I’ve been having one or two problems with Blossom End Rot, where the end of tomatoes becomes circular, black and flattened. It occurs in peppers and aubergines, squashes and watermelons but is most often seen in tomatoes and is caused by lack of calcium in the fruits. Plants growing in soil, growing bags and potting […]
While temperatures remain high, watering and ventilation are top of the list. Open vents early in the morning, as temperatures in the greenhouse soon rise (shading should be in place by now), water preferably in the evening or early morning and check plants several times a day to ensure that they don’t dry out. Consider […]
Now your greenhouse tomatoes are growing steadily, it is important to remove the side shoots of ‘cordon’ varieties to form a single productive stem. You don’t need scissors or secateurs, just snap them off with your finger and thumb. Make sure your tomatoes are well watered, too, particularly if they are in growing bags where […]
Apart from the few days of summer last month we spent most of last month in low light, constant rain and chilling winds, so the ground is still too cold and wet for sowing crops directly and will be for a while yet, so thank goodness there is plenty to do in the greenhouse. Seeds […]
From now on my monthly tips are going to focus on what to do in the greenhouse, so let’s start with a few tips what to look for when buying a greenhouse. Buy the largest you can afford and leave space for expansion because however large your glasshouse, it will never be large enough! It […]
If you didn’t have time in the autumn, transplant conifers and evergreens later in the month, when soil temperatures rise. Dig round the plant just beyond the spread of its branches, cut carefully through any larger roots with a pair of old secateurs, keeping root damage to a minimum. Once the root ball is free, […]
If you are growing C. orientalis and C.tangutica; Clematis texensis, Clematis viticella and their cultivars and the large flowered hybrids like ‘Hagley Hybrid’ and ‘Perle d’Azure’, now’s the time to prune. This group flowers in summer and autumn on the current year’s stems, so select the strongest pair of buds near the base, and cut […]
‘If the soil sticks to your shoes it is too wet’ but if conditions allow, now’s a good time to lightly fork over your flower borders, avoiding the crowns of perennials and emerging bulbs mixing in a layer of leaf mould or compost you go. This will improve the soil and relive compaction at the […]
Open greenhouse vents for as long as possible on mild sunny days over winter, shutting them before temperatures drop early in the afternoon. A combination of high temperatures and low light makes leaves and stems soft, spindly and prone to grey mould which spreads rapidly in cool, damp conditions. Though good air circulation is vital, […]
Now it is getting chilly, terracotta or glazed pots should be wrapped with several layers of ‘bubble wrap’ or hessian and raised from the ground on bricks or pot feet to stop water-logging and reduce the chances of cracking. They can also be over-wintered in a frost-free glasshouse, at the base of a sheltered wall, […]
Start clearing leaves as soon as they begin to fall. Leave a thick layer on the lawn and the grass below soon dies through lack of light – it encourages turf diseases, too. Choose a still day if you can or rake or blow them in the direction of the prevailing wind. After collection, rot […]
Autumn is the season of lawn maintenance and this is what you do. Rake out the ‘thatch’ or dead grass and moss that has accumulated over the mowing season using a wire rake, powered lawn rake or scarifier that can be rented from the tool hire shop. To save money, you could hire one and […]
