August Gardening News
Well, that was a little testing, was it not? Days and days of blistering heat and hardly a cloud in the sky, quite extraordinary, nature does know how to play with the mind. Of course it’s been wonderful if you had nothing to do and didn’t have a garden to watch over. The transition from winter to summer was actually rather special, with barely room for spring. The winter dragged and was wet and when the turn came all energy was devoted to leaf growth and as the heat increased this dense canopy of foliage generously passed all moisture back to the sky and widespread desiccation began. It will be very interesting to see how the harvest comes out. Some things have fared better than others, particularly early plantings were roots established well and were properly watered from day one. The business of watering in a radius away from the plant does extend root growth, lazy plants used to water just delivered at their bases have not done well. Anyway a corner has been turned and at least for a day or two there is some moisture. There have been casualties, but what did we expect? Now is the time to play, to pop in random seeds on the off chance. Things will grow and if we get a kind autumn we will see results. French Beans come quickly from seed as will the marrow family, most salad stuff will produce within weeks and the time is still good for spinach and spring cabbage. Be bold, be defiant and don’t be too distracted by the diseases and insect infestations brought on by the humidity. There are moulds and mildews on all sorts as well a multitude of chomping beasts. Whilst you can go on the attack with sprays, try spatial disruption……..a term that I made up. Basically pests and disease do well in cramped conditions, they breed and spread in overcrowded spaces. So thin out leaves, remove the most infected or damaged and create air movement through the crop. In a greenhouse water only at the end of the day and create maximum ventilation to lower humidity. Even consider removing some lower panels of glass. This will not necessarily totally cure but will ease the problem. And finally if you fancy trying new potatoes for Christmas then get planting soon and be warned we are back around to winter pansies and bulbs again. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
June Gardening News
So the weather continued to confound in the early days of May and weeks that were forecast as settled delivered surprises, with several frosts landing from nowhere. The shops and centres had been full of plants for weeks, but the public confidence waived. Then suddenly in the middle of the month there was an urgency and folk turned out in their droves recognising the need to get on. It has been boisterous, but it has also been about watering. Where did all of that wet go to? Taken up swiftly by natures late decision to burst to life perhaps. Everything just came on in a hurry. So planting continues in the weeks ahead, with the ground warm enough to take on all that we want to plant and the nights mild enough to give safe passage to the most tender. There will be no shortage of good seasonal plant material around, so that’s plenty of bedding and vegetable plants to play with and something suitable for every setting. I love the fact that breeders continue to ply their skills bringing new shape and new colour to the table and this year has been no exception. Coleus are returning to borders, bringing stunning size and leaf colour, the range of petunias of every colour and for every setting is extraordinary. The blanket series in particular is a real coverall and the wonderful bold colouring of dark leaved dahlias is also worth a look. On the vegetable plot there is also plenty to play with. You can continue to earth up your later potatoes and keep sowing salad items as well as perpetual spinach which will run on through the winter. If you can find a cheap tub or redundant container then perhaps push in a few french beans. Blue Lake or any compact form, will establish quickly and with gentle maintenance will crop for weeks. Its a good filler on the dinner plate and very easy and quick to raise. Of course if you want to be really organised you can be sowing winter pansies, wallflowers and over wintering biennials and if you really want to see the year off, even spring cabbage. And finally, the roses are looking promising this year, so if you fancy one take a look at what’s on offer. This month they will show true colour and even if you don’t buy until the autumn, the colour and fragrance are key to choosing. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
October Gardening News
What a muddle of a month we’ve had, a few bright moments, but my goodness when it has rained, we’ve known all about it. There has been a sense of autumn for weeks and trees laden with berries from quite early. It is almost as though the seasons have slipped forward a month. Certainly there was no trace of frost as we turned into April and anyone planting early got away with it. When the sun came it came in blistering style across the middle of June and then stopped and as we entered July the muddles began. The vegetable production has been good and indeed the strong vegetation has supported lively cropping of most things. The blight did knock out the tomatoes, but most other things looked good. At the moment our winter and spring greens all look solid too. The Spring Cabbage has made good leaf and the stalky sprouts and Purples all look in good order. As always at this time, it is worth tramping the rows to firm in roots, as these taller veg are getting top heavy. If you are wanting to fill a few gaps then winter onions and shallots are there to take, there are bits of winter lettuce too. As the month closes make sure that you have your Aquadulce broad beans to hand. The seasonal flowers are all looking well bashed, with only the geraniums really holding up. Many subjects were knocked out very quickly and a lot of snapdragons took a real thump from rust. So, borders are there to liven up and autumn bedding is in plentiful supply everywhere. There are pansies, violas as well as bellis, wallflowers and Sweet William and all need to get planted. You still have time for bulbs too, so get cracking. Before we know it the leaves will be down, so you can start getting a bit of tidying up underway. Gentle pruning is good in the next couple of weeks and it is also time to plan if you are considering new trees, shrubs and fruit. New soft fruit will be on the shelf towards the middle of the month, with raspberries being offered as bare rooted. Site preparation is worthwhile, but do try to be generous with space, soft fruit does benefit from annual maintenance (raspberries can invade). And finally keep on top of the lawn and consider prodding it with a fork to get some air into it. Improving the movement of air and water will reduce moss on the lawn…………..be warned it is coming. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
August Gardening News
Wow, that was a hot one! The dry spell was punishing, indeed quite debilitating for a day or so and just for a moment gardeners stopped. We sold a lot of ice cream. Every splash of rain raised the humidity too, which has been great for the pests and diseases. Crops have continued to grow, but in such conditions you have really had to be on the case with harvesting, with many things going past their best in a hurry. There were early beans that within days were going tough and courgettes that became marrows over night. So, the message is keep harvesting, even removing substandard material to encourage further production. The same rule applies to flowers, don’t allow them to waste energy on going to seed, just pick once a petal drops. Vegetative growth has remained luxuriant, but everything will quickly look autumnal if we don’t get some steady rain; your watering input is essential if plants are to see September out. Do try to feed too, plants are stressed and your encouragement will pay off. If you are up for some fun of course you can play with a bit of late seed and root crops in tubs are very manageable and results very achievable. Try carrots, beetroot, radish and spring onions. Close to the house and with gentle maintenance they will crop. With the carrots try Early Nantes. Normally grown (as you will have guessed) for early production they are very quick to mature. The other vegetable varieties are not so important, they will just do it. If you have room and enthusiasm then spring cabbage and spinach can still be planted. I really value these two items, which will reliably offer up strong greens for over winter use. You will have noticed that garden centres are showing bulbs, it is early, but if you want choice and quality buy them and cool store them until next month. Unless you are wanting to try once more to get Hyacinths for Christmas in which case you need to plant in the middle of this month. It’s crazy to be talking Christmas, but there you are, the winter pansies are on sale so why not. And finally, keep an eye out for blight and keep picking off those black spotted rose leaves. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
June Gardening News
The days roll by and May, the busiest of months for gardeners (both amateur and professional) slips behind us. The month was fair, with one or two teasing frosty punctuations that bashed early beans and crumpled the tops of emerging spuds, but they are coming back. The ground still awaits news of good rain and growth remains slow where it hasn’t happened. It’s quite a test and certainly newly planted gardens will need your attention. The dryness has had a big effect on many established plants too, with the distress encouraging very early flowers, roses in particular have been blooming for several weeks. As we turn into June, the threat of cold has gone and the gates are open for a free for all with our seasonal planting and this year every nursery and garden centre has plenty of stock. So if you do have space then fill it, play with it, mix it up. Push flowers in with the vegetables and vice versa. Vegetable plants can bring colour and architectural height to the borders and flowers in return draw pollinators to the vegetables. Mixing up the heights of parallel rows in the veg plot can also reduce the movement of pests and diseases. Following last years blight problems anything that may deflect fungal spores is worth a try. You can also be sowing seed and this is a good month to start perpetual spinach and spring cabbage. They both have a long journey to maturity but are invaluable. Do check your seed packets particularly with the spinach, with the rise of interest in leaf salad, there are many varieties of spinach available. Some are not that hardy. The good old fashioned large leafed variety, much favoured by Popeye is ‘Perpetual’ and nothing else is quite the same. If you do find yourself in the mood for seed sowing then biennials like sweet William and Brompton stocks can also be started as indeed can winter pansies. I have already mentioned fungal spores and this season is shaping up to be perfect for them. So mildew on many plants and black spot on the roses is likely. If spraying is your thing, then preventative action can be taken now (using a general fungicide), alternatively try thinning out foliage to improve air movement through plants. The static air moves, humidity falls and the spores pass on to next door (though I wouldn’t tell them). And finally, just maintain and enjoy. Be assured nature will still have a surprise to offer and just at that moment when everything seems calm in the garden. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org