Secret consultation documents finally released after the Morning Star’s two-year freedom of information battle show the Home Office misrepresented public opinion, claiming support for policies that most respondents actually strongly criticised as dangerous and unfair, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
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What to water first in your garden
Much of a gardener’s time in August, especially one as hot as this, is spent watering — but how much of that time is useful and how much is wasted? MAT COWARD has the answers
Raised bed of lettuce, tomatoes, six different types of basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini
Our groundbreaking report reveals how private rail companies are bleeding millions from public coffers through exploitative leasing practices — but we have the solutions, writes Aslef Scottish organiser KEVIN LINDSAY
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT
This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The FBU is demanding 52 weeks of full pay for women firefighters, highlighting the unique health risks they face — and the continuing need to recruit and retain more women if policies like this are still not in place, writes SEONA HART
NOT MANY of us have the leisure to water an entire allotment every day, and — given years of systemic underinvestment by shareholder-owned water companies — we’re all likely to see restrictions on use before the end of the summer. As Nye Bevan said, priorities are the religion of socialism, and the same applies in gardening.
A general hierarchy of need would have perennial plants at the bottom and anything grown in containers, or in a greenhouse, at the top. That’s not to say that a perennial plant won’t benefit from watering, but rather that an annual may die without it. And if the edible part of a plant is very juicy, like a radish, tomato or cucumber, it stands to reason that, as a rule of thumb, that plant needs more water.
Pots and other containers which have dried out completely need rehydrating from above and below. Stand them in a few inches of water (a kids’ paddling pool is perfect) for a couple of hours and water the surface of the compost using a watering can with the rose on it.
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