{"id":12877,"date":"2023-02-02T00:32:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T23:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12877"},"modified":"2023-02-02T00:32:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T23:32:20","slug":"rita-and-elizabeths-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12877","title":{"rendered":"Rita and Elizabeth’s Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/strong><\/em><\/span>HE VILLAGE GARDENER<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

This month Rita Edwards and Elizabeth Jones give us the benefit of their gardening knowledge.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Rita<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Separate clumps of snowdrops while in the green as they will naturalise better.<\/li>\n
  2. Prune hedges before the birds start nesting.<\/li>\n
  3. Check fences for broken posts and loose panels.<\/li>\n
  4. Prune wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds.<\/li>\n
  5. Cut back perennials that were left protecting the crown of the plant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Elizabeth<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Make sure that the mower is serviced before mowing begins in earnest.<\/li>\n
    2. Do repairs to paths on dry days.<\/li>\n
    3. Sow sweet peas.<\/li>\n
    4. Strimmer line will keep its strength if stored in water, honestly.<\/li>\n
    5. Seaweed is a brilliant fertiliser, just make sure you wash the salt off first.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Right then gardeners, you can be sure that plants are going to cost quite a bit more this Spring due to high heating and fertiliser costs which the nurseries have to pass on to the garden centres, who in turn pass this on to customers. So, start saving by sowing seeds. We have to heat our homes, and windowsills make an ideal spot to produce seedlings. Cosmos, sweet peas, kale and tomatoes will thrive on a warm sill. Just cover at night to keep the chill off. This is the one time you need to use properly prepared fresh compost with a bit of perlite added for drainage. This will help prevent damping off which is a fungal disease that can wipe out trays of seedlings. The main causes of damping off spreading are low light and poor air flow.<\/p>\n

      Outside, the garden seems to need attention everywhere you look. Now is a good time to move deciduous shrubs that this year, with fresh eyes, seem to be in the wrong place. Prune mahonia and winter flowering heathers. Cut back buddleia and elder down to the base. This will help keep them a reasonable size. Cut back the overwintered fuchsias, check on any plants that may have become dislodged in the inclement weather. There is still time to purchase bare root shrubs. This month is the latest you should be pruning apple trees. Most apple trees produce fruit on short stems that sprout on old wood, while a few fruit on long shoots produced just the year before. Check to see which type you have before pruning or you may end up with no fruit at all. The important thing is to have an open aspect by thinning out the middle to allow a good air flow and increase light. This will help to keep disease at bay.<\/p>\n

      Keep deadheading the pansies to prolong the flowering. The one thing that needs to be done every time you go into the garden besides weeding is to look in crevices and under pots for slugs and snails as everyone you deal with now is going to increase the number of buds that will develop in Spring.<\/p>\n

      Take care and happy gardening<\/p>\n

      \n
      \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      THE VILLAGE GARDENER This month Rita Edwards and Elizabeth Jones give us the benefit of their gardening knowledge. Rita Separate clumps of snowdrops while in the green as they will naturalise better. Prune hedges before the birds start nesting. Check fences for broken posts and loose panels. Prune wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds. Cut back perennials that were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3lH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4750,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4750","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":0},"title":"Hot Tips for July","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th June 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"HS tips for July 1. Check Clematis for wilt. 2. Care for house plants while on holiday. 3. Keep tubs and new plants well watered. 4. Dead head bedding plants 5. Pick Courgettes before they become Marrows. 6. Treat Apple scab. 7. Clear algae and blanket weed from ponds. 8.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11525,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11525","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":1},"title":"Must Do Gardening Tips for May","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Must Do Gardening Tips for May Rita Edwards gives her sound advice. Be careful of late frosts, cover tender plants with fleece. Hold hanging baskets back till the end of this month, as show people do. Check roses for black spot. Sow nasturtium seeds in gaps as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/waterCan-2-257x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14508,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14508","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":2},"title":"Watering, Weeding And Dead Heading","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st August 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Watering, Weeding And Dead Heading Watering, weeding and dead heading are the jobs that need attending to every day at this time of year in an attempt to keep the garden looking it\u2019s best for as long as possible. Some of the late flowering plants, such as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9733,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9733","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":3},"title":"Village Gardener Tips for June","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th May 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Stella Gardening Tips for June Tips from Heulwyn Davies of the cherry tree garden. Grow more veg in pots, it's so easy and tastes better than flowers. Think of the future and put in some raised beds. Sow pansies for Autumn flowering this month. Gardeners will always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/waterCan-2-257x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11583,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11583","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":4},"title":"Gardeners’ Question Time","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Event Notices"","block_context":{"text":"Event Notices","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=237"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/G-Q-Time.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/G-Q-Time.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/G-Q-Time.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/G-Q-Time.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14916,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14916","url_meta":{"origin":12877,"position":5},"title":"The Festive Season Is Upon Us","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th December 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER The Festive Season Is Upon Us With the festive season upon us, the garden gets a bit neglected. That is probably one of the reasons artistic gardeners say we should leave the dead stalks of perennials standing, as it gives structure to the plot. It\u2019s bad enough\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12878,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877\/revisions\/12878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}