Garden News Mini Mag

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Summer prune now Trim your grapevines back to energise them! Greenhouse grapes have the advantage of a much longer growing season than vines planted outside, which hopefully results in a larger crop at the end of the season. Although vines are totally hardy, they need sunshine and warmth through the summer to make sure the grapes develop properly and ripen. A greenhouse or polytunnel helps to provide these growing conditions. Most vines can be vigorous and, if they’re not pruned regularly, would simply fill your greenhouse with a mass of long stems and foliage. In winter, all the previous season’s growth is cut back, and then at this time of year we need to carry out summer pruning. My vine is trained as a single rod (main stem) tied to a wire running along the ridge of the greenhouse. It’s currently in full growth and forming grapes. Pruning is fairly simple and basically consists of trimming back all the long shoots to a couple of leaves past the small bunches of grapes. If two bunches have developed on one stem, I usually cut the weaker one off to limit it to just a single bunch per stem. This way Jobs to do now MARTIN FISH The undercover GARDENER Former head gardener, TV and radio broadcaster and RHS judge you get slightly fewer bunches, but they’re better quality. If you want, you can also thin the grapes in each bunch, but this is very time consuming. I only remove a few bunches if I think the vine’s carrying too many to support. Once all the long growths have been shortened, the vine’s energy is diverted into grape growth, although new shoots will also develop from where you cut back to and these will need trimming back right through summer. A little water while the fruits are swelling and a high-potash feed will keep everything healthy. Then it’s a case of waiting for the grapes to ripen later in the summer. Sponsored by Healthy new bunches of grapes forming Tel: 01531 633659 www.haygrove.co.uk Photos: Martin Fish Clear potatoes and replant with more vegetables We’ve been lifting potatoes in the polytunnel for a couple of weeks, despite the cold spring weather. Once they’re cleared, I’ll replant with some more veg. Prick out sweet williams and grow them on I’m growing sweet williams from seed for some early cut flowers next year. Seedlings are now ready to prick out and grow on before being planted in large pots in the polytunnel. Deadhead pelargoniums Pelargoniums and geraniums are flowering well in the greenhouse. Deadhead them regularly to keep the show going. Next week: Streptocarpus care and propagation
<strong>Garden</strong>ing with the EXPERTS The world’s finest share their tips for success Strong, well-fed plants will produce lots of flowers Dave Gillam A grower for 25 years, in 2012 Dave won National Individual Champion awards at each of the English (Shepton Mallet), Welsh and Scottish National Dahlia Society competitions, the first time this has ever been accomplished. He’s very busy on YouTube, where you’ll find dozens of videos on how to grow dahlias. From June to August, dahlias should be happily growing in our beds and borders. However, as with any leafy plants, the moment they go in the ground you might just as well ring the dinner bell for all the local slugs, snails and aphids. Then, as the buds come along, earwigs join the party, too! The dwindling range of chemicals and controls makes things harder for us all, but fortunately, plant foods seem to be on the increase, and encouraging our dahlias to grow strongly helps keep them ahead of the pests. Hungry feeders Dahlias are naturally hungry plants, so providing regular feed helps them on their way. There are three basic food types that should be applied at different stages to fuel plant growth. I feed with high nitrogen (N) in June, which promotes strong plant and leaf growth, to build a strong base. This is commonly found in soluble lawn foods. July is the time to use a balanced feed of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) in almost equal parts. This strengthens dahlias and starts hardening the plant ready to flower. General soluble foods such as Miracle-Gro or Gro-Sure are ideal. To aid flowering by stiffening the stems, apply a high-potash feed in Potash improves flower size Photos: David Gillam Add petroleum jelly to stems to stop earwigs in their tracks How to have healthy and damage-free dahlias Now’s the time to feed to keep plants strong August. The Potash (K) ripens growth and stems and improves flower size, as well as making the plant more weather tolerant. Suitable products include tomato feeds and most garden centres stock a box of sulphate of potash. Phosphate (P) is found in nearly all foods. It helps root growth and is only needed in small quantities. An initial base dressing of bone meal or blood, fish and bone is normally enough without the need to add more. Phosphate can remain in the soil for a long time so overapplication isn’t a good idea. If you’re just growing dahlias for flowering in the garden, a couple of balanced feeds and a couple of potash feeds of 2.5-5 litres per plant will make a lot of difference. For show purposes, to get the full potential from your plants use the different products as described above every 10–14 days. For weaker-stemmed varieties, apply a dressing of sulphate of potash in mid-July Tackle pests early for pristine flowers and water in. It takes a while before the plant can take it in, so it needs doing in advance. Pest control I find off-the-shelf chemicals for pests work well enough, but for more stubborn pests I increase the recommended dose. To avoid pests and diseases, regularly check your plants and start any treatment at the first sign, rather than waiting for an outbreak. Spend enough time with your plants and you’ll recognise if there’s a problem. I use a light application of slug pellets prior to planting and then use them lightly after that. Don’t overuse them – only 10-15 pellets per square metre is required, and they contain an attractant so if you over-apply them, you’ll simply encourage every slug around to your plants. I use organic-based, wildlife-friendly pellets from Growing Success because they drive the slugs underground to die, which means they’re less likely to be picked up by feeding birds. Earwigs don’t become a problem until later in the season. They’re nocturnal so they hide in the day and feed at night. A smear of petroleum jelly applied a few inches below the bud helps prevent any strays from feasting on the buds of large flowers or those needing extra protection.
Page 1 and 2: The UK's No.1 gardening weekly! Jun
Page 3 and 4: Plant OF THE WEEK Six to try for fa
Page 5 and 6: Garden OF THE WEEK Gardener Roger R
Page 7 and 8: Garden OF THE WEEK heavy trees in t
Page 9 and 10: CAROL KLEIN This week AT GLEBE COTT
Page 11 and 12: Easy summ Delicious to eat and fool
Page 13: What to do this week IN YOUR FLOWER
Page 17: Like me? Buy me! On sale in all goo

Garden News Mini Mag

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?