Many shows have 2 classes for Shallots. Small pickling Shallots and ‘Giants’.

Showing Shallots

• Grow Dutch Yellow for a ‘judge pleasing’ variety or raise Russian Red from seed.
• Display small shallots in bowls of sand, sawdust or special boxes  for the ‘Giants’. The aim is to keep the bulb in formation.
• Pickling Shallots should be less than an inch across the waist and uniform.
• Harvest a few weeks before the show and ripen-off in the sun during the day, bringing them in during the evening.
• The end of May is a good time to thin Shallots being grown for showing. Carefully remove the center bulb from a cluster without disturbing the remainder.

Other Shallot Varieties

• Prisma F1, Golden Gourmet or Red Sun are even growers.
• Pesandor, Jermor and Vigarmor tend to be tubular shaped.
• Thompson Morgan have good supplies for next season. Place your order when you see what has won this years show.

Show Standards

• Local shows may have arbitrary judging standards for Shallots.
• The majority of bulbs often end up misshapen or bulging out, not having good form.
• The large exhibition type shallot is now awarded a maximum of 18 points because of the degree of difficulty in achieving a perfect specimen.
• In the  RHS show handbook  ‘shapely bulbs of good form” are considered best.
• The NVS judges guide goes even further and states that ‘single bulbs of good shape with circular outline’ are meritorious.

Is your soil so poor nothing will grow in it? No I didn’t think so because weeds will grow anywhere!

Improve Your Soil

• Rotted farmyard manure, dug in each year, will boost your soils fertility.
• The rotted farmyard manure breaks down to humus that opens up clay soils and holds moisture in sandy soils.
• You need to replace the nutrients taken out of the soil by this seasons crops and that is where an annual dose of farmyard manure comes in.
• Cover the veg-patch with black polythene over winter. This stops goodness leaching out, stops weeds and warms the soil in spring.
• I also trench the Runner Bean rows with an extra bottom covering of manure to hold extra moisture.
• Add lime for growing Brassicas but Potatoes love the slight acidity that often comes with farmyard manure.

If you are doubtful about this summer’s British weather, and how can you be otherwise, then you may need some tips on watering your garden.

Xeriscaping is the creation of a garden that uses less water (however it could be a Wet Wet Wet summer for pop music fans).

Xeriscaping and Other Watering Tips

• Pull up weeds as soon as they start drinking your water.
• Plan and plant wind breaks to stop drying winds.
• Use plants that generally require less water. Grey and silver plants often need less water.
• Give one good weekly soaking not daily dribbles.
• Add humus to the soil to retain water and mulch the surface of the soil.
• Use larger containers rather than hanging baskets, they are easier to water.
• Use capillary matting in the greenhouse to aid watering

Water Saving Tips

• Save rain water in a water butt. It is good for young plants and saves water rates.
• Water the garden early in the morning or in the evening to reduce evaporation.
• Use a watering can not a sprinkler.
• Target each plant with enough water, do not water indiscriminately.
• Use domestic waste water that contains no bleach or disinfectant but soapy water is OK.

When bulbs get cramped for space they throw up leaf not flower. To improve the flowering from congested clumps of Daffodils they can be divided in June.

How to Divide Daffodils

• Tip out the bulbs grown in pots and clean away loose compost.
• Lift clumps from the border with a spade.
• Tease apart the bulbs, discard very small or misshapen bulbs.
• Grade the bulbs by size, the larger bulbs should flower again next year.
• Smaller bulbs need to be grown on to increase their size – put them 2″ deep in a pot of John Innes No2.
• Improve the soil before replanting with compost, leafmould and a balanced slow release fertilizer.

For bulbs naturalised in grass, wait until autumn. Strip back the turf then divide the bulbs.
Handle fresh bulbs with care as they bruise easily and that can cause rot.
After replanting water the ground and mulch over the planting spot.

Other Bulbs to Divide

• Glory of the Snow or Chionodoxa – Divide after foliage dies; plant 3 inches deep.
• Muscari or Grape hyacinths – Divide in summer replant 3 inches deep.
• Tulips – Divide after foliage dies and plant 6 to 8 inches deep.
• Scilla – Divide in summer, plant larger species just below soil, others 3 to 4 inches deep.

Plants grown from seed need to be given space to grow by ‘Pricking Out’ or thinning.
This process gives young plants space and nutrient necessary for healthy growth.

Guide for Pricking Out

• For seeds grown in seed trays, ‘prick out’ the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle.
• Use a small tool or dibber to loosen the seed compost and lift out the seedling.
• Hold by the first green leaves not the roots.
• Plant in rows in a new tray of multi purpose compost using a dibber to make holes. Firm the compost around the plant.
• Space the seedlings 1-2 ” apart depending on the vigour/size of the plant you are growing.
• Water using a watering can with a fine rose.
• Shade from direct sunlight for a couple of days.

Other Pricking out Activities

• Prick out into modules to save time and further root disturbance when planting out.
• Bigger plants like Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Dahlias etc can be pricked out into individual pots.
• I put Mesembryanthemums direct into the garden after hardening them off.
• Seedlings grown in Jiffy pots are best potted into there own plant pot.
• When starting off sow in modules or cells. Seeds can be sown individually or in small number where the weaker seedlings can be sacrificed to allow the strongest to grow. (Thinning out).

Seeds sown direct into their final position in the garden may need to be spaced. Pinch or pull out seedlings that are cramped, to leave a space between your selected plants for growing on. Carrots and plants that don’t tolerate root disturbance are treated this way.

Seeds sown in a garden seed bed can be pricked out if required but I sow them thinly enough to be able to just move them once into the final growing position.
Some flower mixtures are best just broadcast and left to grow where they germinate.

Tip
If you are growing a seed mixture transplant a range of seedlings not just the largest. Often different coloured flowers grow differently at the seedling stage.

The day was still and the only movement was the lazy (none PC) smoke drifting from a brushwood fire but it made me think of movement in my garden.

Natural Movement.

• Grasses have grown in popularity with prairie planting creating drifts of fine plumes of seed heads wafting in the breeze.
• Fine leaves, particularly the well coloured Acers, are one of my favourites.
• The fast running and gurgling stream provides stimulation to several senses at the same time.
• Tall thin plants like bamboo are grown for their ability to move in a breeze. Verbena bonariensis and tall back of the border plants are also useful
• Visiting birds and insects are great for movement. Make sure your garden attracts them.

Man-made Movement Read the rest of this entry »

If you are keen to grow tasty Parsley then here are some quick tips.

West Dean Gardens have been conducting trials on various Parsley varieties. In the May 2010 edition of The Garden the RHS published some of the results in an article by Sarah Wain the ‘Gardens Supervisor’.

Quick Tips Growing Parsley

• Plants usually stay in good crop producing condition for 5 months. Sarah recommends sowing two crops, in January for summer & July to over winter.
• Unlike many herbs, Parsley need an abundant supply of water.
• Grow Parsley as a green edging plant to flower borders.
• If growing in a container provide good drainage and water frequently.
• If your plants are prone to bolt, cut out the flowering stem and water well.
• Pick regularly to retain shape and encourage new growth.

Seed sowing

• Sow fresh seed on all purpose compost and cover lightly with vermiculite.
• Keep moist to improve germination (I do not think the boiling water trick is really needed)
• Prick out small seedlings taking care with the roots.
• Plant 3 seedlings in a 3″ pot and grow on as one plant giving more apparent growth.
• Plant out in March in a sunny position with some protection.

Varieties of Petroselinum crispum (Parsely) to Grow

• Moss Curled and Lisette have fine curl to the leaves.
• Rosette and Opal may occasionally bolt
• Envy and Favorit were the best for flavour.
• Afrodite and Faulds make uniform, good looking plants

Also read ‘Grow your own Bouquet Garni Herbs

Cuttings of your favourite plants can help you get more plants for free.

General Tips

• The day before taking cuttings give the host plant a good watering.
• Choose strong healthy stems.
• Remove the lower leaves and trim to just below a leaf joint.
• Place cuttings in a pot of cutting compost or soil with some sharp sand added.
• Keep humid and add bottom heat where possible.

Tips for Soft Fleshed Plants eg. Pinks, Penstemon & Geraniums Read the rest of this entry »

Growing Hyacinths

• Hyacinths like brilliant drainage
• Hyacinth need full sun and a good baking during summer
• Feed with a potash fertilizer in early spring to help roots and bulbs.
• Plant between September and Christmas. Indoor bulbs need to be prepared and planted first.
• Put an inch of grit in the bottom to help drainage and cover the top of the bulb with 3″ of soil.
• Deadhead and allow leaves to die down naturally.
• Propagate by dividing clumps in early autumn.

Hyacinth Tips

• Hyacinths can last for a fortnight in a vase. Add a drop of bleach to the water to prevent bacteria
• Blues and Yellows have the strongest scent but most varieties are well scented.
• Buy varieties with clear colours and deep saturated tones.
• Taller stemmed varieties generally look the best
• Avoid bi-colours that may be over bred.

Some Top Hyacinth Varieties by colour.

• City of Bradford or Sky Jacket – light blues
• Jan Boss – red or Pink Pearl
• Purple Sensation or Woodstock – deep purples
• Kronos, Ostara or King of the Blues
• City Of Harlem – yellow
• Aiolos – white

Available by mail order from Thompson Morgan

These Daffodils growing in grass have naturalised successfully and don’t get deadheaded but in your garden deadheading is a good idea.

May Activity for Daffodils.

1. Pinch or cut off the seedhead before they swell to channel energy into bulbs.
2. The leaves are busy converting sunlight and nutrients into sugars and stronger bulbs for next year.
3. Do not cut off the leaves of Daffodills until they die back
4. Apply a dilute liquid feed via the leaves with a good spray of fertilizer.
5. As the leaves yellow at the end of the month you can split large clumps of bulbs. Replant 5-6″ apart in new soil or revitalise existing soil.
6. When replanting do not bury the old foliage.
7. Mark where your best Daffodils are so you do not dig them up by mistake.
8. Plan  where  and what Narcissus you are growing next year.