Recent articles by Penny Woodward
Make your own calming herbal tea
Herbs not only add colour to your garden and flavour to food, they can also be made into calming teas and soothing oils. Here Penny Woodward looks at basil and chamomile.
Plant your garden for the planet
Penny Woodward, who has written for OG for over 15 years and been the horticultural editor for seven, knows gardeners can make a difference.
Protecting your plants from pests
Deploying a range of barriers and exclusion products will help protect your crops from marauding creatures.
Grow your own aloe
Penny Woodward looks at the many practical uses of soothing aloe vera and how to grow and harvest this succulent.
Solutions to reduce textile waste
Don't throw those old clothes away, put them to use in your garden, writes Penny Woodward.
Handy tools for your garden
When it comes to small hand tools, such as trowels, Penny Woodward says look for comfort and durability to last you a gardening lifetime.
How good bugs work in an organic garden
A well-balanced garden replicates a wild environment filled with beneficial insects that can help keep pests under control.
Heeling in bare-rooted trees
If you have a bunch of bare-rooted trees and can’t plant them quickly, you can do what’s called ‘heeling in’: Penny Woodward explains the process here. Plus, basic tips from Karen Sutherland.
Saving seeds for our future
Penny Woodward talks with Peter Carlyon and Robin Koster-Carlyon about how they changed their organic farm into a thriving seed-growing enterprise.
How to make a worm farm
You can use a bath, trough, sink or even a large tin to make a worm farm, says Penny Woodward
Pest and disease threats
Penny Woodward suggests two threats to your harvest to look out for in your garden now: citrus leafminer and powdery mildew.
Start with your soil
Early autumn is a good time to take a close look at your soil and do some prep work for your new crops, writes Penny Woodward.