Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-Jun-2020 i Amateur Gardening

EVERYTHING is burgeoning in our gardens and there is a sense of optimism in the air. Warmer days with a little rain make this the best season for gardening and we are looking forward to a year of glorious colour and scentfilled borders and bountiful harvests. It doesn’t all happen by magic, though, and now, as the growing season moves up a gear, is when we need to be on our guard for potential problems and nip them in the bud. Good garden hygiene is essential and needs to be an ongoing thing. There is no point ignoring things for a week or so and then hitting the pests or diseases with all guns blazing. These can be fast-moving, prolific multipliers and if left too long the damage will already…

1 Don’t waste water by splashing it onto the leaves as this can cause scorching in harsh sunlight and mildews when it’s still. Water around the roots, let it sink in and then add some more. 2 If water threatens to run off very dry soil, create a moat around plants to keep the water in place. Once it is absorbed, mulch the plant’s root area to prevent evaporation. 3 Harvested rainwater is better for plants that tap water. Keep it clean by applying a water purifier, such as the organic Envii Water Butt Klear tablets that also help nourish plants and soil. 4 Use ‘grey water’ from the washing up, washing and bathing (as long as it isn’t too dirty or contains bleach). Collect the run-off while you’re waiting…

IF there is anything good to come from the wet and mild winter, it is that this spring has been overladen with flowers and blossom. The hedgerows are awash with the white, pinks and blue of umbellifers, campion, bluebells and speedwell, and the fruit trees have been heavy with blossom. This has fallen now, of course, and left the trees absolutely laden with little fruitlets. Even our five-year-old pear tree, which has never done much in the way of flowering and fruiting, put on a splendid show this year and is now laden with small pears. If they all stay, their weight will damage the trees and possibly break thinner branches, and diminish the size of the mature fruits as they need space to grow properly. We can thin them…

IF you have had problems getting hold of summer bedding this year, fret no more. This week’s free seeds are for French marigold ‘Red Cherry’ and they are some of the most reliable and useful bedding plants to grow from scratch. They are a fantastic ally in the fight against whitefly that can attack tomatoes and other edible crops in summer. Scientific research carried out at the University of Newcastle’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences has proved that Tagetes actually do repel whitefly by releasing a substance called limonene. The pests find the scent unbearable and are diverted away from the tomatoes. French marigolds, also known as Tagetes patula, are one of those Marmite plants that divide gardeners’ opinions. Their colours can be brash and hard, but ‘Red Cherry’…

LOCKDOWN has really made me appreciate my garden and I thank the Lord that the weather has been kind. We’ve had lots of April sunshine, so everything is about two weeks earlier than usual. My Paeonia rockii seedling, for instance, which is a vivid-pink aberration of the real thing, usually coincides with the Malvern Spring Show, but it’s a fortnight early this year. I’ve seen plenty of seven-spot ladybirds, although I’m not sure whether they had a supply of aphids to consume. The earliest aphids are often found on stinging nettles and on the leafy undersides of weeds like shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). Don’t remove them or spray them, even with so-called organic and green garlic sprays, because these aphids make valuable food for nesting birds. It’s a good time…

Can I revive my pinks? Q Having moved last autumn into a house with an overgrown garden, we are watching with interest to see what comes up. There are some straggly overgrown pinks. Can we salvage them? Susan Mueller, Lancaster A June is the month for pinks – and old or modern, they are welcome for colourful, fragrant blooms against grey-green foliage. Pinks work best as low, mound-forming plants to 18in (45cm) high for gravel gardens, edging pathways or fronts of borders. They behave well in sun and on light, neutral to alkaline soil but heavier soils tend to encourage legginess. The best course of action is to shear them back immediately after flowering, removing spent blooms and stem tops. They grow back more sturdily, and modern cultivars will bloom…

SAY what you like about the mad moustache from the past, Joseph Stalin, but he certainly knew how to grow melons! I learnt this amazing bit of trivia from my history student son Henry, who was reading transcripts of letters from the Russian tyrant to the man who ran the gardens of his dacha, Lieutenant Colonel Logachev. Despite having 300 elite guards and a full household staff, important gardening decisions such as what, when and how to sow were taken by Stalin himself, and the subject of detailed daily correspondence. The garden was built with raised beds and the ‘Man of Steel’ grew so many watermelons, a surplus was sent to shops in Moscow. Well, I’ve been inspired! Not only have I renamed Buckland Towers ‘Tobygrad’ (I haven’t really) but…

THE fact that nematodes can seem a bit ‘sciency’ can put people off using them, but once you know the ropes they are a safe, simple and natural way of dealing with pests. Nematodes are parasites that attack and kill pests. Some are added to water and used as a soil or compost drench, such as for vine weevils, slugs and snails. Others are wasps or mites released in the greenhouse to combat whitefly, scale insects, aphids and other pests. The period between late spring and autumn, when temperatures rise, is when nematodes can be used, though those against slugs and snails can be used once the soil warms reliably above 5ºC/41ºF Most nematodes are ordered online or from garden centres when needed, as they are living organisms, but some,…

THE Coronavirus lockdown has impinged on everyone’s life, but for wildlife and the environment, a lot of the changes have been for the good. A survey carried out by Tristan Carlyle and Oliver Bulpitt, ecologists at Ecology by Design, shows that wildlife has been in the ascendancy while we have been shut indoors. Obvious signs have included wild goats ‘taking over’ Llandudno in North Wales, but there have been more subtle results as well. With wildlife reserves closed to the public, birds and animals have been nesting earlier and more securely and as the roads emptied, so the amount of roadkill has dropped. “Good weather has suited us and our wildlife” Project Splatter, a citizen science group formed to log roadkill across the UK, has shows a decline in the…

NORMALLY, we would be writing at this time about all of the new plant introductions launched at the Chelsea Flower Show. The Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Award (CFSPOTY) has put the spotlight on a number of really good new plants, and currently I am admiring a 6ft (2m) high specimen of Viburnum tomentosum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ (CFSPOTY 2015). This is proving an excellent garden plant, with compact, tiered branches carrying lacecap white flowers, which turn pink with age. It is ideal for smaller gardens and to grow in containers. This viburnum is deciduous and, given some TLC, it will carry bright red berries in the autumn before colourful leaf fall. Originally planned for entry to this year’s competition is Pittosporum ‘Bannow Bay’ (Hillier Garden centres), which is proving…

AS its name implies, the great tit is the largest member of the tit family. It boasts a glossy black cap, olive-green back, bluish-grey tail and wings, and yellow waistcoat with a black stripe down the middle. It is locally known as the ‘ox-eye’ and is often the culprit responsible for pecking holes in the caps of milk bottles to reach the creamy contents. The great tit’s normal diet is insectivorous and in my own garden a pair of them recently nested in a hole in an elder. They fed their brood an average of 35 times an hour and practically the whole of the food consisted of caterpillars and aphids – a very economical service. Great tits freely utilise suitable nesting boxes if fixed securely enough not to be…

What to grow in a cleared rooty area Q I have reclaimed a piece of waste ground in front of my house. The soil is very shallow and there are still lots of roots. It gets the sun most of the day. Please could you advise me what to plant in this area? Karen Sutherland, via email A What a lovely piece of ground you have to play with! However, you have various challenges to contend with when choosing plants. The roots are a practical problem as they will make digging planting holes difficult, but each hole can be tackled as necessary rather than trying to sort out the whole plot. The presence of tree roots shouldn’t affect the establishment of other plants. The shallow soil is the biggest issue,…

Lockdown scrapbook I LOOK forward to see Amateur Gardening drop through my door. I wasn’t sure what to do with my lovely mags after reading them and planting the seeds. With time on my hands and my garden all tidy, I ordered a scrapbook and set out to keep all my favourite and useful bits in one place. This will be ongoing and very useful for years to come. Happy scrapping! Sue Vincent, St Neots, Cambs Wendy says: The AG team were delighted to see the beautiful scrapbook you’ve created, Sue. Recycling at its very best! Our experiments with peat-free… A couple of years ago, AG printed a photo I took of the contrast between two pots of summer annuals. Those in peat-based compost were far better than the peat-free…

WHETHER you are dealing with pests or diseases, there are similar rules that apply to both. Make sure equipment is kept sharp and clean, especially cutting tools that have been used to remove diseased plant material or pots that have held plants and compost you fear might have been contaminated by pests or diseases. We aim to grow our plants as organically as possible and only resort to chemicals in worst-case scenarios. This style of gardening doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I would urge anyone who does use chemicals to do so sparingly, sticking to the manufacturers’ instructions. Never use pesticides on plants in flower or trees in blossom because you will kill pollinating insects, not to mention the lacewing flies, wasps, ground beetles, ladybirds and hoverflies that will help…

THE C19 lockdown brought out the homespun in many of us, with bread and mask-making becoming the norm rather than a quaint artisan pastime. When the ‘new normal’ is finally realised I suspect a lot of people will want to keep this going strong, with a few added extras. This is where this fascinating and informative book will come in useful. Seasonal Plant Dyes walks you through the seasons and shows you the plants you can use to make your own easy ecological plant dyes. There’s sexy red bay leaf dye and vibrant green nettle in spring, summer’s bright yellow buddleia and vibrant indigo woad, sweet yellow dyer’s chamomile in autumn and a warm burnt orange made by eucalyptus leaves in winter. There are chapters on tools, fabrics and the…

IN these difficult times, each harvest is keenly awaited – and tomatoes are among the most popular crops. If started in warmth from mid-winter, they will soon start producing under cover, although this will be weeks later grown outdoors. More light and warmth always helps, so clean your glass or plastic, as this can make a great difference. Next, carefully remove all side-shoots (those coming from leaf joints; they can be potted to grow extra plants). Leaving sideshoots on the plants retards flowering and makes congested growth. Importantly, never over-feed or over-water tomatoes. Although this gives larger plants and eventually larger crops, it will retard ripening. (I set my earliest plants aside for harsh treatment, keeping these in smaller tubs, up on the staging where it’s warmer, barely feeding or…

BEING the daughter of commercial tomato growers, I’ve spent a fair few hours (probably years!) among these plants. Breeding continually improves the selection available, so let’s take take a detailed look at this must-grow crop… Improvements keep coming These days, outdoor toms are a cinch for beginners to grow. The increasing introduction of patio varieties (see below) allows you to plonk a plant in a pot, apply water and feed, add lots of sunshine, then wait for numerous fruits to form. No faffy pruning is required: bliss! Dwarf cherry varieties, in particular, are well catered for – try ‘Maskotka’, ‘Totem’ and ‘Tumbling Tom’. If you hanker for larger-fruited slicing and beefsteak toms, cordons are the answer (my favourites are ‘Ferline’ and ‘Tomande’ for flavour). The way these are grown is…

I SEEM to see astilbes in every garden I visit – they are even in places that, at first glance, appear to be distinctly unsuited to them. However, that doesn’t matter one jot, for these are the most accommodating of plants. They’re colourful, dramatic, easy, stately, undemanding and – something that is difficult to explain – they appear even more pleasing when sited near a pond. I’d go as far as to say that it is wo contriving the right conditions for astilbes, even in gardens where these conditions do not naturally exist Many astilbes are showing their pink, crimson, lilac, purple and brick-red flowers now, or will be over the next couple of months, so let’s take a look at some of the stories surrounding them. ▪ Astilbes come…

EDGES define each area of the garden – flower and veg beds, paths, seating areas and lawns, and it’s lawns that are affected by poor definition. Their flat nature leads your eye to the edges in search of form, and if the edges are not sharp it will show. Cutting a clear edge on the lawn not only defines its edge, but also the edge of each flower border, path or other garden feature it butts up against. That’s why lawn neatness matters so much. First, look at areas of lawn where there is no edge. Where shrubs and other plants or objects throw shade on the lawn the grass often retreats, allowing the border soil to advance. Deal with the shade by cutting back plants or moving objects, or…