellow: 7 Causes & Fixes

Yellow cucumber leaves come down to 7 causes: watering, nitrogen, pests, downy mildew, mosaic virus, wilt or shade. How to tell which — and fix it.

Seasonal · 7 min read

When to Plant Spring Bulbs (Tulips, Daffodils & Crocuses)

Plant tulips, daffodils and crocuses once soil cools below about 15°C — September to November for most gardens. Timing, depth and chilling explained.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Overwinter Geraniums (Pelargoniums)

Three proven ways to overwinter geraniums (pelargoniums): as houseplants, from late-summer cuttings, or bare-root dormant storage. Start before frost.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

When to Harvest Pumpkins and Winter Squash

The four ripeness signs for pumpkins and winter squash — colour, rind, stem, sound — plus how to cut, cure, and store them for months.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Why Are My Tomatoes Splitting? (And How to Stop It)

Tomatoes split when heavy water follows a dry spell — the flesh swells faster than the skin. Radial vs concentric cracks, prevention, and whether they're safe to eat.

Seasonal · 6 min read

When to Harvest Sunflower Seeds

Harvest sunflower seeds when the back of the head turns yellow-brown and petals drop. How to beat the birds, dry the heads, and store or roast your seeds.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Take Lavender Cuttings in Late Summer (Step by Step)

Late summer is prime time to propagate lavender from semi-hardwood cuttings. Step-by-step method, rooting times and overwintering tips.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min read

When to Harvest Potatoes (and How to Tell They're Ready)

Flowering, dieback, skin set: the three signals that tell you when to dig new and storage potatoes — plus curing, storage and the green-potato rule.

Seasonal · 8 min read

When to Prune Roses (and When You Really Shouldn't)

The main rose prune comes in late winter — but summer and autumn trims matter too. Exact timing by rose type, plus what to cut right now in late August.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Take Hydrangea Cuttings That Actually Root

Turn one hydrangea into a dozen for free. When to take cuttings, the step-by-step method, rooting times, and the mistakes that make cuttings fail.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

Why Are My Cucumbers Bitter? Causes and Fixes

Bitter cucumbers are caused by cucurbitacins triggered by heat and drought stress. Learn what causes the bitterness, how to rescue fruit, and prevention.

Seasonal · 6 min read

How to Overwinter Dahlias: Lift, Store, Replant

When to dig up dahlia tubers, how to dry and store them frost-free over winter, and when you can leave them in the ground under mulch.

Seasonal · 7 min read

When to Prune Hydrangeas: The Right Time for Every Type

Mophead, lacecap, paniculata or Annabelle? When to prune each hydrangea type, why timing decides next year's flowers, and the one season to avoid.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min read

How to Grow Spinach: From Sowing to Harvest

How to grow spinach: when to sow for spring and autumn crops, ideal soil temperature, spacing, how to stop bolting, and cut-and-come-again harvests.

Seasonal · 7 min read

When to Harvest Apples (and How to Store Them)

How to tell when apples are ripe — the lift-and-twist test, brown seeds, ground colour — and how to store late keepers so they last until spring.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

What to Plant in October

What to plant in October: garlic, onion sets, broad beans, winter salads under cover, spring bulbs and bare-root shrubs — a practical month guide.

Plant Science & Curiosities · 6 min read

Why Do Leaves Change Colour in Autumn?

The science of autumn leaf colour: why chlorophyll fades, where yellows and oranges come from, why some leaves turn red, and what makes leaves finally fall.

Vegetable Garden · 7 min read

Green Manures: How and When to Sow Cover Crops

When and how to sow green manures: the best cover crops for late summer and autumn, how to dig them in, and how they feed your soil for spring.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

When to Harvest Sweet Corn: Signs It's Ready to Pick

Brown silks, the milk test, days after silking: learn exactly when sweet corn is ready, how to pick it, and why it tastes best the day you harvest.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Overwinter Fuchsias

Overwinter tender fuchsias in a cool, frost-free spot at 5–10°C: when to bring them in, how hard to cut back, winter watering, and the spring wake-up.

Seasonal · 6 min read

When to Cut Back Peonies (and How Far)

Cut herbaceous peonies to the ground after the first hard frost — not before. Exact timing, technique, disease hygiene, and how tree and Itoh peonies differ.

Vegetable Garden · 6 min read

How to Grow Basil: Sowing, Care & Harvest

Grow big, bushy basil from seed or a supermarket pot: sowing temperatures, pinching, watering, and fixes for bolting and damping off.

Seasonal · 6 min read

Chrysanthemum Care: Make Your Mums Last All Autumn

How to care for chrysanthemums: hardy vs florist mums, watering potted mums, deadheading, pinching, and overwintering for next year.

Seasonal · 6 min read

Cyclamen Care: Keep It Blooming All Winter

How to care for cyclamen from September onwards: cool spot, bottom watering, deadheading — and how to get it through summer dormancy to rebloom.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Force Bulbs Indoors for Winter Flowers

Pot hyacinths, tulips or daffodils now, chill them 12–15 weeks, and they'll bloom indoors in midwinter. The full forcing timeline, step by step.

Seasonal · 6 min read

How to Overwinter Begonias

How to overwinter begonias: when to lift tubers, how to cure and store them frost-free, and how to keep wax begonias going indoors.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Overwinter Chilli Plants

Chillies are perennials — don't compost them. How to overwinter chilli plants indoors: when to bring them in, pruning, light, watering and spring wake-up.

Seasonal · 7 min read

How to Protect Plants from Frost

Frost in the forecast? Learn which plants actually need protecting, how cold they can take, and 8 proven methods — fleece, cloches, mulch and more.

Seasonal · 6 min read

How to Make Leaf Mould from Autumn Leaves

Don't bin your autumn leaves. How to make leaf mould in bin bags or a wire cage, which leaves rot fastest, and how to use it — the laziest job in gardening.

Seasonal · 7 min read

When to Plant Trees and Shrubs (and Why Autumn Wins)

Autumn is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs: warm soil, cool air, months of root growth. Timing, exceptions and how to plant one properly.

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