Innholdsfortegnelse for 28/11/2015 i Amateur Gardening

I’M TORN between cursing this warm, wet autumn for encouraging weeds to grow, and crossing my fingers that it will help my swedes (sown very late in August) to swell, and my chillies to ripen. Weed growth has been rampant at my allotment. Hoeing doesn’t work well on wet soil. Weeds just get dragged out of the soil, and they re-root within a few days. Instead on open soil I’ve been turning the weeds in with a spade, which is effective but slow (and hard work). With lots of other jobs needing attention, such as taking down the bean wigwams, building new compost bins and picking snails (hundreds of them) off brassica leaves, the weeds are a real nuisance. It’s the dense weed growth beneath the brassicas that’s encouraged a…

WITH THANKSGIVING this week (26 November), Christmas around the corner, and the chance of many social events and visitors in between, it’s time to start bringing some light and colour into the home. The shops are full of ready-made decorations, but there is something fun, and economically satisfying, about making your own – especially if you can collect foliage, berries and seedheads from outside. I used a candle in a small terracotta pot filled with horticultural sand (after blocking the drainage hole), decorated it with ivy, poppy seedheads and teasels, using gold spray paint and red ribbon for the finishing touches.…

1 Sow direct into drills in soil containing plenty of organic matter; or sow in modules. 2 Thin direct-sown crops while young/plant out modules, space plants 9-12in (22.5-30cm) apart. 3 Protect young plants against brassica pests with fine mesh; keep well watered in dry spells. 4 Harvest direct from the soil up until Christmas, unless severe early frosts threaten. 5 Lift and store less hardy varieties. Use all roots before they start to sprout in early spring.…

Q Last winter I kept a berry from a potted winter cherry, and sowed the seeds. They all germinated. How do I get my seedlings to produce nice little berrying plants like the parent? Barbara Newman, Luton, Beds A The winter cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) prefers cool temperatures – some 15-21°C (60-70°F) – during the growing season, and less than this during winter. Plants kept in these temperature grow ‘hard’ and compact. Plants will grow taller if they are kept too warm, or if they are in a dark room (where they are searching for the light). The seedlings should be potted individually into a good quality potting compost, and make sure it contains a balance of nutrients. Pinch out the shoots regularly to keep the plants bushy and compact. ANNA…

See Peter in the Sun every Saturday “The bought flowers had no scent” EARLIER THIS year I bought a couple of bunches of spray carnations and freesias from the supermarket and arranged them with some pittosporum cut from the garden to make a gift. There were several vigorous side shoots on the carnations, which I decided would make excellent cuttings. Snapping them off, dipping the ends in hormone rooting powder and inserting into some perlite and cuttings compost, they rooted on the office windowsill in a matter of weeks. Potted on individually into 3 1/2in (9cm) pots and then up again into 2ltr pots, meant that by midsummer the first flowers were ready to pick. Now each plant is breaking well from below the cut, becoming multi-stemmed, and again coming…

ICAN’T believe I was ever worried about not having enough runner beans. A panic-stricken July sowing has prospered during the mild autumn and I achieved a ‘first’ by picking a good helping of beans on November 1st. Now that’s what I call a long growing season. We’ve had a few light frosts but mainly down the end of the garden, as cold air tends to roll gently down hillsides and drop a frost when it drifts to a halt before a hedge, or barrier of trees. This is how ‘frost pockets’ form and if you find yourself having to deal with one, opening up a gap in the hedge or fence sometimes allows the cold air to trickle through and move off down the slope and away from your garden.…

GROWING INTEREST in healthy eating is fuelling sales of ‘superfood’ shrubs at garden centres. Wyevale Garden Centres, Britain’s biggest chain with over 150 stores, has reported a 500 per cent rise in sales of superfood bushes this year. The retailer expects to have shifted 30,000 blueberry shrubs by the end of 2015. Blackberry trees, it says, have risen by up to 500 per cent, while sales of raspberry and blueberry plants have shot up by 300 per cent and 200 per cent respectively. Consumers are increasingly being told of the health benefits of ‘superfoods’. It is claimed they are full of nutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They have also been reported to offer anti-aging benefits. Plant buyer at Wyevale, David Mitchell, said superfoods can be expensive to buy at…

TREE TIE £2.49  0345 077 8888 homebase.co.uk Treat your saplings to support from a stake with these strong and supple black PVC tree ties. Fixed in a figure of eight shape, they’re soft enough not to damage bark and are easily adjustable as the tree grows. Length 23½in (60cm), width 1in (2.4cm). MEDIUM TREE SWING £95P&P £9.50 01299 827646 johnmaurice.co.uk Hand made in Britain with a seat of European oak and synthetic hemp rope in a variety of lengths. The edges of the seat can be personalised (at extra cost). Includes details of how to tie it securely to trees or structures. Project light up into your trees with this Blooma Venti White LED Solar Light. Best sited where it’ll get maximum sunlight during the day, LED SOLAR…

Cotinus coggygria The smoke bush is an easy subject to make into a tree from an existing shrub. Provides a canopy of oval leaves with ‘smokey’ heads of tiny flowers. ‘Royal Purple’ has dark purple that turn red in autumn. ‘Grace’ is green-leaved with excellent autumn colour. Pyracantha The common pyracantha is a brilliant subject for ‘tree-ification’. It is thorny so initial pruning and tying can be tricky. It is also vigorous so will need staking early on until the stem thickens. White flowers followed by red or orange berries. Evergreen. Prunus lusitanica A strong grower with dark, green leathery leaves. Can form quite a dense head, so it might need a bit of thinning or any vigorous shoots cutting back to encourage branching and a balanced crown. Looks good…

WE ALL know that houseplants are the victims of occasional neglect, and suffer from all the stresses that come with dry air, low light, and roving bugs looking for a square meal. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have gorgeous, healthy greenery in your home. With indestructible houseplants, anything is possible. These plants are tough but beautiful, and can thrive in less-than-ideal conditions. A little disclaimer though: there’s no such thing as truly indestructible. If you try hard enough, you can destroy anything. If you put any of these plants through the paper shredder or leave them in a car with the windows closed, they will indeed die. I wish more indestructibles produced bountiful flowers. Unfortunately, it seems that blossoms do not go hand in hand with tough skins.…

ATTRACT MORE birds to your garden with Peckish Complete Suet Cake. It is packed with 12 nutritious ingredients, and has proved to be popular with the UK’s top 10 garden birds. We have five suet cake packs to give away. To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Peckish Suet Cake Draw, Amateur Gardening, Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1JG. Or email your details to ag_giveaway@timeinc.com , heading the email Peckish Suet Cake. The closing date is: 2 December 2015.…

1. Let in the light Light levels are falling: that’s bad news for houseplants. Plants in gloomy rooms should be moved to brighter parts of the house. However, avoid areas where direct sunlight could result in leaf scorch. 2. Avoid windowsills Plants that have sat happily on windowsills all summer, such as these streptocarpus, need to be moved. Most windowsills have radiators beneath. Plants suffer from heat, night cold and draughts. 3. Keep leaves clean Removing dust helps leaves to breathe and keeps plants looking good. I use cotton wool dipped in water to clean leaves of smaller plants. Leaf shine products and wipes are available at garden centres. 4. Bathtime for big plants Large plants, such as this dracaena, are placed in an empty bath and rinsed with the…

WHEN I was little, we had a silver and green imitation Christmas tree that lived in the loft for 50 weeks a year and emerged for the festive two. We then progressed to a Norway spruce that shed needles all over the carpet for the duration of its stay. Nordmann firs then became all the rage. They don’t have that evocative, Yuletide resinous scent, but do hold on to their needles over Christmas. Last year we bought our tree late and ended up, once again, with a Norway spruce. The smell was wonderful, and because we bought it late and watered it regularly, it hardly dropped any needles. So which tree will you choose for Christmas this year? Here’s our guide: top tip Rooted Christmas trees in containers should be…

IF YOU are at a loose end over the next week or so, why not visit one of these gardening events taking place around the country? • 28 November-13 Dec: Christmas Around the World (Weds-Sun); Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG; 01732 865224; hevercastle.co.uk • 5-10 December: Christmas Floral Extravaganza; Arley Hall and Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 6NA ; 01563 777353; arleyhallandgardens.com • 11 December: Twilight Christmas (6pm-9.30pm); Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG ; 01732 865224; hevercastle.co.uk • 12-13 December: Father Christmas at West Dean Gardens; West Dean Gardens, Nr Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ; 01243 811301; westdean.org.uk • 14-24 December: Christmas Around the World (daily); Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG; 01732 865224; hevercastle.co.uk • 19-20 December: Father Christmas…

• Clean and sharpen the blades of cutting tools. Oil moving parts, but keep oil off cutting edges as it could contaminate plants. • Check over the wheelbarrow, pump up the tyre, oil the wheel spindle, tighten nuts and bolts, empty water out of hollow handles. • Check containers of salad leaves growing in greenhouse, or in the soil under cloches. Pick off old or mouldy leaves, slugs and snails. Pick off weeds around plants. Water only if the compost is dry. • Check the compost in pots to do in the veg garden this week of herbs, chillies, citrus trees and other crops overwintering in the greenhouse. Pick off pests and mouldy or dying leaves. Avoid watering unless the compost is dry. • Clean the glass of greenhouses and…

A NURSERY Is offering gardeners the opportunity to grow a new chocolate-scented cosmos – but the adventure comes at a price: £2.10 per seed! Cosmos atrosanguineus plants have been available at garden centres for years but Plant World Seeds of Devon says it has “probably the first commercial seed offering” for gardeners who want to grow new forms of the plant. BRIGHT-MAROON As seed is so rare, the nursery has imposed a limit of two packets per customer (£8.40 for a pack four seeds). Plant World Seeds’ Ray Brown said: “Although available for many years as sterile plants, viable seeds have never been produced. “But after a spontaneous mutation occurred, one plant was discovered with just a few fertile seeds. Plants grown from these seeds will produce a small number…

WHICH DOES more good – digging over a patch of ground or turning your compost heap? You see I reckon we do the wrong one too often. Of course both are good in their own way. Digging a plot initially evicts weeds and will improve the tilth. But then each further dose of annual digging gives less benefit, yet I see many turning over their entire plot every year. However, most of our compost heaps would really benefit from a turning over, and yet are seldom ever given even one. There is a general confusion that accumulating the various materials, in layers, in a bin, is making a compost heap. No, it’s just accumulating the materials, which then slowly break down. The fuse is really lit when the whole mass…

THE MOST important thing to think about when planning to plant a tree – way before you start getting excited about leaf shape and colour – is the size of your garden. If you live in a modern house, the chances are your plot is quite small. High-density housing means pocket-sized gardens that have little privacy, so it’s tempting to put in a tree to screen yourself from neighbours on either side. Let’s suppose you did buy a tree and, having looked at the list of trees recommended for “small” gardens, you bought a white-stemmed birch or a mountain ash and planted it in your garden. Now imagine travelling several years into the future. The small tree you bought has not stayed relative to the size of your garden. You…

Welly well done! AS MY wife Debra is the 'real' gardener in our family and knows the names and habits of all our plants, I'm often reduced to just clearing up and tidying, and am not allowed to make decisions. I am pleased to report today however that the boss recently accepted my idea for a Wellington boot garden, as you can see from these pics. I’m told that the current inhabitants are nasturtiums, which are doing very well, but that winter pansies will soon be taking their place! David Waters, Royston, Herts Jenny says... Well done David. That ticks all the boxes – it’s colourful, uses recycled materials and is a unique talking point in your garden. A cascade of blooms A COUPLE of years ago AG printed a…

CELEBRATING THEIR 30 year partnership, which has seen the National Gardens Scheme become Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest donor, the two organisations are now marking the event with an In the Garden calender for 2016. At just £5 it’s an ideal stocking filler for gardeners this Christmas – each page per month coming with a handy gardening tip and colourful picture of an NGS garden. There’s also a delicious recipe on the back in honour of all those afternoon teas that many NGS open gardens offer visitors. To buy a calendar and help raise money for people affected by cancer visit shop.macmillan.org.uk…

THE GOOD (and very exciting!) thing about our garden is that it is large enough to take a fruit and vegetable area. Unfortunately, our soil is not particularly good quality, and the most convenient area for crops sits on about 2in (6cm) of poor soil, under which lies a thick bed of chalk. I once tried planting a small fruit tree there and gave up after half an hour, because having removed the turf and crowbarred my way through several inches of chalk, I realised I wasn’t getting anywhere. So in order to grow the crops we want, we have decided to build some deep raised beds using topsoil recently excavated from under a new area of decking, with added well-rotted manure from stables nearby. Here’s how we did it……

Norway spruce (Picea abies): The old stand-by with a traditional piney scent. Its thin needles are quick to drop in warm rooms, unless watered regularly. Nordmann fir (Abies Nordmanniana): These have grown in popularity in recent years, as their thick needles rarely drop. They have little or no scent though. Blue spruce (Picea pungens): Attractive trees with blue-green needles that stay longer than those on a Norway spruce, but are quite prickly. Korean fir (Abies koreana): If you want symmetrical baubles, this is the one for you! Expect straight trunks, geometric branches and lush needles. Fraser fir (Abies fraseri): This popular fir has the shape and wonderful smell of a Norway spruce, but it will hold on to its needles.…

WHEN MY squashes and sweetcorn were sulking in this year’s poor summer, what a relief to see the swedes flourishing. They like cool, moist conditions (hence their popularity in Scotland) and the purple-topped roots swelled by the week. Now I’m enjoying them shredded into stir-fries and diced into casseroles or, more indulgently, blended with cream and a hint of spice to make a delicious root veg mash. Although swedes are roots (strictly, a swelling where the stem meets the root), they are brassicas – the same as cabbages and sprouts – so they should be kept with these veggies in a crop rotation. Help to create damp conditions by adding plenty of compost to poor soils; on good soils, choose a patch that has been well manured for a previous…

Roasted Sweet and Spicy Swede Swede is a versatile root vegetable that can do more that just be mashed. Try roasting them and adding a little honey and chilli for a warming autumn dish. Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: • 1 large swede • 2-3 tbsp olive oil • 1 tbsp honey • 2 tsp cumin seeds • 1 tsp dried chilli • salt and pepper Method 1 Top and tail, then peel the swede with a potato peeler, wash and cut into large chunks 2 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Toss the chopped swede in olive oil in a shallow roasting tin, then season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the swede is…

QI have just moved into my first house with a garden. Apart from reading Amateur Gardening magazine, how can I learn about successful gardening? Jo Davies, Ambleside, Cumbria A They are several ways. Reading widely will help, and books like The Expert Series by Dr D.G. Hessayon are a really good place to start. They are inexpensive, and filled with really good, simple advice. Join your local gardening club or horticultural society, or even your local garden centre club, and listen to your local radio gardening programme, along with BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time. And get out and do some gardening – there is nothing like experience to teach you! AG on facebook  Go to facebook.com, create a free account if needs be,…

THE THEME for the shady border just outside our downstairs loo is fragrance – the idea being that scent wafts in through the open window like a natural outdoor air freshener. We’re moving the winter honeysuckle here, to join Christmas box and in spring, a giant azara pumps out vanilla fragrance from its small yellow powder puff flowers. At their feet, a collection of hardy ferns add fresh, verdant fronds. The alpine wood fern Dryopteris wallichiana is evergreen here, reaching 3ft (1m). Every fern has a story to tell and this is named after Nathanial Wallich, a Dutch surgeon and botanist who worked for the East India Company in the early 19th century and is said to have collected the original plant near Darjeeling. What an exciting time this must…

GARDENERS WILL be able to help a leading horticultural charity in 2016 – by growing a new fragrant sweet pea. The pink bloom, called ‘Eleanore Udall,’ is the result of a partnership between Thrive, which helps people living with disabilities or ill health through horticulture, and Thompson & Morgan. It is expected to raise over £10,000 for Thrive. The sweet pea was selected for its graduated pink petals and “heavenly scent” and is ideal for cutting. Sweet pea ‘Eleanore Udall’ was named to commemorate the late wife of the founder of Thrive, the late Rev Dr Geoffrey Udall. EASY TO GROW Thrive chief executive Kathryn Rossiter said: “We will be selling packets of the sweet pea via our website and at outlets with 100 per cent of the profits coming…

A POLL carried out by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has revealed what gardeners share over the fence. When asked what they pass over the fence to a neighbour, 21 per cent of those surveyed replied “gossip.” Another six per cent answered “flower bulbs/seeds and a ladder” while a further five per cent said they shared “hedge clippers and wildlife gardening advice.” The poll also revealed that two thirds of people (65 per cent) would like to see more butterflies in their garden, as well as wild birds. And 53 per cent of gardeners were keen to attract more hedgehogs to their plots. Relaxation proved to be the most popular function for many gardens, but one person in 10 believes that the main role of their…

WELLIES ARE great at this time of year, but it’s also useful to keep handy by the back door something a little easier to slip-on for lighter tasks outside. So we’ve put a range of shoes and clogs quite literally through their paces this week. Designed to enclose the entire foot to keep out stones and moisture, garden shoes had the advantage of being flexible for crouching down to work and were easy to walk in. Clogs, on the other hand, were lightweight and more convenient to use, being easier to put on and take off. We also tried them on a slippery patio, and found that all passed with flying colours and were fully waterproof. We’ve taken into consideration comfort and warmth when scoring performance and have commented where…

1 If there is a stout main stem, as with the Portuguese laurel here, then there is no need for a cane to support the young trunk. 2 Cut out lower shoots from the bottom third of the plant – cut these right back to the stem. This will direct all of the plant’s energy to this central trunk. 3 Over the middle third, cut back side shoots by half – this will help the central stem to thicken. As it thickens and the plant grows taller, cut off these sideshoots completely and reduce shoots from the top third of the plant by half until the stem thickens in that area. This should give the plant a nice thick central stem eventually reaching about 6ft (2m) tall. Then let sideshoots…

ALBERT EINSTEIN, Stephen Hawkins and Benedict Cumberbatch: read this and weep. I too have unearthed a groundbreaking scientific principle called the ‘Early Merry Christlemas’ theorem’. Observers (shoppers) have long suspected that the garden centre Christmas is expanding but just how fast has always been a mystery, until now. Aided by an abacus, advent calendar and a budget stollen from Lidl, I’ve deduced that at the current rate of growth, Christmas will converge with Easter in just 10 years’ time! This expansion is causing concern for Christmas tree producers. I was chatting with a grower recently who confirmed that the big weekend for sales gets earlier every year. It’s no longer even in December but is now the last weekend in November. And he predicts it’ll get earlier still. In preparation…