Busy time for gardeners

Just as if there is not enough jobs to do, I noticed an abundant number of little white bits of flurries wafting in the air during the weekend. What were these? I reminded myself that a few years ago a similar scene took place and even the surface of compost in containers was covered with these white flurries which inevitably will germinate and cause problems in later years.

The cause was found to be due to the ideology of not cutting grass during May. This year the problem is not so pronounced but it can be a nuisance to gardeners.

Elsewhere in the garden I have noticed lots of little yellow flowers appearing which look very much like dandelions, but these are little daisy-like flowers having the botanical name of Doronicum, also known by the common title of Leopard-tail, and belong to the sunflower family. These plants are resistant to deer and rabbits and are slightly poisonous. The plants are spread by rhizomes and they are a menace in the garden.

Mind your back

With more and more gardeners choosing to grow plants in tubs, containers and large pots, moving them around the garden can take its toll on one's back and so it is useful to use small plant trolleys to help protect from injury.

A barrow is a great asset in the garden, whether it be a two-wheeled sack truck or a conventional one-wheeled barrow, both of which can be used when moving bags of compost and big pieces of garden equipment. Even when digging the borders and vegetable plots take care, especially if the soil is very wet as each load adds to the weight on your spade and can put a strain on your back.

Sowing seeds

There are plenty of seeds to be sown in the garden to give plenty of flowers and vegetables for the late summer and autumn and there are a number of procedures that should be followed to ensure success.

Firstly, make sure that you read the instructions on the seed packet. Read these at least once, if not twice. Not all seeds need light to grow, some need to be covered while others need light to germinate.

For example, coleus is sown on the surface of the compost and does not require to be covered while other seeds need to planted at a given depth. Don’t worry if you are a bit behind in your seed sowing tasks as things will eventually get going to give you the desired germination.

Where the seed sowing instructions call for seeds to be covered you can use fresh compost or vermiculite but make sure that your seed trays or pots are clean and do not use spent compost for seed sowing. Peat-free composts are generally not good for seed sowing although for best results I would suggest that you opt for using John Innes seed compost.

Main crop potatoes should be planted in the coming weeks and will be ready to harvest by mis-September.

When sowing seeds, it is worthwhile adding some Perlite to the compost to improve drainage and let air in and around the seeds to help them germinate.

Now is the ideal time to sow seeds of leeks and these will be thick as pencils ready to plant into pots or into the soil during June.

Tomato talk

If you are growing tomatoes they should be moved into their final pots by the end of this month. As tomatoes are quite rapid-growing plants they should be grown in large containers such as ten-inch pots and be grown in Gro-bags.

Each plant will require to be supported by strong stakes but do not feed the plants until small fruits begin to appear on the lower trusses. At this point remove side shoots between the main stem and the upper trusses. Help germinate the plants by giving them a shake each day or even give the trusses a little tap.

Once you see a little pea-like bud appear you can begin to feed with a high-potash feed such as ‘Tomorite’. Once plants reach five trusses high I would suggest that you nip out the topmost truss to allow the other lower fruits to grow.

Ventilate your greenhouse

The temperature inside a greenhouse can become extremely warm by mid-afternoon some days and plants, particularly tomatoes and cucumbers, will begin to wilt. The best course of action is to throw a bucket of water over the floor of the greenhouse as doing this will help to cool the air in the greenhouse. It is really wise to have a maximum/minimum thermometer in the greenhouse and check it daily to let you know what has been happening over the past hours.

Gardening talk

The next garden talk sponsored by Gourock Horticultural Society will take place on Tuesday 21 May within Cardwell Garden Centre commencing at 2pm. Readers are welcome to come along and bring their friends and meet with other like-minded and green-fingered enthusiasts. Bring all your gardening problems and hopefully someone may have an answer for you. See you there.

Plant sale

Caddlehill Allotments holds its annual plant sale on Saturday May 25 from 10.30am to 4pm.