I’ve got a small set of these. They allow great long chunks of roots to grow making for better plants. Great for peas and sweetpeas!

Rootrainers £35.90
Rootrainers Provide The Best Growing System For Seeds, Plugs And Cuttings By Way Of The Deep Ribbed Cells Which Help Seedlings Develop Strong, Fibrous Root Systems.the Unique Open-bottomed Design Of The Cells Allow Earlier Root Tips To Make Contact With The Air And Die Off, Which Are Replaced By Fresh Young Roots. The Re-usable Cells Hinge Open To Allow Easy Removal Of The Plant, With No Root Disturbance, Ready For Transplanting.available In Two Sizes; Deep (12cm Deep, 32 Cells), Rapid (8cm Deep, 32 Cells)deep And Rapid Rootrainers Consist Of 2 Trays Of 32 Cells And 2 Clear Propagating Lids – Giving A Potential 64 Plantsdeep Rootrainers Ideal For Beans, Sweet Peas And Strawberries And Other Deep Rooting Plantsrapid Rootrainers The Choice For Salad Crops, Bedding Plants And All Annuals Not Requiring Deep Rooting Spacere-useable Cells Simply Hinge Open To Allow The Plant To Be Removed Without Damaging The Rootssee Our Extra Value Twin Packs And Save £2

Rootrainer Racking System £29.95
Designed To Be Used With rootrainers™, The Rootrainer Racking Station Is A Must Have For Experienced Seed Sowers And The Perfect Starting Point For Complete Novicesthe Rack Will Hold 8 Deep Or Rapid Rootrainers™ And Make A Great Deal Of Difference In The Greenhouse, In Polytunnels, Conservatories Or Patios – Anywhere Where Space Is Limited. Keeping Sets Of Rootrainers Above Ground, Enhances The Rootrainers™ Unique Air Pruning Qualities. Storing Them Like This Will Also Allow For Easier Sowing, Watering And Tending, Especially Useful If You Want To Reduce The Amount Of Bending Over In The Garden.neat, Lightweight, And Easy To Assemble The Racking Station Is Easy To Store Until Your Next Round Of Seed Sowing. designed To Hold 8 Packs Of Rootrainers™ (available Separately)space Saving Designeasy To Assemble87cm W X 78cm H X 39cm D

Pond Waders – could be useful for all gardening if the rain keeps up!

Pond Waders £56.95
These Pond Waders Allow You Stroll Out To Bank-inaccessible Areas Of Your Pond In Supreme Comfort – And With Three Sizes To Choose From, Those Days Of ‘drowning’ Inside Your Waders Are A Thing Of The Past!the Only Thing These Pond Waders Ooze Is Quality; From The Hard Wearing Pvc Construction, Fully Integrated Wellington Boot, Adjustable Straps Right Up To The Full Body Coverage, These Completely Waterproof Waders Will Keep You Warm And Dry Whilst Up To Your Neck In Water!the Pond Waders Can Even Be Safely Stowed Away In Their Own Zipped Storage Bag When Your Aquatic Adventures Are At An End, So If You’re Foot Size 7 Through To 11, Dive In!pond Waders Available In 3 Sizesmedium Waders Fit Shoe Sizes 7 To 8large Good For 9 And 9½go For Extra Large If You’ve Size 10/11hard Wearing Pvc Constructionfully Integrated Wellington Bootcompletely Waterprooffull Body Coverageadjustable Strapssupplied In Own Zipped Storage Bag 

Bottom heat helps get seeds and cuttings going.

Root!tr Heat Mats £29.95
The Range Of Root!t Heat Mats Direct Essential Heat To The Engine Room Of Seeds And Cuttings – The Roots – And Can Cut Several Days Off The Time It Usually Takes To Germinate Seeds And Strike Cuttings. these Mats are Available In Three Greenhouse sizes, Are Real Quality And Once Plugged Into The Mains (via A 1.8m Long Power Lead) Will Raise The Ambient Temperature At The Base Of Seed Trays Or Pots By Between 5.5 And 11°c, The Seedling Equivalent Of Warming Your Feet In Front Of A Blazing Log Fire! Waterproof, Fray Proof And Extremely Durable, The Mats Can Be Used In Conjunction With A Thermostat For Degree Accurate Growing And Can Simply Be Placed On Greenhouse Staging Or A Table – But Providing An Insulated Surface Beneath (eg Polystyrene) And Covering Any Seed Trays With Lids Will Further Improve Results. root!t Heat Mats Offer Uniform Heating And Avoid Hot Spots With Their Intricate Pattern Of Fine Wire; You’ll Find Instructions Printed On The Mat So They Can Never Be Lost And There’s A Size To Suit Every Growing Situation – The Small Mat Measures 25cm X 35cm And Takes One Standard Sized Seed Tray; You’ll Fit Two Standard Seed Trays On The 40cm X 60cm Medium Sized Mat And The Large – A Jumbo 40cm X 120cm – Will Accomodate Four Seed Trays.• Root!t Heat Mats Available In 3 Sizes• Small Measures 25cm X 35cm• Medium Is 40cm X 60cm• Go Large With The 40cm X 120cm Large Version• Small Mat Takes 1 Standard Seed Tray• Medium Holds 2• Large Will Acommodate 4 Standard Seed Trays• Ideal Propagation Aid• Clean, Simple And Easy To Use• Just Wipe Clean And Roll Up When Not In Use• Provides Invaluable Bottom Heat To Seed Trays• Encourages Seeds To Germinate And Cuttings To Strike• Cuts Days Off Usual Germination Times• Root!t Heat Mats Are Manufactured To The Highest Standards• Water And Fray Proof• Extremely Heavy Duty• Tigh

Propagation Heating Mats £89.95
These Propagation Heating Mats Will Turn Greenhouse Staging Or Potting Benches Into The Propagation Nerve Centre Of Your Greenhouse.available In Eight Sizes (ranging From 40cm X 75cm Up To 100cm X 200cm), Each Mains-powered Propagation Mat Is Fitted With A Fully Adjustable Thermostat And Soil Sensor, Helping To Ensure The Temperature Of The Rootzone Soil Is Accurately Recorded And Giving Your Seedlings Every Chance Of Germinating Uniformally And Developing Strong Roots. The Heated Propagation Mats Are Spray-proof, Suitable For Overwintering Container Plants And Have A 3 Year Manufacturer’s Warranty.propagation Heating Mats Supplied With Thermostat And Soil Sensor For Accurate Heating8 Sizes Available – See Belowthermostat Range: 0-40°cmats Can Be Placed On Greenhouse Staging, Benching Or Potting Surfacessimply Plug Into Mains To Operatecapable Of Heating Soil Up To A Toasty 35°c1.2m Of Mains Cableused For The Successful Germination Of Seeds And Cuttingsbottom Heat Encourages Roots To Develop And Groweven Heat Distributionip64 Spray-proof Ratedcovered By 3 Year Guarantee available Sizes And Outputs:40cm X 75cm – 65w40cm X 120 Cm – 85w60cm X 75cm – 93w60cm X 120cm – 140w40cm X 200cm – 157w60cm X 200cm – 263w100cm X 200cm – 300w

Coming home from your allotment in your car might mean you have wet or muddy boots to deal with. This boot bag sorts out the problem!

Muddy Boot Bag £29.95
A Season To Season Design Made From Strong Waxed Cotton With Leather Trim Will Keep Muddy Boots Out Of The Way. Complete With A 100% Water Repellent Wax Cotton Lining, A Convenient Carry Handle, Side Pocket And Easy Zip Access. sale Price Now Only £29.95- Save £25.0040cm H X 30cm W

This is a wonderful opportunity to see Pippa Greenwood talk about growing your own!

Pippa Greenwood and Stewart Garden plan second UK tour
from March to May 2013

Stewart Garden, the gardening products division of UK manufacturer, Stewart, and
Pippa Greenwood have announced dates for a second tour of UK garden centres. Eight
dates throughout March, April and May 2013 have been confirmed. The tour follows
the successful series of visits to centres across the country earlier this year.

The tour is part of Stewart Garden’s three-year partnership with the regular
broadcaster, columnist and grow your own specialist which commenced in 2011.

Motivated by increasing food prices, more and more people are opting to grow their
own fruit and vegetables. The trend shows no sign of slowing down.

Even people who don’t have gardens can enjoy the benefits of grow your own.
An amazing range can be grown on a balcony or a small back yard.

Throughout the tour, Pippa Greenwood will explain the principles of grow your
own and give practical demonstrations of potting, creating growing beds and propagation.
Comprehensive information sheets written by Pippa and complementing the demonstrations
will also be available to visitors.

2013 tour dates confirmed are:
Thursday 7 March: Ruxley Garden Centre, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Kent
Thursday 11 April: Squires Garden Centre, Sixth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
Thursday 18 April: Thetford Garden Centre, Kilverstone, Thetford, Norfolk
Thursday 25 April: Trago Mills, Trago Mills Liverton Newton Abbot, Devon
Thursday 9 May: Houghton Hall Garden Centre, Houghton, Carlisle
Wednesday 15 May: Wentworth Garden Centre, Hague Lane, Wentworth, Rotherham, S
Yorkshire
Thursday 23 May: High Legh Garden Centre, High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire

Speaking of the upcoming tour, Pippa said, “The popularity of last year’s
tour proved that there’s a big demand for grow your own products, information
and advice. We met many people who want to increase their knowledge and develop
their skills. Stewart Garden’s product range demonstrates its strong commitment
to these customers. Together we can help gardeners across the country grow great
vegetables and have fun while saving money.”

Visitors wishing to attend Pippa Greenwood’s appearances should contact
the garden centres direct. More information about the tour will appear on Pippa
Greenwood’s Stewart Garden blog at www.stewart-garden.co.uk/blog.

For more information about Stewart Garden, visit www.stewart-garden.co.uk.

For more information about Pippa Greenwood and ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa
Greenwood’, visit www.pippagreenwood.com.

Ever heard of pothole gardening?

Steve Wheen makes gardens from potholes on London’s streets!

The “guerilla gardener” says he wants to bring “moments of happiness” to anyone who stumbles across one of his creations.

It’s very pretty, but I’d love to know how long they last!

Here’s Steve’s blog!

FREE Kew Gardens entry (usually £16)
99,000 available
What: Free entry to Kew Gardens Get by: Before 99,000 go
How: From Mon 17 Dec 2012, book online at Kew Gardens for free entry between Sat 22 Dec 2012 and Fri 4 Jan 2013.

You can book up to 10 tickets per transaction and there are no booking or transaction fees. Just print your ticket at home and take it with you on the day you visit.

What do I get? Free entry to Kew Gardens between Sat 22 Dec 2012 and Fri 4 Jan 2013. Tickets usually cost £16 each, though children under 16 go free anyway.

The ticket includes access to all glasshouses, gardens and the David Nash at Kew exhibition and is valid every day. Check opening hours before you visit.

The detail: 9,000 free tickets available for each day the gardens are open, though you can book in advance for any date in the date range.

Briers’ new Pruner & Pouch

This is a wonderful item that gardeners will find really useful. Pruning is a chore gardeners have to do. Whether it’s to ensure proper fruiting, to make plants healthy, or to trim off damaged branches it’s essential that every gardener has a pair of secatuers to prune with.

But where do you put them when you’re in the garden? You can start off with them in your pocket, but you’ll find that you need all the pockets you can get for packets of seeds, string, gloves and other bits and bobs. Even if you put them in a pocket it’s a bit of a faff usually so you start putting them down on the ground and then you move away and you spend ages looking for them again – or worst forget them until after a shower of rain and discover they need some serious TLC.

If only there was some way of stopping you putting them down – that’d be pretty tremendous for the more forgetful gardener; this is where the pruner & pouch comes in. Simply fix the pouch to your belt – it’s got a press stud on so you don’t have to undo the belt to add or remove the pouch. The pouch then hangs like a holster and in it is a pair of pruners! They’re very nice pruners too with soft easy to hold handles. I reviewed the pink set which has pink handles on the pruners as well as a pink pouch!

It’s got three pockets – the one for the pruners, one on the front designed to take a smart phone and a thinner long pocket that you can put plant labels in and a pen! This means you’ll find this useful for so many different reasons! Through the season this will be your must have garden accessory. The pruner pocket is deep enough that the tool won’t fall out when you’re crouching or bending over.

The phone pocket will take most smart phones – the iphone fits in easily. This means you’ll always have your phone to hand with you in the garden and you’ll be able to get it easily. The rugged Velcro closer means your phone will stay safe too!

The pruners have a safety clip on and it’s easy to get in to the swing of taking them out, popping the safety clip off, doing some trimming and then easily closing, locking and replacing the pruners in the pouch. This makes light work of the trimming and saves you having to find anything to put them on whilst you make adjustments to the plant to arrange ties on the plant.

The pruners are great! They have a traditional style parrot beak which allows for easy cutting, with the narrow end useful for getting in between stems to cut just the oens you want. They’re a nice weight to hold and use for a while too – not too heavy and the easy grip material on the handle makes them easy to hold.
The pouch is made of a hard wearing material that should be easy to keep clean too which is essential for gardeners! Once you’ve put it on you’ll quickly forget about it being separate and will treat it like an extra pocket! A very useful extra pocket at that!

This pruner & pouch set is a wonderful invention – one that I am sure many gardeners will love! It’s available in pink or black too. Highly recommended as a gardener’s gift! Briers’ Pruners & Pouch is available to buy online.

Allotment awards in Oldham 2012

The most Improved Site Shield: Fitton Hill Allotments — Wildbrook Crescent.


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The Shannon Trophy for the best six plots: Hope St Allotments.


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The Oldham Corporation Cup for best site in borough: School Road Allotments.


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The Oldham Chronicle cup best plot in the Borough: 1: Michael and Mary Fyson of Broadway allotments; 2: Pat Moran of Stotts Lane Allotment; 3: James Dyson of Fernhurst Allotments.