Innholdsfortegnelse for 30-Oct-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“The countrywide lack of HGV drivers which led to petrol shortages and concerns about keeping shelves stocked at Christmas has also led to the cessation of green waste bin collection in many areas. It’s been two months since my green bin has been collected, and that has got me thinking more and more about how I recycle my garden waste. I use the green bin mainly for grass cuttings, vigorous weeds and heavy woody cuttings, but I am now putting my grass clippings on the compost heap and considering getting a shredder. I think we should all consider how to make the absolute most of our garden waste.” Contact us: ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Advertising: 0330 3906566…

THE move to get the garden ship-shape before winter bites continues apace and one of this week’s jobs has been to unearth and move a massive foxglove that has taken root in the veg area. It has grown to Little Shop of Horrors proportions and should look spectacular next summer when it flowers – as long as it is in the right place. Moving it also allowed me to kill two birds with one stone, as to make room for it I had to pot up a couple of small fuchsias that will spend winter in the relative warmth of the greenhouse. Before moving a plant, prepare its new location by weeding and digging a hole that you estimate will be the right size. Plants fail to thrive if they…

IT was the late 1950s, if I remember correctly, when the first onion – ‘Stuttgarter Giant’ – arrived as sets from Holland. Prior to that, we would have all grown onions from seed. ‘Ailsa Craig’ would be sown in the soil in September to overwinter and produce large bulbs the following autumn. Exhibitors would sow their exhibition cultivars indoors between Christmas and New Year, with the main crops sown in spring using such kinds as ‘Bedfordshire Champion’. I have seen several rows of ‘Bedfordshire Champion’ on allotments this year, and at £1.85 for a packet of 350 seeds it works out cheaper than 80 or so onion sets for £3 to £4. The seed can be tricky to get a good germination, however – for this, we need either a…

I’M reminded of the Beatles song Let it Be because standing back is often the best way to encourage wildlife. Doing nothing isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially at this time of year when it’s tempting to reduce everything back to bare earth. This was a regular occurrence in my childhood. After the first frost in September, the secateurs came out and everything was tidied. It was known as ‘putting the garden to bed’, and although it looked tidy it was bad for small insects and birds. All that’s changed, as many gardeners now leave some of their garden untouched over winter, thereby providing protection for insects and other creatures. This switch in attitude is partly due to climate change, because frosts don’t normally occur until later in the…

LEFT to their own devices, some plants never make it to maturity. They fall victim to diseases, pests, weather extremes or unsuitable conditions. Protection for these plants comes in many shapes, sizes and forms, and it has been refined over the years to provide exactly the help you (and the plant) need. From a low-level cloche or tunnel to a walk-in fruit cage, you can get a cover that is as temporary or as permanent as you wish. Vulnerable at the beginning Young plants are particularly vulnerable, and even those that go on to become large and live for many years may need help in the early stages. Seedlings need protecting while germinating, and a coldframe or cloche can help them get through this stage. You will still need to…

WIN £20 This week’s poem from Christine Eyes is inspired by her 4 year old grandson Louie, who wanted her to try and grow a pumpkin… It has to be big and roundSo I can make a Halloween head. Nanny, has my pumpkin grown yet?I have waited for hours and hours.I am sure it must nearly be ready,And soon it will start to grow flowers. Nanny, there are bright yellow trumpets,And a bee buzzing round and round.It’s leaves are all green and frilly,And they trail all over the ground. Nanny, I can see a small pumpkin.It’s not orange like I would expect,Instead it has stripes green and yellow,And a net from the birds to protect. Nanny, my pumpkin is massive,It’s bright orange and ready to eat.Can we give it some…

AS October draws to a close we should be in the throes of deepest autumn, but this capricious month can still throw a few googlies I remember one Hallowe’en a few years ago when the mercury hit the balmy mid-20s, but there have been other All Hallows celebrations when we have been battered by considerable autumnal storms. So while we can still revel in warm, dry days, the further north you are the colder it will be and you may have already experienced the season’s first frosts meaning it’s time to start those early winter jobs. If the cold was hard enough to blacken your dahlia leaves, lift the plants now. Cut the stems down to 4in (10cm), knock off the soil and hang them upside down somewhere dry for…

Top Tip Line the inside of pots with bubble wrap for extra insulation before planting, keeping drainage holes clear. THERE is no need to let summer monopolise all the colour and fun of the garden. Winter has its own beauty and one easy way of bringing it home and condensing it is to plant a late autumn container. Bedding is the obvious choice; pansies, violas, cyclamen and sweet pompom bellis daisies are perfect for containers and will keep going well into next spring when they can be planted into the garden. Grasses and young Phormium in greens and bronzes provide an attractive foil for bedding plants, while trailing ivy and hardy herbs soften the composition and provide scent and edible interest. And don’t forget to add early spring bulbs, which…

WE are ending this year’s main run of Mr Fothergill’s free seeds with a variety that consistently makes the top three in every gardener’s list of favourite plants. Sweet pea ‘Tall Mixed’ are the plants to grow if you want sturdy height, glorious colour and that beautiful, evocative, unique scent of summer. They are Spencer sweet peas, with long stems that make them excellent for cutting, and large, frilly blooms that create a splash in the garden or a vase. ‘Tall Mixed’ are not shrinking violets and can grow to at least 6ft (1.8m), so they lend themselves well to growing up a trellis against a wall, teepee or obelisk. Sow sweet peas now and save some for spring as they will flower a little later to give an extended…

Did you know? You can plunge plants in pots into the soil. This restricts roots yet keeps them cool and moist. It’s a great way to aid fig yields, and stops mint and horseradish from being invasive. DO you find that growing fruit in containers is a bit hit and miss? Are your yields disappointing, or do plants struggle? Well, no more! With a few key issues addressed, a mini potted orchard is within anyone’s reach, so let me tell you my tips on how to keep on top of it at this time of year. The right stuff Any plant with its roots contained within a pot is reliant on you, far more than if you grew it in the ground – so be nice! Ensure your plant is…

Q Having removed the summer bedding from my pots, what can I plant now? Can I reuse some of the loose compost at the base? Anthea Bagnall, Hornsey, London A I love those TV segments on how to improve the ‘kerb appeal’ of your house, and often find myself shamed into tidying around the front door. As winter draws near, it is especially important for us to feel happy and uplifted by our homes and adding some new plants soon does the trick. I am definitely prone to a spot of canny scene-setting and make a display of pumpkins on the bench near our door, some to be carved into lanterns for Hallowe’en. Fuchsia magellanica and the fragrant white spires of actaea make a backdrop for containers, and now’s the…

FOLLOWING lengthy calculations involving all of my fingers, toes and the pinky of a passer-by, I’ve calculated that over many years of lugging, I’ve sent 21 wheelbarrows to ‘The Great Shed in the Sky’. Not all were ruined by wear. Some were rubbish to start with, including a clutch of inherited galvanised ‘gardener’s’ barrows found in the long grass of neglected allotments. These old-school bone-shakers were the go-to when I first got into gardening, and although lightweight and small enough to stow in a shed the handles are so short even a Lilliputian would find them awkward. Their main fault, though, was the combo of a thin metal frame and a solid rubber tyre, and just the thought of loading them with stones would bend the front forks. Infinitely more…

CITRUS and olive trees are having a bit of a moment and are now widely available in garden centres, supermarkets and from online retailers. They will thrive in a warm spot outside in summer, but as autumn moves into winter you need to think about moving them somewhere with more protection. A cool but frost-free greenhouse or porch are ideal as if the room has a hot, dry atmosphere, they shed their leaves. Our potted lemon tree has reached the size where moving it to and from the greenhouse each autumn and summer isn’t really an option. So this year, I’m going to wrap it in fleece and bubble wrap and tuck it into a sheltered corner of the garden, only moving it undercover if extremely cold weather is forecast.…

AS we move towards winter, it’s time to sort through our harvested crops to ensure these are in a good enough condition to store well. There’s very little point trying to store anything that’s not perfect – the tiniest bruise or rot will spread like wildfire, destroying the first one infected and then spreading to others nearby. Most critical are apples, pears and quinces. Not only will these rot if damaged, but they will also rot if they were picked too roughly and bruised or, worse, if the little stem (pedicel) got detached. It’s far better to turn suspect fruits into juice, jelly, jam or purée, or dry them into rings, than hope they will keep. They will not – well, not for long. “Don’t store anything that isn’t perfect”…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Can tomato compost be used for tulips? Q I have lots of used tomato compost in this year’s growbags. Is it safe and suitable for growing tulip bulbs? Tom Mason, Ipswich, Suffollk A It should be fine to grow tulips in compost that was previously used for tomatoes, as they don’t share any host-specific pests or diseases. However, do bear in mind that the compost may contain some non-specific pests, such as slugs and snails, and don’t use it if your tomato plants suffered from blight as it will contaminate the soil. Tulips are not particularly hungry plants, but will appreciate some additional nutrients as the old compost may well have become starved. You can do this by mixing…

This week it’s: Cacti and/or cactuses! A close look at these spiny flowering plants TO call a plant a ‘cactus’, it has to be a member of the true cactus family – Cactaceae. There are many succulent plants that people think of as being cacti, but they’re not. For example, the partridge-breasted aloe is in the lily family; century plants (or agaves) are in the amaryllis family; other cactus-like succulents may be euphorbias, haworthias, sedums or portulacas. But they’re not cacti. The true cactus belongs to a very large family. A small number of cacti have leaves and woody stems, but most have either tiny leaves that quickly fall away, or no leaves at all (in which case the green, swollen stem does all of the work usually performed by…

Push those mowers THERE has been much encouragement recently, in your magazine and elsewhere, for gardeners to switch from petrol mowers to electric ones. But the electricity may well be generated by polluting power stations; and it costs money! Why is there never any mention of push mowers? I have mowed our 40ft by 15ft lawn with a push mower since we bought our house in 1976. The original Qualcast was replaced with a similar Webb machine a few years ago. As with the Qualcast, the only expense is blade sharpening and adjustment every other year. And it is quiet, and good exercise Jonathan Anelay, Oxford Solution for ‘cereal’ munchers I CAN really sympathise with Prof Peter Dobson and his plea to bring back metaldehyde slug pellets (AG, 18 September…