Garden talk was a huge success

The members of Gourock Horticultural Society who attended the garden talk last week by Alan Maliska and his team from In-Work were treated to an excellent presentation which gave the home gardeners much food for thought. 

Sowing seed was something everyone was involved in and the members were introduced to the necessary tools and implements which are needed to perform the various tasks. For example, members were shown dibbers and widgets and the team explained how to use them. Additionally, they learned about Jiffy 7 pots which when soaked in water expand to form little peat pots for growing plants. Trays were planted with an assortment of seeds including peas and given to members to take home with them. Everyone was enthralled by what they learned during the talk.

Primroses and Primula

Flowers that are popular at this time of the spring are the ever-popular plants of the primrose family, no matter whether they are in the borders or in large planters. Such plants make colourful additions to large planters on the patio and they will give pleasure for many years. Each year the plants can be lifted and sub divided and split up to yield more plants for use in future years. The only drawback is that there is a tendency for the compost to contain quite a number of vine weevil grubs which resemble a small letter C.

It is best to remove them from the compost where possible, although treating the compost with an insecticide called ‘Provado’ is sometimes useful. The vine weevil does not harm the plants but when it lays its eggs in the compost the grubs will feed on the roots of the plants.

Vine weevil grubs are frequently found under the compost of a number of other plants and can go undetected until the plant dies. When a plant acts like it is suffering just give it a sharp pull and if it comes out of the soil too easily it is likely the vine weevil grub to blame. Don’t give up and get them out.

Two useful soil additives

When sowing and growing new plants or even re-potting or taking cuttings there are two very useful additives which will benefit the compost you are using.

One is vermiculite and the other is Perlite.

The former is derived from volcanic rock heated to high temperature and ground to tiny flakes. The material is added to compost and acts as an insulation and improves the growing compost.

Perlite, on the other hand is produced from volcanic rock and heated to a high temperature and when added to compost helps to improve aeration and drainage allows air to reach the roots and good when rooting cuttings. Both these additives can be used together and vermiculite can help exclude light when covering seeds. Both additives will enhance the quality of blooms.

Gardening group meets next week

The next fortnightly gardening talk organised by Gourock Horticultural Society takes place at Cardwell Garden Centre on Tuesday March 19 commencing at 2pm.

The members will be engaging in a open forum with questions being asked and answered by the members themselves and much can be learned from such sessions.

The talk is open to anyone interested in attending and they can bring a friend with them. Regular attenders will also have the opportunity to try a new piece of equipment called a flit mister which can produce a mist for watering and feeding plants and is also useful for indoor plants.

The mister is inexpensive, costing just over ten pounds and can be ordered at the talk next week.

Tips on seed potatoes will be give at next week's talk as they can be started off ready for planting from the end of March to early April. Do make a point of coming along.

Getting your lawn ready for spring

Soon the grass will be ready for the first cut of the season so it is time to get the lawnmower ready for use.

Do not cut the grass too short, leave it about an inch or so high and it will benefit if you can use a hollow-tined tool to aerate the lawn.

Apply a moss-killer or a spring feed to the grass and rake out all the moss, which will leave bare patches which will need new seed applied. More on this next week.