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Sometimes Gardening

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Beginners

23 articles across 6 sections: Guides, Ideas, Tools, Accessories, Gifts, Clothing.

Two courgette plants in a raised bed with small fruits under the leaves and a trug of picked ones
GuidesStep-by-step guide6 min read

How to Grow Courgettes

How to grow courgettes and zucchini: how many to plant, why the first fruits rot, hand pollination, and picking small enough to keep the plant producing.

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Heaps of potting compost, topsoil and garden compost side by side with grit and a pot
GuidesExplainer4 min read

Garden Soil vs Potting Soil

Garden soil vs potting soil, explained by what each one is for. Why garden soil fails in a pot, why potting compost is wasted in a bed, and what to buy for what.

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Overhead view of a raised bed divided into sixteen squares each planted at a different density
GuidesStep-by-step guide5 min read

Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening explained honestly: the grid and the spacing chart are genuinely useful, the compulsory soil mix and the shallow bed depth are not.

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Established rhubarb plant with thick red stems and large leaves, pulled stems on the soil
GuidesStep-by-step guide6 min read

How to Grow Rhubarb

How to grow rhubarb from a crown: where to plant it, why you pick nothing in year one, how to force it for early stems, and when to divide the crown.

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Close spaced rows of potatoes, onions, cabbage and kale with narrow trodden earth paths
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Victory Garden Ideas

A victory garden was a wartime plan to feed a household from a small plot. What they grew, what actually worked, and how the same approach holds up now.

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Low raised bed with sunflowers, radishes and lettuce and a child's watering can
GuidesStep-by-step guide7 min read

Gardening With Children

Gardening with children works when the seeds are fast and the tools are real. Here is what to plant, what to buy, and what puts kids off for good.

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Squared paper with a pencilled bed map, an open notebook of short notes and some seed packets
GuidesStep-by-step guide5 min read

Garden Planner

A garden planner you will still be using in August: one bed map, one sowing list and one page of notes. What to record, what to skip, and free templates.

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Back garden in spring with a sunny bed, a shaded fence strip and frost in a hollow
GuidesStep-by-step guide8 min read

Zones & Growing Conditions

Gardening zones tell you what survives winter, not what grows well. Here is how to read your zone, and the five garden conditions that matter more.

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Paved courtyard with containers of tomatoes, chard and wall-mounted salad troughs
IdeasStep-by-step guide9 min read

Small Space & Urban Gardening

Urban gardening comes down to light, pot size and wind. Get those three right and a courtyard or balcony feeds you. Here is how I work out what will grow.

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Small raised bed of lettuce, chard and radish in a back garden at sunset
GuidesStep-by-step guide11 min read

How to Start a Garden

How to start a garden in one season: check your light first, build one small bed without digging, plant six easy crops. Costs from $60, step by step.

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Packed flower border of geranium, salvia and catmint beside a grass path
GuidesStep-by-step guide7 min read

Flower Gardening

Flower gardening made simple: pick plants that suit your light, plant them closer than feels right, and get colour from spring to frost. With costs.

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Small forged trowel, hand fork, two litre watering can, gloves and a bug pot
ToolsBuying guide5 min read

Gardening Tools for Kids

Which children's garden tools actually work, what to buy at each age, and why most brightly coloured plastic sets put kids off gardening rather than into it.

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Soaker hose, tap timer, zinc labels, jute twine and a soil thermometer on timber
AccessoriesBuying guide5 min read

Gardening Accessories Worth It

The small kit that removes friction from every session: watering gear, labels, supports and storage, plus the accessories that just take up room.

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Watering can soaking dark soil around young chard and lettuce at sunrise
GuidesStep-by-step guide6 min read

How to Water a Garden

How to water a garden properly: how much plants need, how to tell when they need it, and why a daily splash does more harm than none at all.

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Mid handled hoe, stirrup hoe, wide mouth shovel and soil thermometer by a bed
ToolsBuying guide4 min read

Gardening Tools for Raised Beds

Raised beds need a different tool kit from open ground: shorter handles, no spade, and a few things you would never buy otherwise. Here is the list.

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Narrow trowel, snips, a long spout can and a collapsible trug on a wall rail
ToolsBuying guide4 min read

Gardening Tools for Small Spaces

A short, cheap tool kit for container gardening: what you need on a balcony or patio, what to leave out, and how to store it in a metre of space.

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Forged trowel and hand fork, a large planter, seed packets and zinc labels
GiftsBuying guide4 min read

Gardening Gifts for Beginners

Gifts that make a first-year gardener more likely to keep going: the right five tools, the right seeds, and the presents that get in the way.

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Compost bay built from three wooden pallets with a fork in the heap and a bucket beside
GuidesStep-by-step guide6 min read

Composting for Beginners

What to put in, what to keep out, and how to fix a compost heap that smells or refuses to rot. A simple two-thirds/one-third rule that works in any bin.

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Narrow balcony with railing troughs, pots of tomato and chard and a plant stand
IdeasIdeas7 min read

Small Balcony Garden Ideas

Balcony garden ideas built around the three things that actually limit you, light, wind and weight, with pot sizes, planting plans and what to grow where.

Updated

Nitrile coated gloves, leather gauntlets and a worn out pair side by side
ClothingBuying guide5 min read

Gardening Gloves Guide

Nitrile, leather or gauntlet: which gardening glove suits which task, how to measure your hand properly, and why one pair for everything never works.

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Workbench with dismantled secateurs, a diamond card, a file, oil and an oily rag
GuidesStep-by-step guide6 min read

Cleaning & Sharpening Garden Tools

A twenty-minute routine for cleaning, sharpening and oiling secateurs, spades, hoes and shears, the single highest-return maintenance job in gardening.

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Twelve used garden hand and long tools laid out in a row on weathered timber boards
ToolsBuying guide6 min read

Gardening Tools for Beginners

The twelve tools a new gardener genuinely needs, what to look for in each, what to spend, and the eight popular tools you can safely skip in your first year.

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Small timber raised bed planted with lettuce, radish, chard and one courgette
GuidesStep-by-step guide7 min read

How to Start a Vegetable Garden

How to start a vegetable garden: pick the spot, build one bed without digging, plant six crops that forgive you. The five mistakes to avoid.

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