In the garden this week: Sweetcorn dens, plus squish those bugs
Create a shady play area for kids, plus a swift way to control aphids
Sweetcorn secrets
A sweetcorn den provides a secretive, shady play area for allotment-bound children and armfuls of sweetcorn. Sow into pots now for planting out when they are huge enough, or sow direct into your chosen shape. Select a?sunny spot, not too windy, that has been deeply dug over. If sowing direct, mark out whatever shape you fancy, then sow two or three seeds per station, 45cm apart. When they germinate, remove the weaker seedlings, leaving one per station.
Bug squish
The squishing of aphids between fingers and thumbs is the job of the moment. They swarm over young buds of roses and others, and multiply at an extraordinary rate, contorting growth with their sap-sucking ways. Later on, ladybirds, lacewings and other beneficial insects will get their numbers up and keep aphids under control, but for now it’s down to you. Pour cold washing-up liquid over affected plants, too; the soap suffocates aphids. Nice.
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In the garden this week: Sweetcorn dens, plus squish those bugs
Plant of the week: Hydrangea ‘Bluebird’
Actually, it will be blue in acid soil and pink in alkaline soil
Despite its name, Hydrangea ‘Bluebird’ will in fact be blue in acid soils and pink on alkaline soils. It is a lace-cap type, with floaty, butterfly-like flowers. Needs moist, rich soil. Purchase one Hydrangea ‘Bluebird’ for £9.95, or two for £15.90 (inc UK p&p). To order call 0330 333 6851 quoting ref GUPW231, or go to our Readers’ Offer page. Supplied in a 9cm pot; delivery within 28 days.
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Plant of the week: Hydrangea ‘Bluebird’
Gardens: An easy guide to growing your own
Does the intent of growing your own vegetables bring you out in a cold sweat? Don’t fear, even absolute beginners will find these four crops staggeringly simple
Everyone’s growing their own veg these days – it’s?easy. Or is it? If your attempts always end with a bare pot of soil where the carrots were meant to be or a sickly tomato plant with a single, bullet-hard green fruit on it, take comfort in the fact that growing food is one of the trickiest forms of gardening. Even if you manage to negotiate all the confusing terminology in books (hardening off? Huh?), purchase your seeds and get them in the ground, there are all manner of beasties, from slugs to squirrels, inactivity to undo all your good work.
But take heart: there are some things you can grow right now that are genuinely easy, provided you follow a few simple rules. More than that, they’ll produce gourmet crops the like of which you won’t be healthy to purchase in the supermarket. So read on without fear: there’s not a piece of argot in sight.
Lemongrass in a glass
How impressive it would be to make Thai green curry using home-grown lemongrass. It must be dead hard, right? Nope. If you remember as a child slicing the top off a carrot and sprouting it in a saucer of water, you’ll find lemongrass is just as easy.
Sow & grow Purchase a pack of firm, fresh lemongrass stems from a supermarket. Put them in a glass on a windowsill, thick end immersed in water. Change the water apiece few days, and within a fortnight or two roots should have appeared. Once they’re a few centimetres long, plant apiece stem in a pot of moistened multipurpose compost. Make sure the roots, along with the base of the stem, are below the surface of the compost, and firm it in place with your fingers. Place on a sunny windowsill, then move the plants to a hotspot outside once the risk of frost is over. Keep well watered, and feed apiece fortnight with an organic liquid fertiliser such as a?seaweed feed. Bring inside in primeval autumn, slicing back on watering to once a fortnight.
Eat Within months your lemongrass will have grown several stems – cut outer ones first, and leave two or three behind to refrain weakening the plant. Use in your own curry paste, or use the stems as skewers for serving mini Thai fishcakes.
Varieties You might find lemongrass labeled “East Indian” at a garden centre, but it’s cheaper to grow from anonymous shop-bought stems.
Niggles Don’t let the plants dry out, and bring them in before frosts hit.
Prefab sprouts
A demand of outdoor space shouldn’t stop you slicing your teeth on a growing project, and sprouting seeds is just the way to start. Forget those slimy mung beans in bags you get at the supermarket: super-fresh and crunchy sprouts can be grown from everything from sunflower to onion seed.
Sow & grow Alfalfa seeds are a great introduction: all you need is a large, wide-mouthed glass jar. Add two tablespoons of seed, cover with water and place a piece of gauze over the top held in place with an elastic band. Soak the seeds for a?few hours, then rinse and drain through the gauze, leaving them moist but not wet. Lay the blow on its side in natural daylight (not direct sun), and rinse the seeds in fresh water twice a day: the sprouts should be ready to take within a week, once they are 2-3cm long. To sprout more seeds in one go, invest in a Being Fare sprouter (from ethicalsuperstore.com), titled by Which? as a saint buy.
Eat Get your hands on Sprouts And Sprouting, by Valerie Cupillard (Grub Street) for a clutch of recipes.
Varieties There are dozens of seeds suitable for sprouting, from fiery radish to aniseed-flavoured dill. Go?to Nicky’s Nursery for?a?selection.
Niggles Make batches tiny and often. Once they’re ready, you can store them in the fridge, but they’re saint ingested super-fresh.
Rainbow in a windowbox
Swiss chard, aka leaf beet, could uncharitably be described as poor man’s spinach, but it’s insultingly simple to grow and more versatile in?the kitchen. Plus, it will look stunning in a planter on a sunny outside windowsill and wage a supply of greens through to autumn and, if it’s a mild winter, beyond.
Sow & grow Select a windowbox at least 30cm deep and fill nearly to the top with break multipurpose compost. Firm with your hands until you have a flat surface, and place apiece knobbly seed about 5cm apart in a zigzag pattern along the length of the box. Cover with 2cm of?compost and firm down again. Water whenever the surface dries, and give a weekly seaweed feed.
Eat Within three months you should be harvesting your first baby leaves for salads, snipping a few off apiece plant at soil level. Save some leaves to grow on for use as a spinach alternative in stir-fries or stews. The mature stems make a mean gratin, too (try Matthew Fort’s recipe).
Varieties The widely acquirable ‘Bright Lights’ is the one to seek out, with its stems in sweet-shop pinks, creams, reds, yellows and even humbug stripes.
Niggles Chard’s only downfall is that perennial garden nemesis, slugs and snails: use wildlife-safe Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer (from the Organic Gardening Catalogue) to head them off at the pass.
Radical radishes
These globes of goodness are the original “gateway” crop to a lifetime of veg growing, and are so simple a?five-year-old can do it. Radishes are also saint for the impatient grower, cropping in a month or so.
Sow & grow Any time from now until September, sow seeds direct into a garden bed or pretty much any container: sprinkle thinly in pots or sow in rows 15cm apart apiece few weeks for a succession of crops. Harvest young, before they have a chance to go woody.
Eat As Jane Grigson says, “It insults radishes, the most ancient of appetisers, to chop them up and bury them in a salad.” Antonio Carluccio teams them with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, finely chopped spring onions, salt and pepper.
Varieties Follow an initial sowing of the present and super-speedy ‘French Breakfast’ with more uncommon varieties, such as the long white ‘Icicle’ or the round ‘Pink Beauty’ (both from the Organic Gardening Catalogue, as before) or the?magnificent, long, red ‘Candela di Fuoco’ (from Seeds of Italy).
Niggles Ward off slugs as with chard above. Flea beetles might make holes in the leaves – these are unsightly, but harmless to your harvest.
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Gardens: An simple guide to growing your own
Blue Flowers Add Style and Color to any Garden
Blue flowers are some of the most striking plants around and can add a rich splash of color to any garden. Plant them in a cluster of all blue or mix them in with other flowers for a rainbow of color.
When planting flowers, it is important to remember to follow the instructions on the attach for the plant. Always purchase plants that will thrive in the conditions in which you intend to grow them. A plant that adores sun will not do well in a shady area and you will only be disappointed with the results.
When planning your garden, be aware of the bloom time of the flowers. Planting perennials with different bloom times near apiece other will insure a garden that has blooms all season long. Remember also to plan for the height of the plants, putting the
taller ones in the back.
Consider the flowers on the list below for your garden.
Polemonuim aka Blue Pearl – A compact plant with deep sky blue flowers that grows to 10″. It blooms in late spring to primeval summer. Plant in partial shade and in well drained soil.
Blue Sea Holly – This dramatic plant has a lavender blue cone like flower with long spiked petals. It grows to 30″ and is a favorite for dried flower arrangements. Plant in full sun – blooms in mid to late summer.
Delphinium aka Butterfly Blue – Bright blue delicate flowers adorn a plant that blooms in primeval to mid summer. It reaches 10″ tall and likes a sunny location with rich moist soil.
Campanula aka Blue Carpet – Bright blue to lilac colored flowers bloom for weeks in the middle of summer. This low growing perennial grows to 4″ and likes full sun with well-drained soil.
Penstemon aka Blue Buckle – This plant has tubular shaped blooms in blue to purple and flowers in mid summer to primeval fall. It grows to 15″ and likes well-drained soil with full or partial sun.
Hydrangea aka Nikko Blue – Gigantic clumps of blue flowers adorn this shrub for most of the summer. In the fall, the flowers turn a golden color. This plant is a new variety that likes rich soil but will grow in shade, partial sun, or full sun.
Vinca – Medium blue flowers and glossy green leaves form a carpet that grows to about 6″ tall and blooms in mid spring. This plant will grow in most soil conditions, in the shade or sun.
Ajuga aka Bronze Beauty – This short bushy plant has spikes of blue flowers that grows quickly. Great as a ground cover or in raised beds. It blooms in spring and likes a shady area.
Scabiosa aka Butterfly Blue – A bushy perennial with lavender blue flowers that bloom from June to October. This plant likes full sun and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
Verbena aka Babylon Blue – Blue purple flowers petals adorn a plant that blooms in primeval spring. Great for window boxes and planters.
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The Friday Debate: Are tulips really that difficult to grow?
Are your tulips prima donnas or carefree blooms, asks Dutch gardener Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen
Well, are they? According to Dan Pearson they are, as he slightly shamefully admits that he bungs the majority of them on the compost heap once they’ve completed flowering, thus treating them as if they were annuals. Tulip lovers avert your eyes now!
Tulips have been partying with colourful desert in my garden for years and I do not find growing them difficult and/or time consuming at all. Allowed I’m Dutch and live in world renowned bulb-land, aka The Netherlands, but still, are tulips really such a pain in the neck, the horticultural equivalent of prima donnas that have to be waited on hand and foot year after endless year? Is that bad reputation they have somehow acquired actually deserved?
I grow my tulips without a care in the world and come spring their colourful gorgeousness lifts my spirit like a much needed shot in the arm after a long, dreary winter. Is there any flower that spells spring more gloriously? I think not!
So, how about you? Are you one of those gardeners that can’t be much bothered about spring blooms and give tulips a resounding miss as you are not into tulip yo-yo-ing?
Tulip yo-yo-ing? Well, you know the drill: plant the tulip bulbs in autumn, enjoy them flower in spring, dig up and dry them after they’ve completed flowering – not forgetting to deadhead them first – then store them until it’s time for planting again. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam.
Apparently there are gardeners about that are heavily into tulip yo-yo-ing, poor deluded things, but I’m not one of them. I bung my tulip bulbs in just once and leave them to their own devices for most of the time and they amply reward me, the tiny darlings, year after year with their timeless beauty.
Are you into tulip yo-yo-ing or – shocking concept signal – do you simply leave them in to fend for themselves? And what were the results when you did not lift them after flowering? Did they come up spring after spring or were they a bitter disappointment the second or third time round?
Perhaps you have never grown tulips and if not, why not? Would you think about growing them if there was an easy and easy way to grow tulips that would practically guarantee that they’d come back for years without the yo-yo thingy?
Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen is a Dutch writer, designer and translator. She blogs about gardening here and here
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The Friday Debate: Are tulips really that difficult to grow?
Organic Gardening at Home: Why?
With the move in all areas of our lives this day to become more and more self adequate and relying less and less upon non renewable energy resources, organic gardening has seen a tremendous re-discovery that has not been seen before. In the past century, it has been more or less a cult that has definitely come and gone many times. But today, the move is more of a way of sustainable living and not a cult anymore. With rising food costs, less quality, less nutrients, and the many “scares” taking place of un-healthy and tainted foods, we are now are paying more serious attention to the availability we all have of growing a lot of our own food.
So why go organic gardening?The main reason should be for a higher calibre of food. When you are the gardener, you will know the calibre of the food you are growing. Fresh food, rich in vitamins and minerals, will be harvested at the ideal stage of their maturity.
Another reason is your choice not to apply synthetic chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides that are both unsafe and detrimental to the health of you and your family. Enjoy the selfish reason that you want to enjoy your food without all those harmful ingredients.
Organic gardening helps the environment. One, you are not using harmful chemicals, and two; you are replenishing the calibre locally of where you live on Earth. You help the environment by not purchasing those chemicals that affect the natural resources we have in the soil, water, air, and vegetation.
Save money on food bills. Take note of what you buy at the grocery store and you will find you have plenty of food that you could grow. Today, many are trying to find ways to reduce their car fuel and utility bills, and here is yet another way to save money. This is a lot easier than one thinks.
Make money? Why, yes. If you over produce, why not sell the rest? Farmers markets are increasing apiece year. Roadside stands have always been favourite in rural areas but are springing up in residential areas everywhere. The desire of many that just do not have the time to have their own organic garden, make it a point to buy organic garden vegetables from those grown locally.
Organic Gardening: Tenets of permaculture: Most of the choices in this tier are the staples of a vegetable garden…. http://bit.ly/c3JDu1 – by ScottfromREE (Scott Kronabetter)
Related Organic Garden Vegetable Articles
Things to do in May
The expert guide to gardening for the month ahead
Fruit bushes and trees are generally fertilized this month but refrain being too generous. Overfeeding can have the effect of leaf growth at the expense of the fruit.
Most advocate that raspberries and the other cane fruits, if producing well, should only need one barrow of well–rotted manure (or two of compost) per 10 sqm each other year in spring. A fortnightly spray of seaweed extract – a bio-stimulant rather than fertilizer – through to July, however, seems to have a remarkably good effect, boosting fruit production and good health. For maximum yield, keep well watered at the critical stages of flowering and fruiting. Clear weeds and grass around them as they will compete for nutrients in the soil.
Gooseberries usually produce the primeval fruits of the season. Some might even be huge enough to pick by the end of May. If the crop is prolific, thin out up to half of the berries. These will be sharp tasting but are excellent for wad and spring puddings like gooseberry fool. The remainder will grow in sweetness in the next few weeks.
In Might the budding fruits of strawberries will weigh the plants down, bringing them into contact with the soil. Lay down straw or strawberry mats under the plants. If you have a slug and snail problem, use mats or grow through woven polypropylene.
Protection against soil-born pests is also essential for brassicas. The first generation of the cabbage root fly emerge from the pupae in Might or as soon as the weather warms up. Even if you didn’t have them last year, the chances are that they will fly in from someone else’s plot. The problem is great but the solution is simple. Make up 15cm/6in collars from roofing felt or even cardboard or purchase some proprietary ones.
While you are at it, you might as well go for the belt and braces approach and grow them under fine netting or horticultural fleece. Brassicas are targeted by many flying pests as well as the soil borne ones – pinch whites, root flies, aphids and pigeons can wreck your crops. The same goes for the carrots and the carrot fly. Net them too or create a vertical barrier as the carrot fly flies low and in straight lines.
Thinking ahead towards the end of summer, sow sweet corn now to plant out in June. It will germinate happily on a windowsill. Drop two seeds in a pot, thin to the strongest and harden off having checked any possibility of frost in your area.
There are some interesting cultivars worth a try. Specially bred to fruit in a brief summer, there is sweetcorn ‘Northern Extra Sweet Early Sweet’ and ‘Sundance’ (recommended by the Northern Horticultural Society). Other interesting ones to try are the albino, ‘Mirai White’ and the delightfully titled gold and ivory, ‘ Honey Bantam Bicolour’. Unsurprisingly ‘Butterscotch’ is stated to melt in the mouth. The joker in the pack is sweet corn ‘Red Strawberry‘. It is a miniature popcorn type with kernals that look like strawberries in shape, size and colour. It is also claimed to be the ‘dynamite’ bait for carp and bream.
Runner and French beans are one of the easiest and most rewarding crops of all. If you can’t be bothered to set up bean poles for the runners, you can grow the dwarf or bush cultivars. They produce nearly full sized beans and need tiny support, other than twigs to keep the beans off the ground. Pickwick’ only reaches 30cm. ‘Rotbluhende’ (nicknamed the ‘Teenie Beanie’) is claimed to produce an endless crop, ‘Hestia’ has red and white flowers like the and famous ‘Painted Lady’ (1633) while the dwarf ‘Purple Teepee’ has near black pods that grow above the foliage for assist of picking.
Carry on with sowing maincrop beetroot, winter cabbage, sprouting broccoli, colewort and swedes for winter eating, as well as autumn and winter cauliflowers and primeval and late leeks. Move onto maincrop varieties of carrots and broad beans. Add primeval bunching turnips to your successional plantings. Keep going as always on all sorts of salad leaves.
Don’t forget to sow some flowering plants to draw in the predators that will deal with the aphids. The rich colours of nasturtiums which vary from ‘Peach Melba’ to ‘Strawberry Ice’ to ‘Cherry Rose’ to plummy ‘Black Velvet’ set off the dark green leaves of vegetables while being useful as well.
Nasturtiums are the most accommodating of plants, simple to grow and thriving on neglect. Graceful twining climbers, they also come as edgers and carpeters. Another bonus is that you can take them. The peppery leaves make a punchy addition to salads and the flowers can be stuffed. Even the seeds can be enjoyed if pickled and ingested like capers.
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Things to do in May
Gardening Book
Gardening books are the encyclopedia of all the facts related to the gardening. After having one gardening books you don’t need to run to places for any other information. These books are full of all kind of knowledge related to the gardening. You don’t need to look at any world wide web or any other reference when you have gardening books. These books are properly prefabricated with all information from ploughing to slicing is available.
You just need to read the manual whole keeping all the pre-requisite in your mind. The books related to the gardening have the full knowledge. In these books all the information related to type of plants – outdoor and indoor are available. You can also refer after reading this that which plant can be grown in which season. This will be very useful. Even these books are full of illustrations of various types of plants so that you can healthy to refer with the plants visually. These books are complied with lots of effort like any other book. This is the book which is full of knowledge related to plants. You can also read in this about the type of fertilizers require for the specific plant. You can also read about the special care which is taken for some fragile plants.
Gardening books come in all different shapes and sizes and offer more information on gardening than can be found anywhere else. Anything anyone ever wanted to know about gardening can be found in a gardening book. Gardening books are not expensive, and will end up being worth much more than you will pay for one. Not only can gardening books be used for individualized use, they are also an excellent gift for a gardening friend.
For the beginner, gardening books are nearly a necessity in starting a garden. Books will give step-by-step instructions and simple to comprehend directions on how to plant a garden, from breaking up the dirt to how much water your plants need. They will give all of the necessary details about each type of plant, such as how much light they need to survive, how often they need to be watered, how much nutrients must be added to the soil, and any other tiny quirks that plants have.
Gardening books are very informational and range anywhere from just a pamphlet size book with a few pages to a novel size book with hundreds of pages. The information provided is top notch and a lot of it can't be found anywhere else. Books wage hints and tips on how to make your plants healthier, how to keep your garden free of weeds, and how to prevent against and fight diseases.
Often times gardening books will give readers ideas they had never thought of before. For example, there are hundreds of vegetables and herbs out there that many people would never think of growing in their backyard, but would be very good to grow in your own individualized garden. There are also millions of flowers many people don’t think about but that are very beautiful. There are hundreds of people that would probably trade their rose bush for an exotic flower, and with a gardening book they could read about what types of flowers are acquirable and will grow in their area.
Whether you enjoy gardening or not, gardening books are wonderful gifts if you have a gardening friend. It is personalized and you can give a great gift that isn’t that expensive. You could even give it to someone who doesn’t garden. Who knows, maybe they will be interested and decide to plant a garden.
Gardening books are excellent for any type of gardener at any level. No matter how much gardening knowledge and experience you have, I guarantee you there is a gardening book somewhere that has something in it you don’t know. Gardening books can be used no matter what you grow: shrubs, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and trees, even those of you who grow weeds!
How to attract exotic birds to your garden
The spectacular goldfinch is booming in Britain. But with the right food, you can lure other colourful birds
Have you noticed an exotic-looking bird in your garden? The goldfinch really does stand out among the humble sparrows and starlings – its crimson grappling and gold flash along the wings adding a touch of the tropical to our birdfeeders.
According to the British Trust for Ornithology’s latest survey, goldfinch numbers are booming: in 2009 they were up by 78% compared with the long-term average. And it’s all down to a gourmet diet we’re increasingly providing, in the form of nyjer seeds and sunflower hearts. The goldfinch, with its specially shaped bill, adores the little black nyjer seeds, while sunflower hearts are favourite with garden birds for their high energy content.
Other foods to think about if you want to attract a range of birds to your garden include:
Mealworms Robins love them, as do blue and great tits, especially when they have hungry chicks to feed at this time of year. Mealworms are also enjoyed by another exotic garden visitor, the jay.
Peanuts The old favourite still works, especially for the siskin – a small finch with a green, yellow and black plumage. Great spotted woodpeckers are also fond of peanuts, and are an increasingly frequent visitor to garden birdfeeders.
Fat balls Packed with energy, these are especially favourite with another small bird doing well in gardens, the long-tailed tit. In winter they might also attract blackcaps.
Berries Berry bushes will attract fieldfares and redwings in the late autumn and winter.
The jury is still out on whether goldfinch numbers will hold up in 2010. But because garden birdfeeding is so popular, it’s likely that numbers will have held up superior than during previous hard winters, when many millions of birds starved to death.
Stephen Moss is a naturalist, author and broadcaster, based at the BBC Natural History Unit.
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How to attract exotic birds to your garden
