February is still early in the new gardening season but it is always nice to set a mixture of seed and try to get a head start on things, and, if a little protection can be offered – from propagators, cold frames, greenhouses or polytunnels, for example – then often these early sowings will succeed… Continue reading Last sowing of February
Winter pruning of cordon apples and pears
Cordons of the pome fruits are typically pruned twice per season; first in summer and then in winter. The end of February or perhaps the first week or so of March offer the last opportunity to get this done before bud break. It is not, though, a bad time to prune as cuts are likely… Continue reading Winter pruning of cordon apples and pears
Second sowing in February
Sowing continued today with a couple of the more tricky seeds – parsley and celeriac – along with some leeks and lettuce. Parsley is somewhat erratic in germination. Although it does not mind the cold, it will germinate better in warm conditions. We sowed four small pots with plenty of seed to allow for failures… Continue reading Second sowing in February
Planting early potatoes in pots
A few weeks ago we put some first early potatoes to chit – Home Guard and Arran Pilot. It is early yet for planting potatoes and we have not started with those destined for outdoors, but we always try an early planting in the greenhouse and aim to produce our first potatoes by the end of… Continue reading Planting early potatoes in pots
Planting blueberries
Just before Christmas we started to stock our new fruit cage with soft fruit, planting four varieties of raspberry. We have since added five sweet cherries that we are planning to train in something like the UFO (Upright Fruiting Offshoots) method. This week we continued the process by planting five young blueberry bushes. Blueberries favour… Continue reading Planting blueberries
Sowing early carrots in pots
Carrots do not need much warmth to start germinating and begin to grow, but it is still too early to sow into the vegetable beds. Even though they have been covered with black weed fabric, which will help the soil to warm more quickly, it will be a while yet before the soil is suitable… Continue reading Sowing early carrots in pots
First sowing in February
February is still early in the year to be sowing, but if the worst of the cold weather can be kept off the seeds and seedlings then there are many crops that can be sown now: onions and leeks; cabbages, kales and other brassicas; peas and broad beans; lettuces and other leafy vegetables such as… Continue reading First sowing in February
Planting asparagus
An asparagus bed is an investment in both time and space. It is not, perhaps, the most productive of crops for the area it occupies and as a perennial crop it occupies that space year round. It also takes time to develop. If starting from crowns, which are one year old plants, it will be… Continue reading Planting asparagus
UFO training of sweet cherries
Cherries are typically rather vigorous trees with an upright growth habit. They can therefore be challenging to develop in restricted forms suitable for the kitchen garden. A sour cherry is naturally more dwarfing than a sweet cherry and may make a reasonable fan against a wall or fence of some six feet in height. A… Continue reading UFO training of sweet cherries
Replant disease
Old trees may be become unproductive, ill formed from broken wood or where diseased wood has been removed, and plagued with a collection of pests and diseases. Though there are certainly times and places where such old trees can be quite attractive as they descend into decrepitude, one may wish to replace an old tree… Continue reading Replant disease