Innholdsfortegnelse for 24-sep-16 i Amateur Gardening

MARC Rosenberg’s news story (AG 27 August) about Thompson & Morgan experimenting with wicking to keep plants watered was interesting. This year all my tomatoes and cucumbers have been grown in pots and growing bags fitted with home-made wicking systems. Basically I just cut a slit in the bottom edge of pots, threaded a strip of wicking fabric (from garden centres) through and suspended the pots over a container filled with water. For this I use the white plastic buckets you buy fertilisers in, with a slit cut in the lid for the wick, and a hole high up in the side to top up with water. The wick dangling into the water keeps the plant compost moist for a week or more, even in hot weather when growth is…

1 Bellis: These dense-petalled members of the daisy family look wonderful in large groups, and flower through to spring. 2 Hardy cyclamen: C. hederifolium and C. coum have delicate, long-lasting pink flowers that thrive in shady areas. 3 Pansies: Traditional favourites, pansies and smaller violas offer long-lasting flowers in a variety of strong colours. 4 Wallflowers: Cottage garden favourites, most flower in spring, but others (‘Sugar Rush’) flower in autumn. Labeling: Mark the position of perennial bedding so you don’t accidentally dig it up after it has died back.…

Keep your garden healthy in damp autumn weather • Autumn weather can be wet and mild, which creates a perfect breeding ground for fungal disease, and leaves plants vulnerable to pests. • Keep plants as healthy as possible by removing spent flowers and dead foliage that will become mouldy and disease-prone, and feed pests if left. • On warm days, keep the greenhouse ventilated to reduce the risk of grey mould (botrytis). Pick ripened tomatoes before they split and turn mouldy. • This is a peak time for slugs. Control them, using your preferred method(s).…

A GOOD clear-out can be satisfying. I’m not talking about taking it to the extremities of Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners series – but a few hours spent cleaning your greenhouse now will prepare it for winter, as well as the next growing season. There are several objectives to this clean-up: the first is to maximise light transmission during the colder months, the second is to give any overwintering pests the boot, and the third is to carry out key maintenance jobs to stop your greenhouse coming a-cropper during winter gales. Now is the ideal time to tackle these jobs. Once the likes of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have gone over, consign plants to the compost heap, empty-out as much of your greenhouse as possible, and work through the checklist…

HANGING baskets are thought of as a summer accessory, but there is no reason why you can’t plant one to cheer up the shortening days of autumn, too. Bedding varieties such as pansies, violas, primroses and cyclamen grow well in baskets and containers. For mine, I also chose a small red cordyline to be the central plant, with trailing ivy to add depth. I shall probably re-use these in future baskets or containers, when the bedding plants have faded. The best compost to use is either one specifically formulated for containers, or John Innes No 2. If you are planting a heather basket, use ericaceous compost, (although Erica carnea is a variety tolerant of composts that are not acidic). Planting baskets with side holes • My hanging basket was a…

IT’S heavenly working in a walled kitchen garden – I often pinch myself to check I’m not dreaming. But with the positives, this permanent setting does have its drawbacks, as I discovered this summer. I’d tried the onions on a different bed and it wasn’t a good idea. The shallots, as they do, soldiered on regardless, but the red onions struggled big-time. I’d planted them as sets in the spring, and some didn’t really grow much bigger than that! I’m suspecting onion white rot, a persistent soil-borne fungal disease that rots the roots and base of the bulbs. I have salvaged a respectable harvest of yellow onions, however, which need careful storage this winter. But one thing is for sure - I won’t be using that bed for onions again!…

WHILE perennial Russell type lupins are widely grown in herbaceous borders, their more demure cousins the annuals are almost a rare sight and deserve to be more widely grown. From an autumn sowing, ‘Pixie’ will make bushy plants 16in (40cm) high and 9in (23cm) wide, decorated by short spikes of pretty white, pink, lavender or blue flowers, usually with contrasting keels. This has been bred from Lupinus nanus, native to California, Nevada and Eastern Oregon where it grows on dry slopes and cliffs. Often known as the Ocean-blue lupin, the flowers are a fresh blue and white. ‘Pixie’ will bring a touch of Californian hillside to your back garden. Large-seeded lupins are easy to grow and an autumn sowing enables plants to develop good root systems ready to support generous,…

IF you’ve a favourite variety of chilli pepper it’s possible to overwinter the plant in a frost-free place. Doing this means there’ll be less need to sow new chilli seeds in spring (unless you want to try some new varieties) and a ready-grown plant will flower and fruit earlier the following year. If you’re growing them outside, move plants indoors before the first frost. Stand them in a warm, light place, such as a greenhouse, kitchen windowsill or front porch. Strip off any fruit still attached to the branches, then cut the plant back hard to leave a 6in (15cm) tall, stubby framework. Remove all the leaves. Getting the watering regime right is key to survival. Chilli peppers don’t actively grow during winter so too much water will lead to…

Chopping tools Bacteria and fungi can get to work quicker, and in larger numbers when waste is chopped up small. Use a combination of shears, loppers and an axe to break up woody waste. Wheelbarrow Makes it easy to transport both raw materials to a heap, and the finished product back again. I recommend one with an inflated rubber tyre, for easier pushing. Manure fork A manure fork (pictured) is better than a digging fork as it has longer, more curved prongs. A compost aerator, which is plunged into working heaps, then pulled and turned to mix ingredients and add air, is handy too. Kitchen caddy Enables you to accumulate peelings and food waste indoors, except meat and fish. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, a plastic bucket or…

Green waste bin Worth considering when you have a lot of large and woody materials, with no means to chop or shred them. Or bag up and take the material to the recycling centre and buy some sacks of compost while you’re there. Dig a trench and fill An option in winter to enrich soil before planting beans or cucurbits. This method requires little work and does not smell. Trench no more than 8in (20cm) deep, fill with kitchen waste, weeds and prunings. Ensure the material is well chopped up and firmed before covering with soil n March. Bokashi bin Is a process of fermentation rather than composting, which needs a lack of air so that anaerobic bacteria can thrive, in a plastic bucket. It’s useful for food that includes…

Q Please could you identify this shrub for me? I think a bird dropped a seed into our garden. Monica Meeneghan, Caterham, Surrey A It appears to be the St Lucie cherry (Prunus mahaleb). A native of Europe, its fragrant, white flowers are followed by red berries that ultimately turn black. It grows to around 30ft (10m) high and 25ft (8m) across. It is happy in full sun or light shade. Q How can I prevent worm casts? They make it impossible to cut the lawn! Mrs P MacCulloch, Epsom, Surrey A The best way is to apply a soil acidifier, such as Greenacres Direct Sulphur Lawn Chips, or Sulphur Lawn Spray-on (from Greenacres Direct, 01895 835235; greenacresdirect.  co.uk). These products act by causing worms to burrow deeper, and you’ll…

Before planting Turk’s cap lilies, add plenty of light humus (such as leaf mould, or well sieved, well-rotted garden compost) to the soil, and coarse grit to aid drainage – important if your soil is clay. Turk’s caps should be planted deeply (unlike L. candidum) – set the bulbs so the tops are 4-5in (10-12.5cm) below the soil surface. Add a mulch of leaf mould, and be patient; these are slow to get going. • Plant the bulbs shallowly, with their tops level with the soil. Set them about 8in (20cm) apart in groups of three or more; groupings should be at least 3ft (90cm) apart. Plant three bulbs to a container, 14in (35cm) across. Place crocks in the base and fill with a good multipurpose compost, with plenty of…

Stainless Steel Maslin Pan £39.99 free delivery 01539 488100 lakeland.co.uk With a thick, encapsulated base to prevent sticking, this pan is graduated up to 15 pints (8.5 litres) and features a pouring spout and silicone-covered handle for easier handling of hot contents when pouring into jars – always a tricky part of the preserving process. Stainless Steel Cooking Thermometer £7.50 0121 604 1111 kitchencraft.co.uk  for stockists Graduated from 60°C to 200°C with clearly marked cooking temperature points, this thermometer also has the exact setting points for jams, sugars and bottling for easier home preserves. Contains no poisonous mercury. KORKEN glass jar with lid £1.75 020 3645 0000 ikea.com  for store finder Store your home-made jams, chutneys and preserves for months on end in these…

THE days may be getting shorter, but you can still add colour to your garden with foliage and flowers. This is the peak time for planting winter bedding, which is a cheap and easy way of filling the gaps left by summer bedding and fading perennials. Pansies, violas, hardy cyclamen, bellis, dianthus, wallflowers, stocks – there is a seemingly endless list of suitable plants to suit every colour scheme and taste. Several, such as pansies and cyclamen, are ideal for brightening areas shaded by trees, large shrubs or fences. Biennial dianthus, however, prefer a sunny spot where their scented flowers can shine to best advantage in spring. This time last year I planted a collection of pansies in a border. They sturdily survived the winter, and spread, flowering constantly. Actually,…

• New plants obviously need looking after while they get established, but on-going nurturing will help older plants keep looking their best too. • Autumn can be a dry season, so remember to water plants regularly while they get going. This is especially important for varieties that like sunny positions, such as dianthus. • Autumn and winter can also be wet, which creates perfect conditions for moulds and pests. Remove affected plant matter, and get rid of pests – slugs and snails are prime examples– as soon as you see them. • Weeds can grow prolifically in autumn. Get ’em out straight away, or they will smother young plants, and steal soil nutrients and winter light. • Prolong the flowering period: when bloom start to fade, deadhead as soon as…

THE garden is usually fairly drab at the end of the year, so why not bring colour and perfume into the house – with bulbs? But to do it, you’ll need to start forcing them now. If hyacinths, amaryllis (or hippeastrum) and Narcissus ‘Paperwhite are planted now, they will have grown enough to be in flower by the festive season. But not just any bulbs will do. You will need to buy ‘prepared’ bulbs, which have been heat treated, then chilled. This means that they will grow and flower earlier than other bulbs. Their ideal growing medium is bulb fibre, sold in bags at the garden centre. This fibre has added crushed shells. It remains ‘sweeter’ than other composts, and is ideal for bulbs grown indoors in pots without drainage…

1 Remove shading: Net shading should be taken down or Coolglass removed with a duster. Wash glass inside and out using warm soapy water or Jeyes Fluid. 2 Clean overlaps: I use plastic plant labels to scrape algae and dirt from tricky gaps. Check for missing glazing clips and replace before panes slip in storms. 3 Wash pots: Don’t leave cleaning dirty pots until spring. They’re a haven for overwintering pests. Brush out then wash in a trug of warm water with Jeyes fluid. 4 Scrub staging: As a minimum, brush staging down and remove compost and debris. Ideally, pressure wash it outdoors, especially the underside. 5 Fix windows: Replace damaged roof vent openers so they can be securely fastened. A squirt of WD-40 on greenhouse door runners keeps them…

Hang your basket somewhere sheltered and easily accessible. Despite being up high, snails may still get to your plants, so scatter a few pellets on the compost. 1 Keep your basket stable by standing it in a large pot or bucket. Start to fill it with container compost, or John Innes No 2. 2 Place your central plant, and in-fill around it. Then add larger ‘secondary’ plants such as cyclamen and dianthus. 3 Now add small or trailing varieties around the edge. Avoid damaging the roots of plants already positioned. 4 Water in well, as this helps to settle compost around the roots, to get the plants get off to a strong start.…

MY raised beds have been put to good use this year. The soil has been very productive, and I want it to do equally well next year, so have sowed the bed with a green manure to replenish depleted nutrients. Green manures include phacelia, clover, alfalfa, tares and buckwheat are a simple way of improving the soil in beds and borders where ornamental or cropping plants have been grown. Sown in summer or autumn, they are left to grow and then dug back into the soil. As the plants rot down they return nutrients to the soil and help to improve soil structure. They are best sown densely, because then they also act as a weed suppressant, and stop soil erosion. I sowed phacelia. Normally sown from April to August,it…

THUGS and bullies! That’s what woodpigeons are. They swagger and barge into smaller birds at the table, and they devour every morsel before anything else can get a look in. Their favourite ‘growing’ food is anything that you’ve just planted – particularly brassica crops (cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc), and peas. They peck and tear at leaves, often with just stalks and larger leaf veins left behind. They also attack lilacs with gusto, as well as shoots, buds, seeds, nuts and berries of many plant types. That’s why it is not entirely welcome news that woodpigeons are the fifth most common bird in England (according to the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2016) while being nowhere near as common in the other parts of the UK. The only guaranteed way to…

WEEDING is the nation’s most hated garden chore, with over a third of Brits (38 per cent) saying they loathed the task. A report, which also named lawn care, hedge trimming and watering as top gardening gripes, claimed that Brits spend 41 hours per year “unproductively in the garden,” suggesting that many gardeners find some tasks overwhelming. Watering was described as a “huge pet peeve” for gardeners, with one in five adults admitting that neglectful watering had led to plants dying. Paul Simpson of Gardena, which commissioned the survey, said: “It’s not surprising that weeding comes out on top but it may be, in part, not just because it’s back-breaking work. “Our research shows that a tenth of budding gardeners admit they are still unsure if they are removing a…

FEARS are growing for the small tortoiseshell butterfly, once a regular visitor to UK gardens in summer. Experts say numbers have been “worryingly low” this year due to the cool spring and slow start to summer, which affected breeding. Small tortoiseshell butterfly populations have plummeted by 73 per cent since the 1970s. Butterfly Conservation’s Richard Fox said: “We don’t understand what is causing the decline. Theories involve climate change, pollution and parasitic flies.”…

WITH their distinctive pink lollipop flowers I’m a big fan of alliums. The bulbs are best planted between September and October, so I’m adding some Allium cristophii and Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ to fortify those already in the ground, aiming for a haze of pinky purple in late spring. triquetrum is a pretty little plant with tiny white flowers. Unfortunately, it’s also an invasive thug that’s difficult to evict once established. Alliums prefer well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Bulbs are likely to rot in damp, heavy soil, so improve it prior to planting by digging in some sharp grit or place a layer of grit at the bottom of each planting hole. Plant bulbs 4-6in (10-15cm) deep, leaving 4in (10cm) between I don’t love all alliums. Allium vineale…

ONE of my favourite shrubs is Euphorbia mellifera, an architectural evergreen that can grow to around 8ft (2.5m) when happy. A small specimen in a sunny spot at the back of my garden was doing really well until recently. The foliage has been turning yellow and dropping prematurely, and shoot tips are stunted, leading me think it’s suffering from mildew. This fungal disease thrives in warm, dry conditions with poor air circulation, so I’m hoping that thinning and regular watering will improve its health.…

THE aim is to achieve a balance of ‘green’ and ‘brown’ materials. Green (high in nitrogen) materials include veg and fruit peelings, teabags and grass clippings. No meat or dairy products should be put in, nor should dog, cat or nappy poo – these will lead to smells and unwanted pests. Some fresh animal manure (chicken, rabbit, hamster) is ‘green’ material, as it’s high in nitrogen. ‘Brown’ or carbon-rich materials include woody plant prunings, fallen leaves, egg boxes (and egg shells), and scrunched up paper. It’s generally advised not to compost diseased plants but I’ve successfully composted blighted tomato and potato parts. The spores only survive on living tissue, not in soil or compost. Again, many say not to compost perennial weeds but I compost all bindweed and couch grass…

How do I take successful rose cuttings? QI want to take cuttings from my favourite roses such as ‘Felicite,’ (floribunda/shrub), ‘A Shropshire Lad’ (climber) and ‘Hyde Hall,’ (large shrub). How do I take rose cuttings or bulk up my stock of plants? And how do I go about growing them on so I can eventually plant them outdoors in containers? Barbara Penn (via email) A Taking cuttings of roses may not produce the strongest of plants as many are budded onto a rootstock to provide more vigour. That said, a lot of people do take cuttings in September with great results, so it’s well worth giving it a go. Take the cuttings now from a ripe young shoot. Each cutting should be 8-10in (20-25cm) long with at least two leaf…

Cotinus Turk’s cap lilies of any colour blend well with the purple foliage of the smoke bush, try ‘Royal Purple’ or ‘Grace’. Prune cotinus hard in spring to keep it to border-size. Nepeta Similarly, the soft mauve haze of low growing catmint (such as Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’) goes really well with turk’s caps, as do hardy geraniums and astrantias. Suppliers H W Hyde & Son 07557530845 hwhyde.co.uk De Jager 01622 840229 dejager.co.uk Peter Nyssen 0161 747 4000 peternyssen.com…

The scarlet ‘Major’ and pink ‘Sunrise’ look great against the dark purple foliage of cotinus and Berberis purpurea, or the bronze leaves of an anemanthele grass or Acer palmatum (far left); also try with the blue flowers of aconitum and asters (left). Paler varieties shine against evergreens. Sources Mail order potted plants: • Beeches 01799 584362 beechesnursery.co.uk • Cottage Nurseries 01507 466968 cottagenurseries.net • Burncoose 01209 860316 burncoose.co.uk…

1 Water your plants well beforehand. It sets them up for the move, and makes them easier to slide from their containers. 2 Plants in individual pots can be placed on the soil, still in their containers, and moved, until you get the look you want. 3 Planting holes should be as deep as the rootballs. Don’t overcrowd plants – light and air will help them to grow well. 4 Before planting, gently tease out the rootballs. This encourages the roots to spread, and optimises nutrient take-up. 5 After planting, firm the soil to give support to the plants It also gets rid of air pockets, which cause roots to dry out. 6 Water well, even on damp soil, to help firm the soil around the roots. Finally, scatter a…

AUTUMN can be a tricky season to navigate. Cold, wet and windy days batter and damage plants and almost-ready crops, while a hot, dry season means regular watering, and the gathering of the last summer crops as they become ripe. As I discovered, it can be especially discombobulating to go on holiday, leaving a ‘summer garden’ behind, only to return to find it firmly in the grip of autumn. In the space of a week, plants had faded, crops ripened and fallen – despite the tender ministrations of neighbours – and there was much to do before I could start the autumn planting. The first job was to remove spent summer bedding, and prepare the soil for its autumn replacement. Plants that looked faded but healthy were put on the…

1 Start filling a bowl with fresh bulb fibre. If it has dried slightly, dampen it, but don’t completely saturate it. 2 Add the bulbs. Place them close together, but not touching each other, or the sides of the container. 3 Add another layer of compost. Leave the tips of hyacinth bulbs just visible above the surface. 4 Place somewhere cool and dark. Check regularly, water if dry. When buds show, bring it out into the light.…

“Any small plant retailer can get listed” INDEPENDENT retail nursery and small garden centre operators were incensed last Good Friday when an incorrect warning was made on BBC Gardeners’ World that garden centres would be closed on Easter Sunday. While it is illegal for large centres to open on Easter Sunday, nurseries and centres with shops below a certain size can open, rather like convenience stores. Indeed, being able to open then is one of the few advantages small independents have over the large and competitive multiples. Social media was alive with condemnation after the Gardeners’ World statement, and that saved the day to some extent. Additionally it prompted a number of independents to get together and see what they could do to publicise what they offered. There can be…

CITRUS are generous plants, giving us aromatic leaves, fragrant blossoms and edible fruits. They are half indoor and half outdoor and while keeping them healthy isn’t difficult, it requires concentration and diligence. The Tahiti lime (Citrus x latifolia), also known as Bearss lime and Persian lime produces plenty of small, seedless fruits and is great for a beginner. Like other citrus, it is self fertile and will set fruit on its own. Most citrus are grown in pots, so they are easy to stand outdoors for the summer where they bask in even light, revel in regular showers of soft rain and usually throw off some of the pests they accumulate indoors. But although temperatures just above freezing are tolerated in winter, most citrus will only continue flowering and fruiting…

“On warmer nights most are still moving about” WHAT a year for slugs and snails. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many and I’ve heard the same from almost everyone else. Winter’s coming and many will be killed off, but as there’s so many more about it seems likely even greater numbers than ever will survive. Thus, next spring there's probably going to be an even bigger slug and snail problem. Right now is the time to take action, thin them out and far fewer will hatch in spring. The nights are getting colder and soon some will have hidden up for winter and others will have headed down deeper into the ground. But on warmer nights most are still moving about and some are still breeding. Going out…

• 24 - 25 September: Real Ale and Cider Weekend, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 01805 626800. rhs.org.uk 27 September: The Picton Garden, Old Court Nurseries, Walwyn Road, Colwall, Herefordshire, WR13 6Q. Open in aid of the NGS. 01684 540416 ngs.org.uk 1-2 October: Autumn Food & Wood Festival, RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1QB. rhs.org.uk/harlowcarr 8 November: NGS Annual Lecture, Royal Geographical Society, London SW7 2AR. Sir Roy Strong talks about Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon garden. Tickets £20. ngs.org.uk Robinson College, Grange Road, Cambridge, CB3 9AN. Open every weekend to 31 December (2-4pm) in aid of the NGS. Warden and fellows 01223 339100 ngs.org.uk Berry Cottage, Church Road, Upper Farringdon, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 3EG, open by arrangement in aid of the British Red Cross. Mrs Phyll Watts…

OVER the past few years wall-mounted bug boxes have become popular. Take a look in a wildlife gardening product catalogue and you’ll find a host of them in different shapes and sizes. You’ll find bee houses, ladybird houses, lacewing chambers, mason bee nests, butterfly houses and many more besides. Perhaps the most popular are those constructed to accommodate a wide range of hibernating creatures. Typically, these consist of a wooden frame filled with tightly packed pieces of bark, along with shorts lengths of bamboo cane. A little roof on top keeps the occupants of the bug box snug and dry over winter. Early autumn is the best time to set out bug boxes as creatures are still active but will soon be looking for a place to hunker down. Ladybirds,…

I’VE been pondering what to do with an empty triangular bed close to the back of my house. It’s in a tricky position, reducing my planting options: in summer it probably gets about two or three hours worth of sunlight in the evening, but in winter this part of the garden tends to be gloomy all day. So traditional flowering plants are largely ruled out and my instinct is to go for shrubs, perennials and other big, leafy things that like shade. Whenever I plan a new bed, I start by making a list of plants I like that would suit the specific location. Then I work out on paper and in my head, what would work well together before coming up with an actual scheme. It’s best to also…

Compost heap is too dry Could be a shortage of moist materials and perhaps long, woody pieces causing air pockets: turn and chop the heap, sprinkle some water with a fine rose, leave 4-6 months. Compost heap is too wet Again, turning is an option, or use a plunging aerator; while turning, shake out each forkful to disperse soggy lumps and aerate them, also add some crumpled paper, then cover to keep rain off. Too cold due to lack of air Heaps may still decompose in a cool state but often a lack of air/excess of moisture is the reason for this happening before compost is finished, follow advice above. Worms abandoning the bin red brandling worms appear in the last stage of breakdown and convert already-nice compost into something…

• To check if the shoot you aim to take cuttings from is ‘ripe, see if the thorns break off cleanly. If they don’t they need to grow for another couple of weeks. • To help the cutting root, dip the base into hormone rooting powder, aiming to cover about ¾-1¼in (2-3cm) of the base of the cutting in powder. • Deadhead your spent rose blooms on a regular basis – this will help to keep the plant in flower for as long as possible.…

‘Fairy Morning’ Yellow petals are overlaid with intense pink and carmine spotting, giving this lily an apricot appearance from a distance. To 4ft (1.2m) in height. ‘Claude Shride’ Dark claret coloured petals, often with an intense shine, are marked and spotted with orange towards the centre. To 3-4ft (90cm-1.2m). ‘Arabian Knight’ Deep red petals with orange spots and splashes of gold at the centre, and orange stamens. Can produce more than 30 flowers per stem. Reaches 5ft (1.5m) in height. ‘Moonyeen’ A rare heritage variety with beautiful clear pink flowers, accompanied by orange anthers on long stalks. Shorter at just 3½ft (1.2m). ‘Orange Marmalade’ In mid-summer petals of brownish orange open out wide, rather than reflexing backwards. Shorter yellow anthers surround an orange stigma. To 4ft (1.2m) in height. ‘Album’…

ATRUG is the gardener’s friend, useful for harvesting fruit and vegetables, picking flowers, collecting weeds as well as carting things around the garden or displaying produce. We selected a range of medium-sized trugs constructed in different materials. Consideration was given to weight, capacity, how robust they were, ease of cleaning and sturdiness. Many trugs are traditional in design, such as the Sussex trug with its large, looped handle that can be carried over one arm. A basket of woven willow is another good choice if you need a larger size as it’s much lighter in weight compared to solid wood. Plastic and metal offer a smooth rather than textured surface, ideal for preventing bruising to delicate fruits such as plums. Trugs made of smooth materials can also be washed more…

Creative holiday fun NOW that the school holidays are over I thought I’d share some pictures of my daughter’s summer project with Amateur Gardening readers. I suggested that she make a fairy garden to help feed her interest in gardening. She enjoyed choosing a pot and made a drawing of how she wanted the garden to look. Then she set about making the fairy house plus a mushroom table and chairs with modelling clay. We picked up a few acorns on our travels and some gems and stones came in handy to make a river. Finally she planted some viola, nasturtiums and cress to create a woodland area. With a name like Hazel, it’s no wonder my daughter is so keen on gardening! Hopefully these pictures will help inspire other…

“The tuberous types are nothing short of miraculous” IN a three horse race even a donkey with a limp will finish third, but when it comes to cakes the rules are different. After cutting the ribbon to open a flower show in North Devon recently, I met a man who’d entered a sponge into the baking competition. With only two other entrants he was confident of a bronze rosette but instead received a card that simply read ‘Commended’. If I’m being honest I reckon he was lucky to get that, as a note from the judges described his Victoria sponge as ‘burnt on the outside, raw in the middle . He took the cake home, although in his shoes I think I’d have given it to the neighbours. The judging…