Well, another busy week in the garden. I have:

1) planted the rest of the potatoes into the raised beds (previously only into potato bags)

2) cut the lawn for the first time (set the blade higher than usual), then scarified and fed it. Soon be time to sow grass seed into any bare patches.

3) as my tomatoes and cucumbers are growing well (some over 6 ins tall), I have repotted those into larger pots, tied them up and also sown a few more seeds.

4) I have my fingers crossed that we wont have any more really hard frosts – defined as more than 36 hours at below zero constantly, or below minus 5deg C at any stage. So I have taken a small chance, and pruned my hydrangeas and salvias. Photo 1 shows my salvia before hard pruning, and photo 2 shows it afterwards. Photo 3 shows my (lacecap) hydrangea before pruning, and photo 4 after pruning. Note for mophead or lacecap hydrangeas (ie macrophylla), prune lightly down to just above the first pair of new buds. For paniculata or aborescens (ie ‘Annabelle’), prune harder now, as flowers come from new wood. For any climbing hydrangea, prune lightly after flowering.

Kevin  

Well, another busy week in the garden, especially as the weather is so nice. Firstly, my new greenhouse is now full (picture 1) of leaf and root cuttings, bulbs and corms planted, plus seeds germinated, all items previously mentioned.

Secondly, I have planted up some of my potatoes in sacks (photo 2), including the single anya potato for the competition. I will be planted a lot more into the raised beds next week.

Thirdly, I have been planting a lot more seeds in the garden room. These include flowers – marigold, pelargonium, alyssum, cosmos (exclude light), lobelia etc, plus some climbers like Spanish Flag, Morning Glory and Black-eyed Susan. Also lots more vegetables like leeks, spring onions, lettuce, radish, salsify, pak choi etc. Tomatoes (and tomatillos), chillies and cucumbers have already been going for a few weeks. Still too early for my peas, beans, sweetcorn. Photo 3 is of the full garden room.

Finally, unless things get changed by Boris, current COVID restrictions allow meetings outside (including in gardens) with up to 6 people, from 29March. Given that many of you have had at least your first jab, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in meeting in my garden on Wed 31March (if rules don’t change). Could you please respond either yes or no as soon as possible please, so I can gauge numbers.

Happy gardening, there is lots to do in the garden!!

 

Kevin   

Well, looks like spring is certainly here in the garden!

Firstly, I have been having lots of fun sowing all my annual summer flowers – lobelia, petunia, alyssum, marigold, pelargonium, impatiens, gazania etc. My new greenhouse is starting to look full already!

Secondly, another indication of spring, is that some of my Asiatic and Tree Lilies have started to sprout. Now we love all God’s creatures, but lily beetles are pushing it a bit! A couple of tips to prevent 90%+ of lily beetles, all free and organic! 1) in Nov/Dec, when your lilies have died down and you cut them back, remove the top one inch or so of compost, adding fresh compost. This will remove 70% of the eggs in the soil. Now the eggs overwinter in the soil, and have a hard shell around them, but they drop that shell when the lilies start to sprout, ready to attach to the foliage, and are vulnerable. So 2) in Feb/Mar, just ‘disturb’ the soil with your fingers, as you see the lilies starting to sprout. This will kill another 20% of them. Not 100%, but nearly. Photo 1 shows some lilies in pots where I have disturbed the soil this week.

Thirdly, I checked on the broad beans I had sown in Oct/Nov, after the severe and prolonged frost that we have just had, and they are 90% recovered (photo 2). The best variety is Aquadulce, others are not winter hardy.

Fourthly, photo 3 shows my veg plot, and the overwintering broad beans, onions, garlic and shallots are doing fine. They can be harvested in June, just in time for the salad and other items to be planted.

Fifthly, I took the opportunity to sow some early radishes in between the shallots (photo 4). Also, it will soon be time to sow grass seed, to cover up any bare patches in your lawn.

Finally, as promised, outside my front door (64 Dudsbury Avenue, BH22 8DX), I have some pre-chitted Anya potatoes. For anyone who wants to take part in the competition for the heaviest crop, please take one (and only 1 please), put your name and contact down on the paper, and we will have a weigh-in around June time. Potatoes can be put in potato bags or containers in early March, and in the ground in mid to late March.

And don’t forget your birdboxes and feeders, the birds are pairing up fast, looking for nesting sites!

Happy Gardening, Spring really is coming fast now!!

Kevin Steele

Well, after all the frozen ground we had last week, this week’s weather has been so much better, so I have been very busy. With my new (unheated) greenhouse sorted (hurrah!), I have been moving some of the plants from my heated garden room, freeing up more space there for planting lots of seeds. I have already planted my chillies and sweet peas as you know, so this week I planted the tomatoes (11 different varieties – daft I know), and cucumber, as they both need bottom heat (I use heatmats). To get an early start, I also thinly planted spring onions and carrots, in shallow trench containers, so they can be simply plonked into position in the beds in a month or so, without disturbing the roots. Not on heatmats, but in the warm garden room. I also planted leeks, mint and chives, for pricking out later on. It’s still too early for beans/peas etc. Photo one shows the compost I used for planting, and includes about 30% Perlite, plus some sieved leaf mulch. As well as my various leaf and root cuttings, I will start my annual flowers off next week, including antirrhinum, petunia, pelargonium, alyssum, cosmos, marigolds etc. Very exciting stuff, spring is definitely coming!

I notice some of the garden birds have also started pairing up and looking for nesting sites, so now is a great time to both clean any boxes you may have, or add any new boxes (I have 5 already, 4 were occupied last year, and now adding 3 more). Remember to site 2-4m above ground, west or east (never south) work best down here, and sheltered if possible. 25mm holes for blue/coal tits, 28mm for great tits/tree sparrows, 32mm for house sparrows/nut hatches, and 45mm for starlings.

Finally, as previously promised, next Sunday (28Feb), I will leave some pre-chitted anya potatoes by my front door (64 Dudsbury Avenue, Ferndown, BH228DX). For those that want to enter the competition, please take one, and sign your name, so I know who is competing. You can pot it in a) a potato bag in early March b) in open ground at end of March. In June we will then dig them up, and weigh the potatoes, with a prize for the winner. If you can’t pick it up on Sunday 28Feb, please email me (kandpsteele@btinternet.com) for alternative arrangements.

So have a great time gardening, even if it is just a windowbox, because spring really is just round the corner!!

 

Kevin Steele

Well, Happy Valentines Day to everyone. As it has been extremely cold this last week, and the ground has been frozen, I have been concentrating on a few other jobs.

Firstly, I have been preparing all the compost from my hot bins (see photo 1), which is about 6 months old. Hot bins make great compost in 6 months in the winter, 3 months in the summer. I will use this to plant up my potatoes in potato bags at the end of Feb. See photo 2 for it ready to use.

Secondly, my new greenhouse should be finished in a week, so my conservatory and garden room are full of plants waiting to go into this new greenhouse. Earlier in autumn, I had taken root cuttings from eryngium, lupin, hollyhock, echinacea, gypsophilia and asters, so this week I have repotted these on into larger pots, as they have developed nice roots. Photo 3 shows some of these. The leaf cuttings I took last autumn from pelargoniums and fuchsias are now ready for repotting, when I have the space to do so. Photo 4 shows my crammed garden room.

Thirdly, I did manage a quick foray into the garden, to put in a bean trench. Beans and peas require lots of organic matter and mulch for their roots, so dig in as much as you can. If you don’t have a compost heap, just dig in some kitchen scraps (not meat) and newspaper, at the bottom of the trench. Whilst doing this, I came across several acorns that squirrels had stored for the winter, which had started to develop their taproot. So I’ve planted these on into pots (the taproot grows first, so just plant to acorn with the taproot down). Sure they will make a lovely present for someone who wants to commemorate a loved one.

Happy gardening