Terracotta Pots – Best are British

I like UK made terracotta or clay pots. Good pots are made frost hardy and should last through all the British seasons. Imported pots have often been made in warm climates where they do not know the meaning of cold never mind frost.

Why Clay Pots not Plastic

• Old pots do sometimes collect a white salt deposit on the outside. You can see that on the photograph or the old pot collection above. As long as the pot is washed in a solution containing a disinfectant they can be reused indefinitely.
• Pots are porous and let in air to the roots.
• Evaporation from the clay pot keeps the roots cool. Plastic and particularly black plastic boils the roots of your plants.

Tips for Maintaining Plant Pots

• Avoid pots getting top heavy in windy conditions. Too much plant growth can get caught by a wind, blow the pot over and smash the pot. For tall plants weight the bottom of the pot.
• Pots can freeze to the ground and this weakens the bottom of the pot until it falls off. Use bricks or special feet to stand the pot on during winter.
• Keep the outside of decorative pots clean or algae and moss will be encouraged and discolour your pot.
• If you want to artificially age your pot coat it in Yoghurt to encourage green algae growth.

Amazon offer

any number of plant pots. They come in all shapes and sizes but terracotta pots are few and far between. Perhaps it is because they are heavy and expensive to deliver, all the more strange that we see Chinese pots in many garden departments at DIY stores.

If you break your pot do not despair you can make a feature like the one below.

Best Organic Plant Fertiliser

These are some of the best organic plant foods and how they can be used.

• Blood Meal – high in nitrogen for grass and leafy growth e.g. Vegetables like Cabbage
• Bone Flour / Meal – Nitrogen and Phosphate. Quick acting for strong growth.
• Fish Meal – low Potash, high Nitrogen and Phosphate.
• Fish / Blood / Bone – Nitrogen and Phosphate. Apply around plants on planting
• Poultry Manure – Good all round plant food. Helps for soil preparation and for putting around new plants.
• Rock Potash – good for flowers and fruits. Offers slow release of potash over a couple of years.
• Seaweed Meal – Nitrogen and Potash. Also excellent source of trace minerals.
• Wood Ash – High in Potash. Good for fruits and flowers. Quick acting.

Organic Plant food for bedding plants

Also consider liquid organic feeds such as:

• Compost Tea
• Comfrey feed and
• Liquid Seaweed.

Related

• Home made organic garden sprays
• Best Plant Food
• Fertilizers for growth
• Organic Plant Food at Amazon
• Read more about Organic Seaweed

Organic Blend Manure

Organic Blend manure is a trade name rather than a description. Obviously there will be organic materials in the manure because that is what it is all about.

Pros and Cons of Packaged Organics

I am a bit concerned that the packaging fails to prominently identify the animals in this farmyard.
Farmyard animals may have been treated with medicines and chemicals that are expelled in to the manure and I do not think this is Organic in the true sense of the word.
A ‘special blend of organic nutrients’ could be blood fish and bone or just a way of saying horse muck.
‘Contains humus’ well lets not be surprised!
‘Invigorates’ roses, flowers fruit and vegetables Mmmm some claim.

On the plus side the manure should be sterile (unlike the stuff I collect from the stables).
I would expect the manure to be weed free (unlike the stuff I collect from the stables).
The manure is more friable and textured (unlike the stuff I collect from the stables).

Buyer beware ‘where there is muck there’s brass’ to mix two sayings. Vendors (retailers and manufacturers) are out to make a profit whilst gardeners are out to make a great garden and in my case without too many plastic bagged products.
If you can’t acquire your own ‘Organic’ may not be worth the extra price but it enhances the feel good factor and may do your garden good.

Hover Mower Tips on Use and Safety

Hover Mower Tips

• Hover mowers are quick and easy to use but they do not leave stripes in your grass.
• Use hover mowers to keep your grass tidy but consider a cylinder mower for a top quality look to your lawn.
• The special mowers for long grass are an excellent way of clearing space like a hovering scythe.
• The electric Hover mowers are fine for small lawns and are far lighter than most other lawnmowers but they are unlikely to collect up the cut grass.
• When mowing a bank or slope stand at the top, attach a rope if you need too then swing and lower the mower.
• Mow up and down not across a slope and take extra care on any uneven ground.
• Handles generally fold so the machine can be hung from a shed or garage wall making them extremely space efficient

For Safeties Sake

Before Using Your Mower
• Read the instruction book, it may seem obvious but best to be prepared.
• Fill the petrol tank before you start as pouring petrol into a hot engine can be as dangerous as smoking.
• Examine the area to be cut for stones, bits of metal, toys or pets.
• Set the cutting height, not too short!
• When starting the machine keep it still, perhaps by putting your foot on the hood.
• Hover mowers do not have wheels so they must be carried onto and off the lawn.Lift with care and buy one that is light enough for you to manage.

While Mowing

• Wear heavy shoes with a good grip and keep children away from dangerous machinery.
• Do not carry the mower whilst it is running it will not float from one lawn to the next.
• Keep the mower flat as it is designed to stop ‘flying stones’ by hovering close to the ground. Do not mow over gravel.
• Do not try to use your mower as a cultivator some areas may be so overgrown they need a machete.
• Don’t take risks or walk backwards as you may pull the machine on top of you.
• Safety regulations require all new electric mowers to have elaborate safety switches that usually require two handed use and a constant grip

Amazon supply virtually anything and that includes this range of Hover Mowers

The photograph of a rotating blade is under a creative commons license 2.0 by Jovike.

See also Gardeners Tips for more safety advice.

Compost Activators & Makers

Compost making is a productive activity for gardeners. All vegetable waste from the kitchen and garden can be used in a compost heap to rot down into good compost. A mix of ‘green’ leafy material and ‘brown’ twiggy material will make the best compost. Green is nitrogen rich and brown is carbon and trace element rich.

Compost Making Essentials

• The compost material needs to rot down and there are ways to help this process.
• Insects, worms and bacteria are key as they chew there way through the material. Chopping it up provides more access points for the critters to chomp at.
• Rotting happens better when slightly damp rather than when bone dry.
• Heat speeds up the process and this will be improved with air and an activator.

Activators and Compost Makers

• Adding a spadeful of soil mixed in to the heap will add soil microbes and worms.
• Turning a compost heap introduces more air and avoids compaction. The introduction of this extra oxygen can stimulate a new round of warm rotting.
• Animal urine adds natural salts and encourages critters to get on with the composting process.
• Chemical additives in powder form like Ammonium sulphate or proprietary products like Garrotta can speed up the heating. Liquid activators like Biotal perform a similar function and this is an eco-friendly product.
• If the heap is dry I water with Comfrey leaf water. (Soaked Comfrey leaves from an old water butt).
• The longer the temperature stays high, the shorter time will be needed for rotting.  Nitrogen  warms up fastest so grass clippings, nettles and comfrey leaves are good additives.

Compost makers, activators and additives are available from good garden centers and DIY shops or from Amazon

You can collect fallen leaves with a multi tine rake

For a labour saving job you can buy a garden vacuum from Amazon.

Read more Easy tips on Composting leaves

Read about Quicker better compost.

Garden Frost Protection

These Gunnera leaves have been used as a natural frost protection. Before the first frosts, you can place some straw over crowns of plants and keep them in place by the giant leaves. This helps to offer some frost protection which should help them survive the cold of the year. As an added advantage it also looks quite attractive in its own right.

Fleece Protection for Plants.

Horticultural fleece is a simple but effective tool to wrap around individual plants or cover a row of tender plants / vegetables.

Horticultural fleece can also be a great way of protecting plants and vegetables from pests such as cabbage butterfly.

Individual Plant Protection

If you have a few pots which would benefit from frost protection, you can buy these individual plant fleece liners. Plant fleece protectors

This is a more expensive way of buying fleece, but, maybe more convenient for a small number of plants or pots.

Tips on Using Garden Fleece.

• Make sure it is well pegged down.
• Take advantage of any natural frost protection such as moving pots to a sheltered south wall.
• Remember fleece protection will keep temperatures higher, but, it cannot guarantee against frost.
• For tender plants, you have to keep them inside.

Poly Tunnels

For a bigger range of frost protection, the best option may be a poly tunnel. This is a cheap version of a greenhouse. It doesn’t look too attractive in the garden, but, it is pretty efficient and helping frost protection. Poly tunnels

Cloche Protection

For a more attractive garden frost protection, try a Cloche. These look both elegant and help provide environment of a mini greenhouse, though bear in mind in late summer they can become quite hot on a clear sunny day. Cloche protection

Natural Frost Protection

These Iris Unguicularis have been placed against a south facing wall in a dry, free draining soil. A good free draining soil is often as important as protection against cold. A combination of wet and cold can be much more damaging than just frost.

Begonia plants are often the first to succumb to air frost. get the corms inside and protected for winter before the ground is also frozen.

Dahlia leaves go black as soon as they are bitten by the frost bug. Then is the time to cut down the haulms and dig up the tubers for winter storage in dry frost free conditions.

Useful Products

• Horticultural Fleece at Amazon.co.uk
• Cloche at Amazon.co.uk

Related articles

• Frost Damage to plants
• Winter Flowering Plants
• Growing Veg in the greenhouse

Humate Biologically Active Plant Food

Humic acids are eco-friendly compounds derived from soil, peat, and humus. Humic substances are formed by the microbial degradation of dead plant matter and when used as plant food it seems to be a form of recycling.
Humic product vendors claim they greatly improve the soil and promote beneficial micro-organisms and bio-life within the plants root zone area.
I first encountered these new products at the Glee show for garden centres and horticulturalists in Birmingham in September

Claimed Benefits

• Stimulates seed germination
• Promotes  rapid root development and helps layering
  
• Reduces transplant shock
• Promotes increased immune system and resistance to pests and disease
• Decreases watering requirements and stimulates weak plants
  
• Grows green foliage, thicker stems and larger buds
• Reduces residual pesticides and nitrate
  
• Backed by 40+ years of research in organic Humate base agriculture products
• Works in any growing medium…no expensive hydroponics necessary, and no need to change the growing medium between crops

Humates consisting of biologically active fulvic acids and humic acids are crucial to life on earth because they provide a biochemical bridge between mineral and living plant matter. Humic and fulvic acid are powerful chelaters and help to increase nutrient absorption.

Green OK have a range of products which also include good old NPK so the plants shouldn’t suffer if you decide to experiment.
They are part of the Latvian Institute of Humic Studies and the product are just arriving on the shelves of UK retailers

Snake oil or a breakthrough in plant nutrition? Well seaweed is a great additive so will Latvian soil extracts work as well? I have yet to try the products but hope too soon. I will report back

Organic Hoof and Horn Fertilizer

Hoof and Horn or ‘Hoof and Horn Meal’ is a valuable organic fertilizer.
Ground in to a powder the hooves and horns of animals from slaughter houses makes this nitrogen rich granular fertilizer. The cooked, ground, dehydrated cattle hooves and horns also contains phosphates for root growth.

Using Hoof and Horn

• Fine ground the Hoof and Horn will provide a quick hit of nitrogen and some phosphates.
• A coarser ground product will be slower to release the goodness.
• Hoof and Horn is usually worked into the top of the soil at about 2oz per square yard.
• Take care as fine roots can be burnt if applied to thickly.

Uses of Hoof and Horn

• Hoof and Horn is a useful top-up or stop-gap organic fertilizer for nitrogen hungry plants and on poor soil.
• Used to increase green leaf growth and on vegetable when they have overwintered.
• Hoof and Horn increases root growth
• Organically improves soil structure
• Top dressing of Hoof and Horn as a stop-gap measure when growing hungry vegetables including brassicas, tomatoes and lettuce.
• Can be used instead of manure on rhubarb plants and around large fruit trees such as Nectarine and Peaches
• Hoof and Horn is sometimes used as a compost activator to speed decomposition

Compare Hoof and Horn to Other Fertilizers

• Hoof and Horn Meal is is equivalent to Blood Meal in Nitrogen content. The nutrient availability is slower, which is better for organic crops causing less leaf burn.
• It nutrient availability starts at around 4-6 weeks and can lasts 12 months.
• It contains Phosphorus for stem and root growth.
• Hoof and Horn nitrogen content is comparible with Blood Meal. The slower release rate of the former is better timed with plant uptake rates.
• At normal application rates it will not be damaging or wasteful.
• Hoof and Horn has a strong smell that may attract animals but it dissipates more rapidly than that created with Bone Meal.
• Not seen packaged up as frequently as it was at one time Hoof and Horn is worth looking out for

The nearest substitute we have found is Chempak 2 a product range supplied by Thompson & Morgan

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Gardening Glove for Every Finger

Gardening gloves come in a variety of colours and sizes. As I found out at the Glee show in the NEC on from Sunday to Wednesday this week the colours and sizes also relates to the number of manufacturers and resellers.

Tip and Uses for Gardening Gloves

• I prefer to do as much gardening as possible without any gloves.
• Sharp, spiky leaves and prickly prunings are an exception and I need good thorn proof protection
• When occasionally calling upon chemicals, like disinfectants for my dirty plant pots, I use the old standby rubber glove or Marigold
• When lifting or moving something slippy or awkward to hold gloves may give you extra purchase.
• When your hands are cut, grazed or damaged then gloves can keep them clean and prevent infection or further damage
• I collect free horse manure from a local stables and when it is wet and ripe I have been known to wear some gloves.
• Freezing weather should be a time for gloves but I find they generally get in the way.

Heavy duty leather working gloves and others available form Amazon

You knew I couldn’t resist a terrible pun and gloves in the garden, having no palms but some hand-some fox-gloves I opted for this picture – wait til I get my mits on the person who gave me my sense of humour.

Potato scrubbing gloves available from Thompson & Morgan

I have fingered it out at last a finger stall will protect a damaged finger better than an elastoplast.

Woodcare this Winter

Weather the winter with top tips from the woodcare people, Ronseal .

With the onset of wintry weather just months away, leading woodcare manufacturer Ronseal are urging people to act now in order to protect their homes and gardens from the elements.

Just a few simple steps and some carefully chosen products are all it takes to ensure that both interior and exterior woods are fully protected and ready for whatever the weather has in store.

1. Protect wooden garden furniture against cracking, splitting and discolouring with a long lasting, protective stain such as Ronseal’s Hardwood Furniture Stain. This will protect the wood against the elements and also offers a three-year guarantee, meaning next year you can just sit back, relax and let Ronseal do the work!

2. Decking areas are one of the most vulnerable in the garden. Exposed throughout the winter months, decking has to be able to cope with all manner of weather conditions so it’s important to prepare it well. Ronseal’s Perfect Finish High Traffic Decking Stain is waterproof so it protects against rain, frost damage, cracking and peeling. The advanced formulation also protects against knocks, scuffs and scratches whilst the UV filters prevent greying and maintain colour for longer.

3. The winter months are notorious for being grey and bleak so why not protect your garden wood with a product that will also add a splash of colour. Ronseal Woodland Trust Colours are a range of wood stains suitable for use on all types of garden wood including furniture, fences and sheds. Available in eight natural tones, including Bluebell (blue), Fern (green) and Bramble (red), each colour is wax enriched and offers up to three years of protection.

4. Ronseal’s One Coat Sprayable Fencelife provides an easy and convenient way to combat fence rot and water decay brought on by winter climates. With its wax enriched formula it protects your fences from the effects of the weather, whilst advanced resins and light-fast pigments ensure superb coverage in just one coat. What’s more, when applied using a Ronseal Power Sprayer, your treatment time is shaved to just two minutes per panel. Perfect for when the nights are closing in!

5. Prepare exterior doors, window frames and cladding for winter with Ronseal 5 Year Woodstain. Available in a choice of eight colours, this easy to apply stain is rainproof in just one hour and delivers five years of protection. Highly water repellent, it also resists cracking and peeling and, when the summer eventually arrives, it will protect your timber from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Top tip: Ensure you treat the top, bottom and sides of doors to keep moisture out and prevent bowing and warping.

6. Autumn and winter are also the best times of the year for doing those interior jobs that you didn’t get round to doing during the summer. Ronseal Perfect Finish Varnish is the easiest way to achieve beautiful interior wood and comes with a Perfect Finish pad and can be used on either large flat surfaces or small intricate areas. The unique varnish pad deliver a super smooth finishfree from brush marks, ensuring that you always get a perfect finish. Ronseal Perfect Floor Varnish is also available for areas of flooring.

Ronseal products available now from Amazon

Path Cleaning and Cleaners
Garden Disinfectants
Best Weed Killers
Wood Care
Fence Care