Garden Tips

Words: Transition Chesterfield

Images: Robert Nixon Betts

Being in the garden on any sunny day in May has to be one of life’s best experiences; the sun has real warmth and all around plants are shooting up. But a cautionary note: it’s still possible for there to be overnight frosts, especially in slightly more exposed areas, so be cautious about putting out anything tender, or be prepared with some improvised shelter - it won’t need to be particularly robust as any frost will be light. The upside is that frost will only happen if the sky is clear, which makes for wonderful mornings…

As potato shoots appear do not forget to ‘earth up’ the growing shoots. This serves two purposes – young potato shoots do not like frosty weather, so cover over the shoots with soil for protection, and it also helps to avoid young tubers from turning green with sunlight exposure.

Thin out raspberry shoots and prune gooseberries. As always, the idea with this sort of job is make an open framework with an even distribution of fruiting stems all getting a good supply of sunlight and air (often easier said than done).

Lots of more tender vegetables can be sown now: French and runner beans, courgette, cucumber, pumpkin and squash as well as cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli for harvesting in winter - they like a long growing season.

Towards the end of the month, plant out summer bedding plants. These are available from garden centres but are often displayed earlier than they are sensibly planted out, so, if tempted, keep them in a shady place (protected from frost) and well-watered until they can go into the open garden.

If you’ve already sown tomatoes and courgettes inside, they can now go outside. As upright (cordon) tomatoes grow, keep an eye open for any side-shoots that form in the angle between the main stem and branches and remove them. Towards the end of the month, seeds for both can be sown directly into the ground.

Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they have finished flowering and remove any growth damaged by frost from evergreen shrubs. Check variegated ones for any where the leaves have reverted to plain green and remove those shoots completely.

Sow peas outside now with pea sticks in place early and prepare supports for any other plants (e.g. climbing French and runner beans) that will need them later.

Lawns will now need regular mowing (use the clippings as a mulch) and keep on top of the weeding. Hedges will need clipping, but check for birds' nests first, and if you’ve been feeding the birds in the winter, don’t stop – current thinking is that you should do it all year.

It's that time of year when spring bulbs are now beyond their best, but as they fade the tidy gardener can't resist the temptation to 'tidy them'. Once the flowers have faded you can cut the head off the flower if you want to, don't cut back the leaves until they are completely yellow, and don't tie them up either, the leaves need to continue to produce chlorophyll (food), the leaf needs exposure to as much light as possible, the bulb needs the energy in the leaf to be reabsorbed into the bulb ready for next year. Once your leaves have completely withered your bulb is now dormant, so you can lift them if you need to thin them out or move clumps that are too big to new areas, they don't generally need feeding they're very self-sufficient.

Keep sowing salad crops (radishes, spring onions, lettuce etc.) and herbs (parsley, coriander, basil etc.) for regular harvesting.

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Across

1. Law in County Durham (3)

4. Small piece in horse’s mouth (3)

7. Welsh Valley (3)

10. Singer Chris (3)

11. Italian television channel (1,1,1)

12. Code for Haifa airport (3)

13. Skill from Garfunkel (3)

14. Unknown Doctor (3)

15. Perform in part of a play (3)

16. Laugh out loud in text (1,1,1)

18. Nineteenth letter of Greek alphabet (3)

19. Christian name of brutal former Ugandan leader (3)

20. A sixth century Chinese ‘ism’ (3)

21. Code for Copenhagen airport (3)

23. French denial (3)

24. For example, nothing but self (3)

25. Northern England meadowland (3)

27. Plural of experts (5)

28. Flying service (1,1,1)

29. The reserve gets back on transport (3)

30. Short commercials (3)

32. East in France (3)

33. Mr Mayall, late comedian (3)

34. A foot around is wide (3)

35. Small deer or fish (3)

36. Mr Hartford, former footballer (3)

37. Anger in Dublin perhaps (3)

39. Nothing for the French (3)

40. Young boy (3)

42. Affirmation of voter (3)

43. Sister with habit (3)

44. European fighter aircraft (1,1,1)

45. Clear and catch (3)

46. A positive answer (3)

47. Porcine home (3)

Down

1. Basin strainer used in lengthy rail trip (13 or 5-8)

2. Poetic shortening of over (3)

3. Romans would take it from London to Wroxeter (7,6)

4. Cricketing colours at sport venues (7,6)

5. Engaging couple recycling when in Rio (5,3,5)

6. I factor villas into construction of African wonder (8,5)

7. Such care least expected of literary works (8,5)

8. Watford Football Club (1,1,1)

9. A local derby or perhaps a very good wedding (5,2,3,3)

17. Bishop of Bayeux in the mideleventh century (3)

22.

26.

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