A mulch is a layer of material covering the soil surface. ‘Organic mulches’ are made from material that has been alive as opposed to inorganic mulches which are stone or man made.

Organic Mulches

• Commonest organic mulches are wet straw, peat, garden compost, leaf mould, rotted animal manure, coir or bark chippings.
• Organic mulches can be used to apply nutrients via compost, manures or with additives like blood and bone.
• Semi-composted bark chippings do not add any real food value but look good and rot down more evenly than fresh bark.
• A thick organic mulch will keep the soil temperature even and provide a layer for surface rooting plants like Rhododendrons.
• Wood chippings can be used as a fresh mulch but they take nitrogen from the soil to rot so compost them first.

Uses for Mulch and Mulches

• Prevents the loss of moisture from the underlying soil whilst allowing rainwater to percolate.
• Mulch smothers weeds and deprives weed seeds of light to germinate.
• Enables fertiliser in liquid or granular form to be applied.
• Mulch improves the soil condition particularly for specific plants
• Some mulch is used as a background to display plants for example grit for Alpines.
• Winter mulch can protect roots from frost.

How to Mulch

• Put your mulch on clean soil after removing obvious weeds.
• Put 2-4 inches of mulch down and expect worms to pull some of the lower mulch into the soil. Do not pile mulch against trunks and stems to avoid rotting but cover the area where roots are growing.
• Regular top dressing further mulch will add to the depth to help it last 1-4 years.

Other Mulches

• Inorganic mulches have their place. Small grade gravel or washed shingle can be used as a mulch.
• Depending on the requirement from the mulch you can use black polythene, roofing felt or woven nylon. These tend to heat up and warm the soil and are used to keep out light.
• You can plant through these mulches by cutting a cross in the fabric and folding it back. I do this for Strawberries.
• Coloured stone, slate and bark mulching can be used for decorative purposes.
• Granulated rubber chippings from old tyres can be used but are best used in children’s play areas.

Strulch is a proprietary organic mulch.

Best Mulch to Use

Organic mulches at Amazon

I may be behind the times but here are some new, or new to me, ideas to enhance your garden pond this summer.

New Pond Design

‘Islandscapes’ and Floating Planters

‘The Next Big Wave In Ponds’ (Oh please) ‘enhance the beauty and biological health of ponds, providing innovative filtration and a lush growing environment for terrestrial plants. lslandscapes offer food and fun for fish, frogs and other wildlife’ according to the blurb on Freedomponds.com
Velda do several floating planters made in covered styrofoam.

Ecopond Tadpole Food

I have to admit to never thinking of feeding tadpoles but if I did here is the answer. Ecopond Tadpole Food provides the nutrition that tadpoles need up to the point where they develop back legs (4-6 weeks after free swimming begins). See also frogspawn tips on Gardeners Tips

Preformed Ponds

Rubberised or rigid plastic ponds are one of the easiest methods of creating a new pond. I bought one in a kidney shape with 3 different depths created by shelves. It saved a lot of hard work once I had dug an appropriate hole!
In one garden I saw such a preformed pond raised up rather than buried and think that is a creative idea if you can support the weight of water.

Pond Liners

Now you can cover black PVC liners with a stone coating. This makes the black edge of a pond look natural with a pebble or stone finish. Sold in various widths it could be used to finish off a butyl lined pond or as a run off into your garden proper. The brand I have seen is Oase Stone Liner.

All these products are available from the links above or a specialist like Bradshaws of York. Amazon supply the preformed ponds.

Pond Renovation

1. As winter approaches all ponds need a bit of tlc to see them through the winter.
2. If removing dead leaves and waste from the bottom of the pond leave the sludge on the edge so any small creatures can crawl back into the water.
3. Repair leaks to prevent having to regularly top up the water. Evaporation is unavoidable so you may want to think of easy top-up methods.
4. Create ways of stopping leaves dropping into the pond. Nets are unsightly unless semi submerged. Barrier hedges of box to stop prevailing winds may help.
5. Make edges safe and secure. Reinforce and renew if necessary any childproof measures.

Read more on Preformed Pond Shapes including installation tips.

What would you call a shop in a courtyard that sells plants and pots? In Otley Yorkshire you would call it Courtyard Planters. Years ago you may have called it the stable yard for the Half Moon Inn.

Most of the planters have very few eco-miles on the clock as the Terracotta pots are from Barnsley Yorkshire, the earthenware salt glazed pots are made in Northumberland. Unfortunately the Oak Barrels come from an other country – Scotland to be precise where they used to mature whiskey.

At the weekend I bought a couple of plants including a Dianthus Neon Star that shone out to me in the shade of the courtyard. The other plant was an Echeveria elegans with lots of extra rosettes of succulent foliage. I thought I would take the offsets and grow them as cuttings but forgot they were quite tender. Still, if I am successful I will find somewhere to over winter them.
If not Chiltern Seeds generally stock mixed Echeveria seeds that ‘mostly have fleshy leaves forming rosettes of a wide assortment of attractive, geometric designs in a range of colours from green through grey to almost white, often with markings in contrasting shades.’

Courtyard planters do not sell mail order that is not the type of gardeners they are but if you visit Otley look them up. If you are near Otley they offer free delivery.

If bunches of flowers can be arranged in a wide variety of containers and vases why not growing plants.

I liked this boat on a wall at Scarborough which was cheerfully full of Pansies. The variegated Ivy provided a bit of light green colour and texture and even the plastic sunflower was not out of place.

Tips for Unusual Plant Holders

• If you make a creative container ensure there is drainage so plants do not drown. I guess these boats were holed below the plimsoll line!

• Containers under the eaves of houses or in a rain shadow from the wall will need watering more frequently.

• Ensure the container can hold enough compost or soil for a good root run.

• Use water retaining gel or special container compost.

• Pick of dead flowerheads to encourage new blooms.

This boat was in a park at Ross on Wye and it would be hard to tend the plants in the middle as the boat was quite large. It creates a whole new mean to houseboat as this is a real gardenboat.

Read Collecting Containers and Growing Veg in containers

Get the best gardening results from your glass in a cold frame, greenhouse or glasshouse. (The difference I am told is that a glasshouse has controlled conditions).

Preparation  for 2011

• Make some glasshouse resolutions and stick to them. What will be grown and when. What experiments may be worth trying etc.
• Plants need light so clean the glass thoroughly inside and out.
• Take down any bubble wrap insulation and clean with Jeyes fluid. Replace damaged sections before reinstalling.
• Clean out  guttering and algae from cracks between the glass. A plastic plant label may help you get into tight spaces.
• Clean and disinfect all surfaces, benches, gravel and capillary matting.
• Wash any pots taking care to get rid of bugs lurking under rims and on bottoms.
• Treat wood frames with a wood preservative.
• Check windows for damage or loose panes.
• Ventilate well and allow the area to dry
• Replace any soil or compost according to your resolutions above

Do not forget to clean other equipment like temporary plastic structures, cold frames and cloches.

This fine collection of sundry containers were getting a soaking in our summer rain. The wheel at the back only contains fresh air but could become a feature for a ‘Herb Wheel’ if laid on poor soil.

Tips for Containers

• Small clay feet in threes or fours lift the container off these Yorkshire stone flags. This aids drainage and prevents the base of the container freezing onto a path and then loosing the base when moved.
• Mulch and decoration on the surface of a pot can be organic with bark or inorganic with a variety of pebbles and stones. Mulch helps prevent moss and keeps the wind & sun off the soil surface.
• Bear in mind a small pot will constrain the roots and a large tree will become a bit like a bonsai. That can be quite desirable but remember to freshen the compost by replacing the top 2″ annually and fertilizing regularly.
• Pots can bake in summer and roots become distressed. Black and plastic pots are the worst whilst evaporation through terracotta cools a bit. If in doubt keep moist and shaded.
• Pots can freeze but bubble wrapping your pots can help hardy plants through winter.
• Pots located together look better than pepper-potted around. They also help maintain a humidity level in a micro climate (not too important in this wet garden)

Unusual Containers

• A bog garden can be created in an old galvanised basin without drainage holes. Miniature water lilies are now available for small ponds so give it a try.
• Long Tom or old Chimney pots are ideal for tall statuesque displays. Try some airy grasses at the back near a wall.
• I like pans, shallow bowls and half pots which are fine for many small bulbs, annuals and trailers. Beware most Alpines have very long roots and seek out depth.
• Old wheel barrows, dustbins or discarded containers can be pressed into use or should I say recycled into reuse.
• Old polyester sacks can be used to grow vegetables like these potatoes.
• See Bottle gardens and Terranium

Other container  tips

Contain Tulip Fire

These tips may seem commonsense but they are always worth repeating.

Tips For Good Hanging Baskets.

• Water early in the day ‘and or’ in the evening. Give plants a good drink regularly.
• After 4 weeks in the same compost the nutrients will be reduced and you should add liquid feed. I use half strength fertilizer with every watering.
• Many hanging basket plants will self deadhead but if you have zonal geraniums in the basket they will benefit from nipping the deadheads off.
• Turn the basket round, if one side near a wall for example, is growing less well.
• Look out for aphids on the soft lush growth.
• If you get unexpected gaps in leaf or bloom you can still  put in new plants.

Hanging Basket Holidays

• If you go on holiday you need to think about care of your baskets whilst away, even just for a weekend.
• Irrigation systems are available designed specially for hanging baskets with timed water release but they can be  expensive.  Buy a  Thompson Morgan Irrigation system from  this link.
• If you have a friend or family member coming to water the baskets make their life easy to encourage them to return.
  • Take the baskets down and group them together on a capillary mat if available.
  • Keep them out of the full sun if practical.
  • These actions help conserve water and make life easy for the time scarce watering friend.
• Give them a granular feed before you go away.
• Do not complain when you return or you can loose a good friend. No one looks after your prize possessions as well as you (think you) would.
• Read more on watering

Think about the plants you are going to grow. Fruit and shrubs will be long term investments. Bedding and vegetables will need different treatment or nutrients.

Prepare Your Soil

• Eradicate nasty perennial weeds such as Dandelions, Bindweed, Couch grass and Ground Elder.
• Cover with thick black polythene for at least a year to smother the weeds or use a Glyphosphate based weedkiller like Roundup.
• Dig the soil 2 spits deep (2 spade depths or 20″). If the sub soil is very poor go one spit deep and create a raised bed to lift the height.
• Incorporate as much organic matter as you can. Use garden compost, rotted manure, spent mushroom compost and even council recycled and composted waste.
• Do not worry about a few stones but remove builders debris.

Good Fertilizers

• Dress the soil with a general purpose fertilizer that releases nutrients slowly. Rake into the top 4″ a week or so before planting.
• Growmore, fish blood and bone or just bone meal may increase overall fertility.
• Remember NPK stands for Nitrogen to help green leaf growth. Phosphor for strong roots and bulbs, and K for Potassium for fruit and flowers.
• Proprietary feeds can be expensive and I would only use them once the plants are growing in situ.

Planting and the Hole

• You may have heard about a £10 hole for a £5 plant. Well, dig a good size hole, break up the soil in the bottom, place the plant in the hole at the same level it was grown at and firm the soil around the root ball or roots.
• Stamp around the plant to firm it in again and use a cane or stake as needed for support and protection from wind rock.
• Plant into moist soil, soak container grown plants before planting and water in after planting.
• Mulch around the plant (but not touching the stem) to conserve moisture.




Read about Tree planting
Improve clay soil with Allotment.org
How to improve your soil from Gardeners tips

The first spray against scab and fungal problems should be made around mid-April. Traditionally Lime sulphur was used to control fungi, bacteria and insects living or dormant on the surface of the bark. That tends to burns leaves so it is not used on evergreen plants. Modern methods spray with Copper Sulphate, Bordeaux mixture or a fruit tree recommended systemic fungicide such as Dithane.Start spraying in April, again after petal fall and at the end of June, failing that read the instructions on the bottle.

To control fruit tree pests such as sawfly and caterpillars spray with an insecticide like ‘Bug Clear for Fruit & Vegetables’ This controls by contact greenfly, whitefly, blackfly and other aphids, scale insects, mealy bugs, red spider mites caterpillars and other common pests.
Spray at bud burst then wait for pollination. Then spray when the petals have fallen.

Available from Amazon

A new portable sprayer operated by pumped compression such as the Killaspray will hold 7 litres of solution enough for several fruit trees with some left over for Roses.

Series of well ventilated cold frames.

Cold Frames are an excellent low cost method for developing and growing young seedlings. Cold frames make a good alternative to the the cost and size of conventional greenhouses.
To some extent you can make your own cheap cold frames. See this post – Home Made Cold Frames

This cold frame from Focus DIY is good value at under £100.

A good cold frame needs to have an easy mechanism for allowing air in. The cold frame can then be closed at night to protect seedlings against frost. This wooden variety helps keep the heat in. For best results keep at a south facing wall. The wood also makes quite an attractive feature for the garden.

The only problem with cold frames, is that  once you realise how useful they are, it soon becomes full and you start wanting a greenhouse! Of course, a cold frame can be an excellent choice for those who find the greenhouse overflowing at this time of the year.

Cheapest Cold Frames

Some of the cheapest cold frames can be bought for under £50. This Gardmen cold frame holds 6 seeds trays (1000mm *650mm) and can be bought for less than £50. Cold Frames at Amazon.co.uk

The smallest Greenhouses (6ft * 6ft) will come in at over £200. Greenhouses