Easy to follow
system from
a
PRIZE Winning
Pond Expert
Great for the Pond Beginner
E Book and MP3
Take a Peek at
Dave Smitley…European chafer grubs have been eating turf roots like mad, causing some spring damage to turfgrass in some places. The damage appears as patches of thin or dead turf, or even bare soil. White grubs can be confirmed as the cause by digging-up the top four inches of soil around the edges of the damaged areas and looking for C-shaped white grubs.
Grubs gone wild is a post from: Gardening News
Another Great Reason to Grow Marjoram is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
How to vegetable garden in January, garden ideas for the month of the year when the weather can be dark, bleak and cold. Let us be honest, the inclement weather of winter gardening does not encourage us to do much in the vegetable garden.
The garden soil may be frozen or too wet to work and [...]
How to Vegetable Garden in January is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
There is a new pecking order in the back garden. Most of the year it is the blackbirds who boss this part of the garden, chasing off the thrushes that are brave enough to attempt a quick meal. But temporarily this has changed with a thrush relative, the Fieldfare, now in charge. The Fieldfare is a long-tailed thrush with contrasting plumage pattern and defends its territory with great authority. With the ground so hard and the snow on the ground it seems unfair that one bird should claim the apple that we throw onto the lawn and so we cut a couple of apples into pieces and spread them around the back garden. That did not solve the problem; it just gave the Fieldfare more of an area to protect!
It is not all bad news for the blackbirds however as the Fieldfare does not seem interested in the dried fruit that I put into a bowl for them. Yet anyway!
The other bird that has arrived with the Fieldfare is another thrush relative, the Redwing. The Redwing is the smallest of our thrushes but still a pretty bird with distinctive markings. Two things make it easy to distinguish, the first being the cream eyebrow stripe and the second rusty red flanks. The Redwings fed with the Fieldfare when they first arrived but now seem just to patrol the front garden, polishing off what was left of the holly berries.
These two visitors, and that is what they are as they will stay for the winter and then disappear, are welcome but over the Christmas period a not so welcome guest made its mark in the garden. Topping up the bird seed I saw something out of the corner of my eye that did not look right. There had been heavy frosts and some snow so I had not really been taking much notice of the garden borders but it was not hard to see that something had been at work. Soil had been kicked or flicked over quite a distance and it then became clear where it had originated. A large hole had been burrowed and quite deep too. Roots of plants were hanging down inside the burrow but probing with a stick found nothing at home. My first thought was that it was a badger foraging as there is a family with a set in the field behind but the hole narrowed too quickly. It must be a rabbit trying to make a new home although I have not spotted any wild rabbits for quite some time. The hole is now filled in and thankfully no more holes have been dug.
As you might have guessed from the mention of snow and hard frosts not much gardening if any has been possible for a while. At least my seeds for the new season are on order and once the package appears on the mat I can dream of better weather and a new growing season.
I am sure fellow listeners to the BBC Gardeners Question Time radio programme will be as shocked and saddened as I am by the news of the death of John Cushnie. I will miss his sense of humour. Whenever he was on the panel you were guaranteed a laugh as well as sound gardening advice. But he never claimed to be the all knowing gardening expert. A member of the public would ask a question and the chairman would ask John to answer only to hear the words, “I have absolutely no idea”. How refreshing for “an expert” to admit that in front of millions of listeners. When you listen to a voice regularly on the radio you picture what that person looks like. Sometimes you are right but most of the time you are not. I have not heard anyone say that John Cushnie looked anything like what was imagined from his voice. Maybe it is something to do with that gentle Irish brogue. Farewell and thank you John Cushie, may you rest in peace.
When you have rain, rain and more rain with the first good frost of the winter, what can you do in the garden in weather such as this? Not a lot outside is the answer.
The ground is waterlogged, there is no point in walking on it and causing compaction and the soil is just too wet to work. I have lifted the dahlias and they are under cover now and drying odd ready to start off in early spring so that I can take more cuttings. This year’s cuttings have been a great success so that gives me the incentive to get the parent plants through the winter.
The frost has finished off any remaining annuals but there is still colour in the garden. In spite of the frost there are still roses in bloom and the winter jasmine is opening up more flowers daily. Also one of my magnolias is also full of sweet smelling yellow blooms that are very welcome this time of year.
Before the rain and frost I did manage to clear up a small amount of leaves, many, many more still to go! Vacuuming leaves almost on autopilot from one of my flower borders I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye. I must have disturbed a large frog nestled in amongst the large soggy sycamore leaves. I could so easily have sucked him up with a load of leaves and dread to think what the consequence would have been. It just proves how careful we gardeners have to be as the weather turns colder, the frogs and hedgehogs are still about. It certainly feels too warm at the moment for the hedgehogs to hibernate. I do leave leaves piled up around some tree prunings so the hedgehogs can find refuge if they so want. Wet leaves are dangerous on garden paths and do the lawn no good but in other areas I make a point of not being too tidy. That’s my excuse anyway!
Take a look at this little fellow, definitely too small to hibernate:
Not being able to get on with jobs outside in the garden has provided me with time to start getting the greenhouse ready for winter. The structure both inside and out has been scrubbed and power washed. Can anyone tell me why after all this treatment there are always areas of glass that don’t look like they have been touched? The next job is to put up the bubble insulation, a job I never look forward to. The sooner it is done the better so that it is out of the way but it is just one of those garden jobs that has to be done as a chore rather that a pleasurable pursuit.
Going through town I stopped for a chat at a market stall that is run by a local farming family. Needless to say they sell vegetables that they grow on their own farm and, if they do not have enough of a variety to crop and bring to the stall that week, they buy from their local farmer friends. The fruit that they sell is locally grown where possible, the exceptions being things like bananas. To attract custom my friend has a habit of shouting “home grown bananas”. Now if anyone believes that one! He had healthy looking Brussels Sprouts for sale that he has grown but he was telling me that he had been reading an article in a trade magazine about sprouts being grown in Scotland and then being transported to Poland for processing before, yes you guessed it, being shipped back to the UK for sale. Has the world gone mad?
He also had some great parsnips for sale so I decided to buy some for home. “You don’t mind buying the dirty one, do you?” was the question. No I don’t but apparently they have to hose some off because there are those who will not buy root crops that still have any sign of the soil on them. I am old enough to remember when all vegetables were sold that way.
We are so lucky to have a market stall to shop for vegetables where they have been grown locally and travelled just a few short miles to the table. Also here is a second generation that have kept up the farm started by their parents and have learnt skills by experience and know their land. With farms closing down every week it makes you wonder how long small farms such as these will be able to continue.
If you have any spare room in your garden or even landscaped try growing a few vegetables for yourself. It can be frustrating but more often than not it is very rewarding and very satisfying.
Being aware to what you eat is what physicians would usually suggest to you. If you have been eating sufficient quantity of healthy foods such as fish, meat, fruits and vegetables, then fret not. Because some of these hold harmful chemicals, perhaps you should start switching to organically grown vegetables
and other food products.
Essentially, the mainstream of these organic vegetables and other food products have been genetically changed making it a smart choice for buyers. For reasons of better production and profit, some farmers may tend to employ some assorted techniques which may include the use of chemicals and fertilisers to make them look and feel larger even if they are aware that this can be damaging to your health. Producing organically raised crops is not that difficult and needs nothing magical whatsoever, but having some productive soil, sunlight, water and some fertiliser can just do the trick.
Home Garden By following this simple plan, a study shows that eating foods and vegetables on a regular basis which have been grown organically can help maintain a heartier life because those may contain fifty percent more vitamins and minerals than those made from conventional methods. These organically grown vegetables taste better compared to other processed or commonly produced products giving you the feeling that you will live longer by consuming these everyday. This is because although fertilisers and pesticides have their benefits, they get rid of essential vitamins and nutrients so you are not getting the required daily allowance that your body requires. Another benefit of eating organic vegetables and food is that you help the environment which happens because farmers are no longer using harmful chemicals and put these into the ground. The land which they have cultivated on can be established by the next generation because the land that has been educated for so long, is still fertile.
In stores, you may compare the prices of those conventionally grown products to those with those organically grown vegetables and other items and you will see that the latter can be found really expensive. Your life is one invaluable treasure and something that you should take care of, so budgeting yourself towards eating the best foods can just block you from acquiring the quality of life that we all want and need. You should think about going organic as this will profit not only you but also people around you especially your family and friends in the future, more than you think it could.
Garden Tools
Home Garden The price of organic vegetables and other products will go down in time if more farmers resolve to take part in its production thus introducing and selling it to the markets. It is only because there is a tiny department of this available now in the store but when it becomes an industry standard, things
will change.
Until that happens, you can probably plant and grow these in your backyard, you just need the supplies especially the seeds or the fully grown plants to help you get started. You should take part in assisting these grow not only by splashing water every morning as there are still a lot of other matters that you should recognise to take good care of them and that is by doing some thorough research about it. One of the numerous things that are getting the introduction of organic foods and vegetables in the market a challenging deal is the fact that US imports from many nations that are not yet practicing organic
planting. For everyone here as well as other countries to enjoy the benefits of organically raised vegetables and fruits – encouragement, proper help and introduction should be started and driven to bring it to the surface.
I give a lot of lawn tips, but that can get boring sometimes as grass is always green and that’s about it. But gardening with annuals in flower beds is easy too and rewarding, and offers tons of alternatives. Flowers bring color, interest and sweet scents to the garden landscape. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. It can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally. Many businesses pay big money for “seasonal color rotation.”
There are some decisions that have to be made before you plant your first seed or sprout. You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the spring. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well as the sun requirements. In most stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, they have the perennials displayed separately from the annuals so as not to cause confusion.
When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style.”
You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogs or buy them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them as this gives instant results with no waiting. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting. When using seeds, just sprinkle them in the flower bed. There is no need to space them or even bury them. Just buy a lot of what you want and let them “fall as they may” to create a wild flush of color. For planting transplants, dig a hole just bigger than the flower pack, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water. You may want to amend the soil first with some peat moss and mushroom compost as this will aid in flower production through the season.
Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they might make it on their own, a sprinkling of organic compost or Milorganite will help your flowers proliferate. Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.
Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.
You can also get information on Do It Yourself Pest Control here.
Organic gardening is generally considered to be any method of gardening that does not utilize any chemicals or pesticides to maintain the garden. One can practice organic gardening in a vegetable or flower garden – or in any other area in which someone is trying to grow things.
There are many reasons that people want to practice organic gardening. Many people like the idea of wholesome, fresh vegetables that don’t have any form of chemical, possibly poisonous residue on them. Many people like to have plants which will attract a variety of small wildlife, such as butterflies and bees. Many people have small children or pets and don’t want to take the chance that the chemicals frequently used in non-organic gardening could hurt their children or pets.
Organic gardening is not “simple gardening”. Effort is needed to have successful gardens in most situations and this is no exception. One needs to plan the garden before starting it. It is necessary to consider what kind of garden one wants, where it will be kept, how it will be organized and if companion plants are to be included.
Organic gardening needs compost. How to make comppost? Compost is a mixture of topsoil and a variety of organic matter such as leaves, vegetable refuse, manure air and water. This mixture needs to be turned or mixed frequently, so there needs to be room to work with the developing compost. Once the compost is ready, it is used as the basic medium into which the plants or seeds are placed. Generally, the compost is created before the garden is planted.
The location of the garden is important. Does the area get a lot of sun? Will it be high enough so that it won’t be frequently flooded in major rain storms? Will it need any protection if the weather suddenly turns too chilly? Is there easy access to the garden? The location of the plants in the garden must also be considered.
Companion plants are plants that have some kind of natural chemical that repels a variety of insects or diseases. Garlic, for example, planted near roses tends to repel the aphids that frequently attack roses. Oregano is thought to repel the cucumber beetle. Some plants can help repel nematodes. If planned well, it is possible for a gardener to be able to have a flower garden in the exact same spot as a vegetable garden. The geographic location of the garden – is it in Alaska, Nevada, Florida or elsewhere? – will need to be considered when deciding what to plant in an organic gardening.
September can be a question mark when making landscape and gardening plans. In Southern California, summer can easily extend into September or the month can bring cooler temperatures. Still, there is much to do and plant in the garden during early fall, say experts at Agromin, a Camarillo-based manufacturer of premium soil products.
Lawn Care: In September and October, lawns are still growing.. Mow weekly. For cool season grass such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescues, now is the time to fertilize as they grow rapidly in fall. Also, consider aerification (coring) with an aerator that can be rented at equipment rental shops. Coring allows for better water and nutrition penetration.
Plant Trees: The best time to plant trees is when they are dormant–in fall or early spring. To reduce transplant shock, dig a hole for planting at least three times the size of the plant’s root ball is wide, but only as deep as its roots. Don’t plant the tree too low in the ground to allow for some settling. Firmly pack the soil around the tree to eliminate air pockets. To keep in moisture, Cover the soil with mulch and help moderate extreme soil temperatures. The mulch should be one to two inches away from the tree trunk.
Blooms for Autumn: Warm Septembers allow gardeners to plant flowers for fall blooms. These include snap dragons, chrysanthemums, sweet peas and asters. Also, plant bulbs such as crocuses and autumn daffodils.
Add to Your Vegetable Garden: Some vegetables can still be planted in fall for a winter or early spring harvest. These vegetables include carrots, peas, fava beans, kale, leeks, beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli, radish, carrots, celery and winter Squash.
For more planting and gardening tips, go to blog.godfreys-gardens.co.uk
It seems that home improvement stores are making their gardening supply and nursery stocks more expansive year by year. I think this is because DIY lawn care and gardening is the easiest to break into as a homeowner.
You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogues, or even order them online. The trick is in knowing what you need for the jobs you plan to undertake.
You will obviously need the basic landscape garden tools no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a hose, sprinkler and watering can. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some pruning shears and a rake. Then, of course, there are the essentials such as the lawn mower and weed whacker, but we are mainly going to focus here on the basic landscape/gardening tools and leave the grass for another day.
When first starting a garden you will definitely want some type of mushroom mulch, manure or peat moss to properly amend your soil. There are a few types of potting soil that you can also add into your slurry including organic potting mix, seed starting potting mix, cactus potting mix, and root development potting mix, just to name a few.
Once you have your garden planted, you must have gardening chemicals so that you can add nutrients to the soil to ensure a healthy plant life. Miracle-Gro is one of the most popular growing enhancements for plants. There are many different types of Miracle-Gro to choose from and what kind you choose will depend on what you are trying to grow. The good thing about Miracle-Gro is that it is labeled very well with easy-to-follow instructions. This same brand name can also be found on insecticides and fungicides with that same easy-to-follow labeling.
If you are growing vegetables or herbs, you may need different gardening tools than regular flower gardens require. If you are growing tomatoes for example, you will need a tomato cage and ties to protect the plants against the wind. Many plants, mostly vines, are designed to grow on something and you will have to have a fence or trellis of some sort.
You can also find tools for the landscape that serve a greater purpose than just “function,” and that being “form.” In other words, they can also come in the form of decoration. There are decorative flower pots, sundials, plastic figurines, stones or bricks for a pathway or looks, and even lawn furniture. The big trend in country gardening is to find old, weathered and rusted garden tools and plant those in and amongst the greenery. Decoration will add to the charm and uniqueness of your garden and is an excellent way to give it a personal touch.
The winter months will bring a whole new set of gardening products to store shelves. When the frost hits the prime place to put your plants are in a greenhouse. However, if you do not have a greenhouse for whatever reason, a tarp of some sorts can be used to cover plants up at night. You also might need a light source, like a heat lamp, to both keep plants warm and give them extra light. In addition, you are going to need a snow shovel or maybe even a snow blower, as well as some good quality snow melter.
New and upgraded gardening products are always popping up on the market. It seems like every day there is some gardening product that claims to be bigger and better than the last. While many gardening tools are not a necessity, they sure make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable. Fall time is a great time to pick up deals on lawn and garden tools as the season is nearly over and they are often found on clearance. Check them out today!
When the basics of your new garden are in place you will want to enjoy it, Summerhouses and Garden Rooms are ideal places to relax.
Tomatoes
Remember to keep up a good and regular watering regime which will help to reduce the chance of blossom end rot and split fruit. Remove split fruit as soon as you notice it, if left it will soon start to rot and introduce disease.
Any remaining outdoor tomatoes should be picked by the end of September and ripened indoors. The whole truss can be cut off to allow the fruits to ripen on the vine either on a windowsill or in a box with a ripe banana for company. Green fruits can be used in chutneys as can any red tomatoes surplus to requirements.
Potatoes
Potatoes should be lifted before slug damage becomes a problem. Leave the tubers to dry before storing in paper sacks or boxes. Take care to only store undamaged potatoes.
Keep a watch for potato blight, any blighted potato haulms can be cut off and burnt or disposed of with household rubbish. The good news is that the potatoes can still be harvested.
If there is a danger that inclement weather spreading the disease and you are happy using sprays try products such as Bordeaux Mixture, Dithane 945 and Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide.
Wet weather at this time of the year, especially if you are gardening on clay soil, is when potato powdery scab makes an appearance and affected tubers should be disposed of. Crop rotation becomes very important to prevent the problem building up in the soil.
It is just not clay soils where problems can occur, common scab and other potato skin problems can be a problem in dry warm weather. An important regime here is watering and as alkaline soil worsens the problem use of acidic fertilisers may help).
Clear debris created when lifting potatoes and care should be taken not to damage the haulms. Potato debris left out in wet weather could cause the development of fungal diseases such as black leg or fluffy grey mould.
Reading the above might make you wonder whether it is worth growing your own potatoes but remember that with a good regime of watering and cleanliness most problems can be avoided.
The National Trust for Scotland has pledged to become peat free in the next three years. I started my own garden too many years ago to admit to. My first seeds were sown and potted on into a John Innes loam based medium. Then I discovered peat based compost, easy to use and great results. I even started to mix my own compost based on peat from a relatively local source by an old chap who was not in the best of health but his daughter could lift many more bags than I could! I even used it to condition my heavy clay based soil.
Many years later it suddenly became not very politically correct to use peat. Gardeners were strongly encouraged to use alternatives for potting compost. I tried the alternatives that came onto the market, I really tried but they were awful or very difficult to manage. The surface of the compost would be very dry but underneath very wet. Nutrients soon washed out and regular feeding necessary. Another problem was that it was an awful texture to work with especially for seed sowing and pricking out seedlings. Imagine my surprise when listening to a debate on the radio recently involving very well known media gardening experts and gardeners from some large gardens saying that they too had given up trying, one saying that he had lost some very valuable specimens.
Read more in Bumblebees and is Peat a Dirty Word?
When I started gardening the pests I worried about were slugs, snails, cabbage white butterflies and aphids of various colours. Now I have to combat the likes of the hemerocallis gall midge and red lily beetle. Harlequin Ladybirds are with us and many parts of the UK have been hit by the New Zealand Flatworm which has a horrible way of feeding on earthworms.
I love Day Lilies or to give them their proper name Hemerocallis. They have beautiful flowers and their foliage adds so much to a border giving texture and movement, I would not be without them.
However this year some of mine seemed to have developed a problem and from the look of them there could only be one explanation. I removed a flower bud and began taking it apart and sure enough out dropped the culprit, the hemerocallis gall midge.
This tiny fly lays its eggs in the developing flower buds of day lilies and small white maggots develop inside the buds, causing them to be abnormally swollen but failing to open. An infested bud can contain several hundred larvae which may be from more than one midge. The worst part is that when fully fed the larvae are 2-3mm (about 1/8in) long and they drop down into the soil where they over winter as pupae.
More about The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
It is June and the vegetable garden is beginning to burst forth. Promises of things to come.
Peas
Early sowings of peas may be ready for harvesting depending upon your location. Gently press the pods to check if the peas have swollen to a size ready for picking and after cropping cut off the top of the plants but leave the roots in the ground to fix nitrogen from the air into the ground.
Peas need staking and this can be achieved with pea sticks, netting, or pruned twigs from the garden. Netting is practical but somehow does not look as natural in my opinion as twiggy supports.
Maincrop peas can be sown now.
Potatoes
If you have planted early potato tubers they may be ready or almost ready for harvesting. As a guide many are ready when the plants come into flower. When digging them up take care not to damage or skewer your potatoes with your fork. Avoid this by inserting your fork some distance away and lifting the soil carefully.
For maincrop potatoes Keep a close and regular check and earth them up as required which should result in 2 inch or 5 cm of shoot showing above ground or the compost in your container.
If planting through black plastic check regularly for slugs, the cool damp conditions under the plastic are an ideal home.
Celeriac
Celeriac can be planted out in June. It is many years since I discovered this vegetable and started to grow it regularly. Easy to grow and excellent in soups, a vegetable on its own or mashed into potato.
More Vegetable Garden in June tips
