Gardening Hints

What happened to the weather for July and August, so dull, wet and miserable and below average temperatures. The weeds have had a great year and as a bonus our lawns are looking the best for a few years. If we get a dry and settled September, it is worth picking over your hanging baskets, tubs and pots, cut back straggly bits and this will encourage new growth and flowers for a late September display. Its been a very bad year for blight on potatoes and tomatoes, if your plants are affected, dig them up and dispose, do not put on the compost heap. September is the time to plant your spring flowering bulbs, daffodils, tulips, crocus, snowdrops, hyacinths, wallflowers and sweet William. I have a large selection in the garden centre at present. September, October and November is a great time to dig in well rotted manure to your vegetable plot, this will improve the structure of your soil as well as adding important nutrients. It is a good time to prune back shrubs that have finished flowering, give hedges a final trim to keep them tidy for winter, prune back blackcurrants, red and white currents and gooseberries to encourage new growth. Its on this new growth that next year’s crop will grow. If you have a greenhouse, use September to tidy and declutter and disinfect ready to accept your tenders. Continue until the end of the month to feed and water all shrubs, trees, plants, displays that are in pots, by growing plants in pots you are restricting the roots from finding necessary nutrients and moisture so you must add these to the pots. This year blackspot on roses and photinia (red robins) has been particular rife, strip the roses of all affected leaves and pick all those that have ready fallen and dispose. Do not put affect foliage on the compost heap, either burn them or put them in the green waste to be disposed off. To prevent further black spot, spray with Roseclear as soon as new leaves and shots appear. You will need to do this two or three times. This is particularly important in the spring as the roses begin to grow again, but can still be carried out in August and September. As always please come into the garden centre to share your experiences, good and bad, that way we will all continue to learn by sharing tips and advice. I will be particularly interested in the results people have achieved with peat free compost, this is the future so we all need to share our experiences of growing with it, so we grow and move forward with confidence. As always during warm summer evenings, (if we get any) sit back, relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of your garden with a drink of your choice, mine has to be a cold beer or two. Cheers (No comments from the Editor on the last paragraph)!!! Source: Nigel, Art Garden Centre