by Christine Fowler | Nov 13, 2023 | Uncategorized
Consider winter protection as the weather gets colder and frosts become likely.
- Prune roses to prevent wind-rock.
- Plant tulips for next spring.
- Plant bare root roses.
- Remove black spot on roses. Collect and dispose of fallen leaves infected with black spot, then mulch with well rotted compost or manure.
- Raise up pots to avoid water logging.
- Avoid disturbing ladybirds as they will eat aphids your garden next spring.
- Tie in climbers.
- Protect any swedes left in the ground with a 15cm layer of straw.
- Stake Brussel Sprouts.
- Plant Garlic.
- Introduce new fruit bushes as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.
- Keep hungry birds fed and watered.
- Check Brassica nets are secure.
- Harvest winter Cauliflowers.
- Prune Apple and Pear trees.
- Remove unecessary fruit cages.
- Create a mini pond.
- Clean up your greenhouse.
- Save your pumpkin seeds.
by Christine Fowler | Oct 12, 2023 | Uncategorized
- Move evergreen shrubs. Take a rootball as large as possible. Replant in a new position and water in thoroughly.
- Make use of fallen leaves, either by leaving them in flower beds where they will provide a habitat for for wildlife, or collect them up and make into leaf mould.
- Leave windfall fruit for birds and insects. If it looks unsightly, throw to the back of the border.
- Lift herbaceous perennials and divide them.
- Take hardwood rose cuttings. Make cuttings from healthy shoots, first removing the soft tip. Cut into 15 – 30 cm sections, making a cut above a budget the top and just below a bud at the bottom. Insert the cuttings into the soil leaving a quarter visible.
- Remove fallen leaves and debris from around alpines.
- Clear away spent vegetable crops.
- Start winter onion sets. Gently push into loose soil or plant into prepared rows.Delay planting until Spring on heavy clay soils.
- Leave sunflowers and teasels. Their seed packed heads make feeding stations for the birds.
- Mulch or sow green manure. This protects the soil from winter weathering.
- Plant garlic now.
- Delay cutting back herbaceous perennials. Leave some stems standing until February or March to provide shelter for invertebrates.
- Plant out Spring cabbages.
- Move citrus plants under cover well before the first frosts arrive.
- Clean bird boxes. Use a brush and boiling water, not chemicals.Dry them afterwards.
- Reduce mowing frequency.
- Divide established rhubarb plants.
- Store the last main crop potatoes.
by Christine Fowler | Sep 8, 2023 | Uncategorized
- Stake late bloomers such as Asters, Dahlias and Sunflowers.
- Keep on watering
- Repair lawns, once the soil is moist sow new lawns or repair damaged patches.
- Give evergreen hedges a trim.
- Keep sowing winter veg.
- Cut your grass but aim to do it on a fine day.
- Protect your brassicas, cover with netting to prevent birds damaging the leaves. Always keep netting tight to avoid damaging wildlife.
- Increase your strawberry stock by sinking a pot of compost into the soil close to the plant and peg in one of the runners.
- Prevent fungal problems in greenhouses by watering in the morning and opening the vents.
- For a colourful spring display plant bulbs such as narcissus, alliums and crocus this month.
- Leave seed heads in place to provide food for the birds.
- Keep watering greenhouse tomatoes and chillies.
- Prune summer fruiting raspberries and blackberries and tie in canes to a support with a natural twine such as jute.
- Clean and fill bird feeders – scrub them thoroughly with hot water to prevent the spread of disease.
- Clean bird boxes by taking them down, rinsing with hot water and allowing to dry before putting them back up.You could also line them with dry grass to make them warmer for smaller birds.
- Tidy up ponds by removing faded flowers, leaves and stems of pond plants. Leave at the side of the pond for a day to allow any wildlife to find its way back into the water.
- Continue to deadhead. Remove spent flowers from Penstemon, Roses and Dahlias to keep the display going into the Autumn.
by Christine Fowler | Jul 26, 2023 | Uncategorized
- Tie in long shoots of rambling roses and then cut back a third of the oldest stems to the base. Shorten off side shoots by two thirds.
- Keep picking peas and beans as the more you pick the more pods will form.
- Order spring bulbs to make sure you get your pick of the varieties.
- Shorten the long whips growth on Wisteria back to five or six leaves.
- Sow quick maturing salad crops for an autumn crop.
- Water rhododendrons and camellias with rain water to encourage the formation of next year’s flower buds to form.
- Collect seed from hardy annuals.
- Support branches of fruit trees that are heavy with fruit.
- Prune summer fruiting raspberries. Cut back woody canes at ground level when the plant has finished cropping. Tie in six to eight healthy new canister plant and remove any excess ones to allow air movement through the plant.
- Leave grass piles for worms. when you have finished mowing tuck a pile out of sight beneath shrubs attract more worms to your garden.
- Damp down your greenhouse on hot days.
- Lift and dry onions.
- Summer prune espalier apples. Cut back side shoots growing directly from the horizontal branches three or four leaves above the basal cluster.
- Give wildflower areas a summer hay cut. Leave the cut material for a day or two to allow the seeds to drop, then rake it up and remove into help reduce soil fertility.
- Top up ponds.
- Trim conifer hedges. Trim green foliage tightly but don’t cut into the brown wood as it won’t regrow. Check for active bird’s nests before trimming.
by Christine Fowler | Jul 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
- Prune deciduous Magnolias. If this is done at other times of the year it can cause plant bleeding.
- Use grey water from baths sinks and showers within 24 hours for flowering plants, not edibles.
- Prune early summer flowering shrubs.
- Sw cabbages.
- Keep on top of weeds by hoeing on a dry day.
- Remove fruit tree suckers as close to the soil as possible.
- Do not water the lawn! It will recover once rain starts again.
- Prune gooseberries and currants.
- Take cuttings of penstemon, lavender and salvias.
- Leave some nettles for food for caterpillars of butterflies such as the Red Admiral.
- Give newly planted trees and shrubs a drink. A good soaking is better than little and often.
- Water celery, fennel and celeriac.
- Cut back hardy geraniums, which will give you a second flush of flowers later in the year.
- Deadhead bedding plants.
- Tie in climbers.
by Christine Fowler | Jun 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
Shade out your greenhouse. Open up doors and windows and on very hot days hose down the floor
Plant young sweetcorn plants in blocks rather than rows as it is pollinated by wind
Harvest early potatoes when flowers open or buds drop. Tubers are ready to harvest when they are the size of hens’ eggs
Boost your sweet peas. Keep feeding and tying in your sweet peas. Frequent deadheading will provide you more flowers
Take softwood cuttings. Young growth makes great softwood cuttings at this time of year, rooting readily. Take non flowering shoots up to 10cm long from deciduous shrubs such as fuchsias, mopped hydrangeas and mock orange
Raise mower blades in drought if you have a traditional lawn. This will help the lawn become more drought resistant, encouraging deeper rooting of the grass
Chop early perennials. After flowering, cut Oriental poppies, lupins and delphiniums back to the base for a new flush of foliage and , potentially, more flowers
Feed tomatoes. Use a high potassium(potash) feed once the flowers start to set.
Stake floppy flowers such as delphiniums and sunflowers
Sow kale, calabrese, spring cauliflower, Savoy cabbage, turnips and kohl Rabi for autumn and winter harvests
Mid June to mid July is the ideal time to sow Florence fennel.
Courgettes, pumpkins and marrows can be sown directly outdoors in warmer parts of the country in early June. Choose a sunny site and add plenty of organic matter
Lettuce and other salad leaves. Keep sowing small amounts every few weeks. in mid summer leafy salad crops may do better in part shaded spots, as hot dry weather can lead to bitter tasting leaves
French and runner beans can be sown directly into the soil or in small pots ready to plant out in a few weeks. For climbing beans, put supports in place first.
