Wondering why your cucumber leaves are turning yellow, wilting, or developing strange spots? In this guide, you’ll learn how to identify the most common cucumber diseases, prevent infections, and keep your plants healthy and productive throughout the growing season.

June isn’t just harvest season — it’s a golden opportunity to keep your vegetable garden productive well into autumn and beyond. 🌱☀️ In this seasonal guide, you’ll discover what to seed-start indoors, which vegetables you can sow directly outdoors, and what’s ready to plant or transplant into your beds right now. From cool-season brassicas and summer squash seedlings to carrots, beans, lettuce, spinach, and beetroot for direct sowing, there’s plenty to keep your garden growing. You’ll also find tips on hardening off plants, transplanting fruiting vegetables like pumpkin and peppers, and essential June chores like mulching, harvesting herbs, and fertilising hungry crops. Smart June plantings now help ensure a steady, delicious harvest throughout the rest of the season.

Originally published June 2024 • Updated June 2026 with expanded June garden task and FAQs. The promises of May are kept in June! Forgotten is the doom of night frosts, and it's time to fertilise, mulch and even harvest the first vegetables. Summer solstice is around...

June invites us into abundance — long days, first harvests, strawberries in the kitchen, wildflowers on the table, and sunlight to soak up whenever we can. In these June reflections, we explore seasonal living in early summer, from gardening and preserving to simple self-care rituals and ways to embrace the joy of the season.

Growing peppers and chillies in pots is easier than many gardeners think. Whether you have a sunny balcony, a small patio or only a windowsill, container-grown peppers can thrive and produce abundant harvests. In this complete guide, you’ll learn how to choose the right varieties, pots and soil, plus practical care tips for watering, fertilising, harvesting and even overwintering your plants.

May is one of the most exciting months in the gardening calendar — the soil has warmed, frost risk has mostly passed, and it’s prime time to build the foundation for a bountiful summer harvest. 🌱☀️ In this guide, you’ll learn which vegetables you can sow directly outdoors (think beans, carrots, radishes, and heat-loving squash), which crops are still worth starting indoors for later planting, and how to time your sowings so your garden stays productive throughout the season. With tips on when to transplant seedlings like tomatoes and cucumbers and how to succession-sow leafy greens for continuous harvests, this article helps you make the most of May’s planting window and set your garden up for months of fresh, homegrown goodness.

May brings warm sunshine and the end of frost—finally! Your garden explodes with growth, but success depends on 11 essential tasks this month. Learn how to protect seedlings from hungry slugs, harden off indoor starts for transplanting, fertilize heavy feeders with homemade nettle manure, and time your sowings perfectly. From mulching techniques to pest protection and smart watering schedules, this guide ensures your May garden thrives all summer long.

These May reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature. May brings all that March and April have promised: new growth, new green, new light and oh, the smell of all the flowers and blooming trees...

Growing cucumbers is one of the most rewarding experiences in a summer garden. This complete guide walks you through every step — from choosing the right variety and planting seeds to caring for plants, solving common problems, and harvesting crisp, homegrown cucumbers.

April doesn’t ease you in gently. One day you’re in shorts, the next you’re back in your down jacket — and somehow the cherry trees are blooming through all of it. In these April reflections, I share how to live with April’s restless energy rather than against it: in the garden, at home, and in yourself.

April marks the thrilling moment when your vegetable garden truly springs to life. As soil temperatures warm and the danger of frost diminishes, this month offers a prime opportunity to sow seeds and plant out a wide range of crops that will sustain your harvest through spring and into summer. For gardeners of all skill levels, April is ideal for both indoor seed-starting—think leeks, brassicas, lettuce, tomatoes and members of the cucurbit family—and direct sowing outdoors of cool-season favourites like broad beans, peas, carrots, radishes, rocket, spinach, beetroot and salsify. It’s also a great time to transplant hardy seedlings such as lettuce, cabbage and leeks, and to set out bulbs and roots like garlic, onions and potatoes once they’ve been hardened off. With thoughtful timing and a little soil preparation, you’ll be well on your way to a productive growing season.

April marks the true beginning of the gardening season. Discover the most important garden tasks to tackle now — from sowing vegetables and hardening off seedlings to protecting young plants from frost and pests.

March is not a clean arrival — it’s a dance between winter and spring. One day the sun warms your face and the crocuses push through the soil; the next, winter takes the stage again for one last performance. In these March reflections, I share what this season of transition asks of us: in the garden, in our homes, and in ourselves.

March is spring with a hint of winter—that magical transition when my too-clean fingers start itching to dig in the dirt.
Indoors, start tomatoes for outdoor growing, greenhouse cucumbers, and pre-sprout potatoes on a sunny windowsill. Sow lettuce every few weeks for continuous harvest. Don’t forget nasturtium—it protects cucumbers from pests while adding edible flowers.
Outdoors, hardy vegetables like sugar peas, early carrots, broad beans, and spinach can handle the cold with protective fleece. Transplant February-started lettuce and strawberries after hardening them off gradually.
Label everything—you won’t recognize seedlings later. Get out and have fun in the dirt!

March arrives with frost still nipping at night, but your garden is ready to wake up. Top up raised beds with fresh compost, remove winter mulch by raking it to the edges so soil warms faster, and pull out any weeds hiding underneath.
Give potatoes a head start by sprouting them on a sunny windowsill. Try covering rhubarb with a bucket—the warmth underneath produces tender stalks in just four to six weeks. Indoors, tend your seedlings daily. Outdoors, hardy vegetables like broad beans, spinach, and early carrots can brave the chill with protection.
The months of dreaming are over. Grab your gloves—your garden is waiting.