Nettles and Petals

Nettles and Petals Organic no-dig grower
Permaculture
Foraging
(1)

18/09/2026

Sweetcorn Harvest - Drought Edition 🌽👀

One of my favourite things to harvest from the vegetable garden at this time of the year is sweetcorn. But as we’ve had a prolonged drought here in the UK, I was a little concerned that this might not be my best ever harvest, and I was correct! 😅🌽

That’s because heat stress can affect pollination as with low water and sugar production, the plant does not have enough “assimilates” (sugars and starches) to feed all the developing kernels on the ear. And because each silk is connected to an individual kernel, if the silk isn’t pollinated then the kernel will not develop, resulting in gaps on your cobs, and mine have far more than most years. Even though I planted them in dense blocks and circles to ensure that they would be pollinated by the wind. 🌽💨

But, these things happen and there is still some corn to enjoy over the next month or two, I will dry some of them as well, but I hope your corn harvest was better than mine? 😊🌽

16/09/2026

Plant this Onion Once, Harvest for Years! 🧅🌱

The onions that we generally grow in the vegetable garden are grown as annuals, growing from seed or set to the bulb within one year that we harvest and eat. Although they can also be left in the ground to produce flower and seed the following year as they are biennial. 🧅

However Welsh onion, otherwise known as Japanese punching onion, is a perennial onion that you plant wants and you can harvest for years! And after around three years they can also be divided and replanted so you get more and more plants overtime. 🌱🌱🌱👍

The “Welsh” in Welsh onion has nothing to do with Wales. The name actually comes from an old Germanic/Old English word (walhaz or wellisc) meaning “foreign” or “non-native”. Similarly, the name “Japanese bunching onions” is somewhat of a misnomer too. Botanists and historians trace their true origins to China and Siberia, though they became a staple of Japanese cuisine hence the name.

Instead of harvesting the underground bulb as you would with an annual bunking onion, you harvest the leaves that have a mild onion like a flavour. They are very hardy too so they can stay green right throughout winter if you don’t have particularly cold winters like here in the UK. 🌱❄️

It’s a perennial that I would definitely recommend and with the climate becoming more and more unpredictable perennial plants like this can offer us a more resilient alternative to some of the annuals that we tend to grow within vegetable gardens.

So will you give Welsh onion a try? and follow along for more tips. 😊🌱

13/09/2026

Saving Lettuce Seeds at home is surprisingly easy…🥬

You don’t a huge garden or lots of plants 😊 just leave a plant of two to bolt and send up its tall flowering stalk. 🌱 Let the flowers bloom, then dry out and turn fluffy, like tiny dandelions. That’s when the seeds are ready to collect. 😊👍

I then just snip off a section, pop it in a paper bag and rub it between my hands to release the small seeds.

They’ll likely still be some fluffy debris, so just gently blow that away, spread the seeds to dry for a few extra days and store in a labelled envelope. 🥬💚

So will you be saving your own lettuce seeds this year? 😊

11/09/2026

Spring Bulb Lasagne 🌷🌷🪴

Now is the time to start planting spring bulbs in the garden so that we can enjoy the flowers in spring next year. 🌷👀

One of my favourite ways to plant them is in a pot using a layering method known as a bulb lasagne, planting from bottom to top that will flower at different times prolonging blooms. 🌸👍🏻

For mine, I’m using a large terracotta pot, but it wants to be at least 30cm and I add a crock to the bottom, to prevent the drainage hole blocking.

I then add a few inches of organic compost and the first layer of bulbs which will flower last such as: alliums, irises and tulips. 🌷

In this pot I’m only planting alliums, first is purple sensation which is one of my favourites, and the second is a nice white flowering allium called ping pong, which I plant in between.

Just make sure that they don’t touch the sides of the pot or each other. 😊👍🏻

I then add another few inches of compost and then the second layer, which is made up of bulbs such as: daffodils, hyacinths or muscari. 🪻

I’m planting some tete a tete which are a nice compact variety of daffodil and then some muscari Joyce spirit in between those.

Another few inches of compost, and then the layer of bulbs that will flower first such as: crocus, snowdrops and winter ammonite.

Im planting a mixed variety of crocus that will flower in various colours and then just some common snowdrops, which I add in between the crocus.

Then a final layer of around 2-4 inches of compost and a thin layer of straw mulch to protect the bulbs throughout the winter.

I water them in well and just wait in anticipation for them to flower from around February right through to May.

So what are your favourite spring bulb varieties? 😊🌷

09/09/2026

Grow Coreopsis for natural dyeing! 🌼🩳🌱

Coreopsis, also known as ‘calliopsis’ or ‘tickseed’ is a vibrant wildflower that is likely one of the most versatile and beneficial flowers I have growing in the garden. 🌼

It’s great as a companion for many vegetables 🥬🍅 is loved by pollinators 🐝 and has culinary and medicinal uses, ☕️ but the main reason I grow them is for natural dyeing and print making, as they can be used to create some of the most vibrant natural pigments, from a deep orange to yellows, reds and browns. 🌱🌼

I simply deadhead some of the wilting flowers throughout the season, dry and store them, and when I want to use them I just add them to a pan of boiling water, along with my alum mordanted material, and let it simmer for a few hours, I then allow it to cool and soak overnight, and just hang the material out to dry. 💦🩳🌼

Coreopsis can also be used for printmaking on things like fabric or paper by simply hammering them and then peeling away the petals. 🌼🔨

So will you be adding coreopsis to your garden next year? And let me know if there are any flowers you think I should add to mine 😊🌸

06/09/2026

Seeds to Sow in September 🌱🍂😊

There is more to sow in the garden this month than you might think, for harvests right through autumn and winter, and even that give us a head start on next year. 👨🏼‍🌾🌱

Here’s what I’ll be sowing this month. 😊

Asian Greens 🌱

The first are Winter salads and Asian greens as they grow best through autumn and there are so many interesting varieties to choose from.

I sow all of mine into one open seed tray to save on space, then prick them out into individual pots or modules once they’ve germinated.

Today I’m sowing: pak choi, tatsoi, winter mizuna ‘cool beans’, purple komatsuna, wasabina (which has a lovely wasabi like kick) and giant red mustard.

Endive 🌱

Endive is another favourite as it’s so hardy it can be planted straight outside without any extra protection needed.

Parsley & Coriander 🌿

Both of these grow best in cooler weather and are hardy enough to grow right through winter.

I sow them into seed trays, usually together, as they like similar conditions.

Flowers 🌸

There’s still time to get flowers in too. Violas will flower through autumn and, if sown indoors, even into next year.

Hardy annuals like poppies and calendula can go in now, along with perennials such as delphiniums and lupins, which actually benefit from a winter chill known as stratification.

Peas, Broad Beans & Sweet Peas 🌱

From mid month I sow trays of hardy peas and broad beans that will overwinter in the polytunnel and get planted out for an earlier crop next year. Sweet peas can be sown the same way.

And Don’t Forget 🌱

If you haven’t already, there’s still time to get winter purslane, rocket and winter lettuces sown, and order your garlic seed to plant next month as they sell out fast!

Let me know what you’ll be sowing this September and happy sowing! 😊🌱

04/09/2026

Saving Cucumber Seeds! 🥒🌱

The next in my vegetable garden ‘Seed Saving Series’ is Cucumbers! 🥒😊

They’re one of the most refreshing crops to grow, and saving seeds from them is easy and rewarding too!

First, let your cucumber ripen way past the eating stage, it should turn yellow or even orange and go a bit soft. To be honest even the one I used here could have been left another week or two but then it would be ‘seed saving September’ 😅 but it was still mature enough for seed. 🌱👌🏼

Slice it open lengthways and scoop the seeds into a jar. Remove any larger chunks, add water and let them sit for 2–3 days to ferment. This breaks down the slimy coating that prevents germination. 🫙💦

Don’t worry if mould forms, that’s normal. Stir daily and remove any floating seeds. Then rinse until clean and drain through a strainer.

Spread the seeds out on a plate or paper, spacing them apart, and leave to dry for about a week.

Then just pop into a labelled envelope and you’ve got next year’s cucumbers ready to go! 🥒🌱

Do you ever let one cucumber go ‘too far’ just for the seeds?

02/09/2026

Leave Fennel to Flower 🌱🌼🐝

Even though Florence fennel is generally grown for its bulbs and is harvested as an annual, with herb fennel being grown as a perennial, I always leave a few Florence fennel plants in the ground at the end of summer, usually at the edges or corners of beds, to flower and then set seed. 😊🌼

The flowers are loved by many pollinators and beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies, hoverflys, parasitic wasp and lady birds, that help maintain a balanced vegetable garden and reduce pest numbers. It’s November and I’m still finding ladybirds on mine! 🌱🐞👀

Once the insects have enjoyed the flowers, they give way to the fennel seeds, which can be harvested and used in cooking! 👏😊

They are just such a versatile plant, providing bulbs, flowers and seeds throughout the season! So will you leave some in the ground next year? 😊

30/08/2026

Saving Tomato Seeds at Home! 🍅🌱

Tomatoes are some of my favourite plants to grow in the vegetable garden and saving your own seed is super simple and satisfying too! 😊🍅

First, always try to select the best and fully ripe tomatoes to save from, and choose only un-hybridised open pollinated varieties, so avoid any with an F1 on the packet as they won’t reproduce true to variety. 🌱😕

If saving seed from a larger variety, like beefsteak, I would slice the tomato in half and open it up to reveal the seed cavities, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon or something similar and add to a glass jar or cup. 🫙🍅

If saving from a cherry tomato, it’s super simple, just give them a good squeeze. 🍅👌🏼

Top up the container with water to aid in fermentation, this will remove the germination inhibiting substance that surrounds the seed. 😊👍🏻

Then cover with a cloth or something similar to prevent fruit flies and odour and let sit for 3-4 days.

I always make a nice pasata sauce with the left over tomatoes. 🍅😋

If mould develops, don’t worry that’s normal, but remove any seeds that float and then add more water and rinse and pour until the water runs clear. 💦🍅

Then pour through a fine strainer, give them a quick rinse to remove any of the remaining pulp and lay them out onto a plate or paper, spacing them apart before letting them dry for a couple of days.

The seed will then be ready to be stored for next year, and I just pop them in a craft envelope and label. 😊👍🏻🍅🌱

So do you save your own tomato seeds?

28/08/2026

Don’t Pull Up Your Plants! 🌱👆❌

When clearing the garden beds it can be tempting to just pull up the plants before throwing them in the compost, yet leaving the plants roots in the ground has so many benefits for the soil and the life within.🪱🌱

Simply snip the plants just above the soil level and leave those roots where they are to improve soil structure because as roots decompose, they leave behind tiny tunnels that increase aeration and water infiltration, which improves the structure for future plants. 👍 💨💦

Roots are also a primary food source for beneficial soil life, including earthworms, bacteria, and fungi. Keeping them in place maintains a stable habitat for the “soil food web”. 🪱

Decomposing roots act as a slow-release fertiliser, gradually returning nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium back into the rhizosphere exactly where future plants need them. 🌱

Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with roots that help plants absorb nutrients. Pulling up roots shatters these delicate fungal threads, while leaving them allows the networks to survive and link to new crops. 🍄‍🟫🍄🌱

So will you leave your plants roots in the ground? 😊

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