Gardening Ideas April 2010
Post questions, comments and answers in the Gardening Ideas section on Candis Chat
This month, the
garden comes awake with a vengeance and there are no more excuses
(soil too wet, far too cold for germination, frosts likely). This
is the busiest time of the year and we need to get out there. In
fact plan a couple of early starts and enjoy that magical time of
gentle morning light and dawn chorus. There's nothing like
stealing a march on the world to make you feel alive and very close
to your plants. Those that bloom in spring are a special bunch and
many come from woodland areas of the world. Their time clock is
geared to rapid early growth, flowering and seeding before the
leaves grow on deciduous trees and shade them out. Many then die
back to bulbs, corms or tubers and will spend the rest of the year
dormant below ground where dry shade will not trouble them. Native
woodlanders include bluebells and wood anemones but gardeners will
add to the mix trilliums (wake robin or wood lily) and merry bells
(uvularia) from North America and spring-flowering hardy cyclamen
(C.coum and C.repandum) from Mediterranean regions. There are
plenty more spring treasures and working out what they need is no
mystery. Good, well-drained soil in semi-shade where they won't
be disturbed and a good mulch of leaf mould or well-rotted garden
compost gives them the best conditions to thrive.
Garden cuttings
.....in the
kitchen garden
- sow basil in modules under glass or on a windowsill. Sprinkle three or four seeds to a cell, cover lightly with compost and when they've grown, pot each clump into a slightly larger container. Keep basil warm and water in the first part of the day only.
- plant your second early potatoes from mid to late April in rows 75cm/30in apart with 40cm/16in between tubers. These are the most useful group in areas where blight is a regular problem because the crop develops before blight strikes.
- Maximise space by sowing smaller, faster-growing crops between larger, slower ones. Carrots or radish between parsnips, lettuce or French beans between sweet corn and salads between widely spaced kales and cabbages are examples.
......in the
flower garden
- plant dahlia tubers straight into the ground, burying them with a good 10cm/4in of soil over the top. Mark their spot with some twiggy sticks. Gladioli and tigridia will also bring spots of late summer colour if you plant them now.
- sow sunflowers into pots first (one seed per pot if there are few in the packet, two if there are many. You can pull the weakest one out after germination. Plant out when they're about 13cm/5in high and use ferric phosphate based slug pellets to protect them.
- Sow and plant out hardy annuals like Californian poppy, pot marigolds, poached egg plant and cornflowers. But don't buy and plant half hardy bedding plants yet. These are not frost proof and in colder areas, could still get zapped.
......and in
general
- divide pond iris and other aquatic plants that have grown large and could expand even further to clog up your pond. Use an old kitchen knife to separate chunks of plant and repot into aquatic plant compost or good-textured but poor garden soil.
- Pot on house and conservatory plants bursting in their containers. Failure to grow properly and spotty, yellow leaves are signs of congested roots and poor, used up and broken down compost. Mix 50:50 John Innes no 2 and a soilless compost for best results.
- Clean down garden furniture ready for sitting out with guests in the coming season. As well as the main sunny patio area, consider placing a couple of chairs in different positions around the garden for varied views.
Q and A
Q: We've
tried to grow cauliflowers on our allotment but they develop small
heads and then go to seed. Where are we going wrong? Advice on
beating wire worms in potatoes would be useful too.
David and Lydia Coles, Luton
A: Cauliflowers are a difficult crop to grow
well because they need a good but firm bed (not recently dug and
manured) and if your soil is acidic to neutral, regular liming.
They dislike hot summer weather and are regularly attacked by
cabbage white butterfly caterpillars. Try sowing spring cauliflower
now, because they're the easiest group. Opt for something like
'Walcheren Winter Pilgrim' (Thompson and Morgan 0844
5731818 www.thompson-morgan.com) . Space 60cm/24in apart and
cover completely with horticultural mesh to keep the caterpillars
(and later, pigeons) off. Then progress to summer types.
A: Wire worms are often a nuisance where potatoes
are grown in previously uncultivated soil but the problem usually
diminishes and goes after a few years. Lift the crop as soon as it
is ready (a good measure against slugs too). They store well in
paper sacks in a cool, dark place.
(note to readers: this couple left their question on Candis Chat. If you feel like giving them some advice, leaving a comment (you ARE allowed to disagree with my advice - that's the fun of gardening) or posing a question of your own, please do.
Q: I love
maidenhair ferns and keep buying them, but they turn brown
quickly.
A: A fine, dense root system forms on the inside of the pot and dries out at the drop of a hat. Plants are easier to keep in larger containers so as soon as you get a new plant home, repot into a pot 5-8cm/2-3in wider across the top. Keep it in a cooler room away from radiators and keep moist.
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