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Gardening Tips Week Ending 5th August 2014. Hello Folks Gardening Tips Week Ending Hello Folks
Gardening Tips August 5th 2012. Hello Folks Gardening Tips For
Week Ending August 5th 2011 Gardening
Tips Week Ending August 6th 2010. Hello
Folks
Hope you have some bright gardens full of flowers, or productive
vegetable patches now. Seed catalogues will be sent around in the post
anytime now and after the very hot dry spell we have just had, it is
time to look round, see what has survived well and then decide what to
grow next year. Some plants which have done well that come to mind are,
Lavender, of which there are several different colours, various Sages,
Thymes, Sedums and Dianthus. Instead of growing from seed you may want
to try taking some cuttings from your existing plants.
Lavender cuttings can be taken by carefully pulling off new side
shoots with a heel. Then trim off tidily and push about 6 or 7 cuttings
in round the edge of a 1 litre, or 5 inch pot, filled with a gritty
compost. Water the pot lightly and put it in a plastic bag with a short
thin cane supporting the bag to make it look like a tent. Then keep it
in a cool place and when the cuttings are rooted pot them separately
until they are growing well enough to go out in the garden. With Thyme
you just take off small shoots, but without the heel and otherwise treat
the same. I put three Dianthus plants in a fairly shallow Terra Cotta
bowl last Summer and they looked very bright making a brilliant splash
of colour. After they had been left out all Winter and Spring came, they
suddenly seemed to spring into life again and flowered as well as
before. They had been left close to the house wall for shelter though.
They have just had their dead flowers cut off and we are now waiting to
see if more flowers will come. Geraniums,
or should I say Zonal Pelargoniums, have really been very bright this
year. I usually give mine a good drink in an evening as this is the best
time for watering them, not during the daytime. Geranium cuttings can be
taken once again, but do not use rooting powder when trying to root them
and keep them almost dry throughout the Winter. They will root more
easily in the house than in the greenhouse as the cold damp Winter air
of an unheated greenhouse can be too humid for them and can cause leaf
rot. Any
large leaves on Tomato plants can be cut off now to let the sun and
light in to ripen the fruit. My soft fruit is doing well this year even
though it has been dry, with some going in the freezer and some in fresh
fruit salads. We picked lots of Blackcurrants and even had our first few
berries on our Josta Berry bush, but the Gooseberries didn’t do so
well. The fruit on one of the Blueberry bushes has already ripened, but
the other one is a different variety that will follow on. In the Winter
my son dug up and divided the Yellow Raspberry canes which have now
filled out and we already picking some berries although they are
supposed to be Autumn fruiting. When
we were out one day we came across some small Peaches for sale that we
had not seen before which looked like a Doughnut ring in shape, but with
their centres filled in. We have not tried them yet, but does anyone
know where they come from? Well
that’s all for now. Gardening
Tips For Week Ending 9th August 2009 Hello
Folks
It doesn’t seem long since we were putting the clocks forward
and with the longest day now gone the nights are drawing in already, but
everything in the garden is still looking bright and cheerful in spite
of all the dull weather and heavy soaking it has been getting. The
Tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing well and I must make a special note
of the name of them, as some of the trusses are 17-18 inches long with
tomatoes from top to bottom. They are a new variety of Tomato that
produces “pop in the mouth size ones” and it is strange how one will
always find it’s way into ones mouth when picking them! Runner
Beans are flowering, but the bees seem to have gone on holiday, as they
are not setting very well. Gooseberries and Black Currents have done
well this year, but the wet has spoilt some of the Raspberries. The wet
has prevented me from doing much in the garden, but I have at least
managed to get the Forsythias cut back although it was a bit late. They
will catch up, as will the Phlomis Fruiticosa that I have cut back
severely now it has flowered. Phlomis make a large shrub and are very
showy, with soft, furry, silvery grey leaves and fairly large, bright,
yellow flowers that the bees love. We have three Buddleias that are
beginning to flower now, a very dark blue one, a white one and a yellow
one. The
food, in the compost, in baskets, tubs and window boxes will all have
been taken up now by the plants, so you should feed them each week. The
Hazelnut bush I grew from a nut bought at the greengrocers about 6 years
ago has now made a large bush that had some lovely catkins on in the
Spring and yes, this year we will soon be picking our own nuts!
Fortunately I have not seen any squirrels round where we live yet. Amaryllis
bulbs from previous years should either, be in flower, or coming into
flower, so gentle watering should be done, then, when the leaves start
growing, start feeding them. My red one, which has flowered each year
for about 5 years and a pink and white one for about 3 years, are now
both in flower yet again. Lavender
has been lovely this year, but do remember that when the flowers have
all dropped the plants should be cut down to just above the old wood,
but not into the old wood as that will not shoot again.
Gardening
Tips Week Ending August 7th. Hello folks
Sunshine has come at last so lets hope we have it for a while now
so that it helps to dry up the floods and bring the bees out to
pollinate the runner beans etc. My beans are flowering quite well but
not setting at present. A
gentleman at the coffee morning passed me a leaflet about an insect that
is attacking the Allium family which includes Onions, Leeks, Garlic and
the “ornamental” Alliums, so keep a look out for them. Tomatoes
are doing well in the greenhouses, but if the leaves start to go yellow
give them a drink of Epsom Salts, (a teaspoonful dissolved in a pint of
water) as this is a sign that the plants are getting short of magnesium.
Water the solution round the roots or in the pots but not on the leaves.
Large leaves can be taken off to allow the sun to get through to ripen
the tomatoes better. If
you have the lovely lilies growing in pots or in the garden, take
the seed pods off when you see them forming after the flowers have
finished, or they will weaken the bulb which won’t flower so well next
year. Lilies can be grown from seed, so if you want to try them leave
just one pod on the plant to ripen. If you have more than one colour the
seedlings may be mixed through pollination. They are fairly big seeds
and when they are growing keep them in a frost free place through the
winter but keep them damp. They will flower after 2 years. Some lilies
form tiny bulbs in the leaf axils on the stem of the plant. These can be
carefully taken off, potted and grown on. Again they will take a while
to reach maturity before they will flower. Well
that's all for now Have
fun with your plants Frances
Hartley Gardening
Tips week Ending August 9th 2008 Hello
folks
While writing this, the sun is brilliant. It is nice to have some
warm weather especially as it will help to ripen the tomatoes. If the
temperature is building up in the greenhouse it is a good idea to throw
a bucket of water down on the floor as this will create humidity and
keep red spider mite away. A moist atmosphere is particularly important
if you are growing cucumbers, as they love a high humidity. If you grow
cabbage or lettuce watch out for the cabbage white butterflies as there
seem to be a lot about this year. I have draped some loose netting over
the Curly Kale as they were making for it 2 or 3 days ago. I did pick
some semi outer leaves although the heart is usually used the other day.
I chopped them, cooked them in as little water as possible and mixed
them in the mashed potatoes. Kale is said to be good for the eyesight. Even if you put slow release fertilizer in baskets and pots the plants will still appreciate a liquid feed about once a week. If slow release fertilizer is sprinkled round Dahlias and Lilies it will build up the Dahlia Tubers and Lily bulbs for next year. Runner Beans will want plenty of water now. If the tops have gone down on your Garlic it may be ready for taking up about now. Dig them up and put the bulbs in a sunny dry place. When the tops come off easily and the bulbs are dry store them in a frost free place in netting. The nets of fruit packs such as Oranges or old tights are good for storing bulbs. There
are some lovely varieties of Sweet Peas about these days, but it is the
old fashioned ones that seem to have the most scent. It is important to
keep cutting the flowers, because the more you cut the more you will
get. If they are allowed to start forming seedpods they will think that
they have done their job for the year and will stop flowering. The
Oenothera or Evening Primrose, seem to be very good this year, with
their bright yellow flowers about 3 feet tall. They are supposed to open
in the evening, but seem to be open most of the day, especially when it
is dull. Well
I think that’s all for now. Cheerio. Frances
Hartley
Gardening Tips 20/8/06
Hello Folks
Here are a few more tips for you.
There have been some lovely new
impatiens or Bizzy Lizzies about this year and cuttings can be taken off
them. Remove most of the leaves from the cutting that should be about
2-3 inches long and using compost and silver sand, or compost and
perlite, place in an unheated propagator, or put the pot in a polythene
bag and tie the top leaving some air in. They will not need heat. When
the cuttings are rooted pot them up and keep damp and frost free.
Shrub cuttings can still be taken
using semi ripe wood which are stems that are still flexible and have
not toughened up.
I
have found that ground cover plants such as Saxifrages have not done
very well at all this year due to the dry spells, so I am going to put
more Thymes and Sage in for next year. There are now some very pretty
ones and they also smell nice when touched. Gold, silver and variegated
thymes and variegated Sage can all be found. These will all stand hot
dry spells. A lot of plant retailers have been selling succulent plants
for the gardens which are ideal for hot dry places, but beware because
they are not all hardy. Most do not like a wet Winter and a lot will not
stand the cold Winter frosts. Some of the big American Agaves are almost
hardy in a dry sheltered spot but things like Stappelias will just die
when winter comes. Carpobratus or Mesembryanthemums may survive as well
if kept dry and given some protection. Sempervivums or House Leeks are
one that will and will grow just about anywhere. Phormiums and
Cordylines will also stand the hot dry weather and give a Mediterranean
feel to the garden, but be warned they do grow quite big.
There is a very big range of bulbs in
the garden centres now ready for planting, but don't rush because it is
still very early. Well
that's all for now. Cheerio Frances Hartley |