03-10-2024 OUT IN THE GARDEN
Keep up the Watering
More rain through Autumn & Winter would have been great, but we’ve had enough to keep things growing. Be aware of how quickly the warmer sun and the winds of Spring can dry things out so make sure the garden gets plenty of water while growth is at its maximum.
Remember that when plants are first planted in the garden it’s almost as though they’re still in their pots or bags; they take a while to get their roots out into surrounding damp soil.
Watering new plantings - give them a good soaking twice a week in drier weather rather than a light watering every day.
Water pots twice a week and on the same days – sounds pedantic but if you’re in the ‘I watered just the other day’ category you may find that, in fact, ‘the other day’ was three weeks ago.
Seed Sowing Time! The warmer weather definitely means seed sowing – check out our Terra Viva exclusive range of vegetable seeds – Chef’s Best Seeds which is part of our range of well-tested iCan products.
Seed of the Week:
iCan Cucumber Prolific Mini
Rich in antioxidants, potassium, electrolytes, and dietary fibre. Prolific producer of 10cm fruit, starting production early and going on for several months. Shiny smooth skin, early maturing, with great taste. Full sun, damp but well-drained soil.
Keep out the Caterpillars!
Already they’re out chewing through leaves so if you’re having a problem use De-Bug which is a diatomaceous earth insect dust and is totally safe for edibles. Caterpillars often hide in the soil at this time of year and if you add Sea-Hume granules to the soil you can eliminate the problem.
Plant, plant, plant – feed, feed, feed!
Novatec is a premium controlled-release fertiliser suitable for ‘in the ground use’ or containers – the controlled-release means it won’t burn plant roots in pots.
I use it and it really does produce top results.
With warmer days the sooner you get plants into the ground or pots the longer the season for enjoying flowering and fruiting.
Strawberries are growing well at the moment so remember to feed them with strawberry food, and use the Magic moss (enriched with added seaweed and anti-fungal properties) or ‘Strawberry Supports Racks’ to put under the plants to keep the fruit clean, with the added bonus of seaweed and anti-fungal properties.
Sheep pellets, OceanFert, plus Nitrophoska are a great combo for roses from now on.
Houseplants are also growing from now on and the easiest way to feed is with GroSure Houseplant Pump & Feed, or Yates Thrive indoor Plants Food.
Tomatoes are our biggest vegetable (actually they’re a fruit of course) category through Spring and here’s a recipe from a long-time commercial grower for the best tomato food to mix into the soil before planting and use during the growing season:
150g dolomite, 150g sulphate of potash, 100g sulphate of magnesium (Epsom salts), 100g super phosphate, 150g blood & bone. During the growing season use a side dressing of equal parts blood & bone, sulphate of potash, and sulphate of magnesium.
It pays to put in a stake with tomatoes at planting time rather than later which can damage the roots, and use the soft cloth ties to prevent rubbing/damaging the stems.
Feed now for the new growth to make maximum use of the fertiliser; if you need any info about what and how to feed come in and talk to any of the staff, or to Tracey who orders all the plant foods and plant health products. Remember that this is the time of year slugs and snails love best – all that tender new growth gives them at least 10 square meals a day; Quash is a great safe option if you have pets and children who love being out in the garden.
We recommend Dave’s Growth Booster Pellets with southern humates - high in nitrogen and work well on leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, brassicas etc. Tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, strawberries etc need a food with good potash levels to encourage flowering and fruiting – Tom-a-Rite and iCan Fruit Food work well (use the controlled-release non-burning version of iCan Fruit Food for container growing).
And we have a good range of cloches for frost and bird protection - netting cloches, netting with a plastic covering cloches, and of course bird netting and frostcloth to give you plenty of options for protection from both cold and birds.
We netted all our brassicas last season with bug netting to keep the white butterflies away and it worked a treat with good clean plants without the usual ‘shotgun-hole’ look.
Plants are just like us when it comes to feeding – a little and often suits best, rather than a big dollop once a year. And the safest place to put the fertiliser is on the surface where it can gently filter down to the roots without burning.
Digging in compost before planting works wonders with soil texture, encouraging earthworms, and fertility, making it so much easier to work the soil with a hoe to keep the weeds under control. I always use the Daltons Nutrient Enriched Compost.
Check out the great price – we buy big numbers – you save.
Kiwicare Weed Weapon is a great range of weedkillers for all situations incl extra-strength, Ready-to-Use packs, and a long-term weedkiller for paths, drives, and parking areas. The weeds will really grow from now on so if you can get on top of them sooner rather than later you’ll save yourself a heap of work.
Remember “One year’s seeding = seven years weeding.”