Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-Feb-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“I’ve just built a series of composting bins using old wooden pallets. I’d grown frustrated with the dalek-style bin I had, as you really can’t compost that much material in it and it’s difficult to effectively manage what you do have in there. I want to make as much of my own as I can, but I still need to supplement with shop-bought. Ruth’s guide to compost on pages 4 and 5 gives some good tips on what to look for.” Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 0330 3906566…

Got a story? email ruth.hayes@futurenet.com THE government has repealed a ban on the use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam in farming. The chemical, which is believed to be fatal to bees, has been given the go-ahead for use on sugar beet seeds, which are threatened by a virus. Eleven other EU countries have also shelved the ban. Conservationists have slated the decision amid fears that run-offfrom fields will also pollute water courses, putting other wildlife at risk. Harm the environment Matt Shardlow of the conservation group Buglife said: “Nothing has changed scientifically since the decision to ban neonics in 2018. They are still going to harm the environment ” Michael Sly, chair of the National Union of Farmers’ sugar board, said the chemical will only be used for a limited time.…

ONE of my favourite jobs of autumn is to take cuttings from tender perennials before they are lifted and tucked up for winter in the greenhouse. In particular I concentrate on pelargoniums, penstemons and less hardy fuchsias and the reason for the cuttings is two-fold: to increase my plant stocks and also to act as insurance in case any of the parent plants succumb to cold or any other unforeseen problems before spring arrives. These cuttings generally grow very well and by mid-winter need potting on into individual containers so each one has adequate space to grow strongly. Water your cuttings well before moving them as damp compost is easier to slip from the pot, and check their roots and top growth are healthy. You may need to pinch out…

YEARS ago, with an old gardening friend looking at some gorgeous new and pricey zonal pelargoniums, I bought a really good one. Then I mocked my friend who had bought a straggly, ill-looking ‘reduced’ specimen. However, he had the last laugh later that summer with a grand display, as he had divided his into several cuttings, plus the original. Likewise, this taught me to look for pots containing multiple plants or crowns that could be easily divided. This is often the case with herbs, and even expensive plants such as gardenias. I passed similar advice on to a young chap about to buy half-a-dozen tomato plants, all the same variety. “Just get one,” I said. “Tug off the basal side-shoots and pot those up, plus any more that form. They’ll…

Q We moved into our new-build home and have slowly been turning our rectangle of grass at the back into a garden for us and local wildlife. Please could you suggest some wildlife friendly, shallow-rooted evergreens & perennials, which would work against a very warm south-facing wall. Lucy Duffy, Donnington, Telford A You will have such fun doing this! I suggest that you plant the following, which will attract birds and insects throughout the year: Q Small flowering and berrying shrubs: Berberis wilsoniae: Evergreen, coral-red berries; red and orange autumn colour. Abelia ‘Confetti’: Scented white blooms. Buddleja ‘Adonis Blue’: Fragrant blue flowers from July to August. Caryopteris ‘Kew Blue’: Dark blue flowers in late summer. Chaenomeles ‘Geisha Girl’: Apricot blooms from March to April. Choisya ‘Goldfingers’: Soft yellow fingered leaves,…

HEDGES have many advantages over fences as a boundary around your garden in that they are softer in appearance, change over the seasons, encourage wildlife and provide vital nesting sites. However, that said, they do require more maintenance. Whereas you might paint the fence once a year, most hedges will need trimming at least twice a year to keep them looking good and to keep them healthy. Battery technology is the future This has got easier since the dark days of hand shears, first with the introduction of petrol-driven trimmers, then mains-powered options, and now the latest battery-powered (or ‘cordless’) types available. Battery life is increasing steadily, and charge and run times have improved with the introduction of Lithium-ion batteries and fast-charge. When it come to your final decision over…

IT is the season to be stocking up for the year ahead and one of the most important purchases right now is compost. If you have room, make the most of any multi-pack offers you see – I got three large bags of peat-free Melcourt Sylvagrow for a very reasonable £16 from my local garden centre. Last year’s spring lockdown saw a vastly increased demand for compost when everyone decided to take up gardening. Garden centres appear to be staying open at the moment so hopefully there won’t be any shortages, but it’s always worth having a couple of bags of compost stored somewhere dry as it will get used through the year. The range of composts available can be mind-boggling and confusing, but it need not be so. Generally…

WHEREVER possible, these columns are written from personal experience, and with increasing years a greater depth of knowledge is steadily accumulated. One of my early jobs involved working on a rose nursery and it included the design and planting of a model rose garden. At that time, in the mid-1950s, most towns had a retail nursery growing trees, shrubs, roses and the like. There were three of this type around Sudbury in Suffolk, and again around Colchester in Essex. They all had limited areas of land, and even with careful rotation they ended up planting rose stocks where roses had grown before. Inevitably, this resulted in a reduction of rose bush vigour, a condition called replant disease, which is still not fully understood. Parasitic nematodes, nutritional deficiencies, toxins and microbes…

I MUST admit, I am not really a people person! I’ve mentioned before that I’m a twin, and twins don’t have to make much of an effort with others as they have a built-in companion from the word ‘go’. I’m ashamed to say that I have never really got to know many of my fellow garden writers. However, I was delighted that fellow writer Jean Vernon scooped the Garden Media Guild’s Beth Chatto Environmental Award for her Daily Telegraph article entitled ‘Return of the Bees’. Too often, this award (and its forerunner) has gone to a writer who has tackled topics such as plastic and the oceans – worthy topics, I know, but not strictly gardening. I didn’t realise Jean had also written a terrific book on bees, entitled The…

PERHAPS 10 extremely well-known clematis account for three-quarters of all sales of this lovely flower. They are popular because they are so good and can be relied upon – insofar as any clematis is reliable. Like the Stuart kings, there is an incurable strain of treachery in their make-up. Having familiarised himself with this double handful, the enthusiastic gardener will find that there are 100 more for him to choose from. Many of these offer themselves as excellent alternatives. Suppose you want a purple clematis. The betting is that you would acquire a ‘Jackmanii’ or – wanting fuller, more intensely colour flowers – a ‘Jackmanii Superba’. I suggest you try ‘Gipsy Queen’ as well as or instead of. This clematis habitually has a couple of extra sepals in each flower,…

Q With wildlife in mind, I have left areas of the garden undisturbed, seedheads in place, and so forth – but I feel the garden now looks tatty. When is the right time for a clear-up? Sally Anne Porter, Newquay, Cornwall A In the hollow, pithy interior of a split burdock stem, I’ve just found clusters of woodlice, earwigs and a lively little spider. So leaving stems and cover really does encourage overwintering creepy crawlies, which are food for other creatures. Thickets and undisturbed areas are also vital for rodents, hedgehogs and birds. None of us wants an infestation of mice, but the house mouse is only one of six native species, which, in addition to shrews and voles, provide food for owls and other predatory birds and animals. Watching…

1 Multipurpose compost, peat-free if possible, is your go-to if you want a reliable all-rounder. Use it for pots and baskets, potting on, pricking out, lining planting holes and growing edibles. For the best results buy from a reputable brand such as Levington’s, Westland, Melcourt or Miracle-Gro. 2 Compost for containers and baskets needs to be moisture retentive and packed with goodness for lots of plants in a small space. Proprietary container composts often have added water-retaining substances for easier watering. Alternatively use peat-free multipurpose enriched with granular fertiliser and water-retaining products. 3 Rhododendron, azalea, camellia, acer, magnolia, heather and blueberries like acidic soils. If your garden tends towards alkaline (chalky), grow these in pots of ericaceous compost. More neutral soil can be enriched with ericaceous compost before planting acid-lovers…

SOME plants can make the transition from seed packet to flowering/fruiting maturity in a few weeks, while others take their own sweet time. Chillies definitely fall into the second category, so if you want to spice up your kitchen with some homegrown heat, get sowing now. And while you have your hands in the seed compost, think about sowing the first of your tomatoes too. If you start some over the next couple of weeks and grow them on undercover they will crop earlier than those sown later for outside growing and give you a longer season. Another option, as Bob says on page 14, is to sow just one batch and then take cuttings from side shoots – see panel, right, for details. Some people say you need a…

THIS week’s free seeds will give you a long-lasting, low-growing, multi-coloured carpet of flowers. Asters have been delighting gardeners for generations with their densely petalled flowers that give colour from summer right through to autumn. This week’s free seeds are Aster ‘Milady Mixed’ (Callistephus chinensis), a robust dwarf half-hardy annual that produces masses of large, bright blooms in shades of white, pinks and purples. It is relatively wilt-resistant and tolerant of the weather. These asters grow well in pots as well as in the ground, and favour prepared, free-draining soil in sun or light shade. Callistephus chinensis originates in China and comes from the same family as chrysanthemum, dahlias and coreopsis. Pollinators love them and they make excellent cut flowers. Once they are flowering, deadhead regularly to keep new blooms…

THE organised gardener may have started off their garlic in November, but the rest of us should be looking to do it now. There are two main garlic types: softnecks (Allium sativum) and hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon), but how do they differ and what kind of care will help us to get the best from both? Planting essentials Whole bulbs (heads) should be split into individual cloves just before planting; they dry out excessively, otherwise. Don’t bruise them, as this can cause rots. Only plant the largest, plump cloves as these give the biggest yields (pot smaller ones up as garlic chives), positioning them 3in (8cm) deep and roughly 6in (16cm) apart in grids (wider on lighter soils). Site in full sun, and add plenty of organic matter to…

MOST gardeners think of clematis as flowering in late spring and summer. They are seen gracing walls, fences and obelisks where the sun’s warmth lights up the top part of the plant, while the roots are growing in the cooler, moist earth. But this isn’t the whole story when it comes to clematis. There is a smallish, but vibrant band of clematis that dare to flower when the wind is icy cold, and the soil even colder. Many of these also have thick, leathery evergreen leaves, that clothe our walls and structures when most other climbing plants are leafless. So let’s pay some attention to the valuable and very garden-worthy evergreen and early flowering clematis… Armand’s clematis THE best-known evergreen form is Armand’s clematis (C. armandii). It’s a native of…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com I JUST wanted to share my experiences of 2020 on my plot. Back in February things didn’t start well, as we were under 5ft (1½m) of flood water, courtesy of the River Calder. After the clean-up began, lockdown hit, and we all wondered if we would grow anything at all? Well, my fears were unfounded – for I had a bumper crop of runner beans, marvellous cauliflowers and a few good potatoes, so not all was lost. As a society, we even managed a virtual online produce show, which was great fun, given it was our 105th year as an allotment association. We still kept…

THE herring gulls are back at Casa Buckland, many from a migratory winter break in Portugal, Marbella or even Morocco. With their tans topped up and maybe a souvenir henna tattoo, they are now staking claim to the town’s rooftop eyries. Herring gulls are big – 2ft (60cm) long with a 5ft (1½m) wingspan – and possess an entitled disposition that would make a hereditary peer seem humble. One even waltzed into our house to raid the cat’s bowl. Had my daughter not scooped up and ejected the bird (she’s an expert chicken handler), I’ve no doubt that it would still be in the lounge with its webbed feet up on the sofa. Gulls have adventurous appetites and everything, from sausages on the barbecue to bin bags left beside the…