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Author: tejvan

Daises in the Lawn

Daises in the Lawn

daises

I’m a big fan of a natural looking lawn. Not all lawn weeds are so welcome, but, I like to see daises popping through. If you cut the lawn every two weeks, you can get a long period of flowering.

Some people like a lawn free of everything except grass. An all round lawn weedkiller will probably do job.

If you want to encourage daises into your lawn, give lawn a good hard raking to create space and then sprinkle seed. Hopefully, they will get established and then will naturally spread.

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Tips for Growing From Seed

Tips for Growing From Seed

seeds

Growing from seed is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. We get to see the whole plant cycle from the tiniest of seeds to a full grown plant.

To Grow from Seed follow these Simple Steps

1. Good Compost. Choose a specific compost for growing seeds. Peat based composts are the most popular. There are also other materials like loam based (John Innes no.1) and coir based composts. Peat is liked for its free draining, yet water holding properties. See more on commercial compost

2. Containers. Plastic trays and pots offer the easiest solution to keep clean and free of disease. You can also buy degradeable pots which can be planted directly into the ground. This is great for seeds which dislike any disturbance to the roots. See using plugs for seedlings

3. Sow in Right Temperature. Most seeds need a gentle heat to germinate. 15 – 20 degrees is perhaps the most popular. If sowing early a windowsill or even better a heated compost tray, enable you to control temperature. This is more important for seeds like Cucumber which need more heat than usual.

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Best Ten Vegetables To Grow

Best Ten Vegetables To Grow

veg

Here are ten of the best vegetables for the home gardener to try growing.

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are labour intensive but rewarding. They are also one of the most prolific crop, offering a season of upto three months. There is never a problem in sharing a bumper grop of home grown tomatoes. Tomatoes need careful watering, feeding and pinching out. But, there is great satisfaction from training the tomatoes and providing neat rows of plants. They can be grow in small spaces and so are ideal for the small garden. See tips for growing tomatoes

2. Runner Beans.

Runner Beans are a great crop for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are easy to grow. You can sow direct outside in May / June. They are very fast growing and can soon reach a height of over 6 feet (where they will need pinching out to encourage more vegetables. Also, they are remarkably pest and disease resistant. Apart from slug damage when very young, Runner Beans will thrive without needing to tackle the usual pests like aphids. They also look very attractive with green leaves and red flowers, they can be grown in an ornamental garden with no shame. See: Tips for Growing Runner Beans

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Growing Cucumbers

Growing Cucumbers

Cucumbers growing on soil. Training them up canes protects fruit from slugs

Cucumbers are a rewarding vegetable. Picked fresh from a home grown plant they taste great and add to any summer salad.

Cucumbers will grow best in a greenhouse or polytunnel. They need between 100 to 140 frost free days from sowing to harvest, so they can be grown outdoors in the UK, if the spot is sheltered. If growing outside try hardy varieties such as ‘Long Green Maraicher’ and Boothby’s Blond’.

Sowing Cucumber Seed

Sow in pots and keep in a warm place. Once, sprouted the seedlings like a warm and moist environment.

Growing Tips

  • When 2 inch tall, remove weaker seedlings. When planting out, give 90cm
  • Cucumbers are hungry feeders. They thrive on a rich, moist soil. They like more water and feed than tomatoes (tomatoes do well by keeping relatively dry until the fruit sets).
  • When fruit sets, feed with a high Potash (tomato) feed to encourage bigger fruits.
  • Cucumbers can be trained up cane poles. But, with several large cucumbers the weight can become too much. However, like many veg, it is best to pick often as this will keep the plant producing more.
  • Pinching Out. An important aspect of growing cucumbers is to pinch out the male flowers. They are identified by the flowers without an embryonic cucumber behind the base. If male flowers are left on, they tend to pollinate the female flowers and the resulting fruit is bitter.
  • Pinch out Growing tips 2 leaves after a fruit has formed

Pests and Diseases.

Cucumbers, like many plants grown in greenhouses, can be subject to powdery mildew, and Red Spider Mite. The best cure here is prevention. It involves avoiding a very hot dry environment (which Red Spider Mite loves) and providing good ventilation. Ensure good hygiene and cut away and dispose of any affected leaves as soon as you see evidence of fungal growth.

The succulent leaves of cucumbers also make a popular target with slugs and snails. Use the usual methods of preventing slug and snail damage.

Cucumber Mosaic Virus.

A disease not confined to cucumbers. Symptoms include yellowing leaves, leaves turning up and reduction in yields and distorted fruit. The best way to deal with cucumber mosaic virus is prevention. Chemical control is difficult. It can be transmitted through aphids or even affected tools. If you experience any disease, burn plant and disinfect area and tools involved.

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How To Make Most of Garden

How To Make Most of Garden

garden

How To Enjoy the Garden.

We often write about how to kill pests, how to grow vegetables, how to keep on top of the weeds. But, what about how to enjoy the garden? We all know gardens are for enjoyment, but, if we’re not careful, they can become a beast of burden rather than a paradisical area for our relaxation and enjoyment.

Do a Job 100%.

It is tempting to be in the half mood of gardening, we wander out in our slippers and start half heartedly pulling up some couch grass with our bare hands. We don’t really get the job, (we don’t even want to get our slippers on hands dirty). When we are weeding, we want to go at it ruthlessly, will all the right equipment to eradicate an area or particular weed. It is more efficient to get a job done, than leave it at  50% done.

garden

Perfection Should be A Natural Perfection

Do you wander round famous gardens and get jealous of the immaculate lawns the absence of any weed e.t.c? The great natural garden can happily incorporate the odd weed without losing its beauty and naturalness. If we are only happy when there are no weeds and no pests and neat rows, and immaculate petunias… we will never be able to enjoy the garden.

It’s just a matter of looking on weeds with a different perspective. Look at the bigger picture and enjoy the different shades of green…

Feel the Living Energy.

A garden is more than a beautiful picture to look at. It is enjoyable to sometimes just sit back and listen to the hum of insects and feel the life that is going on in the garden.

Do Manageable Tasks.

Have you ever started with a little light pruning and before you know it you’re trying to tackle and giant conifer involving innumerable visits to local recycling place. Before, start gardening have a manageable task. It is better to grow six tomato plants well, than try and grow 50 tomato plants badly. You will never be able to eat all tomatoes anyway. Keep the scale to fit your schedule. If you have little time, look for time saving techniques. If a bush grows so quickly you are always having to prune it, why not take it out and put something in lower maintenance.

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Best Mulch To Use

Best Mulch To Use

mulch
A gravel mulch – no organic matter, but, does highlight these young peonies

Now is an excellent time to be adding mulches to your garden. An organic mulch has several benefits for your garden.

  • Helps to insulate the soil from extremes of temperatures. E.g. helps prevent brassica roots overheating in summer soil
  • Keeps in water. Make sure you mulch when soil is damp.
  • Helps protect surface weeds.
  • Adds organic matter to the soil, improving structure and adding mulches.
  • Some mulches like well rotted manure will also act as a fertiliser.

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Tips for Growing Broccoli

Tips for Growing Broccoli

Broccoli is often referred to as a wonder foods – with a great range of minerals and vitamins. Whether it is a wonder food or not, freshly cut broccoli from the garden makes for a very tasty vegetable accompaniment.

  • To grow broccoli, sow in pots 7-9 weeks before the last frost. To protect roots during transplant, plant in 3 inch pots or decomposable cardboard. After hardening off, plant outside.
  • Broccoli like full sun, though in hot climates, full sun may encourage them to go to seed. Therefore, they can still do well in partial shade.
  • Like many other Brasicas, they like a steady growing environment. If possible shield from extremes of temperature. After planting be ready with some fleece to protect from prolonged period of cold nights.
  • When the soil warms up, try adding a layer of mulch to keep soil moist and overheating.
  • For best results, offer your broccoli a steady feeding and watering regime. Broccoli like 3-4cm of watering per week. For feeding try blood and bone meal or seaweed feed on a fortnightly basis.

Broccoli are fairly pest resistant, though you will need to keep an eye open for usual suspects such as slugs, pigeons and caterpillars. Diseases are rarely a problem, but, make sure there is a good crop rotation programme in order.

Broccoli Seeds at T&M

Euphorbia Plants

Euphorbia Plants

euphorbia

The National Collection of hardy Euphorbia’s are held at Oxford Botanic Gardens. This is a selection of some of the Euphorbia varieties grown in this delightful garden.

euphorbia

Euphorbia Cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’

euphorbia
Euphorbia Hyberna

euphorbia

Euphorbia ‘Redwings’

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Growing Sunflowers With Children

Growing Sunflowers With Children

sunflowers

Sunflowers are one of the easiest plants to grow. They are a great way to get children into gardening as they can soon see the fruits of their efforts. During the growing season, children will enjoy watching the daily growth in the size of the plant.

Even if you don’t have a garden, you can try growing sunflowers in pots. All you need is a decent size pot, and just take extra care with watering and feeding.

Choose a tall variety such as Russian Giant. Children will get great joy from seeing a sunflower growing taller than themselves.

Sunflowers are generally pest resistance. The most important thing is to protect them against slugs when young.

How Children Can help Grow Sunflowers.

  • Choosing packet of seeds.
  • Sowing seeds in three inch pots.
  • Protect against slugs. Perhaps they could make a beer trap to learn an organic method of dealing with slugs.
  • Taking care of watering, on a daily basis.
  • Feeding with an organic feed.
  • Tieing the sunflower to a stake.

What Children Can learn from Growing Sunflowers

  • The basics of gardening.
  • What a plant needs to grow – light, water, food, heat.
  • The responsibility of looking after their own sunflower
  • How Wildlife can benefit from plants such as sunflowers (leave seeds in autumn to be eaten by birds.

Sunflower Competition.

I will never forget, the time at primary school when we had a sunflower competition to see who could grow the tallest sunflower. In April, we were all given a few sunflower seeds, and we had to bring the sunflower into school during September. My sunflower was not very tall. But, I remember almost daily looking after the sunflower, watering and feeding.

How To Grow the Tallest Sunflower

  1. Choose Tall Varieties like Russian Giant or the smaller but cuddly Teddy Bear
  2. Sow Early in March / April under Glass and keep in warm conditions.
  3. If really keen give extra light during early spring months
  4. Keep well fed and well watered, (but, don’t get carried away). Follow instructions from a regular liquid feed.
  5. Choose a position in full sun.
  6. Keep staked to avoid blowing over.

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How To Grow Dahlias from Gardeners Tips

How To Grow Dahlias from Gardeners Tips

dahlia

Dahlia offer magnificent colour

Tips for Growing Dahlias

  • Dahlias are an excellent plant, great for bold planting schemes. They are quick growing and provide an impressive display of colour late in the season.
  • You can start growing Dahlias by buying tubers from garden centres and specialist mail order.
  • They can be planted from March to April. You could just about try planting a tuber now (early May) for a late season show.
  • Dahlias are tender so need to be kept under glass until all risk of frost has passed. For early season dahlias start in May and gradually harden off before planting out in late May / early June.
  • Dahlias like the warmth, so a heated greenhouse would really speed up their growth.
  • Pinching Out. To encourage bushy growth, pinch out the growing tips. You can also remove small spindly stems.

dahlia

  • For the biggest flowers, you can pinch out secondary blooms and put all attention into the one bloom. This is best for cut flowers, but, for a garden display, you don’t have to do this.
  • Apart from some small low growing varieties, dahlias will need protecting. Stake them securely. it works quite well to have a triangle of stakes around the plant and then tie garden string around the plant.
  • Dahlias are heavy feeders and like to be kept well watered, especially during the flowering season. If your soil is poor, try digging in lots of organic material for them. Also, once established, give a good watering and then a add a layer of mulch to keep water in.

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