Gardeners Tips

1. Encourage Ladybirds.

You can encourage ladybirds by providing suitable places for them to hibernated. You can buy ladybird boxes from specialist retailers.

2. Encourage Hoverflies.

Hoverflies are voracious eaters of greenflies. You will hopefully attract hoverfly without any effort. But, you can increase the hoverfly population by providing boxes to overwinter them. Geoff Hamilton used to encourage hoverfly and used to even harden off the hoverfly boxes like you would young saplings. It is also said that having a bunch of nettles encourages hoverfly because nettles provide an early season supply of aphids which encourage hoverfly populations for later greenfly infestations.
You can also encourage hoverfly through companion planting. E.g. Marigolds are said to attract hoverfly.

3. Hose off Aphids
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Beware of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviaea couple of fungus-like pathogens which affect a range of trees, shrubs and other plants.

• Ramorum blight or ‘sudden oak death’ is one of the Phytophthora pathogens causing concern in UK woods and forests.
• Bark canker on oak trees and heavy leaf infestation on the understorey of rhododendrons has led to the death or removal of 4 million trees.
• Viburnums and Japanese larch are also susceptible to the disease which is in danger of spreading still further.
• Bleeding canker is a problem for 500,000 Horse Chestnut trees.The inner bark under bleeding patches is usually mottled brown-orange and dead.

These diseases, relatively new to the UK, have been brought in on stock from Asia, Europe and Western USA. The problems could be even worse than Dutch Elm disease so take care.

Action for Gardeners

• Gardeners should not compost diseased leaves particularly of  viburnum, rhododendron or oaks.
• Burning  or deep burial are the only safe disposal method.
• Report any diseased plants to Defra, the Forestry Commission or RHS
• Disinfect footwear after a walk in the forest.
• Do not replant of susceptible hosts within 12 feet for at least 3 years.

Download a fact sheet with photographs fera pdf

‘Fresh is best’ particularly when it come to seeds. However if you have a surplus of seed that you can’t sow immediately they should be stored in a moisture proof container at a low temperature. A fridge compartment is ideal.

Storing Seed

• Although the majority of seed will remain viable for a year or two, when kept at room temperature, cold storage extends the life considerably.
• Never store seeds in a greenhouse or garden shed. The high temperature and humidity can kill off the seed in a matter of weeks.
• Seeds in foil wrappers should be left unopened until ready for sowing.
• Seed from seed exchanges or collected from your own garden should be sown as soon as practical. (Tender plants may need to wait until March-May)
• Parsnip seed is not suitable for storing, it needs sowing in the first year.
• Curcurbits (cucumber and courgettes) will remain viable as seeds for 5-7 years
• Beware old seed from shops that may also have got too warm. Faded packets, slow sales levels and close use by dates are tell tale signs.

Buy a special seed storage box from amazon for less than £10 or the Burgon and Ball Seed Packet Organiser £19.95

Seed Storage Banks

Kew have a worldwide reputation for seed storage. They divide seed into classes:

• Orthodox seeds can be dried, without damage, to low moisture contents, usually much lower than those they would normally achieve in nature. Over a wide range of storage environments their longevity increases with reductions in both moisture content and temperature, in a quantifiable and predictable way. …

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