Last year at this time I wrote about the long, dry summer and autumn of 2003 and advised suitable shaded planting positions for plants such as Busy Lizzies that needed regular watering to survive. Just one year on and 2004 seemed to have been awash with rain and short of sunshine. Certainly the summer was wetter than ever with regular downpours causing flash floods in many areas.
It just goes to show that no two years are the same and whatever the pundits predict we have a variable climate that is great for gardening and ideal to grow a wide range of plants from around the world.
GROWING SOIL
Growing your soil is more important than growing plants. It may take several years, but with determination and regular additions of bulky, organic matter you will be able to turn cold, sticky clay or thin sandy or chalky soils into a rich loam that will be easy to manage and holds a good reservoir of moisture, plant foods, oxygen and beneficial worms and bacteria. Improving soil structure certainly goes a long way to helping all your garden plants to grow bigger and stronger.
It was fascinating to read the recent research carried out by Gardening Which? that proved the point. They tested Composted Bark, Horse Manure, Mushroom Compost and Composted Green Waste (very much like the compost you would make from your own heap).
Composted Bark and Green Waste were great for roses, especially when applied as a mulch layer rather than being dug into the soil. In the second year flowering impact and plant quality were much improved, showing the longer-lasting effect of a mulch layer. The application of Mushroom Compost to roses did not improve flowering or plant quality. It is well known that roses prefer an acid soil and the lime that is part of the casing when growing mushrooms could have had this detrimental effect.
On the other hand all types of bulky organic matter dug into the soil before growing potatoes improved yields, especially in the second year. Subsequent crops of leeks on the same plots also improved slightly with those on the mulched plots yielding twice as much. This proved the point that the improved soil fertility produced by all these soil improvers lasted a longer time when left on the surface rather than dug into the soil.
Some scientific proof like this is always useful to back years of experience. But it is interesting to see that we could perhaps avoid digging in bulky material every year and instead just leave it on the surface. I have tried a similar regime with asparagus this year. I placed a 7cm layer of home-made garden compost along the rows after feeding with Osmocote Controlled Release Plant Food. Both established plants and those planted this year grew exceptionally well. I put it down to the rainy summer, but now think that the mulch layer had more than a little part to play.
To improve your own soils then an annual application of bulky organic matter is needed to make a radical difference to the water-holding capacity and fertility of sandy or chalky soils. Clay soils can be improved with a thick mulch layer applied every other year. Create all the home-made compost you can muster, building the heap throughout the year with grass clippings, dead plants and annual weeds. Cooks should be reminded that all vegetable peelings and uncooked leaves from the kitchen will help to add to this rich source of organic matter.
Few of us can make enough home-made compost to do an adequate job each year. So when this is used up we need to turn to bags of professionally made material that are available from your local garden centre. There are plenty to choose from. Mulch layers at least 5cm (2in) thick of Levington Soil Improver and Mulch will be ideal for rose beds and flower borders. This is completely peat-free, but made from ground up bark that is composted down to a peat-like material. As a beneficial mulch that holds on to soil moisture and helps suppress weeds the larger pieces of bark found in Levington Mini Chipped Forest Bark or Levington Decorative Chipped Forest Bark and the organic material in Levington Cocoa Shells will be helpful, although they will take longer to break down in the soil and their ability to improve soil structure or plant vitality is therefore limited.
On vegetable plots and flower beds a 5cm (2in) layer of Levington Farmyard Manure either left on the surface or dug in will improve soil fertility, increase yields and improve plant vitality. You will get even better results from your plants when they are also fed each year with suitable nutrients found in Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food or Miracle-Gro Rose 'Plus'.
Growing soil like this each spring is very satisfying, especially if it reduces the amount of digging required. And if you are my sort of gardener then anything that saves time, effort and backache is worth a try.
NEW PLANTS
Instant gardening may be the lazy person's way to stress-free planting, but it isn't the most economical way to fill your garden with flowering bedding. It can be expensive to let others sow seeds and grow on bedding plants ready for you to buy in flower in May. Even if money is no object, you and your family are missing out on the thrill of seeing new seeds germinate and plants grow to full size. I will be definitely sowing seeds of Foxglove 'Camelot' series that promise to bloom in the first year and Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' a Fleuroselect winner with great pedigree.
The cheapest way to produce hundreds of flowering plants for your garden is from a few packets of seed. January and February are great months to get started. All you need are clean trays filled with some fresh Levington Seed & Cutting Compost or Levington John Innes Seed Compost. Lightly press down the surface and water well before sowing the seeds evenly over the surface. Now follow the instructions on the seed packet to determine if the seeds need to be covered with more compost. Some seeds germinate best when they are exposed to light, but they will need covering in clear plastic or glass so that a humid atmosphere is maintained. Now place the tray on a windowsill that will provide the minimum temperatures recommended on the seed packet.
During the first couple of months of the year you need to sow seeds of plants that take some time to grow to flowering size and those that are susceptible to frosts. Top of my list go geraniums, begonia and verbena that need to be sown in January, followed by petunias, salvias and busy lizzies that can wait until February. As you can see I'm a traditionalist at heart, but there are always new colours and forms that can be tried in almost all of these plants. Either send for a seed catalogue or pick your favourites from the display at your local garden centre.
FLOWER BORDERS
Get weeds under control before the foliage of spring bulbs bursts through the soil surface. Either tickle the surface with a hand fork or use Weedol or ready-to-use Weedol Gun! to kill the weeds without backbreaking effort. These weedkillers will work whatever the temperatures - they rely on light to kill off the green leaves, so they are still very effective when applied in winter.
Collect fallen leaves that may still be gathering under hedges, along fence lines and under the branches of shrubs. Dead plant material provides welcome hiding places for slugs and snails and are best removed to the compost heap.
Fill gaps in the border with flowering heathers, especially varieties of Erica carnea. If your soil is not acid, plant in Levington Ericaceous Compost or Miracle-Gro Ericaceous Plant & Gro Compost and remember to add some sequestered iron with either Murphy Sequestrene Granules or Murphy Sequestrene Plant Tonic every year.
TIMELY TIP
Make sure patio containers of spring bulbs and winter-flowering plants are lifted off the paving with ceramic feet. This will encourage drainage and prevent water-logging.
THE LAWN
Keep off the grass while it is frosty. Just the pressure of feet can damage the inner cells of grass leaves that cause bruising and turn each leaf brown. A week after pressure damage like this you will see the telltale sign of footprints clearly showing.
Trimming the grass is rarely needed in January unless we have a very mild winter. If this is necessary simply top the grass on a dry, warm day after any dew has evaporated.
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Dig leeks and parsnips as and when needed for the kitchen. Pick sprouts as they develop into the right sized buttons and store in a refrigerator. If pigeons are a problem, cover all winter brassicas with netting to deter attacks.
After a few sharp frosts, crowns of rhubarb have got the message that winter has definitely been experienced and will be in just the right frame of mind for gentle forcing. In my garden the rhubarb isn't forced into activity - instead it is given some tender loving care so that it can easily deliver the delicious pink sticks that are so highly prized. My first token of love is a dressing of long-lasting plant food. A good dose of Osmocote or Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food will feed the plant for the rest of the growing season. Gently fork this fertilizer into the top of the soil to open up the surface and let air in too. Next add a thick layer of rotting garden compost, animal manure or Levington Farmyard Manure fresh from the bag. This will help to warm the soil around the rhubarb and encourage the development of new sticks. To encourage these to grow long and pink, cover the root with a bucket or bin to exclude the light. In a few weeks you will be blessed with delicious stalks for an early spring rhubarb pie, crumble or fool.
Like most people my rhubarb is an inherited crown and I have no idea of the variety. If you are buying fresh roots then 'Timperley Early' is the earliest. The tastiest, according to RHS taste tests, are either 'Hawke's Champagne' or 'Steins Champagne'.
TIMELY TIPS
Peaches are often affected by a crippling disease called peach leaf curl. It shows as large red blisters on the leaf which turns white, then brown, and falls prematurely. The disease survives in the bark and between the bud scales so you need to spray very early to stand a hope of controlling it. For good results spray with Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide at the end of January or the beginning of February and repeat the treatment in the autumn at leaf fall. A couple of sprays every year should keep your peach trees clean.
WHAT'S NEW
At this time of the year garden centres are filling their indoor plant areas with seedlings and plug plants of tender bedding and exotic rooted cuttings. These small plantlets are the modern way for gardeners to fill their gardens with colour without spending a fortune. In this way you get a wider choice of colours and various varieties to choose from. These plug plants are supplied growing individually in tiny cells of top quality compost and just need more room and vital nutrients for roots and stems to grow into large plants ready to flower in pots and hanging baskets.
To get these tiny treasures growing fast give them extra room and root space in a tip-top compost of your choice. Just being delivered to garden centres that offer their customers quality growing media is a new compost designed for the millions of plug plants that are sold every year. Called Miracle-Gro Plug & Gro Compost it is specially created to have an open texture and nutrient balance that will encourage strong healthy growth in young plants, especially seedlings, rooted cuttings and plug plants.
Miracle-Gro Plug & Gro Compost contains balanced nutrients that are high in phosphate to encourage vigorous root growth. The compost is a mixture of peat and perlite to provide a light-weight, porous structure, that encourages good aeration and healthy root development.
If you can't find this new compost choose instead either Levington Potting Compost or Miracle-Gro Plant & Gro. They contain enough nutrients to feed the plant for up to 6 weeks, but as they grow vigorously you will probably need to repot them again at around this time.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
Murphy® Traditional Copper Fungicide contains copper oxychloride. Weedol® contains diquat and paraquat. Weedol Gun!™ contains diquat.® ™ and Miracle-Gro, Osmocote, Murphy, Plus, Levington and Scotts are Trade Marks of The Scotts Company or its affiliates.
GARDENING INFORMATION FROM The Scotts Company (UK) Limited
WRITTEN BY JOHN CLOWES
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