Innholdsfortegnelse for 09-jul-16 i Amateur Gardening

BY the time you read this it may already be too late… or on the other hand, the catastrophe that is tomato and potato blight may not have struck at all! Last year the six tomato plants I grew outdoors at home were unaffected and cropped well. At the allotment, however, even ‘Mountain Magic’ tomatoes that were claimed to be blight resistant, were badly affected and I got only a handful of ripe fruits. The nonresistant ‘Tigrella’ turned to mush long before the plants provided any pickings. Because I plant as early as I dare, most of my potatoes, including maincrops, only got a smattering of blight on the foliage and provided good crops to lift through June and July, except for ‘Sarpo Axona’ – I don’t think it was…

THE seeds of lupins and rudbeckia that I sowed a few weeks ago are more than ready to be moved on a stage. Both varieties have grown well in their seed tray, and the lupins are probably robust enough to move directly into the garden. But because recent rain has brought out the snails, I moved them into individual pots in a cold frame, where they will stay for a few more weeks. I will treat the rudbeckias the same, as they are smaller than the lupins and I’d like them to be more developed before they go out in the beds. I pricked out the seedlings into individual pots of John Innes No 2, using the pointed end of a flat plant label to loosen the roots from the…

THERE are many ways to control pests in the garden, and as AG editor Tim pointed out in his letter on 18 June, chemicals have their place in the gardener’s arsenal, when used correctly. But you can also keep your garden healthy ‘from the inside’ by encouraging beneficial insects that will pollinate your plants, and devour pests. Hoverflies, ladybirds, bees and beetles all deserve gold stars for their contribution to pest control. Encourage them to visit, stay, and breed by growing their food plants (hoverflies, for example, have small mouths and feed from pretty sea hollies, astrantias and members of the parsley family), leaving areas of the garden slightly unruly, and by not eradicating all the pests they feed on. You can also help them by providing ‘bug hotels’ where…

• Zantedeschia Tender form (calla lily) with speckled leaves. Often grown as an indoor plant but planted out in bedding displays during summer. Feed well. • Salvia nemorosa Spikes of vivid purple flowers rise up above a compact mound of aromatic grey foliage. Bees love it. Remove spent flower spikes promptly. • Celosia venezuela Vivid purple-red ‘fluffy’ flowers above dark foliage. They need lots of light, good ventilation and well-drained compost to perform well. • Dahlia ‘Moonfire’ An RHS Award of Garden Merit variety with yellow flowers that have contrasting orange centres. It should flower well into autumn. • Dwarf antirrhinum A compact antirrhinum (Twinny series) that reaches just 12in (30cm) tall and flowers into autumn. Snip off dead flower heads.…

I’M now on my second batch of beetroot this year. The first row, sown back in February has long been lifted and eaten, and this follow-up sowing is now ready for harvest. I enjoy this earthy root veg as a baby crop, harvested at hen’s egg-size (or with these long ‘Cylindra’ roots, an inch diameter) long before it has a chance to grow large. It’s not so much that the roots become ungainly and woody – more that they have a longer period to be attacked by slugs if left in the ground. As I lift them from our sandy earth it reminds me that I’m long overdue in sowing another batch, so I’m setting about putting that straight now. This will be my third sowing of beetroot this year,…

I ABSOLUTELY love basil pesto, it knocks spots off anything bought in a jar because the minute-fresh herbs retain all of their intensely aromatic flavour. Basil grown in pots is quick to harvest, and the plants benefit from regular pinching out. This delays flowering and encourages more leafy shoots to form. To make the pesto, I’ll harvest a large handful of basil, hot-foot it into the kitchen, and add it to a blender along with grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, a small clove of garlic and salt and pepper. The classic addition to these ingredients is pine nuts, but as I don’t often have them in the cupboard I add almonds or mixed nuts instead and the taste is still spot on. These punchy sauces are bold accompaniments to fish…

• Summer fruit crops should be doing well, so make sure you take steps to keep them healthy. • Net soft fruits to protect them from birds, and give container-grown plants a high potash liquid feed. • Check gooseberry bushes for sawfly larvae, which can strip a plant of leaves in a day. If you find any, pick them off, or blast them off with a jet of water. • Continue to feed lemon and other citrus fruits with specific citrus fertiliser.…

• 10 July: Glemham Hall, Little Glemham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 0BT; British Red Cross Open Gardens Scheme; redcross.org.uk/opengardens • 10 July: 1.30-4.30pm, The Fold, High Wooley, Stanley Crook, County Durham DL15 9AP. Mr and Mrs G Young, 01388 768412, g898young@btinternet.com in aid of NGS • 10 July: 10am-4pm, Peterlee Garden Safari, Shotton Hall Banqueting Suite, Old Shotton, Peterlee SR8 2PH. Peterlee Town Council, 0191 5182295. In aid of NGS • 10 July: 1-4pm, The Hidden Gardens of Skelton (group opening), Skelton-in - Cleveland, Saltburn-By-The Sea, TS12 2WT. In aid of NGS. • 16-17 July: Plant Hunters’ Fair (10am-5pm), Henbury Hall Gardens, Henbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9PJ planthuntersfairs.co.uk • 15-17 July: Stratford Home and Garden Show, Recreation Ground, Swans Nest Lane CV37 7DR. 03336 663366, stratfordhomeandgardensghow.co.uk • 17 July: Herb Day,…

I’M not sure if it’s overloading the barrow or all the hawthorn hedges we have in the garden that cause me to have a flat barrow tyre so often. It seems though that my husband might just have found the solution – it’s the Puncture Proof Wheel. Designed to cope with everything from crossing glass, to thorns and nails it’s proving to be the answer and is available from the maker’s mail order active –products.co.uk for £24.99. The striking orange wheel is 14in (35.5cm), suitable for most standard wheelbarrows, and I found was really easy to fit. We may have lost a bit of bounce in our tyre and it might be slightly heavier to push but I am thrilled and convinced that my barrow won’t let me down again.…

1 Prepare a seedbed by raking soil to a crumbly surface tilth, tickling away stones, flints and clay lumps. Put down a straight line and take out a shallow drill using the edge of a draw hoe. 2 Water the drill if at all dry, then take a pinch of the small seeds and sow thinly and evenly along the base of the drill. 3 Cover the seeds by brushing soil back over them from the edges of the drill. Where seed is small, it is often worth doing this by hand, so you can make sure that the seeds are not buried too deeply.…

Ox-eye daisy ( Leucanthemum vulgare ) A perennial star of the roadside (it’s often sown on verges after road repairs), this yellow-eyed white daisy will thrive in most soils. H: 16-28in/40-70cm. Cornflower ( Centaurea cyanus ) This vivid blue annual is essential in the early stages of creating wildflower meadows, as well as in annual wildflower displays. Good for cutting, too. H: 24in/60cm. Chicory ( Cichorium intybus ) Soft blue summer flowers line stiff, upright stems. Good on chalky soil, it tolerates the worst of treatment to come back year after year. H: 24-36in/60-90cm.…

Bellis Double daisies in reds, pink shades and white sail through the coldest winters to bloom prolifically in spring, alongside crocus and dwarf tulips. Likes sun or partial shade. H: 6-8in/15-20cm. Erigeron An invaluable perennial that flowers as a biennial, its cheerful pink-flushed white daisies opening from deep pink buds on naturally bushy plants from May to October. Likes sun. H: 12in/30cm. Leucanthemum Traditional shasta daisies are easy to raise from seed and vary from short, front-of- the-border types to taller varieties for the middle ground and for cutting. Likes sun. H: 12-36in/ 30-90cm. Tanacetum Once known as Anthemis and Pyrethrum, these cheerful, prolific, large-flowered daisies are always at their best in their first year, and will appreciate fertile but well-drained soil. Likes sun. H: 36in/90cm.…

WOW, after months of disVomfort I felt like I had Lrand new knees!” “Now I’ve got my life LaVk again!” WHEN HER physiotherapist told retired teaVher and outdoor enthusiast, Mary Carlson that she must stop her long walks, she was devastated. She had spent muVh of her life fell walking in the Lake DistriVt and the Highlands and spent over 30 years running The Duke of EdinLurgh Award for pupils at her sVhool. She said “I was devastated to hear that I had to stop my fell walking, it has Leen my whole life. I was only 61 and had planned to spend a lot more time walking now that I had retired.” Mary told us how her knee proLlems started and how they had gradually affeVted her everyday life:…

“In Medieval times using foliage to kill pests was the norm” AS the old saying goes ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ so when our nursery manager made up a batch of ‘garlic wash’ to deter slugs from nibbling the plants in our polytunnel, it seemed like a good thing. Made by crushing two bulbs and boiling the pulp in a pan of water, the resulting spray showed early signs of success. But this experiment was never to be repeated as the sulphurous odour was as unwelcome as a waft from a Parisian sewer in summer. This malodorous episode hasn’t put me off plant-based pest-deterrents though. I’m keener than ever to discover new natural methods and plants that will do the job. Back in Medieval times,…

LIKE many gardeners, I suspect, I find it almost impossible to walk past a plant stall or garden centre without popping in ‘just to have a look’ – and walking out richer in plants but lighter in wallet. And there’s the rub. While you can pick up good, cheap plants from many market stalls and front garden enterprises, a visit to the garden centre to stock up on perennials can be an expensive business. So this week, why not cut out the middle man and grow your own? You can buy perennial seeds, or collect them from garden plants. You can sow in spring, but a good selection can be started off from summer to early autumn. Sown now, the seeds will germinate quickly and be ready for pricking out…

• If you are planting seeds left over from previous years, there are two simple ways of checking that they are still viable and will flower. • One is to scatter seeds on damp kitchen paper and leave them somewhere light and warm. • If they start to sprout in a couple of days, they are healthy. • Pour larger seeds, such as sweet peas or lupins, into a bowl of water. Those that sink should germinate, any that float should be thrown away.…

• Ladybirds: Eat aphids and scale insects. You can order larvae (pictured) from garden centres and online. • Bees: It is said that without bees, civilization would crumble. They are vital pollinators for crops and plants. • Lacewing flies: These delicate beauties, and their larvae, eat many garden pests including greenflies. • Ground dwellers: Centipedes and ground beetles devour soil-dwelling pests, and the eggs of slugs and snails.…

“As daffodil foliage fades day lilies take over” GARDEN flowering plants all have their flowering season and, while plant breeders have and are continuing to extend them, inevitably there are times when clumps of one kind lack colour. It’s not so bad in large gardens where beds of iris and day lilies, for example, can be a feature and then by-passed for the rest of the year. But small domestic plots, like most of us have, are a different kettle of fish. Here we have three options – either find good plant partners, or temporary fillers, or have flowering plants in containers. Planting daffodils among day lilies (hemerocallis) gives narcissus flower colour in March/April and as their foliage fades day lilies take over. Flag iris are another matter because they…

HOW do you harvest gooseberries? Very carefully! These thorny bushes can scratch when you reach in among the stems to pick the fruits. You might want to consider donning a stout pair of gloves – or growing a thornless variety such as ‘Pax’. The fruit will be ripening now, but how do you tell a ripe green gooseberry from an under-ripe one? A good way to identify those ready for picking is to gently squeeze the skin. When ripe it should be slightly soft. Not all fruits ripen at the same time, so be sure to pick over bushes every few days, and remember that the varieties used for cooking don’t turn as soft as those dessert types eaten straight off the bush.…

“Pickling and chutneying opens up a world of taste” MOVE quickly; this year’s harvest is underway and before long it will be too late. There’s little point picking and processing vegetables when they’ve gone over and become tough. Young tender vegetables process, store and eat much better than older ones. Indeed, I’m grateful to my ‘antique’ food processor as its design simply will not pod tough peas – it only accepts those still tender enough to enjoy! Many crops, in particular peas, French beans, gherkins and courgettes, need inspecting daily or they’ll have gone over when next you return. So check frequently and be ready to process these as soon as you can. Freezing is the most common way of storing perishable vegetables and should be preceded by blanching –…

THE parents amongst us will know only too well how competitive gift giving can get at the end of term. I’m a believer that a home-made present is the only way to go. So, my idea suits a low budget and will get the children very much involved. Visit a car boot sale, junk shop or charity store and hunt down some old tea cups. It doesn’t matter if the saucer and cup don’t match and they are slightly the worse for wear. Give the cup a wash and then pop to the garden centre and buy an alpine in the smallest pot you can find. I opted for saxifrage. One cup and saucer cost me £1 and the alpine £1.99 – so cheaper than a box of chocolates. Then,…

LAST year we were thrilled to welcome bee hives to the garden. These are cared for and belong to local beekeepers Seggin Bees segginbees.co.uk. Keeping bees is not to be taken lightly as it is a commitment. Last summer the hives were in the orchard but we found it hard to keep the grass in check.as the sheep were kept out, to stop them rubbing against the hives. This year we have made a bee run so that the grass can be kept down by the sheep. I am now also the proud owner of a bee suit – not because I look after the bees but it is advisable to wear one if brush cutting around hives. Apparently brush cutters sound like a hornet, which is a threat to…

NOW is a great time to add some oomph with a new hanging basket, and daisies fit the bill perfectly. Combine the vivid orange of a gerbera with the upright strands of bronze perennial Carex. Add in a bushy semi-trailing variety (Calibrachoa) and a trailing one (Sanvitalia). Test colour combinations by arranging them in your trolley, and pick plants that work best together - just don’t forget the container compost and the liquid feed. Where to buy Chiltern Seeds chilternseeds.co.uk 01491 824675 Mr Fothergill’s mr-fothergills.co.uk 0333 777 3936 Thompson & Morgan thompson-morgan.com 0844 573 1818…

Q We have a small roof terrace with pots and planters where we like to sit and eat. We want to plant it up, and are keen to attract bees, but we don’t want to use bedding that has to be replaced every year. We like lavender but are not sure which varieties to go for. What plants can you suggest for interest all year-round? T Wilkins, London A It’s possible to create a fantastic display of plants in a roof garden. But any plants that have double flowers should be avoided, as they seldom produce nectar and often fail to attract insects to a garden. Start in early spring with a wide range of bulbs in pots: narcissus, tulips, muscari, outdoor hyacinths and crocus will bring colour as the…

• YOU don’t have to live on the coast to enjoy the summery feel of a seaside garden. Why not create a small beach-themed feature to enjoy during the summer months? This could be a seating area combined with a border. Lay shingle over a well-drained bed of compost-rich, sandy or gritty soil; grow California poppies, sea thrift, agapanthus and sea holly; and decorate with pebbles, pieces of driftwood positioned vertically, and beachcombing finds such as lobster pots. You could even add a small boat for children to play in, or to grow plants in!…

EVERYONE loves a barbie! Cooking outdoors is great fun for all, but not all of us want to spend a lot of money on an outdoor gas barbecue that could put the kitchen cooker to shame. We’ve tried a selection of six portables that are right at home in the garden, as well as out and about with you on a picnic. Five are simple charcoal types and were fired up using barbecue lighter fluid and matches. Tip: remove grills from the heat as soon as you’ve finished cooking to make them easier to clean later - otherwise you’ll spend ages soaking and scrubbing off burnt deposits. Go-Anywhere Gas Barbecue £139.99 RRP 0203 630 1500 weberbbq for stockists Features Powered by a 445g disposable gas canister (not included), with spark…

Supermarket cheek! I VISITED my local supermarket yesterday and noticed there were plants for sale. On inspection, most of them were dried up and shrivelled from lack of watering. After I finished doing my shopping I spoke to the checkout person; I was annoyed that the plants were not fit for sale. I told him that the plants needed some basic care. Does anyone else get angry when they find supermarkets neglecting their plants, but still have the cheek to put them on trollies for sale? I think there should be a society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Plants! Valerie Light, Forest Hill, London Jenny says: I agree; it is also one of my pet hates. Not only do the supermarkets try to sell something that is not fit…

EARLY summer-flowering perennials will have bloomed by now, and are probably starting to fade and look rather past their best. Smarten them up by removing tatty foliage and spent flowers, and you will give borders an immediate lift – and hopefully encourage plants to produce a second flowering later in the season. Prime candidates for this type of renovation are the clump-forming hardy geraniums, and also Oriental poppies. Plants that only require you to remove their flower spikes, and may bloom again if you do so, are delphiniums, foxgloves, verbascums and lupins. Lupins in particular do not respond well to harsh cutting back, so leave their foliage intact. Cutting back flowerheads also prevents plants self-seeding willy-nilly around your garden. If you have a perennial you particularly admire, leave a couple…

IN almost every garden there’s a neglected planter – but it’s not too late to give tired displays a new lease of life. A big wooden container in my front garden was looking sorry for itself, so it was time to spruce it up. At garden centres, the bedding plant season is winding down and choice is limited – so I mixed pelargoniums, osteospermum and busy Lizzies with herbaceous perennials and exotics. Any container that’s full of old compost must be re-filled (or with a large planter, replace the top 6in/ 15cm of compost). I used John Innes No2, but for shorter-lived bedding in pots, multi-purpose is fine. I also incorporated granules of slow-release fertiliser, stirring it into the compost, and added water-retaining gel. It’ll help during a hot spell.…

SHRUBS are wonderful for dividing and breaking borders, and for adding structure to the garden. But they can become a little unruly as they grow in the summer, and early-flowering ones can start to look straggly and sad once their blooms have fallen. They don’t need major work now, but a little trim and some TLC can make all the difference to the garden as a whole. Privet, hawthorn, beech, yew, thuja, leylandii and lonicera can be sheared back into shape. Early summer flowerers such as weigela, philadelphus and deutzia should be pruned hard after they have flowered, because they will produce blooms next year on this season’s new growth. This means that the longer they have to grow, the better the show they will give next year, so cut…

JUDGING by the way its leaves have turned yellow and wilted, the softneck garlic ‘Marco’ I sowed in October last year is now ready for harvesting. I sowed some in a pot and some in the ground to compare, Garlic is ready to dig up when the leaves turn yellow and floppy. Harvest sooner rather than later, as bulbs left in the ground will start to open up, and not store well. Take care when lifting the mature bulbs as they bruise easily, and this lessens their storing ability. As soon as they are up, place the bulbs somewhere cool and dark to dry – too much sun will scorch and burn their flesh. Leave the leaves on the bulbs, as this helps them store better. Top Tip   If…

FROGS are having a difficult time. Over the last 50 years they have lost much of their natural habitat (through land development and intensive farming), and their domestic habitat (smaller gardens, with fewer ponds). Add to this regular outbreaks of disease (such as ranavirus), and adverse weather (extreme heat or cold), it all makes for a difficult set of circumstances. Increasingly, gardens are crucial habitats, and frogs are even being found more in town gardens – which means they’ve probably had to cross roads to get there! At this time of year, healthy adult frogs will be keeping cool in damp and shady parts of the garden. Helpfully for the gardener, they feed on slugs, as well as flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, moths and small worms. Froglets will be leaving ponds…

NEVER considered that your water butt might need a little attention in summer? It’s worth thinking again. I have an oak barrel that looks wonderful but if left empty in summer the wood can dry out and cause leaks. In very long hot spells the metal rings can drop too. The best solution is to avoid completely emptying it in summer. Plastic versions have the advantage that you can empty them but if water is left to stagnate they can start to smell. Plus, if your house gutters have leaves in, or any organic debris, it can drop down into the butt, which can cause a smell. Biotal Water Butt Treatment can be added to prevent smells and works wonders if you recycle household water. This is available from organiccatologue.com…

WHERE land has been in cultivation for a long time, tickle the ground over and in among the inevitable weeds that arise, you are likely to see young plants of Viola tricolor or heartsease pansies growing from seed brought to the surface. Unless they are in the way, I like to keep them and encourage a stock of this delightful viola whose small, whiskery flower ‘faces’ peer up from the ground. Plant some together in a container and they look like a basket of yellow-faced kittens with purple ears and chins. They are not everywhere of course, so to start your own perpetuating colonies, sow our free seeds. The heartsease pansy is native to Europe including the UK, blooming from April to September in short grassland and waste places. Herbal…

Calendula PowerDaisy Sunny A new-style container calendula, this showstopper flowers from March to November on bushy mildew-free plants. A runner-up in this year’s Chelsea Plant of the Year competition. H: 12in/30cm. Gerbera Garvinia Series Offers a winning combination of lovely colours, masses of flowers that open together from April to October, and unexpected hardiness. Especially good for containers. H: 14in/35cm. Coreopsis Big Bang Series An exciting and prolific hardy perennial coreopsis for sunny borders, in brand new colours and bi-colours. Flowers appear nonstop from July to October, some changing colour as they mature. H: 24in/45cm. Leucanthemum Real Series Shasta daisies transformed into neat, self-supporting, long-flowering perennials with yellow as well as white flowers– and some exciting flower forms. Perfect for sunny borders and cutting. H: 16in/40cm.…

Q What is this plant? I was given it by my mother-in-law who moved from a house into a flat almost 18 years ago, and could not keep it. Mrs. S. Curtis A It is either Hoya carnosa or its smaller cousin, H. lanceolata bella, commonly called wax flower. They are epiphytic climbers, but H. carnosa’s leaves, which are 3in (8cm) long, are twice the size of H. lanceolata bella’s. They hail from Burma and their flowers are very sweetly scented. H. lanceolata bella has a pendent habit, while H. carnosa tends to be upright. They like a warm, humid position. Q I found this had opened up to give a magnificent show in my greenhouse. I have a pink one - but is the creamy yellow colour unusual? Mari…

WHEN asked about the secret of gardening, famous gardener Margery Fish had a simple answer: ‘The secret is, when in doubt plant a geranium!” And who could argue with that? The amazingly hardy, free-flowering geranium will produce floral displays all summer long and into autumn. Perfect for growing at the front of the garden border, this selection will grow in virtually any situation and in any soil. Pest resistant and drought-tolerant, they need very little maintenance to thrive. We have carefully selected a collection of five hardy geraniums – all RHS AGM award winners – which will fill your garden with endless colour for minimal effort. They’ll form colourful natural ground cover, helping to suppress weeds and attract beneficial butterflies and bees to the garden. All geraniums supplied as young…

Rosa rugosa A vigorous, medium-sized and thorny-stemmed shrub with fragrant pink blooms in summer and autumn making way for large red rosehips later in the season. Kniphofia Red hot pokers will do well in exposed or sheltered spots and provide spectacular shows up to 5ft (1.5m) tall in red, yellow and orange. All they ask for is full sun. Agapanthus ‘Black Pantha’ This elegant hybrid has dark blue – almost black – flowers. The strappy green foliage and globe blooms also work well in containers.…

Ultra Sonic Fox Chaser & Scarer £34.95 +£5.95 P&P 03330 119 703 pestcontrolproductsonline.co.uk A mains-powered device that sends out ultrasonic sound waves, inaudible to the human ear, up to 100ft (30m) away. With three switchable frequencies for improved effectiveness, comes with mounting bracket and 30ft (9m) of cable. Defenders Rabbit & Wild Animal Repellent £3.69 inc delivery 01484 829 180 thornhillgardencentre.co.uk A 2oz (50g) pack of soluble pesticide with the active ingredient Ammonium Sulphate makes 9ltrs of solution. Water on the ground where you want to keep pesky rabbits, cats, dogs, foxes and the like away. Child and animal safe once the area has dried.…