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Category: Gardening

General gardening tips and hints

Trace Elements and Garden Chemicals

Trace Elements and Garden Chemicals

The main trace elements and micronutrients are molybdenum, manganese, zinc, iron, boron and copper plus calcium for tomatoes. These elements are best provided as water-soluble chelate salts rather than granules.

 Interesting Facts about Seaweed

  • In addition to the trace elements there are another 60 or so chemicals in seaweed.
  • Seaweed extract is a concentrated elixir to use as a foliar feed or root stimulant.
  • Seaweed is a organic fertiliser containing bio stimulants and iodine
  • Over time seaweed acidifies and slowly adds iron to the soil.
  • Seaweed in is already added to Doff tomato feed
  • Gardeners near the coast have used seaweed as a soil improver for centuries.
  • Seaweed contains plant hormones called cytokinins, mannitol and auxins.

Turning Flowers Blue

  • The litmus test for plant colourants is generally can they turn flowers from pink or red to a pleasing blue.
  • Hydrangea plants will be blue in acidic soil and pink or red in neutral or alkaline soil.
  • Colourant with aluminium and iron salts turns pale pink florets pale blue and red flowers purplish.
  • Soil acidifiers help make micronutients available
  • Fertilizers containing phosphate salts that typically convert  metal ions into insoluble solids  are of no nutritional value to the plants. A chelating agent that keeps these metal ions in a soluble form.

Other Garden Chemicals

  • Lime is used to increase the ph in the soil to help vegetable crops.
  • Sequestrine plant tonic is a soluble tonic for acid-loving ericaceous plants
  • Baby bio indoor fertiliser liquid has an organic content including  uric nitrogen.
  • Growth and root promoting hormones are now far more frequently found in a gardeners dispensary.
  • Bio- stimulants and flowering enhancers are used in commercial nurseries for plants sold through garden centers and supermarkets.

 

 

 

Favourite Liquid Fertilisers

Favourite Liquid Fertilisers

We all have favourites and when it comes to fertiliser the liquid variety are mine. If the soil is in good heart then simple water is probably as good as anything for disolving nutrients and tranfering them to your plants. However some plants need more help from extra or special fertilisers.

Background on Fertilisers

Most fertilisers are based on the three major plant nutrients:
Nitrogen (N): For green leafy growth
Phosphorus (P): For healthy root and shoot growth
Potassium (K): For flowering, fruiting and general hardiness (RHS advice)

General multi purpose feed 3.5 – 3.5 – 3.5 dilute 20ml in one gallon of water. …

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Good Bugs Bad Bugs

Good Bugs Bad Bugs

Bug eyed but not spritely.
Book Cover

During May we featured several common garden pests and bugs. Now before we leave the subject a few more comments.

You can get more by experience or via a book, magazine and further online info sites. eg cut-flower insects and mites

Experience of Bugs
Book Cover

  • If you garden for any length of time or even like to have a bunch of flowers in the house you will be bugged at some stage.
  • Stressed plants can be susceptible to aphids. you should see my lupins after a water shortage.
  • Insects at all stages of their life feed on something and they are likely to affect some of your plants. You should see my stripped French Marigolds at the moment. They were only planted in the greenhouse to keep the white fly off the tomato plants!
  • Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails or at least 2 out of the three will chomp through unprotected plants. My rhubarb has even succumbed this year to holey leaf, still we can’t eat that bit of the plants.
  • Sgt Pepper is the only beatle number I want in my garden not Colorado Beetle or Cucumber Beetle. So far so good but that is tempting fate.
  • My first early potatoes will be picked next week and I hope to have escaped cutworm, wireworm,  tuberworms  flea beetles and sundry maggots. Again tempting fate.

Good Bug

  • Some may think the only good bug is a squashed bug I beg to differ.
  • All gods creature have a place in the choir- some sing loud some sing higher …………
  • Ladybirds other than harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) are known for eating aphids so I know which I want in the garden.
Gardening Jobs to Avoid in May

Gardening Jobs to Avoid in May

As soon as the weather warms up there is great temptation to rush into jobs that have previously been deferred. Often there is a good reason for the delay and somethings should not be rushed.

  • Do not trim or refurbish hedges in May. Think of the nesting birds and the unfledged chicks that may be disturbed. It is soon enough to do your pruning later in June when the birds have flown the nest. Your hedges wont suffer except for the odd week of failing to look there best.
  • Another don’t is do not cut off the leaves of Daffodils and other spring bulbs at least until the goodness has gone back into the bulb for next season. The leaves are there to photosynthesize and put sugars and starch into the bulb for next year and over enthusiastic removal will send bulbs blind or into terminal decline.
  • Planting out seedlings too early may kill them off. My runner beans will not go out until June at the earliest. Late plants have a good habit of catching up. Early plants can get a severe ‘check’ to growth by cold, inhospitable weather.
  • Do not pick all the Rhubarb stalks but leave some to regenerate the plant for next year.

 

A Weed Worth $Billions – Seaweed

A Weed Worth $Billions – Seaweed

Comfrey juice concentrate or nettle juice stink but Seaweed extract is a weed to feed your garden. In fact seaweed is arguably the best weed in your garden.

Seaweed is an algae generally living in saltwater. There are over 10,000 species in green, brown and red.

Uses and Benefits of Seaweed

  • Seaweeds are important ecologically and are an important source of oxygen. 70% of the worlds oxygen comes from photosynthesis of algae and plankton.
  • Seaweed is an important food in Indonesia and the far east where Nori and Kelp are cultivated to make one of the largest  aquaculture industries.
  • Most seaweed grows in low-lying rocky environments on the shoreline. All those anchored to rocks or the seabed are safe to eat.
  • Seaweed is a source of chemicals with medicinal and industrial uses including processed foods such as  yoghurt, health drinks and agar for German beer .
  • Seaweed as a soil conditioner has been used in Ireland for many years bulking up earth on thin limestone soils. It is organic and can be added to compost heaps but let rain wash out excess salt first. In Europe seaweed is used, mixed in layers with sand and soil, for growing Potatoes and Artichokes. Unless you live very close to the sea you are unlikely to have access to large quantities so you may use a commercial liquid concentrate.
  • Concentrated Seaweed is used at high dilution rates. It is reputed to help plants avoid stress and resist frost. The natural hormones amino acids and beneficial carbohydrates in Seaweed help plant growth and strong root systems. The seaweed extract helps the take up of trace elements.
  • Seaweed can be used  to remove undesired nutrients from water such as ammonia, ammonium nitrate, nitrite, phosphate,metals and CO2.  Nutrients are  consumed by the seaweed which can then be harvested.

Tips for Use by Gardeners

  • Use a very dilute solution of SM3 seaweed extract as a foliar feed.
  • Seaweed retains water and is slow to decompose so use as a winter mulch.
  • Use it on vegetables and see if your crop yield is better
  • Soluble Seaweed Extract Powder is non-toxic, harmless and a designated fertilizer for organic farming.

Types of Seaweed

  • Red and brown algae are almost exclusively marine seaweeds. Green algae are also common in freshwater.
  • Green algae including river species and red algae are recognised as being in the Kingdom Plantae.
  • Brown algae with 1800 species includes Kelps  range from the Arctic to New Zealand.
  • Wracks or Fucus species are common in the UK with other brown seaweeds Saccharina latissima and Bladerlocks.
  • Sea Grapes (green caviar) and Sea Lettuce Ulva are popular green seaweeds
  • Eucheuma, Dulce, Carola and Ognonori are edible red seaweeds
  • Sargassum is floating plankton like seaweed.

Brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum cc 2.5

Basic Gardening Tips

Basic Gardening Tips

Three Helpful Gardeners

Plants want to survive, they do not set out to annoy gardeners !  All a gardener needs to do is to help plants to fulfill their ambitions of life and procreation.

As with humans and animals Mazlow’s hierarchic of basic needs applies in the garden. Physiologically water, warmth, food and rest are crucial. Safety needs such as security and a place to live, reproduce and grow plus a bit of esteem or love will help.

Water Tips

  • Soil needs to be able to retain moisture. Extremely sandy or gravelly soil  needs to have lots of humus added perhaps in the form of compost. Tip. Improve the planting hole, make it twice as big and deep as you think you need.
  • Water needs to get down to the ‘drinking roots’ which are often deeper than the feeding surface roots. Water well to get deeper in the ground rather than little and often.
  • Fleshy leafy plants like salad and veg need more water than woody shrubs with fewer leaves to transpire.
  • A small plant pot holds a lot less water than a big pot. It dries quicker, gets hot faster and runs out of food sooner.
  • More houseplants drown than die of thirst. Roots can’t breath under waterlogged conditions.

Warmth Tips

  • Plants tend to be seasonal so consider what you grow and where.
  • Young leafy growth is more likely to be damaged by frost or strong winds.
  • Some roots will die if the ground freezes. A mulch may help.
  • Strong sun can burn shoots and leaves.
  • Hot, dry conditions will desiccate many plants and they can die. Shade a greenhouse in summer.
  • Many plants thrive on good light and dark can be very bad.

Food Tips

  • We all need food and plants are no different.
  • Photosynthesis converts sunlight into sugars for plant food.
  • Water draws food into chlorophylled  leaves for photosynthesis to start.
  • Soil in ‘good heart’ will contain food to be dissolved and feed the plants.
  • Extra food can be provided by granular or liquid fertilisers.
  • Excess fertiliser may encourage weak growth.

Rest and Safety

  • Locate your plants in appropriate surroundings.
  • If the location turns out to be wrong change it or get another plant.
  • Rest easy by sorting disease and pest with controls as soon as possible.
  • Remove competition by weeding.
  • Support plants that grow tall like sweet peas or are prone to wind damage like some perennials.
  • Beware of wind that can damage growth and rock plants to their roots

 

Windy Ridge

Caterpillar Brassicas Problems and Cures

Caterpillar Brassicas Problems and Cures

Small Cabbage White Caterpillar (pic)

Large Cabbage White Caterpillar are yellow with black markings

Caterpillar Problems

  • There are a large variety of caterpillar from different species of moths, butterflies and saw flies.
  • Brassicas are particularly susceptible to three common types the large cabbage white butterfly, the small cabbage white butterfly and the cabbage moth respectively Pieris brassicae, Peiris rapae and Mamestra brassicae.
  • Butterflies lay their eggs on the outer leaves of the brassica which hatch in 4 days to become voracious feeding larvae.
  • In addition to eating irregular shaped holes in leaves they often burrow into the hearts of cabbages.
  • Damage to plants will occur in April and October as the butterfly produces two generations per year.

Caterpillar Control

  • Avoid the butterflies by netting the brassicas.
  • Pick off any caterpillars by hand.
  • Squash any eggs that are found under the leaves before they develop.
  • Try a biological control from a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs in the caterpillars eg Cotesia glomerata
  • Grazers natural formula is sprayed directly on to the foilage which helps protect the plant from damage.
  • Spray with the contact pyrethroid insecticides but remember you plan to eat the brassica.
  • Distract the butterflies by planting nasturtiums as an alternative breeding ground.
Lawn Grub Problems and Controls

Lawn Grub Problems and Controls

Grubs of the daddy long legs or species of Tipula attract birds to peck at your lawn. More importantly nthe feast on the roots of your turf.

 

Grub Problems on Lawns

  • Leatherjackets  are larvae or grubs of the  Crane Fly or Daddy Long Legs as they are more commonly known.
  • Leatherjackets live for one year from eggs laid in September, eating there way through winter
  • The fully grown Larvae are grey brown maggots up to 4 cm in length and have grown that size by eating the roots of your grass.
  • Leatherjacket problems can be recognised when your lawn starts thinning and going bare.
  • During dry spells in summer the grass may go yellow-brown caused by the grubby eating habits.
  • The less common larvae of Chafer Beetles  live for 3 years in the soil but the effect can be the same as Daddy Long Legs grubs. They are creamy white, C-shaped with brown heads and look similar to vine weevil.

Prevention And Control

  • Chemical insecticides have been banned by EEC for garden use against these grubs.
  • On a wet day cover the lawn overnight with some black plastic . When you remove it the next morning the grubs will be on the surface to feed the birds.
  • Nematode products utilise natural predators such as nematodes, lady-bird and lace-wing larvae that break the life-cycle of the pest. These solutions boost the number of natural predators and have no detrimental effect upon the lawn.

Book CoverNematodes from Amazon

Earwigs – Forficula auricularia Problems & Control

Earwigs – Forficula auricularia Problems & Control

Earwig O

Earwigs look worse than the bites they take out of plants. Some years there may be large infestations.

Earwig Problems

  • Whilst Clematis, Dahlia and Chrysanthemum plants may be a bit chewed  and ragged by an earwig they will not come to great harm unless you are growing show blooms.
  • Larger infestations  can strip the soft green parts to a network of veins.
  • Earwigs eat large irregular holes in the leaves and petals can be damaged by droppings.
  • Earwigs feed their newly hatched young on aphids and other small insects.
  • During the day earwigs hide amongst the petals. The leaves of Dahlias can be ravaged by
  • Earwigs do not bite or spread disease.

Earwig Control

  • To catch these night feeders use a torch.
  • The inverted plant pot on a cane method with the pot filled with straw or well crumpled newspaper will act as a trap. You can then collect the earwigs for destruction.
  • Birds, frogs and toads that prey on earwigs will help reduce the population of earwigs and keep it under control.
  • Chemical controls such as permethrin should be applied at dusk on warm evenings. Treat the leaves blooms and the  soil below the plants.
  • Prevention by removing moisture and decaying vegetation will make conditions less hospitable for earwigs.

 

 

Woodlice Problems and Control

Woodlice Problems and Control

Book Cover

Woodlice

Woodlice are generally seen as scavengers who eat rotting matter, they are not thought of as harmful to the garden. However, they do chew leaves and stems of tomatoes and cucumber in the greenhouse. They are not true insects but a species of crustacean.

Seedlings can be  eaten by woodlice before the seedlings become established. They can eat stems and leaves so woodlice are best destroyed.

Control and Problems

  • Woodlice and millipedes can be controlled using ant and insects powders historically Methiocarb with HCH lindane
  • Keep areas clear of any debris
  • Recycle woodlice you capture on to the compost heap.
  • Squishing and squashing woodlice is a common cure.
  • Woodlice like damp dark places with a source of rotting wood to lay their eggs.
  • Woodlice are unsightly particularly if they invaded the home where they like damp and rotting wood.

Notes

Methiocarb  is a molluscicide and insecticide for control of slugs, snails and many other pests. In 2014 the EU banned Methiocarb poison-baited pellets  due to their hazardous effect on grain-eating farm birds

Nippon Woodlice Killer based on permethrin