The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 23

The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 23: Carole Baxter and Kirsty Wilson are once again hard at work at Beechgrove. Kirsty designed and planted a hot border back in April that would bring vibrant color to the late summer, and she is giving it the final once-over to assess whether it delivered.

Also reviewing the summer’s performance, Carole and Kirsty check out the results of the quirky containers – how did the compost work out, and what can be planted in them next? Meanwhile, George is joined in Joppa by Carole to check on how the tomatoes and decorative planting have measured up.

Celebrating the great Scottish garden. Tips and advice to get the most out of your garden, with inspirational ideas from Scotland’s most beautiful green spaces. The Beechgrove Garden has been on air since 1978 and remains a firm favourite with audiences in Scotland. It consistently outperforms what is being screened by BBC Network in the same slot. At the heart of the series is a 2.5 acre home garden, situated on a cold, inhospitable slope west of Aberdeen, deliberately chosen to reflect Scotland’s harsher climate.

Horticultural advice in gardening magazines and on UK network gardening programmes is rarely suitable for most of the UK outside the South East of England. Beechgrove shares with its viewers the weekly challenge to work with the Scottish conditions to produce maximum yield of as many varieties as possible of fruit, flowers and vegetables.

The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 23

Tomatoes – Growing your own

Growing your own tomatoes is simple and just a couple of plants will reward you with plenty of delicious tomatoes through the summer. They’re ideal for growing in containers, either outdoors in a sunny spot or in a greenhouse, and there’s a whole array to try, from tiny sweet cherry tomatoes to full-flavoured giant beefsteaks.

Water tomato plants regularly to keep the soil or compost evenly moist. Fluctuating moisture levels can cause problems with the fruit, such as splitting or blossom end rot (see Problem solving, below). Plants in containers dry out quickly, so they may need watering daily in hot weather. To boost fruiting, especially with plants in containers, feed every 10–14 days with a high potassium liquid fertiliser once the first fruits start to swell.

When growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, open the vents regularly to give pollinating insects access to the flowers. You can also lightly tap or shake the flowers when fully open to aid pollen transfer within the flower. Misting flowers with water may also help.