Forgetting the Baskets

Checking the dry baskets for damage after neglecting them.

Admit it, who has forgotten to water the hanging baskets?  I know I have.  There are tell tale signs when you compare the plants growing in the confined area of a basket to the plants growing in the ground. The most noticeable of these is the fact that the container ones are nearly dead. Geraniums are very drought hardy so apart from the discolouring of the bottom leaves they are practically untouched, and even seem to flourish in the harsh environment. Creeping Jenny, nasturtiums (surprisingly) and sweet peas are really looking sorry for themselves and I’m not sure where a few less tolerant plants have gone, they must have just upped and left in disgust.  The funny thing about this is that when it’s sunny I’d go out every evening and soak the soil. When it’s cloudy and not summery I just forget. It’s just as dry and the plants still need water, but I just don’t think.

I don’t think I am cut out for this constant attention lark and again am questioning just why I bother with growing in containers at all. It’s just that when they are healthy they are just so “pretty”.

I’ve had better luck in the tunnel, I have only watered about three times since the beginning of August. I’m not sure where the plants are getting their water from, it’s not through me I can tell you. They must be tapping into the groundwater with some very long roots. This is the type of gardening that suits me. 

Maybe a Butt

I’ve been pricing water butts up this week. I am putting a length of guttering at the edge of the the garage roof so rainwater can go straight into the barrel. I’ve found there’s a big variation in price, anything from €30 euro to €90 euro and if I were to set up a professional watering system I could (but won’t) spend over €3000! I have narrowed it down to a blue 56 gallon barrel made from plastic with the residue of an undisclosed substance lining the sides, or a genuine oak barrel straight from the Bushmills distillery still reeking of 10 year old whiskey. It’s a hard decision but I am going to go for an old leaky wooden barrel that will just need to be licked clean.  A snip at just €35.

Getting ready for winter

It’s time for us to be looking at things to do in autumn. apple and pear tree leaves seem to be leading the leaf drop and other trees are following closely. The weather has not only been really dry this summer, but I can’t remember the last time we had a good gust of wind to toughen up the branches of trees and leaves. The poor plants won’t know what’s hit them come the first storm.

Early autumn- Jobs to do list:

Plant or move evergreens and conifers, whilst the soil is still warm.

Plant spring bedding, such as wallflowers and polyanthus.

Remove annual plants that have finished flowering and pick off any damaged or diseased leaves.

Rake leaves, trim shrubs and divide the perennials ready for next year.

Check if any perennials want cutting back (I like to leave them if I can o for overwintering insects)Grassy perennials also look good over the winter.

During the winter months there are plenty of cuttings and leaves. So add them to your compost bin and give them a good chance to break down and produce nutrient-rich compost for next year.

Early autumn is the time to plant snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and daffodils for an early array of colour in spring.

Protect autumn crocuses, amaryllis and cyclamen which will last through to winter.

Plant for winter colour. Try Skimmia Japonica, a colourful evergreen leaf plant with compact buds which change colour from white to pink/red. Also try Viburnum Tinus. It produces large, fragrant clusters of white flowers from mid winter, followed by small metallic blue berries.

Hang bird boxes to offer shelter from the elements.

Berry-bearing plants provide an extra food-source for birds and other wildlife and add a lovely wintery look to colour-deprived winter gardens. Try firethorn, rowan, holly or berberis.

Provide extra winter food for nature's visitors. Hang fat balls or put bird mix in a food holder. Be sure to place the feeders near a tall shrub, fence or mature tree to provide protection from predators. I’m planting some of my beautiful handmade terracotta pots up with melted fat and seeds this year. 

Cabbage Whites in Abundance

It’s not a good idea to plant brassicas in a polytunnel. Not when you leave the door open all of the time like I do.  Every morning for weeks I have found myself removing cabbage white butterflies and then checking the broccoli and kale leaves for the small yellow eggs the butterflies lay under the leaves. I thought I was keeping up with them but have just realised that I hardly have any leaves left on the plants!

The pests are a trapped audience when they arrive in the tunnel and it never occurred to me to shut the door to stop them coming in. The top of the door has green netting on it so there would still be an air flow.  The caterpillars doing the damage fall like confetti when I shake the stems and I have had more than one of them crawling down my back when I come in for my tea. The plants outside are fine so I have learned another lesson this year what to grow (and not to grow)undercover.

Ripening Tomatoes

The tomatoes are ripening well and my initial fear that they would never go red was unfounded.  I have a lot of the small salad types growing bushy and the fruit is sprawling itself along the tunnel floor. Because of this I am putting down trays for them to sit on. Not because the damp ground is damaging them, but because there seems to be a rogue snail in there that only munches on the tomatoes on the ground. Lazy, that’s what I call it. I’m making them work for their food. 

Word is Spreading

I have fans of the tomato crop spreading from Ballymena to Dublin as I am taking a bag of these and also runner beans and broad beans all wrapped up with a few delicately scented sweet peas to relatives. It’s getting to the stage where they are expecting veggies now. I have even been asked what the problem is if I turn up without a goody bag full of home grown produce, maybe it’s because I can’t keep up on the demand.

Third Sowing

The third sowing of lettuce has just gone into the tunnel. I grew the seedlings in small multi cell modules until they were big enough to look after themselves. I think this might be the last sowing as it’s getting on in the season, but you never know, I might be able to stretch out a few more sowings if I can keep the frost away. I have been looking to get some form of protection and might go rooting around some furniture shops to see if I can find old bubble wrap.  I might as well be reusing it and keeping it out of the landfill for a few more years.

Deadheading the summer bedding this year has really paid dividends. It didn’t stop there either as I have been chopping off the old flowers of roses or any perennial I see.  I am observing second flushes of quite a few plants now. The nasturtiums didn’t play ball though as they were too busy forming seeds and I couldn’t keep up with them.  

Last Minute Bargains

I got a few packets of dahlia corms in the spring and they have proved to be very prolific. I waited until the last minute and bought them from a bargain shop for 10 cent each. It really can pay dividends if you wait for the last minute bargains. It isn’t just plants that you can pick up cheaply either. At the end of the season you will find a lot of things reduced to sell other than plants as garden centres clear spaces to make room for their winter/Christmas stock.  Some products, especially wooden structures will age over the winter and take some looking after so the shops are happy to see them go.

Plant Pots

I’ve had a great response from people about my vintage terracotta plant pots that have been hand made at the Carley’s Bridge Potteries in County Wexford. They are particularly well received in the US via my Facebook and newly set up gardening.ie page, where old Irish items evoke images of days gone by.  I still haven’t thought what to do with all 900 of them but I have planted a few up with summer bedding and they look wonderful. I’m thinking I might stick a couple of hundred up on the front room wall and call it an art installation. No-one seems very enthusiastic about it and think I have gone a bit (dare I say it) “potty” But that what they say about all free thinking artists -isn’t it?

18 Things To Do with Terracotta Plant Pots (other than put a houseplant in them)

Paint and varnish. The pots would be ideal to paint up and use for holding small houseplants.

Bird Feeder. Using a small bead on a string to seal the drainage hole and then fill the pot with seeds and fat for the birds. These can then be hung upside down on a tree in winter. The frost might damage the pot though.

Easter egg holder. The pots are attractive enough to be the base for a seasonal chocolate egg, all that is needed is a bow and a fluffy chic.

Christmas planter. There are so many small Christmas plants that could fit into the small pots and be given as a gift. There are poinsettia, Christmas cacti, ivy, cyclamen and even miniature conifers. If you really wanted to add to the Christmas tat you could spray the tree with some glitter and add a bit of tinsel.

Pin cushion. Just add a ball of soft filler in a sock and push into the pot for the pins to stick into.

Drinking Cup. This would take a bit of planning but I can’t see why I couldn’t put a glass or cup inside the pot and then use it as a drinking vessel. I’d have to get the moss and salt deposits off first mind you.

Low energy light shade. The small low energy bulbs fitted on ceiling brackets can be encased with the pots giving a warm, terracotta glow to the room.

Lamp Base. Ideal because of the weight. Perfect for small shades and the light reflects off them beautifully.

Plant up with cacti. As the pots are already vintage I like the idea of them being around for a long time and not just to give a gift then be discarded. One of the best long lived plants to put in the pot would be a cacti or succulent.  My brother had small “living stones” in pots this size and some of them were well over 100 years old!

Children can paint them. This would be entertaining for a while and could be varnished over so they could cope with being wet if used as a plant pot. 

 

Mozaic. Use small pieces of coloured pot to add a pattern to the side of the pot.

Windowsill herb planter. Basil will do well in the pots as will most small growing herbs. The plants can be taken out and replaced often.

Place them in the ground and make a drip feeder. The drain hole can be sealed up then sink the pot into the ground (especially useful in a polytunnel or greenhouse) the pot can be filled with water and this slowly seeps out into the soil giving plants a continual supply of water. 

Drill holes in them. The small holes could them be planted with small bulbs or plants.

Use broken ones in fish tanks. The fish will have a lifetime of entertainment swimming through the broken pots and hiding from their friends.

Make a clay pot person to sit in the garden. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here although it might look OK if done well. You could put them in poses like you would a garden gnome.

Planting up bulbs such as hyacinth. This idea would be very seasonal and I would only give these to people who would replant the pot with something else later in the growing season and not throw the pot away. If I sold them to the public I would have to vet them first for their suitability for ownership!

Make a useful gift case for gloves at Christmas/Birthdays.  I think the pot would make an interesting packing container for gardening gloves. Again, vetting would need to be done to make sure the pots were used.

If you would like some handmade terracotta plant pots please follow this link..  Gumtree advert offering 500 small pots or smaller quantities. 

Gift idea from Etsy..

Bolting Early - Help from GIY

You just can’t have too many runner beans.

This month is a bit fragmented or me in the garden. Some things I am trying to speed up, like ripening the tomatoes and sage cuttings. Then on the other hand I am trying to slow down the spinach and lettuce to stop them bolting. 

 

I have three types of tomatoes growing, I can’t remember their names but some are bigger than others and they have all been left to do their own thing barring the odd comfrey feed and nipping out a few side shoots. If they don’t start to ripen soon we’ll be eating a lot of green chutney. The lettuce, mustard and spinach on the other hand has no problem maturing. I bought the “cut and come again” type, but maybe I am not doing it properly (I really don’t know if you can do these things wrong) the resulting plants are bolting even before the leaves have had time to mature.

What is Bolting?

I’ll pass you over to Michael Kelly, a freelance journalist, writer for the Irish Independent Lifestyle pages and founder of GIY (Grow It Yourself www.giyireland.com) Ireland to explain.

“Bolting is a horticultural term which refers to vegetable crops that run to seed before their time.  The plant is essentially rushing in to procreation mode - trying to spread its seed (by producing flower or seed heads) before it dies.  It is a perfectly natural part of the plant's lifecycle, but unfortunately it usually renders them inedible.”

What causes the problem?

 “It is often caused by a cold spell, changes in day length or other stress in the plant such as lack of water.  Some plants such as lettuce, rocket and annual spinach are particularly susceptible.” 

 

When does it happen?

“Though bolting occurs as the plant reaches maturity it can happen much earlier.  In annual crops this is usually caused by changes in day length but can be worsened by stressed conditions (lack of water etc).  In biannual crops it is caused by unsettled weather conditions or a cold spell early in the propagation phase. Cold nights, followed by hot days will also cause it, as will late frosts.”  

So how do we minimize the amount of bolting in our veg patch?

“Watering well and regularly is key since dry soil encourages bolting.  Delay sowing cold sensitive plants like chard, onions, beetroot until temperatures have risen or raise in modules in a greenhouse and plant out when temperatures are warmer. Succession sowings will help to beat bolting and provide a constant supply of produce.  Bolt resistant varieties are specially bred to resist bolting - examples include Boltardy for beetroot. There are also bolt resistant varieties of spinach, onions, carrots and turnips.” Michael concludes.

I’m taking Michael’s advice here and sowing new salad plants every few weeks and it seems to be working as we have had a continuous supply all summer, barring tomatoes of course.

Runner Beans

The Runner beans are prolific and are talking the place of mange tout which have all been eaten. The beans are as long as spaghetti and after being put through the slicing machine look great mixed into the pasta. They are the lads favourite vegetable and I can see why, they are soft (when young anyway) and tasty and go with most meals.

Catch the Cabbage Whites

One thing I have to do every morning is play “grab the Cabbage Whites” in the polytunnel.  Every day I am removing at least 20 of them as they tap on the plastic and look for somewhere leafy to multiply. They are after the curly Kale and broccoli of course and every day I have to check for the small yellow capsules under the leaves that soon turn into caterpillars. I’m being very lenient on these butterflies and although it’s tempting to kill them I am catching them gently and letting them go outside of the tunnel door. Right into the path of my outdoor brassicas. You have to give them a sporting chance.

There are a couple of sun loving plants mature enough for harvesting to entertain me until the tomatoes are ready.  The sweetcorn is full to bursting and this year I have grown my very first chillies.  Time for a runner bean and sweetcorn curry I think.