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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What can be put in Compost

What can be put in Compost

Tips on what can be turned into Compost

Type of Material

Carbon/ Nitrogen/

Trace

Tips

Ashes from untreated, wood

T

Fine amounts at most. Can make the pile too alkaline and suppress composting.

Bird & Chicken droppings

N

May contain weed seeds

Cardboard

C

Shred into small pieces if you use it. Wetting it makes it easier to tear.

Broad leaves

C

Shredding helps them break down faster. Decompose slowly have a separate pile for leaf mould. Can be acidic low in nutrients

Coffee ground and filters

T

Worms love coffee grounds

Chemically treated grass mowings

N

If weed treated compost won’t be organic but OK after 6 months

Diseased plants

N

If your pile doesn’t get hot enough, it might not kill the pathogen. Let it cure several months, and don’t use resulting compost near the type of plant that was diseased.

Eggshells

T

Break down slowly. Crushing shells helps.

Hair

N

Scatter so it isn’t in clumps.

Hedge Clippings

C

Cut up small

Kitchen rinse water

Neutral

Good to moisten the middle of the pile. Don’t over-moisten the pile.

Kitchen waste- vegetable matter

N & T

Fruit and vegetable peelings – uncooked trimmings

Manure horse, cow, pig, sheep, rabbit

N

Great source of nitrogen. Mix with carbon rich materials so it breaks down better.

Newspaper

C

Shred it so it breaks down easier.

Pine needles and cones

C

Acidic and decomposes slowly.

Seaweed

N

Good nutrient source.

Sawdust and wood shavings

C

You’ll need a lot of nitrogen materials to make up for the high carbon content. Don’t use too much, and don’t use treated woods.

Weeds

N

Dry them out on the pavement, then add later. Don’t use seed heads

Turf and grass sods

N

Make sure the pile is hot enough, or pile separately grass to grass roots to roots to make loam.

Other Compost additives

  • Add a thin layer of garden soil to your heap to help activation.
  • You can add a proprietary activator like Garrotta if you wish.
  • Have more nitrogen base items than carbon to help rotting
  • Use the above table as a guide to what composts.
  • Put leaves in a separate bin they take longer to rot and have little nutritional value
  • Put pine needles and conifer trimmings in a separate bag or bin as they take longer but make good acidic compost for heathers and similar plants.
Poplar Roundabout Felled in Sep-timber

Poplar Roundabout Felled in Sep-timber

In an oval roundabout in Menston a dozen Poplar trees were planted in the 1970s. As you can see only about half survive and these have been mistreated by polling them to restrict height.

What you may want to know about Poplars

  • Poplars (Populus)  are rapidly growing trees with shallow, spreading roots. Do not plant them near buildings.
  • The Black Poplar (nigra) has a shortish life of around 30 years so I shouldn’t be surprised by the state of these trees.
  • White Poplars (alba) are suckering trees with white woolly undersides to the leaf.
  • Balsam poplars can grow 6 feet per year and have a balsamic scent.
  • Female trees have long catkins but they are too high up these trees to see.

Poplar trees are usually felled in Sep-timber!

Greenhouse Tools and Equipment

Greenhouse Tools and Equipment

Good Ventilation

You need at least one roof ventilator and one side ventilator to get good air changes. The roof ventilator is the most important for allowing hot air to escape. Windows at both sides of the greenhouse can be beneficial. Louvered windows are very useful as they are easy to operate and I find hinged windows less stable in wind. Automatic ventilators are available that open the window using a plunger system. Obviously the door is a great ventilator and should be left open when temperatures reach 80 degrees or humidity is 100%. I have never needed an extractor fan but for a large greenhouse a slow moving fan can help some crops.

Temperature Control

A max/min thermometer should be suspended near to greenhouse plants at eye level on the northside of the greenhouse. Digital or traditional versions are available.

Insulation by plastic double glazing on a simple frame will help heating costs but cut down on the suns rays. Bubble wrap is another product to consider and if that cuts down on too much light it can be restricted to the north wall.

A warm greenhouse needs minimum temperatures of 55° F, a cool greenhouse may only need heating in winter to retain 45° F. Electric fan heaters are the popular choice as they also help move air around and you don’t need to move fuel around. Paraffin heaters are cheaper to buy and run but they produce water vapour that can encourage grey mould. Similar issues arise with bottled gas heaters. Piped hot water is a luxury but apart from the cost of installation there are few draw backs.

I also have an under soil electric heating cable for starting seeds and cuttings. They put heat exactly where you want it and are economic to run.

Staging and Shelving

Benches or stages are needed to be able to work at a comfortable height and increase the working area as you can use underneath. Wooden slats, mesh or solid benches are available. I use slats on a bench down the north edge of the greenhouse. A collapsible shelve allows you to grow more tomatoes when spring plants are finished.

I have an alluminium frame greenhouse and there is a neat plastic device that fits anywhere there is a bar. It allows you to string or suspend from. This cedar greenhouse from Alton looks good and shows ventilation and staging

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.
Gourds & Squashes

Gourds & Squashes

Gourds
Gourds

Gourds are grown for the decorative fruit which come in weird and wonderful shapes.They are part of the curcurbit family along with cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins and marrows.

Cultivation Tips

  • Hard seeds may need chipping or scarifying to allow water for germination.
  • Gourds need a long growing season – start indoors in heat.
  • The yellow or orange flowers need pollinating male to female like all the squash family to form fruit
  • Gourds are ready for harvest when the stems dry and turn brown.
  • Leave a few inches of stem attached when harvesting.
  • Seed packets often have a mixture of seeds. Plants cross pollinate easily so saved seed may produce strange results.

Gourd Varieties

There are three main types of gourd; the ornamental gourds, the lagenaria or large utilitarian gourds, and the luffa or vegetable sponge.

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My Plant Partners

My Plant Partners

Combining plants in different ways is one of the joys of successful gardening. Different shapes and textures or bold colour schemes may be the trigger to make a combination work and there are companion plants that encourage growth in others. These wine red and white cyclamen produced a great contrast on their own but combined with the winter heather and the brown fallen leaves they were putting on a regal show in a local churchyard.

Recommended Plant Partnerships

  • A Chinese whitebeam tree, Sorbus hupehensis unfolds sea-green ferny leaves in spring with white flowers in summer. Its beauty can be enhanced by underplanting with the arching Berberis x rubostilla.
  • For autumn contrasts try Acer palmatum’s red leaves with a variegated Holly like Ilex Madame Briot.
  • For a silver leaved collection try Lavender Hidcote, Artemesia Lambrook Silver with Dianthus Mrs Sinkins. To highlight the combination have an old fashioned Gallica red rose as a centre piece.
  • Euonymus radicans and the smaller Eythronium White Beauty have pleasing yellow and white contrasts.
  • A couple of dogwoods can look striking in winter. Try cornus alba Sibirica red and the yellow stemed cornus stolonifera. Prune them hard in spring.
  • A rose like Queen Elizabeth can have its leggy stems surrounded by Rosemary or Lavender or even small violas.
  • Hostas and Primula japoinica or Harlow Carr hybrids both like waterside conditions and thrive together. Hostas with yellow-green leaves also go well in front of smoke bushes Cotinus coggygria
Mildew Autumn Plants

Mildew Autumn Plants

mildew-on-hebe

Mildew is a white powdery fungus that looks unsightly on these leaves. Mildew is a sign of stress in a plant and usually arises from damp air with poor circulation. It is prevalent in my garden now Autumn is here in force. It is of less concern in winter as the cold will take care of the current problem until next year at least.

Some plants are more prone than others. My Phlox, Roses, Michaelmas Daisies and Azaleas have varying amounts of mildew at the moment.

Prevention improves by increasing the air flow and prune to allow that to happen. Water the ground not the leaves and mulch to keep moist.
Treatment by fungicide may not be eco-friendly so try a spray made from a tablespoon of baking soda in a gallon of water with a squirt of washing upo liquid to help it to stay on the leaves.
The fungus will not spread from one species to another but will linger in the soil so destroy infected plant matter or put up with the problem.
Keep roots of susceptible plants very well watered through spring and summer..
Seek out mildew resistant varieties and avoid late feeding of high nitrogen fertilizer creating young sappy growth.

Understand more about mildew in your garden