Timely Garden Tips: Week Five

Oh dear; my poor plot is still under water and it has been raining all day today again, so I expect that the water level will go up once again. Not a lot that I can do about it expect wait.

• You will find that old fruit trees can be overcrowded with unfruitful wood. When dealing with such trees cut away branches that are crowding the centers of the tree and take away all dead or decaying wood. Doing so will bring light and air into the tree which will then go on to bear more fruit for a few more years.
• I love the Tiger Lily’ a very handsome flower indeed. The main thing, I find, is that this lovely flower can thrive in the most ordinary of soils. Now is the time to go out and buy these plant bulbs. In light soils plant to a depth of four inches, however if you have heavy land you will find that three inches is deep enough to plant your bulb.
• A few seeds that could be sown this week are: Lobelia (in a heated propagator)/Sweet peas {under glass}/Dahlia tubers into pots. 
• This is a great book about companion planting
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Timely Garden Tips: Week Four; continued.

 My plot is now it its third week of being under water. However, I am managing to harvest enough veg to make some very good winter warming soups/

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• If you have large trees in your garden that are covered in ivy, now is a good time to cut the stems before they chock you tree.
• Wisteria ideally needs pruning twice a year, in June and January - 
• If your soil is dry now is a good time to sow broad beans. I sow mine in rows two feet apart and make sure that they are a good two inches below the ground.

Timely Garden Tips: Week Four;

• If you have a cold frame now is a good time to sow such crops as : Lettuces, carrots and onions. You could make a simple hot bed by putting horse manure under your soil. This will increase the heat in the soil and push forward growth.
• The birds, this time of the year are on the look out for anything that they can find. If you have red and white currants they may well be budding up now. Some protection is a good idea.  I use a net. However you could spray the plants with a dusting of equal parts lime and old soot. Doing so will make the buds distasteful to the birds.
• Prepare for grafting old fruit trees in march or april by now cutting back old branches to within six inches of the point where it is preposed to graft them.   

My plot is still under water.

However, I am still managing to harvest: cabbage,leeks,sprouts and chard. 

Timely Garden Tips: Week Three, continued.

 My plot is still flooded with Old Father Thames                                           

• If you are one of those lucky people who has a cold frame then now is a good time to sow early sweet peas like:Grandiflora or "April in Paris". The young plants may remain in the ground until the end of March, when they may be accommodated outdoors in a sheltered position. The best way to sow the six seeds is in a five inch pot, allowing an inch apart each way between the seeds. 
• If you have broad beans growing from an autumn sowing, they should be earthed up now. This is also a good time to sow some more for an early crop.
• Examine your plants in the rock garden and give protection to your alpines which are distinguished by their hairy foliage.. You may also check that heavy rains have not washed away soil from the roots of some plants; where this has happen a top dressing of compost must be given. Also a good idea to make sure that any labels that you have in the garden are still reader-able, for  the weather  might well of obliterate some.
• Sweet Pea Seeds from Amazon
• If you have not got a cold frame; Take a look at amazon and see what they have to offer!

Timely Garden Tips: Week Three

1. I love growing Vines and have a two year old one right now. Now is the time to prune them by cutting back all side-shoots to within two buds of their bases and reducing the leading shoot, so that it remains at about two-thirds its present length. It is also a good time to dig in some good compost to the top two inches of soil.
2. If you have indoor Vines they may also be pruned in the same way as advised for the outdoor Vines. Indoor Vines may suffer from mealy bug. This can be treated by rubbing off any loose bark. I always was off my glasshouse at this time of the year with a strong soap solution. I use Aloe MPD for this as it is a natural product and does not harm any plants that are in the glasshouse at the time.
3. Checking out the vegetable order for the coming year is also a task that can be done now; it is an inside job that can be done in your living room, so it is a pleasant task. Try not to be tempted into buying too many new novelties varieties; remember that the aim is to grow vegetables for you to eat all year round.How to garden if you have no time
   
   
    My ploy is still flooded:
   
   

Timely Garden Tips: Week Two continued.

Timely Garden Tips: Week Two

1. I find that a lot of my crops are attacked by birds at this time of the year.There is not a lot out there for them. However, it is my view that there is not a lot out there for me either. I net my crops so that they are for me and not the birds. It is quite easy to do and if you get a good net and look after it , you will find that it will last for years. Believe me one or two pigeons can strip a far few cabbage in a night and you can be sure that they will be back tomorrow for the rest.
2. The young basal growths proceeding from old roots of chrysanthemums may now be used as cutting with a view to working up a good stock of plants for flowering next autumn. Make sure you insert the cuttings around the edges of small pots, filled with sandy soil, and it will be found that they will root readily in your frame or greenhouse.
3. I do love Lilies of the Valley and this is just the right time of the year to start making new beds. You must choose a partially shaded spot and prepare the soil by digging and adding some good manure. I arrange the crowns in rows 15 inches apart, allowing 6 inches from root to root in the row itself. Beds of Lilies that have become overcrowded may be lifted, divided and replanted now as well.No time to work your plot; then read this
   
   Nothing doing on my plot because of floods

Second Week of January in the garden.

What to do in the garden during the 2rd week of January.

7. If you wish to grow large onions this year, now is the time to sow your seeds.

I have found that Bunton’s Showstopper (allium cepa) is a good one to go for. Some of them will grow up to 5lbs in weight.

Fill a six-inch pot with good soil and sow the seeds thinly.,coving them with a very light coating of the finest compost. It is essential to have gently heat.

8. It is a good time to prune fruit trees during this month provided that there is not too much frost.

9. Hollyhock,that fine Old English flower may be raised from seed  sow made in the glasshouse now.

My own plot is now under 20 inches of water flooded from the Thames; so not a lot going on there then!No time to garden; then read this!.You will be surprised

not a lot else for me to do this time of the year with these floods and all!

More to do in the garden during the 1st week of January:

More to do in the garden during the frist week of January:

4.When you are putting manure on your land make sure that you do not dig it in on any land that you are going to use for parsnips, carrots,beets or salsify as doing so would cause those crops to be badly forked

5.If you wish to have a fine desplay of flowers this coming year then now is the time to check out the flower seed orders and plan your garden for a bit of colour.

6.If you have clod frames it is a good idea to make a start of sweet peas.Sow the seeds in shallow pots that are filled with farily good soil and allow germination to take place in the frame. It would be wise to put down mouse traps to protect your seeds from them as they are on the look out for any form of food this time of year.

My own plot is under  a foot of water. Old father Thames has burst its banks after nearly two weeks of rain. So not a lot going on there.

Want to grow veg but do not have the time! then read this.

What to do in the Garden the frist week of January:

What to do in the Garden the frist week of January:

You might look out of your window and think that there is not a lot you can do this time of the year  in  the garden,however now is the time to:

1.Make new flower beds. If you want to reorder your garden it is a good idea to select and prepar now . No matter wether annuals, bieunials, or perennials are to be planted, it is important to dig the land deeply and to add organic manure.

2.If you have light and well drained soil, now is the time to arrange the planting of any new fruit trees. If,however your land is wet and heavy you may wish to defer until February or march.

3.Most of the UK at the moment is waterlogged. My own plot is under 10 inches of water. So not a lot can be done. However it is a good time to make a cropping plan and look to your stock of seeds to see what you would need to buy.