Category: Nature

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Must Do Gardening Tips for September

Tips from Carol Evans of Life Beyond the Patio.

1. Let parts of your lawn go wild for a few weeks.
2. Mow above mentioned parts before you get stung or bitten by the insects.
3. Make sure your pots are off the ground as wetter weather is on the way.
4. Collected rain water is perfect for acid loving plants such as camellia.
5. Collected seed must be kept dry, use a sealed tin with some powdered milk to keep moisture at bay.
   

   ---

What to do, by have you got a pen Gwyn Williams.

1. Plant daffodils this month to be sure of a good spring display.
2. If a tradesman says he can start work the following day, be wary as all the good ones are busy.
3. Keep drains clear of fallen leaves as Autumn approaches
4. Try to leave the cutting back of shrubs as long as possible otherwise you will be doing them again before Winter.
5. Put your glasses on before weeding or some of your precious plants will end up in the green bag.
   

   ---

September is a good month to sort problems out with your lawn, by either sowing seed or laying turf. Leather jackets are more of a problem on lawns with poor drainage. This larvae of the crane fly leaves dead patches on your lawn as they consume the grass roots. The only effective way of controlling this is with the right nematodes. To find out if they are the cause of the damage to your lawn, put a damp cloth over the area of concern and remove it in the early morning. you will see the larvae on the surface. When you see crows on the grass at this time of year this is what they are mainly searching for. Do not put a high nitrogen feed on the lawn at this time of year however tempting it is to use fertiliser you have left over from the summer. The high nitrogen content will promote top growth and weaken the grass. Always use a feed high in potassium, this will strengthen the root system and keep the grass healthy through the colder months.

The experts say that daffodils along with crocus and hyacinths should be planted by the middle of September to make sure you get good blooms in the Spring. Hold back a while on the tulips as they tend to rot if planted too early. One of the main reasons for a poor show is that bulbs are planted too shallowly, so always follow the instructions on the packet.

Continue to collect seed, as packeted seed seems to be a lot more expensive now for very few seeds. Dividing herbaceous perennials is a good way to get extra plants and to get rid of the dead material in the middle.

On allotments and veg patches harvesting is in full swing. Check apples are ripe by pulling gently, they should come away easily. Take any bad fruit off to stop disease spreading. Keep potting up strawberry runners. Take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries now. Order bare root fruit bushes and trees, they are cheaper and will produce fruit next year. When the beans and peas have finished cut down to ground level but leave roots in ground as they will add nitrogen to the soil. Sow green manures on bare soil, this will help keep the weeds down over Winter and can then be dug in to improve the soil.

Over the past year I have received a lot of feedback from walkers who pass through and by the allotments. They have commented on how well kept they are. Some have asked if the man sitting against the tin sheets by the notice board has big hands or a small spade, they were hesitant to approach because he seemed so peaceful contemplating where to plant his next row of cabbages. I’ve told them who you are H, so expect to be signing autographs.

Take care and happy gardening

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Must Do Gardening Tips for August

Grow your own experts Shirley & Graham Hammond, tips for August:

1. Dry harvested onions thoroughly, or they will rot when stored.
2. Pinch off the tops of runner beans to encourage side shoots.
3. Take cuttings of mint, rosemary and sage.
4. Spray ground elder when it is growing strongly. Very hard to get rid of.
5. Sow a green manure when space becomes available.

Betty Facey, who has a lovely garden and a lawn like Wimbledon, has some good advice.

1. Cut back faded perennials to keep the garden neat and tidy.
2. Prune climbing roses, unless repeat flowering.
3. Water camellias and rhododendrons to ensure buds develop.
4. Trim lavender plants to preserve shape.
5. Do not attempt to water the lawns as you will never have enough time to do it justice.

Hope your tomatoes are in good shape; you need to pinch out the tops so that plants can use their energy to produce fruit. Watering constantly will stop blossom end rot and reduce splitting. With broad beans having been harvested, you can cut the stalk down to the base and on a good year they will have time to produce a lighter crop. There is still plenty of time to sow lettuce that will be available to crop before it gets too cold. After 4 years or so strawberry plants weaken and produce less, so now is the time to root the runners being produced to fill in for the older plants.

A lot of lawns can look straw coloured in prolonged dry spells. Grass is so tough and can withstand a lot of abuse. By attempting to water it you may well be doing more harm than good, unless you’re prepared to water for hours at a time. By not watering enough you will encourage roots to come to the surface. then at the next dry spell the grass will really suffer.

Prolong the flower displays by constant deadheading and regular feeding especially the hanging baskets, which should last well into the Autumn. Aphids were quite a problem this year, made worse by the late arrival of ladybirds and their larvae. They can be controlled by just wiping them off with your fingers or by making up a solution of water and white vinegar and spray on both sides of leaves. Dahlias are coming into their own at this time of year but be sure to tie them to strong stakes as the wind and rain can play havoc with them. Cut back all the whippy side shoots of wisteria to about 20cms; if you don’t do this you will have less flowers year on year.

Going wild is being promoted a lot in the media and some Wenvoe residents have thrown themselves into it to differing degrees. Jill & Ryland have been turning over part of their front garden to wild flowers and it looks lovely. On the other hand, Pete Ferris has created a wilderness garden at the rear of his abode. Wild animals flourish in the dense foliage. Pete has a rope tied to the handle of the patio door and when he ventures into the undergrowth, he has to tie the other end to himself or he would never find his way back.

Take care and happy gardening

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Stella Gardening Tips for July

Wenvoe Kings Of The Road have a secret passion for all things flora. Firstly Dai (The Ditch) Cannon gives us his tips on keeping on top of things in the garden.

1. Don’t worry, there’s always tomorrow.
2. Deadhead roses to keep them flowering.
3. If you are stumped by trying to name a plant, organise a quiz, someone will know.
4. Give Dahlias a feed and keep well watered.
5. The plants we buy on a whim never get looked after like the ones we intended to buy.

Roger ‘Triumph’ Davies tells us about things to do in July.

1. Autumn king carrots can still be planted to prolong the harvest.
2. Feed and deadhead roses.
3. Remove whippy side shoots of wisteria
4. Cut as many flowers as you can off your sweet peas to put in vases as the more you cut, the more they flower.
5. If you’re buying shrubs at the garden centre, don’t take the motorbike,

The Soil Association is a charity which was formed in 1946 to promote the use of organic solutions for keeping soil healthy and safe to use. They work with farmers and growers to change some of their practices.

Some soil facts.

1. Soil stores more carbon than the atmosphere and all forests,
2. Healthy soil can help prevent flooding.
3. Every minute we lose the equivalent of 30 football pitches.
4. It can take up to a 1000 years for a single centimetre of soil to form.

One of the Soil Association’s main recommendations is that we try to keep the soil covered at all times, most of the year it’s not a problem as plants cover the soil. During the winter they recommend that we use a thick layer of mulch, green manure crops or old blankets to cover the soil to prevent erosion.

We are asked to help wildlife in our gardens where we can. One of the most fascinating mammals to see is the bat. A simple bat box and some night scented flowers, such as evening primrose to attract moths, and it won’t be long before bats are coming to your garden at dusk.

Try not to let seed pods form on sweet peas yet or they will stop flowering. If you would like to see sweet peas at their grandest, then the rear garden of Mr Crumps in Rectory Close is a must. Keep up the deadheading of bedding plants and repeat flowering perennials. July is a good month to take hydrangea cutting, cut off a non-flowering stem just below a leaf joint and stick it in soil. Watering is a task that we have to undertake especially if you have a lot of pots. thick mulch on the top of pots will help reduce the evaporation.

On the allotment and in veg gardens watering can sometimes be a choice of which plants get watered, especially if you have to carry it a fair distance. Lettuce, rocket and spinach will bolt and go to seed if allowed to dry out. Gardeners will be harvesting some of their fruit and veg this month, as well as planning for later this year and the following spring, seeds like lettuce, beetroot and carrot can be sown along with winter cabbage and kale, plus some potatoes for Christmas dinner.

Take care and happy gardening.