The planting out of seedlings from the container in which they reached germination into another container or bed where they can be spaced further apart to allow more room for development.

  The application of a thick layer of a substance to the surface of the soil. Mulches are usually of bulky, naturally occurring materials such as bark, coir, compost, cocoa shell, farmyard manure, shredded garden waste, grass clippings, etc. The main function is to retain moisture in the soil by preventing excessive evaporation, but mulches have th [..]

In this process, plants absorb oxygen from the air to turn the sugars formed during photosynthesis into energy for growth, carbon dioxide being given off as a waste product.

A plant or animal living directly on dead and decaying matter for feeding purposes, such as some fungi.

A type of coarse moss which when it decays in a certain way under wet conditions forms sphagnum moss peat.

A soil in cultivation, broken down to a fine texture, and suitable to sow seed in.

A lightweight substance formed by heating certain minerals such as mica. It can be added to peat, or peat substitute, to form a potting compost, or used on its own to provide a soil-less growing medium.

  A budding or grafting term. The expression ‘top-’ or ‘bottom-worked’ is often encountered in connection with a grafted tree. This refers to whether the scion has been introduced at the top or bottom of the trunk.

Home Garden Inspiration Gardening with expert Gareth Richards Views from the Greenhouse Gardening with Daphne Ledward Planting New Ideas With Rachel Garden Care Gardening Information Garden A-Z Gardening Q&A Advice from Bakker.com Contact Garden A-ZBakker.co.uk > Garden A-Z The problem with many gardening books and programmes is that [..]

Most substances are either acid, alkaline or neutral. Acidity is measured on the pH scale, the term pH referring to the percentage of hydrogen ions in the material. Things are neutral at pH7; numbers above 7 indicate that a substance is alkaline, figures below mean it is acid. The right quantity of an alkaline compound can neutralize an acid one, a [..]