Well, after the lovely weather of the last week, plants have really sprung to life. But unfortunately there is a frost over the coming 2-3 days, so we may need to consider some extra protection. My apple and pear trees haven’t come into full blossom yet, so they should be OK, but my Victoria plum trees have (as well as a cherry), so I will need to cover with some fleece. I will also bring some of the French beans etc in large troughs into the greenhouse, just for a couple of days.

Some of the daffodils have gone over, so I’ve been cutting off the flowers only, leaving the stems to die down naturally. This ensures the plant puts its goodness back into the bulb for next year, rather than into making seeds. Also, I will be putting my sweet peas into the ground (tied up obelisks) in about 10 days, so I have been pruning them down to 3 leaves. Some of these were sown in November, some in January. Photo 1 shows the sweet peas before pruning, photo 2 after pruning.

If you have any ferns (as opposed to bracken, which is a single stemmed fern), now is the time to cut off all the old growth, and watch the fronds uncurl over the coming weeks.

Whilst the weather will be a little colder over the coming few days, there is little rain on the horizon, so don’t forget to water your plants, especially a) any newly planted seeds b) any larger plants (like rhododendrons, hydrangeas or fruit trees) in pots. If you want them to put on any green growth, give them a nitrogen (ie nettle) feed, if you want flowers give them a tomato/comfrey feed.

For any overwintered fuchsias and pelargoniums, they will have put on some extra growth, so now is a great time to take some soft cuttings, to make even more plants (and also to extend the growing season). Photo 3 shows a fuchsia before taking cutting, photo 4 shows the fuchsia after cuttings, and photo 5 shows the fuchsia cuttings in a pot. The main fuchsia plant will start flowering in May, the cuttings in July onwards.
A big thankyou to everyone who has sponsored my half-marathon, which I have paid into the website. In addition, we made £65 from the plant sales at the 4 X Greenfingers sessions, which has gone to MacMillan. Thank you for your support.

Happy Easter! Kevin

Well, now we have put our clocks an hour forward, and British Summer Time has officially started, it really does feel like our spirits are being lifted, so let’s get out into the garden!!

Well, another busy week chez Steele. As both my greenhouse and garden room are completely jammed full, I have been moving some of the hardier plants outside, albeit still under shelter or cold frames. Which in turn frees up space to pot on the tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies into larger pots, which I have been doing. Although they all need heat, remember tomatoes and cucumbers need lots of watering, whereas chillies don’t.

It is also time to start using nematodes. I try to garden vaguely organically, and don’t use pesticides, poisons or weedkillers, so the best way to control slugs is to use nematodes (which are organic). So I have been using slug nematodes all around the garden this week – the soil is just warm enough – and will be using my vine weevil nematodes (which killed 2 cherry trees a couple of years ago) in a couple of weeks.

It is also time for the second cutting of the lawn, and you can gradually reduce the height of the cutting blades over the coming weeks. But I still leave one area of the garden undisturbed for wildlife.

My cucumbers, tomatoes and chillies, as well as my climbers (Morning Glory, Black-eyed Susan, Spanish Flag, Cobaea Scandens etc), all need a) support sticks or canes b) larger pots. Some of my cucumbers especially are now in my largest 14inch pots, with 7ft bamboo supporting canes, and should be producing cucumbers in May, and the tomatoes by June, so a bountiful summer beckons. As my comfrey plot hasn’t really started growing yet (I would normally get 3 or 4 comfrey cuttings over the summer to make wonderful comfrey juice), I am having to use both pellets of organic chicken manure, and normal tomato feed, for these very hungry plants. Although I do have some nettle feed (high in nitrogen) left over from last year, to feed plants needing lots of ‘green’ growth.
Have a great time in your garden too
Kevin

Well, today is the spring equinox, when daylight gets longer than night, so it is official, spring is here! With the nice weather as well, I presume you are all now getting busy in the garden.

Another busy week for me. Weather is now OK for sowing of seeds outdoors, so I have been sowing my beans, peas, beetroot, carrot, pak choi, spring onions etc. With so little rain about at present, don’t forget to keep any new seeds watered.

Time also to finish off some last minute pruning of roses, buddleia, salvia etc. Also having great fun watching my pampas grass covered in small birds, all collecting nesting material.

Now I almost always overwinter my dahlias in pots or the ground. If doing so, the 2 most important things to do, once they turn black with the first frost, are a) cut the stems down below ground level to where they touch the corm. If you only cut to ground level, the remaining 1-2 inches stem will rot in the middle over the winter, and form a ‘straw’, which will fill up with water and rot the corm over the winter b) put a ‘cone’ of mulch, bark or just soil over the top, to disperse the water away. It is water that kills dahlias, not cold. Don’t forget to mark with a bamboo stick where they are.  

Anyone, I had one very large yellow dahlia that had to be taken out over the winter, to make way for something else. In the autumn, I put it in a small amount of sand and spent compost, kept it in a cool, dark, dry place, and didn’t water it at all, waiting for the new shoots to appear. They duly did recently, and photo 1 shows this. Remember it started life 4 years ago as a bunch of 3-4 small corms, and is now very large, over 2 feet wide. It must love the soil. Anyway, it had to be cut up into 4 pieces, shown in photo 2 (together with the saw I used). Just make sure you have some fat healthy corms, plus a shoot, in every piece you cut off. The 4 pieces were still quite large, and I had to squeeze them into my largest 14inch pots.

Happy Gardening

Kevin

Ps – don’t forget today is Census Day!

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