GARDENING
Prepare your garden for a hot dry summer tips from nurseryman Colin Ward of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery
The summer has been challenging horticulturally due to the dry and heat. The garden here at Swines Meadow has stood up to the rigours of the season fairly well due to the practices we use within it. To garden successfully the most important element is the soil and making it provide the essential elements for growth and sustainability of your plants. Soils can be very varied but essentially, they need to be able to provide nutrients and moisture. Here our soil is heavy clay which in winter can get waterlogged and in a summer like this year’s can dry out and crack. We operate a no-dig policy here at the Nursery and every autumn/winter apply a mulch to the garden which over time has changed the whole structure to a wonderful friable texture which is free draining. There are all types of mulch from leaf mould to rotted manure. These are very good mulches to use but here at Swines Meadow we use rotted wood mulch, as it has a more open structure which can provide drainage and insulation in the winter but has the ability to retain moisture during the summer months as well as acting as a good weed suppressant. We also use other products in conjunction with the wood mulch and a very important one is crushed volcanic rock dust with the brand name Remin, which is full of minerals and is very good for rejuvenating tired soil. Because of its porous nature it provides an environment for beneficial bacteria which are an important part of the process of the breakdown of the wood mulch. Worms and woodlice are also valuable contributors to this process and the population of these Remin will increase as your soil improves. Another
recently discovered benefit of Remin is its carbon capture abilities, so all in all a winning situation for your soil. Another useful product we use in the garden is Rootgrow which is used in the planting procedure. A small amount is put into the bottom of the planting hole and then you place the plant so that its roots come into contact with it, infill and then water the plant in. The clay granules of the Rootgrow dissolve and release a fungus which attaches itself to the roots and then spreads its mycelium though the soil which in turn brings water and nutrients back to the plant. About three years ago we took the side of a conifer hedge back to the trunk, giving us a border of about a metre in depth. As can be expected this was an area of very poor quality soil, Firstly we soaked the soil and then applied a dusting of Remin topped over by wood mulch of about 10cm. Two months later in April we planted it up! Plant selection is also an important aspect towards having a garden that can tolerate the type of summer we have just had. Salvias, lavenders and rosemary are all recognised as being good drought tolerant plants but there are plenty of other plants you can use which we can recommend. We have watered the garden this summer but only on four occasions as it is a show garden. Without using the techniques described above we would have had to water the garden at least twice a week over the last seven weeks.
Hardy Plant Society will be holding a plant fair at Swines Meadow Farm Nursery On Sunday 16th September 10:00 till 2:30 also refreshments at the Cow Shed CafĂŠ 34
