Innholdsfortegnelse for 9-Mar-2019 i Amateur Gardening

I LOVE this time of year, when there is a sense of expectancy and optimism in the air. The weather is warming up, the garden is starting to fill out with fresh colour and verdant greenery, and the garden centres are packed with spring plants begging to be bought. There’s something to suit every outdoor space, even if you only have a patio or room for hanging baskets and windowboxes, because all the bulbs and bedding on offer are perfect for planting up in small spaces. As an added bonus, once they start to fade, the bulbs can be stored and dried for next year and the bedding nurtured through until autumn, when it will start to grow again. If you have room, plant them straight out into borders and…

1 Dunk your plants in water for an hour or more before planting, to saturate the roots and make them easier to slide from their pots. 2 Place crocks at the bottom, followed by container compost that is free-draining, moisture-retentive and packed with added nutrients. 3 Start with your central plant, teasing out any circling or congested roots, and placing at the same depth as its rootball. 4 Add the rest of the plants, taking care not to damage their roots. They will soon grow to fill any remaining gaps. 5 Raise your container on feet to let excess water escape, then water it well to firm the soil around the roots.…

AG WILDLIFE columnist Val Bourne defends the metaldehyde ban because the pellets are toxic to pets and wildlife, and contaminate water. She said: “Many gardeners resort to metaldehyde, but then the creatures that feed on slugs such as beetles, amphibians, and hedgehogs are less likely to thrive because the supply of slugs and snails disappears. The lack of predators will, in turn, encourage slugs and snails to return.” AG columnist Peter Seabrook said: “I presume the ban is because a minority of people have used pellets to excess. But if they are used correctly – one pellet every 6in (15cm), or one or two under a tile – they are fine. “Slugs go under the tile during the day, eat the pellets and die. The pellets do the job but…

TV gardener Toby’s Buckland’s award-winning Garden Festival returns to Powderham Castle near Exeter on May 3 and 4. This year’s event will include plant talks and demos, vegan food and plant-themed fun plus potted flowers and bulbs, vegetable plants and herbs, succulents and house plants to buy. Now in its sixth year, the two-day plant bonanza already has more than 100 nurseries and garden exhibitors signed up. There will also be fascinating talks by BBC Gardeners’ World presenters Joe Swift on Friday, May 3 and Frances Tophill on Saturday, May 4. A new lakeside Talks Tent hosted by Country Gardener Magazine will also give a platform to the festival’s knowledgeable nursery-people who will be sharing inside tips on climbers, bulbs, orchids and coastal plants. Advance tickets are available now costing…

THE dictionary describes mulch as: ‘Mixture of wet straw, leaves etc. spread to protect roots of newly planted trees, etc.’ While in practice mulch for gardeners does mean a layer of organic material on the surface of soil, in reality it goes much further than that… Course bark applied as a mulch on paths keeps footwear clean in wet weather. Chipped bark is applied to surface soil under shrubs to give an attractive appearance, and suppress weeds. Garden compost, well-rotted manure, leafmould, and the like, is used as a mulch to improve the surface soil, and helps to retain moisture in hot drying weather. Clean straw is used as a mulch to keep strawberry fruits up off the soil, and prevents them becoming splashed with soil when it rains. A…

WHEN using a chainsaw, you must be totally focused on the task at hand, with safety at the forefront of your mind. Right from the start, agree a plan of what you are going to cut, where you are going to cut it and where you expect the wood to fall. Make sure you are not on your own. If you need to use a ladder, make sure it is secure and never overstretch yourself (an easy mistake) when making a cut. If you can’t get in a safe, comfortable position, don’t make the cut. The Stihl MSA 120 C-BQ is so easy to use, you can easily forget it is a dangerous tool – but don’t. Make sure you wear suitable clothes, including a hard hat, eye protection, toe-protected…

1 Spread sieved garden compost, wood ash and organic fertiliser under fruit trees to be washed in by the rain. 2 To avoid cooking seeds or seedlings in propagators, be sure to ventilate – or shade with newspaper on very sunny days. 3 When chitted, leave all shoots on early spud sets, but rub off all but three shoots that develop on every maincrop potato. 4 Replenish and make new sticky bands to go around the trunks of fruit trees; this stops pests on the way up to attack opening buds.…

✓Your plant is mobile! This is handy for house moving, DIY/renovations, creating a pretty display, and so on. ✓ The root restriction provided by pots keeps plants more compact. ✓ Netting against birds is a synch – just push bamboo canes around the edge of the pot, then cloak with net. ✓If you need to spray a plant for pests or diseases, all branches are easily accessible for thorough coverage. ✓ Don’t fancy shinning up a ladder for your harvest? There’s no need, when everything is at head height! ✓Root restriction also means plants are encouraged to crop sooner and heavier than in open ground.…

1 Stand seedlings in a tray of water for a few minutes to k eep them moist, as watering overhead can encourage damping off 2 . Place a wall of aluminium foil along the back edge of your windowsill propagator to reflect light and deter leggy seedlings. 3 Globe artichok es are easy to propagate at this time of year – simply slice off divisions with a spade and pot them up 4 . It’s essential to give container fruits plenty of root room – so if yours are congested, now is a great time to pot them into something larger . 5 Sow early batches of beetroot, gem lettuce , carrots and spring cabbage under cover for the first precious harvests of these hardy crops.…

1 Soak the seeds overnight in a mug of water to help soften the hard outer seedcoat. Sow one seed per 1½in (4cm) module, ¾in (2cm) deep. Label and water in well. 2 Then place your sown modules into a heated propagator, set at 18°C (64°F). The seedlings should emerge in 10-14 days. Grow them on in good light at 15°C (59°F). 3 As June approaches, gradually harden the seedlings off, then plant outside in a well-drained, sunny position, 1ft (30cm) apart. Harvests can begin after three years of growth.…

ALTHOUGH ornamental quinces often produce large fruits, these are a lot less useful than those of the true quince, Cydonia oblonga. It is possible to make jelly from the fruits of flowering quinces, but it’s sometimes recommended that they be stewed twice: once to soften; then again, after straining, with plenty of sugar to make your jelly. One thin slice is enough to flavour an apple pie, and the juice, even of ripe fruits, is so acidic that it has been used as a homegrown alternative to lemon juice (it can also contain 2-3 times as much vitamin C). For a more palatable option, the best quince is C. oblonga ‘Vranja’, which often produces heavy crops of its large, soft, fragrant yellow fruits. Trees are thornless and can reach 16-20ft…

Matthiola longipetala (HA) By day, night-scented stocks can look a tad scruffy, but as the sun goes down those tiny pale-pink starburst flowers open and give off an incredible fragrance. A single container will perfume a patio. H&S: 1ft (30cm). Also try: Zaluzianskya capensis (night phlox) Nicotiana alata ‘Grandiflora’ (HHA) The highly scented tobacco plant is at its most pungent in the evening, when the creamy-white flowers appear to ‘glow’ in low light. One of the few annuals that will cope with light shade. HxS: 2x1ft (60x30cm). Also try: Asperula orientalis (blue woodruff) Lathyrus odoratus (HA) Bicoloured magenta and purple ‘Cupani’ is said to be the most fragrant of all the annual sweet peas. The stems are shorter than those of others, so it’s…

Create a wildlife-friendly patch QI am looking to plant some wildlife-friendly shrubs and plants behind our shed. What would you suggest? Miss M Burgess, Exeter, Devon A When choosing suitable plants, it’s important to know your soil type and acidity (acid or alkaline), and whether the area is sunny, shaded or a mix of both. You should check yours before buying anything. There are lots of wildlife-friendly plants to choose from, so I have put together a list of a few that produce flowers and berries that are attractive to insects, birds and wildlife. Narcissi query Q Could you give me the names of two narcissi with creamy-white petals and yellow trumpets? Margaret Jinks, via email A Two varieties you can choose are: ‘Spring Dawn’: Flowering early, its starry white…

Cloche: A small cover that lets in light, to fit over a plant or plants growing in the soil. Bell cloche: A dome of rigid, clear plastic with built-in air vent to fit over a plant. Tunnel cloche: A short tunnel of rigid clear plastic, or a longer tunnel of flexible translucent polythene. supported by wire hoops, to fit over a row of low-growing plants. Growing tent: Made from transparent polythene or mesh with a wire or plastic frame and access door or doors, to fit over larger plants. Duct tape: Very sticky, strong waterproof tape for patching up any damage.…

Creating an indoor garden oasis is set to be a big trend for 2019 and to ensure your houseplants continue to flourish, Miracle-Gro is giving six lucky readers the chance to win a bottle of Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Concentrate. Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Concentrate guarantees beautiful, healthy and strong plants, plus its high nitrogen formula will also result in greener leaves. The plant food can be used to feed all indoor plants, including cactus, citrus and bonsai plants. We have six bottles of Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Concentrate to give away, each worth £5.99. See below for details of how to enter the prize draw. How to enter Send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Concentrate Draw (9 March), Amateur…

According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest beetroot weighed 51lb 9.4oz (23.4kg), and was grown by Ian Neale from Newport, South Wales. It was shown at AG’s own show – The National Amateur Gardening Show – at Shepton Mallet, Somerset, in 2001. The longest-ever beetroot measured 26ft 1.22in (7.956m). It was grown by Joe Atherton (pictured above) of Nottinghamshire, and was verified at the UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, in Malvern, in 2016. Ancient Assyrian texts reveal that beets grew in the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon in 800BC. Albert Einstein famously hated beetroot, while President Obama and his wife Michelle asked for them not to be planted in their organic garden at the White House!…

1 I’m tempted by some semi-hardwood cuttings. They are best taken in July and August, but being an opportunist I’m going to peel some 3in (8cm)-long stems away now with a ‘heel’ attached. 2 With bottom leaves removed, cuttings are inserted around the edge of a pot, in 50:50 multi-purpose and grit. 3 Working around the plant, shorten any straggly stems, cutting above healthy-looking growths. Remove all dead stems. Avoid pruning too hard into older wood. 4 After pruning, the shrub is more compact and ready to break into growth. If there is a sudden cold snap, I can pop a couple of layers of fleece over the top.…

1 Succulents and sempervivum (house leeks) make wonderful container arrangements, especially when offset against shells or coloured glass. 2 Evergreen shrubs such as skimmia with flowers and berries are sure to make striking, low-maintenance creations. 3 Don’t limit yourself to dwarf varieties. Taller tulips mixed with other bulbs and bedding add height and contrast to containers. 4 For head-height colour and fragrance, hang baskets by your front door or plant up windowboxes where space is at a premium.…

Oh, happy day! This week’s free seeds are for one of my very favourite summer plants – Cosmos ‘Seashells Mixed’. The plants have fluted petals in shades of pink and delicate fronds of foliage. In a sunny, sheltered spot and with regular deadheading, they will flower right through the summer. Sow them into dampened seeds and cuttings compost, then cover with a fine layer of compost. I find modules the easiest way to go, with one or two seeds per space, so the growing plants are easy to pot on when large enough. Add a lid and germinate them somewhere light and warm. Alternatively, sow them directly into well-raked soil once the threat of frosts has passed.…

ALTHOUGH the pace of garden life is picking up now, there are still ‘downtime days’, which allow you to catch up with the quick, mundane tasks that help to keep the garden ticking over. Here’s a selection of quick jobs to do now. They don’t take long – but their impact is huge. 1 Deadhead forced bulbs and let the foliage die back. Hyacinths can be planted out, but Narcissus ‘Paper White’ are too tender. 2 If you top-dressed beds with manure or compost over the winter, dig it in now to prepare for planting and sowing. 3 Autumn-planted onion and shallot sets should be growing well. Keep on top of weeds that will swamp your crops. 4 Last call for pruning deciduous shrubs, such as this straggly potted Hypericum.…

1 Delay mulching strawberries until the chance of frost has passed. Non-mulched soil continues to release retained heat and reduces the chance of frost damaging the flowers. 2 Pine bark chunks make very attractive mulch under woody perennials, and are very long-lasting. 3 Leave an air space between plant stems and mulch to reduce the chance of wet rot diseases, and with fruit trees this stops mice enjoying the protection while feeding on the bark through the winter. 4 Shredded bark is much better if it is composted before using as a mulch in order to reduce denitrification of the soil.…

Mains and petrol power for garden tools are on the way out. The one-size-fits-all Iithium-ion battery is now the norm. This means that once you have bought a battery and charger, you don’t need new ones when you buy another battery-powered tool from the same manufacturer’s range. In the case of the Stihl it saved £125, as I have a Stihl mower. You should choose your next power tool wisely, as you will be tied to the manufacturer’s battery if you do not want to incur extra costs. Research all the brands, and find one you trust that has all the tools you might need (now or in the future). I would suggest you base this on quality, not on price.…

CHARLES Darwin (1809-1882), the famous scientist, loved his garden. English Heritage has reconstructed Charles and Emma Darwin’s bedroom, which overlooks the garden, at his former home of Down House near Orpington in Kent. You can also see his study, and the grooves made by the wheels of his chair as he went to and fro from desk to laboratory bench. Whenever Darwin had a problem, he did a quick circuit of the small wood and, it’s said, that he kicked a large stone as he went by. The severity of the problem was marked by how many times he kicked the stone, which is still there today. If the problem was really serious, he called it a 10-stone problem. I’m not comparing myself to Darwin, but when I’ve got a…

Repot: Healthy roots are a must, so give your plant the underground space that it needs, and check the rootball annually in March. Carefully knock the plant out of its pot – are the roots spiralling and congested? That’s your cue to move up a pot size, using an appropriate loam-based compost. Sustain: Containerised roots can only access the food you give them – so feed them up! Because it’s also key to keep potted fruits well watered throughout spring and summer, kill two birds with one stone by using a high-potash liquid fertiliser. Avoid over-feeding, but always water liberally in dry, hot spells. Shape: Pruning and training help to focus your plants’ energies on bearing a decent-sized harvest. Secateur work often involves cutting out some old, unproductive growth to…

A CLOSE relative of the kiwi fruit, these berries (Actinidia arguta) are smaller, hardier and less fuss to prepare than their cousins. While many gardens can’t accommodate kiwi fruit (as the vines can grow to 15ft/4½m, and often two are needed for successful pollination), kiwi berries are a more manageable 7ft/2m in height, and their fuzz-free skin needs no peeling. The fruits are borne in clusters, each individual berry being the size of a grape. With a satisfying crunch and pint-pot stature, they’re a great lunchbox snack. Opt for ‘Issai’, which is self-fertile. Let the vine scramble along posts and wires, or up a small section of trellis. Fruits ripen on mature plants in late September: pick before first frosts.…

IMAGINE the glorious sight of an apple tree in full blossom – only reduced down to the size of a bush, and opening in early spring (sometimes as early as February). Now who wouldn’t want one of those? Or maybe even two. Sometimes known as flowering quince, Japanese quince or simply ‘japonica’, chaenomeles have to be the toughest, most resilient and most dependable of deciduous shrubs. In neglected gardens chaenomeles is often the only shrub still thriving, slowly but steadily spreading by short suckers at the base of the plant. And it’s unusually resistant to honey fungus, a problem increasingly seen in older gardens. The tangled growth is a favourite nesting spot for blackbirds and thrushes, but there is a downside to it being such a thorny plant and you…

MANY moons ago, I taught horticulture to mature students. I clearly recall the lesson when I revealed what the letters ‘HA’ and ‘HHA’ stood for on the back of the seed packets that they were about to sow. They were thrilled and relieved to learn that understanding these initials solved so many of their seed-sowing questions. HA stands for ‘hardy annual’ and HHA stands for ‘half-hardy annual’. Hardy annuals can be sown directly into the garden, and half-hardy annuals need to start life undercover. This explanation may be teaching some of you to suck eggs, but I’m equally convinced that many of you will be thrilled to have these terms explained. No more do you need to worry as to which seeds can be sown directly – the annual conundrum…

Candyman Series Set against dark foliage, fully double flowers in orange or yellow are carried on neat, mounded, very prolific plants for an unusually long period. Better than the more familiar ‘Fiesta Gitana’, but with fewer colours. H: 10in (25cm). ‘Snow Princess’ The closest to white, featuring flowers in rich cream to almost white, with either yellow or black centres. A fine companion for perennials, and lovely as a cut flower. Especially good when sown in the autumn. H: 28in (71cm). ‘Indian Prince’ Flowers are vivid orange, but the back of each petal is a rich mahogany red, creating a dark eye in the centre before they unfurl. Tall, and ideal for cutting (try them in a vase with fiery dahlias). H: 2 ½ ft (76cm). PowerDaisy Series Superb container…

Choose your basket, and add a liner and some multi-purpose compost in the base. Place on a flowerpot for stability. Depending on the size of the basket, use three-five young plants, setting them in place. Add or remove compost from beneath, so the plants sit at the correct height, allowing a gap for watering. Fill in around the roots, firming gently, and water in using a fine rose on the can so as not to disturb compost and roots. If possible, leave the basket in a greenhouse for a couple of weeks, so the plants can establish before going outside. When there is no more danger of frost, hang in a lightly shaded position. Water before the compost dries out and apply a half-strength, general-purpose liquid feed every fortnight. Switch…

ALL garden plants benefit from a bit of protection, especially when starting into growth in late winter and spring. Even hardy plants fair better, being less damaged by wind or hailstones, and making strong early growth in the slightly warmer covered space. They’ll come on earlier and develop into sturdy plants more quickly, giving earlier flowers or crops. Great though this sounds, you won’t want to cover the whole garden – but for specimen plants or those that are particularly vulnerable, a cloche or growing tent can turn failure into success. If, like me, you’ve ever struggled to overwinter the tender biennial Echium pininana, a bit of protection can save the day. What’s the difference? A cloche is any small, transparent cover (rigid clear plastic, translucent flexible sheet polythene, or…

Sugarbeet is a major industry in East Anglia – and topsoil, curiously, is a useful by-product of this multi-million pound business. After the harvested beets are transported to the refineries, they are washed. The run-off contains small bits of soil from the fields and, because we are talking about millions of roots, the soil comes to thousands of tons annually. A separate division of the industry takes this soil, and blends it, to supply high-grade topsoil for landscaping, horticulture and sports turf businesses.…

THE following notes and illustrations will serve to show what British determination to succeed can accomplish in so well populated a district as Islington [in London]. The love of gardening and the joys of flower growing are very great, but some of our readers have much to contend with in their efforts, and when they do succeed great praise is due to them. “Up to three years ago, I had to be content with flower pots on window ledges for my garden; then I thought I would make use of the roof of my shop at the back of my house, and at the same time I commenced taking Amateur Gardening. I enclose a rough sketch of my roof as it is now (exposed to north, south and east). In…

The first growing bag READING through ( AG , 19 January 2019), I came across ‘A Gardener’s Miscellany’ and a section on Fisons, regarding the good old Grobags. It states that the first Grobag was branded Levington – I can tell you it wasn’t Levington until after the sale of the business, when it became Levington Horticulture. Up until then, they were Fisons Grobags. How do I know? Well, I worked for the company under several of its brand changes from 1988 to 2005! David Turner, Suffolk English bluebells I CAN’T wait for this glorious sight again. And I can’t believe I put all these bluebell bulbs in by hand! Pat Coomer, Hornchurch, Essex Reader’s Quick Tip THE fatballs for my birds come in a large clear plastic bucket. When…

SNACK manufacturers are quite literally up in arms since a shipment of spuds sent to a crisp factory in Hong Kong was found to be ‘packing’ a live WW1 hand grenade! It’s believed that the consignment acquired the weapon when they were harvested from a former battlefield in France, and it was only by a thin slice of luck that the device was neutralised before disaster struck the deep-fryers. Still, there’s no need for us to panic in Blighty if we take sensible precautions, like ‘patting down’ crisp packets before buying in case of concealed ordnance – and since the recent news that the size of crisps and chips have shrunk, finding hidden shells in salt ’n’ vinegar snacks is going to be much easier. “This presents an opportunity for…

PLANT growers are divided over the banning of the chemical metaldehyde, a key ingredient in non-organic slug pellets. Defra secretary Michael Gove banned the chemical after advice from the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that it posed an ‘unacceptable risk to birds and mammals’. The ban comes into force in 2020. It will be legal to sell metaldehyde products such as Doff Slug Killer Blue Mini Pellets, Westland Eraza Slug and Snail Killer for the next six months, and they can be used for a further 12 months. The government recommends that gardeners use non-chemical or ferric phosphate products including Vitax Slug Rid, Doff Super Slug Killer, Sluggo Slug & Snail Killer and SlugClear Ultra3. “The ban gives an edge to farmers…

9: Starting from Scratch with AG’s Lucy Chamberlain: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. 0845 265 8071, rhs.org.uk/gardens/hydehall 9-17: Science Week: RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. 01483 224234, rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley 9-17: Create Your Own Terrarium Garden: RHS Wisley 9: What Now? Your Garden in March and April: RHS Garden Hyde Hall 10: Plant Hunters’ Fair: National Memorial, Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffs DE13 7AR (10am-4pm).planthuntersfairs.co.uk 16: Orchid Days with Ian Parsons of the British Orchid Council: Brimsmore Garden Centre, Tintinhull Road, Yeovil, Somerset BA21 3NU. 01935 411000, thegardeneronline.co.uk 16: Plant Hunters’ Fair: Carsington Water, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.planthuntersfairs.co.uk 16: Make a Porcelain Hanging Planter: RHS Garden Hyde Hall 16-17: Sweet Pea Workshop: RHS Harlow Carr, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr 17: Rare Plant…

I NEVER thought I’d need a chainsaw, let alone find one indispensable. However, after six months, two trees and 30 branches, I can say hand on heart that I wouldn’t be without the Stihl MSA 120 C-BQ. No gardener likes the idea of cutting trees, but there comes a time when branches need pruning or – worse still – a diseased tree, or one that’s in the wrong place, needs to come down. Dealing with problem branches When my fiancée Gill and I moved into our house, we were faced with a very overgrown garden. A mass of conifers at the rear had grown so large, they kept the back of the garden in the shade. Nearer the house, we had a border that gets a lot of sun, but…

AS the sap rises and buds burst, it’s sensible to finish pruning and then leave it until autumn to prevent the cuts bleeding sap. There are some exceptions; most evergreens (especially tender types) are better left untouched another month or more, as retaining their old growths protects the new shoots from severe weather. Another type of plant better left unpruned until the hardest frosts are over are any with hollow stems, such as bamboos and buddlejas. This prevents the risk of rain filling the hole and freezing, bursting the canes and letting rot in. All damaged and dead wood should be pruned out ASAP, whatever time of year, to prevent disease encroaching and pests taking hold. Roses are a moot point, though: some will prune in autumn, some now. Either…

MEANDERING under a canopy of bee-draped fruit tree blossom is a real springtime treat, but very few of us have the acreage to plant large, orchard-style fruit trees. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution if you yearn for homegrown cherries, apples or peaches – just grow them in pots! This method can transform even the tiniest patio or balcony into a bountiful oasis. Let’s look at the basics… Containers: Larger, thick-walled pots are ideal, because you don’t want the roots to dry out. Line wooden planters with polythene, and unglazed clay pots with bubblewrap (alternatively, sink large plastic pots inside them). Don’t assume that manufacturers add enough drainage holes – and drill more if needed. Compost: Avoid pure multi-purpose, because it dries out quickly and loses structure. Instead, use a blend…

DILL, basil, coriander, rocket: anyone who cooks with these herbs knows that a good handful in your pan is the norm. But when a bag from the supermarket costs £1 a pop, you could feel reluctant to be this generous. The solution? Sow loads from seed now! The maths is simple: £2 for a packet of 500 seeds – how can you argue with such financial logic? I’ve developed a nifty method that works brilliantly for me. Fill a 3½in (9cm) pot with compost, water well, then sow a pinch of six seeds per pot. Cover with a clear plastic bag, secured in place with an elastic band and held upright with four sticks. When placed on a well-lit windowsill, the bag acts like a mini-propagator. Once germinated, cut the…

HOW often do you liquid-feed your crops with high-potash fertiliser in a year? From April until September, it can be a weekly chore, so make it feel that much better by crafting a homegrown brew for free, rather than splashing out on shop-bought bottles. Herbalists have known about the powers of comfrey for eons, with organic Quaker Henry Doubleday researching its potential as a food crop in the 19th century, then Lawrence D Hills breeding the potent nutrient-rich ‘Bocking 14’ cultivar in the 1950s. This is the plant to choose; it’s raised via root cuttings rather than seed (it’s sterile), so source these now via mail order. Just pot the roots into some multi-purpose compost, let them establish until late May, and then plant out into a corner of your…

CHAENOMELES is a strong, twiggy shrub that makes a good host for climbers that will flower in summer when the Japanese quince flowers are finished. Competition at root level is a little too intense, I find, for annual climbers to be successful, while perennial sweet peas are too vigorous. Instead, try yellow-flowered Dicentra scandens or one of the less vigorous clematis such as ‘Edward Prichard’ or the Boulevard Series.…

Prepare the ground well and remove weeds, as seedlings will struggle if competing with them. Mix very fine seed with horticultural sand before sowing. By using this technique, you’ll be able to see where the seed has landed. If pigeons are a problem in your garden, cover young seedlings with a protective cloche. Once seedlings have two leaves, they can be thinned. Avoid this step, and you’ll have inferior plants. Follow the advice given on the seed packet and use a plant label to make a note of which seed is where.…

Don’t sow half-hardies too early – mid-April is fine. Any sooner and plants will be ready to be hardened off when it’s still too cold outside. Don’t sow too many seeds, and be ruthless when pricking out – only keep the amount you need, plus a couple of spares. Give seedlings as much light as possible so they don’t grow leggy. Pot on regularly – congested roots will stunt growth. Harden off for 10-14 days in a cold frame or a sheltered, sunny spot.…

‘Cecile’ Very large double flowers. Green tipped, coral sepals make sweet parasols over flounces of soft lavender-pink corolla, with pink and white stamens. ‘La Campanella’ A more restrained choice, with smaller but plentiful single blooms, which have pink-tinged white sepals and a pinky-purple corolla. ‘Dark Eyes’ A classic combination of deep pink calyces flying over skirts of rich purple. Medium-sized blooms are plentiful and show-stopping on hardy plants. ‘Southgate’ These medium-sized double blooms are a pretty punch pink, with green-tipped sepals and darker pink stamens. A vigorous cultivar.…

Do ✓ Choose a cloche that is big enough so plant leaves don’t touch the sides. ✓ Weed around plants before covering, and hoe to open up the soil surface . ✓ Mulch around plants to trap moisture , keep weeds down and improve the soil. ✓ Put down traps or pellets to tackle slugs and snails. Don’t ✗ Leave gaps between the cloche and soil when you put it in place – peg it down! ✗ Forget to check under the cloche every week for weeds and pests. ✗ Let humidity build up – open the ventilator in warmer periods. ✗ Leave damage unattended – patch tears and cracks with duct tape (available from DIY/hardware stores).…

Beetroot has been grown since Roman times, yet it is only in the past couple of hundred years that the roots have been eaten – before this, only the leaves (or ‘greens’) were consumed, as the roots were use as medicine, not food. Now is the ideal time to sow seeds outdoors, so let’s look at some of the many interesting stories surrounding this humble vegetable. The terms ‘beetroot’ and ‘beet’ refer to the same vegetable. In Britain, we typically call it the former, while those in most other parts of the world, particularly the United States, call them ‘beets’. Beetroot variations While most people believe beetroots are about the size of a tennis ball, they can actually be as small as a marble; baby or immature beetroot is particularly…

Borscht is a sour beetroot soup common throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. Traditional Ukrainian borscht is made from beef or pork stock, sautéed vegetables and fermented beetroot juice (which gives the sour taste, as well as the colour). Because this juice takes days to prepare, many recipes now replace the fermented version with fresh juice, while the sour taste is given by vinegar, lemon juice, tomatoes, tart apples or dry red wine. In July 1975, Soviet cosmonauts gave borscht to American astronauts Deke Slayton and Thomas Stafford, on board the first US-Russian space flight, as a symbol of camaraderie.…

QI bought some shrubby salvias for raised beds and pots because they have such good late colour. However, they are all looking straggly, so should I prune – and by how much? Margot McLaughlin, Epsom, Surrey A The genus Salvia is well worth our acquaintance, for within its ranks are showy bedding plants (cultivars of S. splendens), hardy annual sage (S. viridis) and showy, shimmering biennial clary sage (S. sclarea var. turkestanica). There are herbaceous perennials with vertical flower spikes (cultivars of S. nemorosa and S. x sylvestris), and the shrubby sorts. These are derived mainly from autumn sage (S. greggii), native to Texas and Mexico, and the hardier mountain sage (S. microphylla) from Arizona and New Mexico. In return for being placed in full sun and a well-drained soil,…

ALTHOUGH potatoes grow well in heavy soil, they’re difficult to dig up, especially when the soil is moist. A trick I’ve learnt that makes lifting easier is to plant the spuds in trenches lined with 6in/15cm of leafmould or compost. Although the roots reach out into the surrounds, the spuds tend to cluster in the compost and come up clean. ‘Earthing up’ by piling soils around the stems prevents spuds at the surface from turning green. On clay, this can be a challenge, so apply a thick much of compost instead.…