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Category: Tips Hints and Ideas

Help for the new and not so new gardener

Super Veg 2017 Ornamental Kale

Super Veg 2017 Ornamental Kale

 

Kale is the newly rediscovered easy to grow vegetable.

Many plants sold as “ornamental cabbage” are in fact kales. They are grown for the coloured and ornamental leaves which are brilliant white, red, pink, blue or violet in the interior or the rosette. Because they supply colour in winter Ornamental Kale is popular with some designers. The green kales (Borecole) can also be very ornamental. Keep tidy by pulling old outer leaves off


Ornamental kale is every bit as edible as any other variety, provided it has not been treated with pesticides. Special recipes

For more Tips and other Kales

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Growing Runner Bean – Scarlet Emperor

Growing Runner Bean – Scarlet Emperor

Tips for good Runner Bean crops

  • Prepare the soil to retain moisture by incorporating good compost and/or wet newspaper at the bottom of a trench in winter.
  • Rotate crops to a new patch every year on a three year cycle.
  • Do not feed with heavy nitrogen fertilisers or you will get leaf and less flower.
  • Flowers pollinate best if the air is humid so mist over if there is a dry spell.
  • Water plants well and regularly or stunted ‘C’ curved beans will disappoint
  • Support with a cane each or on a wigwam. I am trying an X shape this year so that the top half of the X encourages beans to hang down outside the plant and be easy to pick.
  • Harvest when beans are still young and have a snap in them
  • Try a variety know for its flavour like Kelvedon Marvel or Red Knight
  • Ruby moon has maroon pods that turn green when cooked and Painted lady has red and white bi-coloured flowers
  • Runner Beans can be grown for the bean inside or for the whole pod to be eaten

Tips for entering Runner Beans for a local show

  • Stick to the schedule for the show – if it says three runner beans submit three runner beans and label the variety correctly
  • Chose straight beans of equal length and form – size isn’t everything
  • If beans need a bit of straightening keep them in a wet towel overnight pressed straight.
  • Grow and take some spares to the show
  • Display as instructed or on black velvet to show off your specimen
  • Collect the seed of good plants for next year and develop your own strain or get good seed from a specialist
  • If you want a giant bean to become a world record you will be looking for bean in excess of 48 inches and it will be too woody to eat.
Delphinium Spires to Aspire too

Delphinium Spires to Aspire too

Flower spikes can reach over 6 foot and when massed together at the back of the border look really special. Delphinium are worth the effort to grow successfully and here are some tips to help.

  • Sow seed of Delphinium elatum types in preference to pacific hybrids or buy plant in spring prior to the showing the flowering stem.
  • Add plenty of compost and water well in spring and during flowering
  • Plant near walls or hedges to protect from wind but stake the plants as well to at least two thirds the eventual height tying in the flowers as they grow.
  • Snails and slugs like the jucy foliage so use your favourite slug protection system
  • On established plants remove less vigorous shoots to leave 4-6 strong stems. Use these as cuttings.
  • Feed with a slow release fertiliser such as bone meal
  • Cut flowers off as they fade under the lowest flower then when a new stalk is a foot tall cut out the old stalk and you may get a second autumn flowering
  • Mulch with ‘Strulch’ the organic straw based mulch

Delphinium range to try

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Astilibe Perennials for a Shady Border

Astilibe Perennials for a Shady Border

Astilibes chinensis

Astilibes aka False Goats Beard

This summer flowering perennial has good disease and pest resistance. The plumes of flowers stand above fine foliage

Dependant on variety it grows from 12 inches to 4 foot tall with up to a 2 foot spread. The flowers vary from raspberry red (above A. pulmila ) and pinks A. Bressingham Beauty to cream and some clear whites with dark leaves like A. Deutchland.

Compact varieties like Perko, Inshriach Pink, William Buchanan and Sprite will grow less than a foot and are suitable for rockeries.

Tips on Growing Good Astilibes

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Watering Houseplants

Watering Houseplants

This Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum) houseplant is being killed with kindness by the family waterer. Too much water kills quicker than too little.This plant likes humidity from a mister or being stood on a damp gravel base but doesn’t want to be flooded.

Watering Houseplants

  • Plants that transpire lots of water from large fleshy or soft leaves need more watering.
  • Plants with frail, rubbery or sticky leaves are generally conditioned to survive with less water. Look at the leaves to learn what works best.
  • Most cacti & succulents with juicy leaves are often able to survive dry spells.
  • Plants that are actively growing need more water and the converse is true in winter when growth is slow they need little or no water.
  • Try aim for evenly moist soil from top to bottom after watering
  • Good drainage in needed for the majority of houseplants so if in doubt err on the side of an open compost
  • Stagnant water is a no-no causing chills, decay and harbouring potential pests.
  • The tepid water with no chemicals is OK or try rain water.
  • Ailing plants should be given only little water and no fertilizer.
  • Gloxinia like other hairy leaved plants dislike water on the leaves as the sun’s heat can be magnified and damage the leaf.

Expert Watering

The Joy of Gardening

The Joy of Gardening

Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes; everyone knows we are supposed to enjoy our garden but do we enjoy gardening or at times does it just feel like hard work? Is it similar to the Joy of Sex or 50 Shades of grey-green?

These are some tips for enjoying gardening.

Don’t Expect Perfection

Some people are never happy until every weed is removed and every plant is in the right place. This means that, even in a small garden, you will always be facing an uphill struggle to keep on top of the garden. A good gardener places emphasis on getting the important structure right, but then allows nature to have her own say as well. Don’t feel guilty just because some weeds are creeping through your borders. Don’t expect plants to behave exactly as you want. If you look at nature, you rarely see plants in a nice neat rows. (see: definition of a weed)

80 / 20 Principle

The 80 / 20 principle says that you can achieve 80% of your improvement with 20% of your effort. When gardening start with the jobs that make the biggest difference to the look of the garden. Don’t start with weeding an area out of sight by the compost heap. Start with making small changes in your main border which will make a big difference.

Take Time To Enjoy

A garden isn’t just a place of work, but somewhere to enjoy. You will always be able to find jobs to do in a garden; but, sometimes you need to say that you are just going to enjoy the garden – the weeds can wait for another day. Similarly, when you work, be focused. In one hour of concentrated weeding, you can probably do more than several odd 5-10 minutes sessions.

Garden is Living Entity.

Don’t just think about plants. Try to encourage wildlife such as birds; they help to create a feeling that the garden is being lived in rather just something to admire like a museum.

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Thrifty Gardening

Thrifty Gardening

Gardening is an area where there are many ways of saving money or reducing costs. A thrifty approach to gardening is not only possible it is highly desirable particularly in the early stages of gardening. It would be easy to buy the most expensive and decorative plants in the garden centre only to find that you didn’t know what you were letting yourself in for. The plant may die or fail in some other way because you didn’t understand its needs and the care required to look after it. So ask for advice.

Pelargonium grandiflorum

Extra Plants for Free

  1. Increase your own stock by collecting seeds from annuals and plants you like. Leave a few vegetables to ‘run to seed’ e.g. peas and beans are good examples – at the end of the season let them grow until the seed pod is mature then collect and separate to dry the beans or peas and sow them again in spring.
  2. Increase your own stock by taking cuttings. Don’t worry about the occasional failure but take enough cuttings to cover losses.
  3. Increase stock by dividing up large clumps of plants. Many plants like Iris need this division treatment to remain healthy.
  4. Local horticultural and gardening clubs, neighbours, church fairs, friends, and family are good sources of cuttings, seeds and cheap but healthy plants.
  5. Look in your own garden for self sown plants I had some great cowslips in the garden when I arrived probably from seeds dropped by birds.
  6. Seeds or cuttings collected from positions where they are not needed to maintain the environment. (That is not to encourage theft from gardens or damage to the environment but there are many occasions when an opportunity won’t cause any problem)

Save on Consumables and Equipment

  1. Water is costly when metered so mulch rather than water. Water key plants individually and deeply. Collect rainwater in a barrel.
  2. Make your own seed pots from old packaging, margarine tubs, yoghurt pots or paper towel roll ends.
  3. If you have several old marked labels clean then in a jar of bleach to be able to reuse.
  4. Use organic slug control methods which tend to be free or cheap.

Top Gardeners Tip
Grow what gives you pleasure but if you can eat it or use it instead of buying something, like a bunch of flowers or present then you will get double value & pleasure.

How To Take Root Cuttings

How To Take Root Cuttings

Root Cuttings make an excellent way to increase the number of plants. They can be taken in the middle of winter when not much else is happening in the garden.

Plants which can be Grown through taking Root Cuttings

  • Phlox
  • Mint,
  • Japanese Anemones
  • Primulas
  • Oriental Poppies

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Cheap Good Value Perennials

Cheap Good Value Perennials

I was passing through Ilkley in Yorkshire when I was impressed by a small ‘Old Bridge Nursery’ by the side of the river Wharfe. There was negligible growing space but the crammed site was owned by an operation near Filey on the Yorkshire coast. It struck me as a good idea to have extra growing and growing-on capacity in such an auxiliary location.

Priced in pence per perennial pot (or per part of per pot perhaps) they seemed to be reasonable value for a three and a half inch pot . The roots were strong and just beginning to grow through the bottom of the pot and in most cases nicely filled the pot. Less than an inch of plant was showing but I bought 3 plants of which 2 were AGM varieties.

The Aster was so well developed I split it into 3 plants so they only cost very little each. As they are late to flower there is time for each plant to catch up and grow away strongly.

The red leaved Penstemon variety just caught my eye. If it grows and flowers well and is different from the red flowered, yellow leaved variety I have then I will take cuttings to increase the stock again for no cost.

I also got a Rudbeckia to fill a hole where another plant had been. I got to select the best plant from 50 but there were many other perennials that still had to show the first sign of newq growth .

I also bought 3 dwarf rhododendrons to plant in a space where a Eucalyptus tree is going to have to come out.

Tips for Good Value Perennials

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Autumn Backend Roses

Autumn Backend Roses

 

Late October and it feels very backendish. I am always pleased at the late rose buds that keep flowering in  ones and twos at this time of year. In a mild Autumn they can go on until Christmas even in Yorkshire.

Autumn Rose Tips

  • If you have been troubled with ‘black spot’ this year, collect all infected leaves and destroy then spray the rose again now with a fungicide.
  • Mulch your rose with the rotted compost you have been cultivating since spring.
  • Some people recommend pruning now to stop wind rocking roots loose but I wait until spring.
  • I have just taken cuttings of some roses.  8 inch lengths of stem of semi ripe wood have been put in a corner of the garden with some sand at the bottom of the hole. I will leave them a year or so and see what happens. A friend seems to have great success but she doesn’t know how she manages it.
  • Have a last look at nurseries and garden centers for the colour or variety of rose you want then order bear-rooted stock.
  • Good housekeeping makes for good roses.