Some interesting advice from Monty Don on the Christmas Gardener’s World this week covering putting the garden to bed and getting fruit trees and rhubarb in. [...]
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1) start to reclaim the lawn. The grass has started to grow so I gave ours the first once over with the mower this last weekend. Rake out moss and reseed areas that have got a bit thin. Think about feeding it. If you have bulbs like daffs in the lawn mow round them – in fact leave them until the leaves start to die back of their own accord in about 6 weeks time before finally mowing them off. 2) Start to think about getting your potatoes in. 3) Plant out spring bulbs 4) Tie in climbers [...] As gardeners we are always trying to bend the rules a bit. One tip is to warm the soil up a bit with fleece, cloches or polytunnels. Another is to start the seedlings off in a protected environment and then planting them out later. [...] In the fruit and veg department get onions and cabbages sowed in seed trays, and start warming the soil up using fleece or cloches. The trick with plants is never let them get checked – by cold, cramping or drying out and keep an eye on them to make them stay vegetative if you’re growing leaves. [...] One of the things that you need to put some attention to in a commercial organic concern is managing weed control. You can either do it by hoeing, by planting the crops close together so that ultimately they will suppress the weeds as plants like chard do so well or you can use some kind of mulch that the weeds can’t get through.In our nursery we use a product called mypex. [...] According to the RHS, the three tasks at the moment are tidying up, finishing the pruning and getting new fruit bushes in and preparing for the orgy of planting ahead. The main thing about growing your own is to make sure that the plants don’t get checked so they want to be vigorous. One of the key things we know is that you want your seeds to get off to a good start. That means making sure that the soil is warm and inviting for them. If you stick seeds into cold wet soil they may be so discouraged that [...] We start off with the netting on the ground and plant out the bean seedlings through the holes. This year at the urging of our work experience intern from Kenya, the guys have gone back to a tighter spacing as I originally used. This means that this year the beans are about 30 cm apart in rows with about 20 cm spacing between rows (the plants being staggered so that they have a bit of space [...] If you have the benefit of a greenhouse or other protected area you can get the seeds underway now. In our glasshouses we have a good range of things on the go – leeks, apache peppers, rocket etc. And broad beans, lots of broad beans. You can never have enough broad beans. [...] According to the Gardener’s world team this is a good time to be making hardwood cuttings. In general you’re better off working with the tides of nature – soft fruit and soft cuttings are often best done in the spring when the plants are really into growth. However some plants go well at this time of year. [...] Now is the right time to get your spring bulbs in. Plant hyacinths now and keep them in the dark to be ready for Christmas – my dad always kept his in the airing cupboard. And get the daffs and other spring bulbs into the lawn now so that they’ll be ready to gladden the heart by their progress in bleakest February. [...] |
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