Still snowed in

Although we have been frozen in for a couple of weeks (much to my delight), I have still managed a bit of gardening work which didn’t involve careering down an ice-covered driveway on a surfboard…such fun, apart from the wall…. The only plants easily worked on were the hedges, so they got a good trim.

As we are into the New Year I thought we could snuggle down in the warmth with a hot cuppa and check out some top tips and answer questions from the gardening.ie website. The website is having a spring clean this month with new features, a forum and a clearly laid out section to make it more user friendly. It is looking like my toolbox at the moment; I can never find anything I am looking for.

Top Tips for a great spring garden


· Try not to remove mulch from perennials too early. A warm day may make you think spring is almost here but there may be more cold weather yet to come.

· Branches of forsythia, pussy willow, quince, spirea, and dogwood can be forced for indoor bloom. Make long, slanted cuts when collecting the branches and place the stems in a vase of water. Change the water every four days. They should bloom in about 3 weeks.

· Look over your trees now and remove dead, dying, or unsightly parts, sprouts growing at or near the base of the tree trunk and crossed branches.

· This year plan to grow at least one new vegetable that you've never grown before.

· Check all five growing factors if your houseplants are not growing well. Light, temperature, nutrients, moisture, and humidity must be favourable to provide good growth.


Questions for 2010

Q. I saved lots of runner bean seeds last autumn, far more than I need to sow this year. Can I eat them in the same way that I would other dried beans?

A. Runner bean seeds - be they black, white or, more usually purple with black streaks - are all edible. Soak them until they are plump, and then make sure they boil for at least 10 minutes to destroy the toxins that are in all drying beans. Then continue to cook as usual.

Mucking in.

Q. I need some manure for my garden, and can easily get fresh strawy horse manure. Can I use this straight away? If not, why not?

A. Animal manures should always be composted or left to rot down before use. The urine in the mix is rich in plant foods, but these are easily washed out by rain - and can also burn young plants. The composting process stabilises these nutrients, so they are released slowly. Horse manure is likely to contain residues of products use to worm the horses, and it is important to give these time to break down. Composting also reduces or destroys pathogens and weed seeds, and makes the materials easier to handle and apply.
Chitting potatoes light or dark

Q. I'm getting conflicting advice about chitting potatoes. Some say they should be kept in the dark until first buds appear while some say they should be chitted in light areas. Any thoughts?

A. Try putting your seed potatoes to chit in daylight. Having said that, if they are chitted in the dark, it is not the end of the world. I have tried planting tubers with shoots up to 20cm long (produced in the dark) and they still grew, but they were a bit awkward to plant without damaging them.
Spud peelings in the compost?

Q. A friend told me that you shouldn't put potato peelings onto the compost heap but didn't know of any reason for this. Is this correct?



A. The only reason for not composting potato peelings is that they are a potential source of the fungus that causes potato blight. Blight spores can survive only on living plant material. Potato peelings can provide this when the buds in the eyes of potato skins grow into potato plants. To ensure that the peelings don't sprout, bury them well down in the compost and ensure that you turn the heap regularly. If you do this, it is fine to compost the peelings.

Moving plants

Q. When would be the best time to move various plants to a new site in my garden?

A. The best time to move plants will depend on the type of plant. Herbaceous plants (those that die down in the winter) are best moved in the autumn or winter - though not when the ground is frozen. Deciduous shrubs (those that lose their leaves) are also best moved at this time, once they have lost their leaves. Evergreens, on the other hand, are best moved in March so get planning now, as it will soon be here.
Smokeless fuel ash and the organic garden

Q. Can I use the wood ash from my stove on the garden? I sometime also burn smokeless fuel. Would this ash be safe to use too?

A. Wood ash is rich in trace elements and potassium, so it makes sense to use it on the garden. As rain can quickly wash these nutrients out of the soil, it is best to process the ash through a compost heap. Store it in a dry place, and add to the compost material as you fill the bins through the year. Ash from smokeless fuel and coal is not suitable for garden use.

Coping with frosty weather

THE FROZEN GARDEN

We were iced in over the holidays. Being on top of an ungritted road up a hill up then at the end of a dirt track, we tend to be a forgotten entity in adverse weather. None of us minded much as it was holiday time and we were thankful that the other utilities were still active. We spent one Christmas and New Year, not so long ago, on the outskirts of Westport with no electricity, telephone heating, other than a small stove. Our water was off too, except from a well down the road where we had to tread on the “Caution do not drink - Contaminated with e-coli” sign to get to the leaf covered water. It was a harsh couple of weeks but we did enjoy huddling around a candle for light and warmth…it brought us closer together as a family (again to conserve heat). This year we still have everything working in the house so it was really enjoyable to get out into the cold frosty hills and enjoy the countryside on foot other than driving through it. You don’t have to walk anywhere far in Inishowen to get some spectacular views. There are a few precautions to take in the home and garden to save any disasters as one of our friends found out after their water pipe burst and flooded their kitchen. Besides insulating your pipes, let’s have a look what we can do in the garden to save these expensive and prized plants in the garden.


The effects of cold on plants
Frost, causes the water in tender plant cells to freeze, damaging the cell wall. Frost-damaged plants are easy to spot, their growth becomes limp, blackened and distorted. and tender plants take on a translucent appearance. Frost problems are often made worse where plants face the morning sun, as this causes them to defrost quickly, rupturing their cell walls.

Hardy plants and tough evergreens can also be damaged by prolonged spells of severe cold when soil becomes frozen, their leave can become brown at the tips. Roots are unable to take up water and plants die from lack of moisture.

How to reduce the damage

Prevention is far better than cure, so try to minimise the damaging effects of cold on your plants:

· Try to plant tender specimens in a sheltered spot, under large trees and shrubs or against walls, give them some heat and protection during the winter.
· Ensure that plants with tender flower buds or shoots are not planted in east-facing sites.
· Leave the old growth of tender plants unpruned over the winter months. This will help to protect the central crown of the plant and take the brunt of any frost

· Avoid golden or variegated plant varieties that are often more tender.
· Choose plants that are reliably hardy, all of our garden centres can help you with that.
· Avoid high-nitrogen fertilisers as they encourage plants to make lots of sappy leafy growth that is particularly susceptible to damage, especially early and late in the year.
· damage. If plants are cut back hard in autumn new growth could be damaged by frost.
· Cold air and frost always descend to the lowest point in a garden so avoid planting tender plants in obvious frost pockets.


Protecting plants




How we protect plants from the effects of cold depends on the type of plants and the situation they are growing in.

· Protect the crowns of tree ferns and insulate their trunks by wrapping them in layers of fleece or hessian stuffed with straw. Cordylines and palms should be treated similarly, by tying their leaves into bunches, to protect their crowns.
· Protect low-growing plants from wet weather by covering them with a sheet of glass or a cloche and surrounding them with a layer of gravel or grit, to ensure swift drainage.
· Choose outdoor containers that are frost-proof to prevent them cracking. Lift pots and containers into a shed or greenhouse for protection. Those that can't be moved should be placed on 'pot feet' to prevent waterlogging. Using a light, free-draining compost with added perlite will also help with this. Insulate them with a layer of bubble wrap or hessian to prevent them freezing and cracking and ensure plant rootballs stay healthy.
· Plants that are trained against walls or tender plants growing in the open ground can be protected with fleece-covered frames. Alternatively, sandwich a layer of bracken leaves or straw between two large sections of chicken wire and use this to cover plants during frosty evenings. Tender bulbs, corms and tender, herbaceous plants that die back, should be covered with a thick mulch of manure, straw or old leaves to prevent the soil from freezing.
· Evergreen plants will benefit from a thick layer of mulch around their bases to keep the soil frost-free. This will allow them to take up moisture during periods of cold weather and stop them from becoming dehydrated.
· Tender plants should be grown in pots so that they can be moved inside during bad weather. Take cuttings of those that cannot be grown in pots and overwinter these in a warm greenhouse, ready for planting in spring.


Helping damaged plants

If your plants do get frosted this doesn't necessarily mean the end for them, many plants will recover given time. However there are ways of minimising the damage:

· Protect them from the morning sun, which can damage growth if the plant defrosts too quickly. If you can't move the plants, try covering them with a layer of black plastic to block out the sun.
· Cut back frosted growth in spring to a healthy, new bud, to prevent further die back and encourage plants to produce fresh, new shoots.
· Feed damaged plants with a balanced fertiliser (one with equal amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) to encourage strong, healthy growth.
· Dig up small, tender plants and take them into the greenhouse or bright area of a shed. Many will quickly produce new growth and recover, provided they are not subjected to prolonged periods of heavy frost, wet or cold.
· Newly-planted specimens will often lift themselves proud of the soil surface if there is a hard frost straight after planting. Check them regularly and re-firm the ground around them to ensure their roots are always in contact with the soil.

Gardening Books

OOOOH. IT’S JUST WHAT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED

Most of my family probably don’t agree, but I actually enjoy getting presents. Over the years I have somehow managed to give everyone the impression that I am not bothered about receiving gifts. This is more than likely due to the fact that if anyone asks me what I would like for Christmas, I usually shrug my shoulders and say “I’m not bothered.” Which really means, “Use all of your imagination to bring me something that will entertain me for longer that ten seconds, improve my quality of life and of course make the world a better place.”

WHAT DO YOU FANCY?
It started when I was a young lad, my mother used to ask me if there was anything particular I wanted, but as you all remember, there wasn’t really anything to buy in the 60’s and 70’s. After the bike, all three changes of clothes for your Action Man, a train set and a Scalextric there wasn’t much left apart from the ubiquitous hand knitted jumpers and jigsaws. I did get a top of the range Scalextric set one year which was fantastic, it was called “You Steer” which gave you the illusion of being in control and helping the cars around the track by turning a large steering wheel stuck to the controller. This turned out to be a very limited option though as the cars were still embedded into the track to ensure the metal strips made an electrical contact. This was my first real disappointment at Christmas. The box had lied to me.

TOLERANCE
Toys teach you all sorts of things. I once overheard one of Julie’s self help cd’s that said the primary function of toys is to teach children tolerance levels in life. I am sure if we could read children’s minds they would be full of questions such as, “How hard can I hit this?” “What will happen if I push this in here?” And “Will this cause a reaction if I throw it at dad?.” So don’t be too upset if your youngsters break most of their toys before the New Year, they will be all the wiser for it.

I have a great photo of me last year hugging a pair of socks with all of my might. I had a massive smile on my face and looked so pleased to be getting a pair of socks with no holes in (the days of darning socks have well and truly gone in our house). This photo was shown around the family and everyone was convinced that I have a look of over enthusiasm with a hint of sarcasm at receiving the gift.

I’ll tell you now. It was genuine. As was the smile on my face when I received the jar of pickled onions, (even the fact that my mother in law put the jar inside of an iPod box didn’t dampen my joy), curry paste, a giant saltcellar and a pack of sun-dried tomatoes. These are great gifts and fulfil all of my criteria for a good gift (apart from making the world a better place maybe).

GARDENING BOOKS
Gardening books are something that I don’t really get as presents anymore, perhaps they think I am a bit of a know it all when it comes to gardening or perhaps they know I use the internet to answer my gardening questions rather than books these days. In the past though I relied on printed material for my horticultural education. In the past a good present one year was an annual subscription to Gardeners World and the Irish Garden magazine. These were great for keeping up to date with what’s going on all year in the garden and all the latest gadgets and trends.

Other books I was reared on were the Hessayon “Expert” books. My first copies were off my father who bought them in the early 1960’s and still had his scribbled notes on the pages from when he was planting his crops and dealing with vine weevil. The Rose Expert, The Lawn Expert and Pests and Diseases were three that I remember and these are still in print although they are a lot thicker than the originals. Maybe there’s more to learn or more pest and disease than in the olden days. I doubt it; maybe they just have bigger pictures.

IMAGES
I like pictures in books, I tend to go for the coffee table types, the RHS A-Z book helped me immensely when I was selling plants as I could just turn to the page and show the customer how big a plant would get and where would be the best place to plant it. It was so well used that the covers fell off and it was all dog eared. You would be surprised to see just how big most shrubs can grow. It made customers realise that you don’t need as many plants as you would think in the garden. In hindsight, that’s probably not the best idea when you are selling something, oh well.

There were two other books that I got a lot out of. Garden Design by John Brookes helped me no end when I was studying. Another favourite that I inherited was The Lazy Gardener, which was printed in the 1940’s. This small paper backed book followed the exploits of an extremely practical pipe smoker, dressed in a very smart suit who spent most of his time relaxing in a hammock with a gin and tonic in hand telling us what to avoid doing in the garden….I have always been a great advocate of do less, accomplish more whilst working outside and thinking back ‘The Lazy Gardener’ was definitely a strong influence in my formative years.

Happy New Year. May your garden grow productively and beautifully in 2010.

Holiday tree

A FINE TREE AND TOTALLY FREE
I’m up a ladder doing my best to lop the top off an overgrown conifer in the garden. It’s that time of year again when the front room gets taken over by a prickly tree top festooned with lights and chocolate sweets, yes, it’s the Christmas tree, or as it’s called in some areas of America the Holiday Tree, (for fear of causing an offence).

WIND BREAKS
We have decided not to go down to the local farm this year to buy a tree. We have so many evergreen Norway spruce trees being used as wind brakes around the garden I thought it would be more environmentally sound (and cheaper) to get our own.

Ronnie and I took our time wandering around to see which treetop would suit us the best. Most of the conifers have been lopped off at some stage of their lives and now have double heads on them. The two shoots look good together but only have growth on one side when they are separated so we eventually found one with just the one main trunk.

GETTING HIGH
I am not brave enough to reach the heights alone on an extendable ladder so Ronnie offers to hold the bottom rung for me as I climb. I wobble my way all of the way up but realise it’s not going to be high enough. “I’m going higher.” I call down to Ronnie who just manages to dodge the rusty bow saw I am using at it slips out of my hand. “Sorry about that, are you all right? I shout down. “Yes,” replies Ronnie, “It missed me by millimetres.” With a sigh of relief I tentatively climb down a few steps to get the saw back then I make my way up again. This time I leave the top rung of the ladder in order to get more leverage. I step carefully onto an upper branch levering myself into a position to get a better cutting angle.

ROUGH CUT
The saw has seen better days but obliges by roughly cutting either side of the trunk and after a lot of grunting and rasping (me, not the saw) the top comes crashing down past me and onto the ground. I’m clinging onto the flimsy upper branch that is bouncing up and down with the release of the weight of the tree top. I have broken out into a sweat and with pine cones tickling my nose and needles having made a home down the back of my shirt…suddenly €20 for a tree from Coillte sounds like a bit of a bargain.

TIMBER
“You all right Ronnie?” I ask nervously as I look down. The ladder is still in place, so is Ronnie and thankfully the treetop came down well away from where he was standing. “Yep.” he says calmly He is looking at the tree with a critical eye that he has inherited from his mother. “It’s a bit on the big side,” he comments, as I start to make my way back down to earth.

“Up there it looked quite small.” I say picking the tree up and sliding it onto the drive. “I thought it would be about six feet.” I say as I stand next to it.

“You can double that, it’s at least twelve feet,” says Ronnie as he takes my photo.
I feel like I am posing along side a giant shark that I have landed after a lengthy battle in the Atlantic.
It feels good.

After the high of the successful hunt, I slide the tree over to the back of the house and put the trunk into a bucket of water, this will keep it fresh until tomorrow when it will take pride of place in the front room until the last needles drop off in to the carpet after the New Year.

After the twelfth night, try these ideas to save the trees going to landfills….

WAYS TO RE-USE THE TREE

1. Cut the branches off and lay them over perennials in your garden. This will provide protection.

2. You can cut the branches up into smaller pieces and use them to mulch your beds or garden paths. I am trying not to mention burning the tree this year, it seems to be frowned upon by environmentalists and the fine needles do tend to flare up very quickly, making them dangerous.

3. Once you've used all the branches, you'll be left with a trunk. This can be used as a bird feeder pole or to make teepees to grow beans on or a rustic fence pole.

4. Provide a home for the birds. Remove the decorations, replace with bird feeders and place the tree, stand and all, out in the garden.

5. Cut the branches off and use them at the base of a fresh compost pile. It's a good idea to have coarser materials, like tree branches, at the bottom of the pile because it helps increase airflow to the pile.

6. Sink it in a pond. A tree can offer refuge to fish. Only do this if you’re sure the tree hasn’t been treated with chemicals that could harm the aquatic ecosystem.


Happy Christmas and don’t forget to have a walk around the garden over the holidays.