Soap Has Surprisingly Many Uses in the Garden

That old bar of soap in the drawer doesn’t have to go in the bin. In the garden, it can help deter pests, tackle outdoor cleaning, and even make stubborn zips glide again.

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Green tomatoes will turn red in a few days with a simple trick

Cool nights slow tomato ripening just when late-season blight risk rises. A controlled root cut, paired with a few smart pruning steps, can push mature green fruit to colour up faster.

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September jobs in the garden from weeding and lawn care to spring bulbs

September is ideal for tackling weeds, repairing lawns, dividing perennials and planning bulb planting while the soil is still warm and workable. A few timely jobs now will make next spring easier and your garden more resilient year-round.

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The More Often You Harvest, the Longer Plants Keep Cropping

With fruiting vegetables, frequent picking keeps plants flowering and producing for longer. A few crops, such as aubergines, are tastiest when harvested slightly earlier rather than fully mature.

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Lovage does far more than flavour soup and can replace pesto or stock powder

Most people use lovage only for broth, but it’s a powerful, aromatic herb with far wider kitchen potential. Try it in herb butter, pesto, potatoes, marinades, or as the backbone of a homemade seasoning mix.

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A Dangerous Lookalike of Black Elder Grows Here Too and Is Easily Confused

Black elder (Sambucus nigra) is a favourite for cordials and home processing, but it has a toxic lookalike: dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus). Learn the key differences—especially the stem type and the way the fruit clusters hang—so you don’t pick the wrong plant.

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A New Garlic Planting Method That Breaks Records and Delivers a Stunning Harvest

Growing your own garlic is more work than buying it, but a few smart pre-planting steps can significantly boost yields and improve resilience. Learn how to prep cloves, deter onion fly, and plant correctly for a stronger crop.

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Turn Ground Cinnamon Into a Secret Weapon for Stronger, Tougher Plants

Ground cinnamon isn’t just for baking—it can help protect houseplants and garden plants from mould and fungal issues, support cuttings, and even act as quick first aid for minor wounds. Used lightly, it’s an affordable, gentle, natural add-on to good growing practice.

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Growing your own fresh peppercorns on the windowsill is possible with patience

Freshly harvested peppercorns at home aren’t a fantasy—pepper vine can be grown in a pot as an attractive climber. With warmth, light and steady care, it may eventually reward you with your own pepper berries.

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Don’t Cut Sedums in Autumn, Those Dry Flowerheads Have a Purpose

Leave sedum flowerheads standing through winter for structure, wildlife value and frost-kissed beauty. Cut back in late winter as new shoots appear, and keep plants compact with good sun and drainage.

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How to Harvest and Store Apples Properly So They Keep as Long as Possible

Apple harvest timing depends on the variety and whether you want fruit for immediate eating or long storage. Learn how to pick at the right stage and store apples so they stay firm and fresh for weeks or even months.

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Late blight of tomatoes and potatoes spreads fast learn to spot it

Late blight can wipe out tomatoes and potatoes in days when conditions are right. Learn how to recognise the first symptoms and reduce the risk in your garden.

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Most common mistakes when planting garlic in autumn and how to avoid them

The biggest mistake when planting winter garlic in autumn often comes after planting: mulching the bed too soon. Learn when to cover the bed, what mulch to use, and how a thin, dry layer helps garlic overwinter without triggering premature growth.

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September Tomato Care Can Extend Harvest Into Late Autumn

September doesn’t have to mean the end of tomato season. A few targeted tasks can help more fruit ripen and keep plants productive well into late autumn.

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African Violets in Bloom Without a Break With a Few Simple Tweaks and Chemical Free Feeding

African violets can flower for months on end if you get the light, watering and pot size right. Add a light homemade feed and a couple of proven tricks, and they’ll reward you with healthy leaves and plenty of blooms year-round.

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Grapes Don’t Ripen After Picking and Timing the Harvest Is Everything

Grapes won’t sweeten or ripen once they’ve been cut, so choosing the right harvest moment makes all the difference. Learn how to grow, train, prune and pick vines for flavourful, properly ripe bunches.

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You Can Remove a Hornet Nest Without a Permit If You Meet Legal Conditions

Home and garden owners often worry whether removing a hornet nest could put them on the wrong side of the law. In the Czech Republic, the European hornet is generally protected, but it is not a specially protected species, so removal is usually possible when there is a genuine safety risk.

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Why It Makes Sense to Put Grapes in the Freezer Overnight

Freezing grapes overnight transforms their texture into a sorbet-like bite and naturally boosts their sweetness. It’s an easy way to swap sweets for fruit and use grapes more creatively in the kitchen.

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Powdery mildew can be tackled without chemicals with several essential steps at once

Powdery mildew is a common fungal problem on both ornamentals and crops, showing up as a white-grey dusty coating and weakening plants over time. With good hygiene, better airflow, sensible watering and feeding, and more resistant varieties, you can keep it under control without reaching for chemicals.

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A Few Simple Tricks for Masses of Flowers on Hardy Hibiscus

Hardy hibiscus brings huge, dinner-plate blooms and a bold splash of colour to summer borders. With the right light, moisture and feeding, you can coax it into flowering heavily for weeks.

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How to Safely Save and Store Tomato Seeds for Next Year

Saving your own tomato seed is simple, cost-effective, and lets you keep growing the varieties that perform best in your garden. Follow the right steps—brief fermentation, thorough rinsing, careful drying, and proper storage—to maintain strong germination.

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How to Set Lawn Watering Times for a Healthy, Dense Turf

Watering at the right time helps moisture reach the roots, reduces disease pressure, and builds a tougher, denser lawn. Learn when to water, how long to run each zone, and how to adjust by season and soil type.

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Coneflower Handles Drought and Poor Soil But Never Do This One Thing

Coneflowers (Echinacea) are tough, pollinator-friendly perennials that cope well with drought and lean soil, but they need one non-negotiable: excellent drainage. Learn when to plant, how to care for them, and whether to deadhead or leave seedheads for birds.

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Fast Growing Trees for Partial Shade That Will Enhance Any Garden

Not every fast-growing tree needs all-day sun. These reliable choices cope well with partial shade and quickly add structure, seasonal colour and privacy to your garden.

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Gardening Tips to Boost Your Currant Crop and Keep Bushes Strong and Healthy

Currants need attention after harvest, not just in spring. Smart pruning, steady watering, balanced feeding and simple prevention now set up stronger bushes and a heavier crop next season.

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A Simple Trick for Getting Rid of Gnats in a Plant Pot Our Grandmothers Swore By

Bay leaves aren’t just for soups and sauces. Used the right way, they can help curb fungus gnats breeding in potting mix and noticeably reduce the annoying flies around houseplants.

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How to store potatoes so they last until spring without rotting

Potatoes often spoil over winter not because the crop was poor, but because of small storage mistakes. Keep them dry, cured, cool, dark, and well ventilated to prevent sprouting and rot until spring.

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Speed Up Tomato Ripening Without Unnecessary Chemicals and Get a Sweeter Crop Weeks Earlier

Tomatoes don’t have to stay green until late summer. With a few simple, chemical-free tweaks, you can push plants to ripen sooner and protect your crop from cool nights, wet weather and blight.

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Ten Proven Tips for a Thick, Green Lawn All Year Round

A thick, deep-green lawn doesn’t happen by accident—it comes from consistent, season-long care. Combine cleanup, feeding, mowing, and soil work to build a denser turf that stands up better to drought, weeds, and wear.

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What to Plant in an Autumn Bed So You Can Harvest Until Frost

Late summer warmth in the soil makes autumn sowings surprisingly fast to germinate, and many crops actually taste better after a light frost. With smart timing and a few reliable choices, you can keep harvesting right up to the first hard freezes.

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Peppers Aren’t Flowering as Expected, Here’s How to Get Them to Set Fruit

Pepper plants can look lush and healthy yet refuse to flower or set fruit. Check temperature, sunlight, feeding, watering stability and pollination to get them back on track.

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Wasps Aren’t Just a Barbecue Menace They Can Ruin Your Garden Woodwork Too

Weathering isn’t always the main culprit behind damaged outdoor timber. Wasps can scrape fibres from boards and beams surprisingly fast, leaving grooves that soak up water and accelerate decay.

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When to Plant Staghorn Sumac and Where to Place It for Spectacular Colour

Sumac is a tough, drought-tolerant ornamental that delivers dramatic autumn colour with minimal fuss. Success depends mainly on a sunny, open position, free-draining soil, and planting at the correct depth.

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Eight Places You Should Never Plant Cucumbers If You Want a Good Crop

Cucumbers grow fast and generously, but only when they have the right site. Avoid these eight problem spots to prevent weak growth, disease, and bitter or misshapen fruit.

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Bad autumn pruning of hydrangeas can cost you blooms all next season

Hydrangeas don’t all set flower buds the same way, so autumn tidy-up can either protect next year’s blooms or remove them. Learn when to deadhead, how hard to prune by type, and how to winter-protect plants in the ground and in pots.

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Sow Once and Your Border Will Bloom for Years

Self-seeding flowers keep coming back by dropping seed after flowering, filling gaps and creating a natural, meadow-like look with very little effort. Choose reliable species and tweak your tidy-up routine to encourage seedlings without letting the bed look messy.

5 min read

The gardening season isn’t over, here’s what you can still plant

September is often underestimated, yet it can save you a lot of work in spring. With warm soil and cooler air, it’s an ideal time for sowing hardy crops, planting bulbs, and getting ornamentals well rooted for an earlier start next year.

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Peppers don’t have to be just for one season

Peppers don’t necessarily have to end up on the compost heap after the final harvest. With the right autumn care, a healthy plant can overwinter and crop again next season without resowing.

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Invasive Asian hornet spotted in Bohemia as officials search for a nest

A single Asian hornet has been seen repeatedly in Liběchov in July and early August, raising concerns it may have arrived with transported goods. Authorities are urging the public to report sightings so any nest can be found and removed quickly.

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After a Heatwave, Tomatoes Benefit from the Right Pruning and a Protective Mulch Layer

In hot, muggy weather, tomatoes are far more prone to fungal disease when leaves stay wet and air can’t move through the plant. A few targeted cuts and a simple mulch “skirt” at soil level can dramatically reduce disease pressure.

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Orchids Covered in Blooms With One Simple Chemical Free Home Trick

Store-bought orchid fertilisers don’t always deliver more flowers. A gentle garlic infusion, used correctly and paired with the right conditions, can help encourage stronger blooming.

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Yew Turns Brown and Dries Out

When a yew starts browning and shedding needles, the cause is often a mix of growing-condition stress and fungal disease. Learn how to tell them apart and what to do first to help the plant recover.

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After Five Years in the Same Bed, Strawberries Stop Cropping Get Your New Strawberry Patch Ready in Time

Strawberry plants typically lose vigour after about five years in the same bed. Set up a new, sunny strawberry patch in late summer or early autumn for stronger rooting and a heavier crop next season.

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Pruning Fruit Trees Without Mistakes

Correct pruning shapes a fruit tree’s crown, supports reliable cropping, and prevents long-term stress or decline. Learn how timing, technique, and the tree’s age determine what to cut and when.

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September Isn’t the End, It’s the Start of the Final Garden Sprint

September is one of the busiest months in the garden, when harvesting overlaps with sowing and planting for next year. A little planning now brings earlier flowers, healthier beds, and less work in spring.

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Now Is the Right Time to Feed Pumpkins with Nettle Tea for a Superb Harvest

Pumpkins grow fast and need plenty of nutrients to size up properly. Homemade nettle tea is an effective, chemical-free feed when diluted correctly and applied regularly at the roots.

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How to Make the Most of a Big Tomato Harvest and Stock Up for the Whole Year

A hot, dry summer often brings a bumper tomato crop. Here are practical ways to preserve tomatoes so you can enjoy that summer flavour all winter long.

5 min read