D.T. Brown Blog

Planning out your garden or allotment beds is a good way to take advantage of the natural benefits of planting certain varieties or types of plants near one another. This is known as companion plan...

We ran a survey and asked our valued customers to submit their top tips for successfully growing beetroot. Some have been featured in our catalogues but we thought we would share these online...  ...

Roast parsnips are a joy to eat - and they're gorgeous in stews. They are easy to grow, need little maintenance and can be left in the soil until ready to use.

Now becoming more popular in the kitchen, celeriac is normally grown for its celery tasting knobbly roots which are grated and added to salads. It can be used as a celery substitute and is easier t...

We have also included radicchio types here. Both are grown for their large lettuce-like heads ready for harvesting from the autumn for use in mixed leaf salads. Some chicory varieties are also grow...

Celery can need a little care, although the newer self-blanching varieties make life easier. The soil must be moisture retentive and never dry out. As a result it is often better to grow in a trenc...

A stalwart winter vegetable which has many uses. Thinnings make excellent salad vegetables. Young plants are raised in a seed bed and then transplanted to their final growing positions, possibly wh...

Modern varieties will give good results in our climate and Sweet Corn is another one of those vegetables that tastes so much better picked and cooked immediately. Sweet Corn must be grown in a su...

An easy crop to grow and to judge by our sales, one of the nation’s favourite vegetables! The roots are best picked when young and cooked fresh. Pickling is another option. If roots are stored in w...

Both sweet and chilly peppers have increased in popularity over recent years. Both are grown in a similar way to tomatoes; chillies are easier to grow. They produce a better crop when grown in a gr...

All these crops are closely related - often confusingly so, and are grown in the same way. They need a sunny position, a moisture-retentive soil and somewhere out of cold winds.

The best cucumbers are those grown indoors - and of course, they crop earlier. However, they do need a fair bit of care and attention, which makes outdoor growing an easier proposition. Different v...

Turnip is a very versatile vegetable - it can be harvested when mature or young, cooked or eaten raw and the young tops can be used like spring greens. They are quick to mature and easy to grow.

The heat treating process takes several months, but the process means they establish and grow very rapidly, giving higher yields - and with less risk of prematurely running to seed or 'bolting'. Th...

Feeding & Watering To get the most from your plants they will also need a constant supply of nutrients. Adding compost and well rotted manure will add little in the way of nutrients, as t...