Innholdsfortegnelse for 23-Apr-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“Have you planted your potatoes yet? I did mine in late March, as I explain on page 10, but there is still time for second-earlies to go in. If you haven’t grown them before, then you don’t know what you’re missing! Homegrown spuds are a joy to taste and so superior to shop-bought. I planted mine in a border, but I know many of you would prefer to give the sunnier parts of your borders to flowers. However, spuds can be planted in pots and containers, too. There is something quite magical about pushing your hand into the earth and pulling out a lovely fresh spud, especially if you cook it straight away. I believe if you try it, you’ll be bitten by the bug. Go on, give it a…

A NEW nation-wide ban on products containing the toxin metaldehyde has now come into force. The ban was implemented by Defra from March 31, 2022, having been given the green light in March 2020 after experts highlighted the risks the chemical posed to birds and mammals. A phased approach saw a sales ban come into force in March 2021, followed by the outright ban in March this year. The move has been welcomed by wildlife campaigners including the charity Garden Organic, which encourages and helps gardeners to grow without chemicals. Fiona Taylor, chief executive at Garden Organic, said: “We are pleased that the government has listened to safety and environment experts about the huge risks of this chemical, which far outweigh any benefits.” She added: “We know how devastating slug…

I’M not a massive fan of most summer bedding plants, but there are a few I’ll make an exception for – and one of those is nicotiana. They are wonderfully diverse plants, ranging from statuesque N. sylvestris with its scented leaves and long, white, trumpet flowers, to the zinging flowers of N. alata ‘Lime Green’ that cut through the candy colours of most bedding with a refreshing acidity. This week’s free seeds are for Nicotiana ‘Sensation Mixed’, which produce scented flowers in white and shades of pink. They grow to 36in (90cm) and favour dappled shade in a sheltered spot of fertile soil, though they will also grow well in containers. Nicotianas are one of the plant varieties that produce small seeds and it can be fiddly to sow them…

WINTER squashes are rampant, yield generously, store forever and taste delicious, so why on earth wouldn’t you grow them? Here are my hints for a bumper year. Getting the timings right Winter squashes are part of the cucurbit family and botanically they belong to three main species: Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata and C. pepo. Like pumpkins and marrows, they have the ability to set hard skins and store well into the winter. Many have a long growing season, needing more than 100 days from sowing to fruit maturity. Being tender, sowing outdoors early in the year just isn’t possible (at least 13°C/55°F soil temperature is needed), so the solution is to start them off under cover instead. “Moisture and feeding are key” Seedlings are ready to transplant outside four-five weeks…

REDBUDS are small deciduous trees, or large shrubs, usually well branched and not developing a trunk. They are easy to grow, demand no special treatment and are ideal for those with smaller gardens. Named for the bright-red colouring of their unopened flower buds, the flowers are very unusual in being carried in clusters tight on the bare and leafless branches and on the trunk. The flowers are the same shape as pea flowers and in a variety of magenta, red, purple or pink shades, as well as white. In the best varieties the bright buds and flowers crowd the leafless black branches and make the redbuds very easy to recognise. What is more, they are edible. Thww The flowers are followed by green pods that are about the same size…

This week it’s: It’s birthday time, your Majesty! We look at all things related to birthdays THIS Thursday (21 April), Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II reaches the grand (and amazing) age of 96. She has been our monarch for 70 years – the longest reigning monarch Britain has ever had. This will be celebrated in June with an extended Platinum Jubilee bank holiday; the late spring bank holiday will be moved to Thursday 2 June, and there will be a one-off bank holiday on Friday 3 June. Although the Queen’s real birthday is in April, she has an ‘official birthday’ every year on a Saturday in June – this year it is 11 June, when the weather has a better chance of being fine for the celebrations and pageantry. Let’s…

AS the weather gets warmer, thoughts naturally turn to being outside in the garden and you suddenly realise the lawn needs attention. The winter weather can be harsh on grass, with frost, rain and maybe snow all taking their toll on it. If the drainage has been slow, it may have been soggy for weeks on end and there may be issues with compaction, too. All this needs rectifying before you can have a lovely green area on which to sit, play or picnic in the summer, so you need to assess what your lawn needs. What needs to be done? Feeding is the bare minimum you need to do and you should also check for repairs, moss control and reseeding bare patches. Where you need to reseed, the temptation…

Little green fingers AT the weekend my young grandson, Jacob, aged 7, asked if he could look at my special seed box. I left him to it and a while later went back to see him. He had a large pile of seed packets, all with the longest use by dates so that, he said, he could, “Use them next year nanny”. We set to and made seed trays and a watering can out of old milk containers and I found him an old mini greenhouse in the garage, albeit with a couple of poles missing. He is now eagerly awaiting germination. So thank you AG for the seed and for inspiring young gardeners of the future. Barbara Badland, Pudsey, West Yorkshire. Moles in goal IN reply to the mole…

PONDS and water features are a great addition to any garden. They add a calming, soothing element for us and are a major attraction for wildlife. If space is tight or you are unable to create a pond yourself, there nothing stopping you from installing a small barrel pond or mini fountain on your patio. Whatever size you have, flying aquatic insects soon find their way in, followed if you are lucky by frogs, toads and newts. Birds will probe around the edges for food and nesting materials and garden mammals such as hedgehogs will use it as a drinking station. Ponds also offer a contrast, a way of introducing new plants to a garden and breaking up what might be an otherwise dull area of lawn. Your typical pond…

IT isn’t just garden plants that are stirring now; houseplants that went dormant through the winter months are back in action too, growing well. It is time to start feeding them again, watering more frequently and, as windows are thrown open to let in fresh air, making sure that they are kept free of pests. Water when their compost feels just dry to the touch, and feed with a houseplant fertiliser every fortnight. This is also the optimum time for re-potting and dividing. Roots stop growing in winter (which is why we reduce watering) but now they are on the march again and will thank you for some fresh, nutrient-rich compost to sink into. One of my jobs this week has been re-potting a very pot-bound asparagus fern. Its roots…

THERE is no real right or wrong way to water plants. However, small changes in technique could dramatically improve your results, it has to be said. Perhaps the commonest error starts when watering pots and trays that have just been sown. If, as is often seen, watering is done with a rose on the end of the spout of a watering can, then which way up is best? Too often, even in diagrams, it is positioned to act as a shower head, with the jets raining straight down. These torrents easily disturb the compost, so your carefully covered seeds are likely to be buried or exposed. Worse, the top layer of compost may turn to mud or even a crust as it dries, which will then hinder seedlings emerging. The…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week How can I encourage my vine to fruit? Q I have a vine in the greenhouse, but the grapes never come to anything. How can I improve this? Gill Evans (via email) A Some vines will set fruit undercover without any additional pollination, but they all benefit from pollinating insects being able to visit the flowers. Open doors and windows to allow bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects in. Many vines grown under cover will need some assistance from the gardener and this can be a matter of tapping the flowering stems to disturb the pollen. This is most effective at about midday on warm days. Stroking the flower heads with cupped hands will also assist in transferring pollen…

This word search comprises words associated with Her Majesty the Queen – and birthdays! They are listed below; in the grid they may be read across, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Letters may be shared between words. Erroneous or duplicate words may appear in the grid, but there is only one correct solution. After the listed words are found there are 11 letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN GRAND PARTY GUN SALUTE APRIL BIRTHDAY CAKE CELEBRATE HONOUR JUBILEE MONARCH PAGEANTRY ROSES HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 617, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 4 May 2022. The…

Q I have bought a packet of sweet pea seeds, and on the back it says they can be sown until June. However, other sources say late February or March is the best time. Is it too late to sow them, and if not how should I do it? Gemma Baskin, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire A The advice on seed packets is often more to do with what is possible rather than what is advisable. Like edible peas, sweet peas germinate in cool temperatures as long as there is no waterlogging of soil or compost, and they prefer to grow during cool weather and flower when it is warm. As with most plants, the development of a sound root system and plenty of healthy growth is important to sustain the plant when…

LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING’ is just one of many common names for the underused clan of annuals that botanists call Amaranthus. Another is ‘callaloo’ referring to the leafy types cooked like spinach in Caribbean cuisine. Then there’s ‘lady’s riding whip’ and ‘cat’s tail’ for the tassel-flowered ornamentals, and ‘pigweed’ or ‘Inca wheat’ for grain-producing varieties. I’ve been a fan of these plants for years, and I’m always surprised at why so few gardeners grow them. In fact, it was while conducting an experiment to grow my own muesli (don’t ask) that I learnt first-hand just what an effortless crop they are. I’d planted the grain-giving Amaranthus ‘Hopi Red Dye’ on my allotment – a variety with vivid-red foliage which, come late summer, bears huge shanks of seed-filled flowers. Just as the flowers turn,…

WE specifically created our pond to attract wildlife and while we haven’t had any frogs or newts yet (to our knowledge), the water and surrounding area are full of mini-beasts and some other not-so-mini critters. Snails, dragonfly and damselfly larvae, water boatmen, pond skaters and many other invertebrates have made themselves at home in the depths. Around the pond we have seen hedgehogs and increasingly rare oil beetles, while garden birds pluck moss, grass and mud from the edge for their nests in spring. We added pollinator-friendly plants around the fringes including marigolds, purple loosestrife, common cotton grass and irises. The deeper water is home to a lily and several oxygenating plants that help keep the water clear. Because we have a wildlife pond we haven’t added any goldfish as…

I had been watching the shoots on my seed potatoes growing longer and longer as they lounged in their cradle-like egg boxes, soaking up the late-March sunshine. The weather had improved so I decided to plant early. Unlike those gardeners you see on TV who have unlimited space, my situation is more ‘real-world’. I wanted to plant as many rows as I could, but I have a shallow border of just over 4ft (1.2m) deep, which butts up to a confining and moisture-draining hedge. So with a minimum of 2ft (60cm) needed between each row, I can only just manage two parallel trenches. These I dug at just under 1ft (30cms) deep and around 2ft (60cms) apart, which is the accepted minimum distance. I made sure earth was placed to…

IT’S time for the cuckoo, although I’ve never heard one at Spring Cottage in the 16 years that I’ve lived here. To hear one I have to travel to a nearby nature reserve, but it wasn’t always so. In the 1950s cuckoos were ubiquitous and newspapers were full of letters from people claiming to have heard the first cuckoo of spring. When I lived in Northamptonshire in the 1980s, I regularly saw (and heard) two male cuckoos on the telephone wires, see-sawing about like a pair of Dippy Duck toys. Back then, I thought the cuckoo would be part of my life forever, but that’s sadly not the case. The BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) tells us that we’ve lost more than 40% of our cuckoos in the UK over…