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5 Jobs In The Garden For Easter 2013

Posted in Flower Garden, Fruit Garden, Natural Ponds, The Seasons, tagged Natural Ponds, Weekend Project, Wildlife Pond on March 28, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Easter in the 2013 gardening calendar is going to be exciting one for us in so many ways and if the weather is kind it’s certainly going to be a busy one!.

They’re predicting cold in most parts of the UK over the weekend so if you’re planning to head into the garden like me it looks like we’re going to need those extra layers.

Here are five jobs we’ll be doing in the garden this Easter weekend.

Job 1. Winter Prune The Grape vine, (Phoenix Vitis vinifera)

I’ve had a grape vine (Phoenix, Vitis vinifera) for 3 years and it always seems to do well, which I think is down to our thin chalky soil.

When it comes to looking after a grape vine I’ve learned over the years to treat em mean and keep em keen. In other words don’t be afraid to prune your grape vine, unless you have a rambling vine in which case just let it do it’s own thing and thin out the growth later in the year. In my experience the harder you prune a grape vine the more it seems to want to respond.

I train mine as a cordon (I think it’s called the Guyot system) keeping the vine down to 2 main laterals which I run left and right on wires. I keep these laterals to around 10-12 buds max and keep them tied into wires using soft garden string.

As the buds break and grow away I train them up to the wires until there are around 4 nodes or buds per stem. I then trim the subsequent growth to a minimum of 4 bunches per stem, which ensures all the energy goes into making loads of delicious grapes and not into growing more vine.

Job 2. Put Up Support For The Rasberrys

A couple of weeks ago I transplanted my raspberry canes into a redundant part of the veg patch in the garden. I usually plant fruit canes in January, but given the cold weather the canes are still dormant, so they should survive the move.

If you don’t want your raspberry canes falling all over the place you’ll need to provide adequate support. Don’t skimp in this area is my advice if you want an easy life later in the summer. I’ve learnt the hard way and used all sorts of methods from a piece of string tied between bamboo canes, too individually staking each cane (yes I really did stake every single cane).

The best solution I find is to take two or three 8 foot 4 x 4 inch square posts and cement them in a hole at least 18″ deep. Not cheap I know, but it will last much longer. Then head to the local hardware shop and buy a few screw in wire connectors and some reasonable heavy gauge wire.

Fix the connectors to the inside of each post approximately 2 feet apart and run a length of the wire through the connectors and twist the ends to make a fixing. The secret is to make sure they are nice and tight.

If you’re planning to plant a few canes (or any soft fruit bushes) then my advice is prepare a trench in advice of planting if possible. I usually dig a trench about a spades width across and a spades depth deep. You don’t need a massive trench as raspberries take up moisture through the fibrous roots that sit just below the surface, so avoid planting them too deep. Also the roots need oxygen so bury them too deep and they are less likely to survive. Bit like us really!

Into the trench goes a barrow load of compost which I fork into the soil. I then plant the canes until the roots are completely covered. Throw in a sprinkle of fish blood and bone around the roots and heal them in nice and firm. Finally give them a good drink and they’ll do you proud.

Job 3. Pot On Last Years Softwood Cuttings.

For the last 3 years I’ve been learning how to raise plants from cuttings with varying degrees of success. Last year was my best year yet and I’m pleased to say 99% of the cuttings I managed to root have survived (so far) through a cold winter. Always amazes me just how resilient plants really are.

It’s really easy to raise plants from cuttings and anyone that reads my blog on a regular basis will know it’s become a bit of passion of mine. Last year I even managed to sell a few plants which brought in a little extra cash into the household budget.

These are just a few of the plants I raised in 2012 just before they were going to the customer.

You can grow plants like these from softwood cuttings

This weekend I’ll be potting up last years cuttings into larger pots so they can grow into great little plants, just as soon as the weather warms up that is!

Job 4. Spring Clean The Wildlife Pond.

If you want your wildlife pond to look like this …

and not like this …

… then it’s going to need a Spring clean.

I’ve noticed we already have frog spawn in the pond, so probably best to collect it all up in a bucket first and return it when you’re finished.

Basically all I do in the Spring is thin out the oxygenating plants (elodium) and remove as many of the fallen leaves and decaying plants as I can. It’s important to remove leaves from a pond or they will eventually decompose and give off noxious gasses which will discourage the wildlife from coming to the pond.

I find the best tool for the job is a Spring rake just as long as you take care not to puncture the liner! Alternatively it’s on with the wellies or waders and be prepared to get wet!

Job 5. Tidy Up The Herbaceous Borders.

One of the most satisfying jobs in the garden at this time of the year in my view is clearing and preparing the herbaceous borders ready for the summer ahead. Nothing too strenuous of course, just a little light pruning on the roses and removing the dead or decaying growth from last years gems. The Lupins have already started which is a sign of great things to come.

One task I have to perform every year (and for most of the season come to that) is to remove as many of the large stones and flints that rise to surface each year. The borders seem to suffer the most as we are on chalk, on top of which is a layer of large flints and stone in this part of Hampshire. Great for trout rivers they tell me, but pain in the bum in the garden.

After I’ve cleared the beds of all debris I mulch with a good layer of well rotted garden compost. Always amazes me where it all goes, but sure enough by the end of the season it will all be consumed by the worms and other insect life and put back in to the soil. Nature is a truly wonderful thing.

Well that’s my weekend in the garden sorted.

I wonder what jobs you’re planning in the garden this Easter weekend?

Have a lovely Easter,

Best wishes,

Tania.

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WILDLIFE WATCH

Posted in Natural Ponds, tagged Natural Ponds, Nature, Wildlife Pond on May 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I managed to capture a pic of this little fella over the weekend as I was sitting by the pond, and thought I must share it with you. I think it is a form of dragon fly, but not really sure what sort?

Dragon Fly Captured By The Wildlife Pond By The Rural Gardener

Click for large image

We’re having hours of relaxation sitting by the pond watching the wildlife during this gorgeous weather.

Back soon,

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EARLY SPRING – JUST THE BEST TIME IN THE GARDEN

Posted in The Seasons, tagged Country Gardens, Orchard, Projects, Wildlife Pond on March 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Primroses - First Sign Of Spring

Early Spring in the garden at Blackbirds is one of my most favorite times of the year and the garden is already starting to show glimpses of what’s to come.

I’ve been working in the garden all week and realised why I love this time of the year so much. It’s all the sounds, as well as the sights that fill the garden at this time of the year that make it so special for me.

The birds are busily collecting nesting material, occasionally having a break to take a bath in the wildlife pond we made last year and the plants are beginning to wake up, albeit slowly but wake up they certainly are.

A male pheasant that visits the garden most mornings, (affectionately known as Trigger) has started to put on the most amazing dance for the females he’s romancing at the moment. A sure sign Spring is on the way.

I just thought I’d share some of the wonderful things that are happening in my garden, most of which are happening with little or no help from me. I find that”s the great thing about mother nature, she’ll give you a helping hand whenever she can, just take these little beauties for example.

I don’t know where they came from but they are growing all over the lawn, and such a welcome site after the darker days of winter. I’ve since found out that they are Violas and are native to the UK. They spread really easily, which doesn’t make for a perfect lawn, but I think they look pretty, so they are going to stay.

Daffodils are appearing everywhere. I bought a bag for £3.50 from Lidl’s (impulse buy) and planted them in late September wherever I could find a spare piece of soil. Pleased to say they all came up and are looking superb. They made the perfect gift for my mum this Mothers Day.

One of my personal favourites of all the Spring flowers are the Primroses. They were growing everywhere when we arrived, but in the last couple of years the numbers seem to have dwindled. Not sure why but I remember my neighbour Jack saying to me when we first arrived, “best leave the first cut of the grass until they have finished flowering Tania “. Perhaps that has something to do with it as I usually give my grass a first cut in early March.

This year I’m going to save some seeds and see if I can grow them from seed next year in a bid to return them to their former glory.

The herbaceous border has just started to kick into life, with the Lupins starting to peak through, along with the Delphiniums. Not sure of the variety, but they seem to like my chalky soil and produce the most gorgeous tall deep blue spires. Delphiniums do need additional support to stop them from being blown over by the wind. I tend to use bamboo canes and string.

Delphiniums in the Spring border

Herbaceous border bursting into life at Blackbirds

The Lupins all came from a single packet of seed I sowed last year

This year I’m going a little more ‘organic’ and make my own herbaceous supports using hazel sticks gathered from the hedge. It grows freely along one side of the plot. I like to get my supports in early so I don’t have to worry about damaging the plants when they are in full growth.

I plan to create a grid pattern, a bit like a noughts and crosses. I’ll rope John into making a ’How To’ Video and upload to our YouTube channel in case anyone wants to have a go at making their own.

Such a versatile plant hazel, producing catkins in the spring, vibrant green leaves in the summer, and hazel nuts in the autumn, mainly for the local squirrel population I might add!

The ‘chucks’ have started to lay a few more eggs, clever girls! We’re getting 2 eggs a day now which I think is down to the warmer weather we’ve had in Hampshire over the last month.

Spring Chicken hunting for worms in the Kitchen Garden

The chickens are so tame now they’re happy to help with the digging !

Last week I spotted the first of the frog spawn in the wildlife pond, which suggests the pond has started to settle down. The water is fairly clear, the oxygenators are growing well and the birds are enjoying their own private bath.

The first of the fruit trees to break bud are the Marjorie’s Seedling Plums, closely followed by the Conference Pears. Hard to imagine these buds will eventually be loaded with gorgeous ripe plums in late summer.

Plum tree bursting into life in the Orchard.

Marjorie’s Seedling Plums - The first of the fruit trees to break bud in the Orchard

The kitchen garden is looking a bit bare with only few leeks left over from last year, but the ground is prepared and in just a few months it should be producing lots of lovely fresh vegetables.

The Cut Flower Garden I started a couple of weeks ago is almost ready for planting. I’m just waiting on a load of compost to be delivered to bring the levels back up. Just can’t believe how many stones are in the ground, and they just keep coming. Last year the local recycling yard was selling a tractor bucket full of well rotted compost for £20 and I’ve been back this year and they’re happy to supply me again for the same price. It’s excellent value for money and by far the best way to buy it.

The patio will be filled with perfume soon as the evergreen Clematis Armandiistarts to come into flower. The perfume is superb and it’s a very welcome addition in Spring, and it’s one of the few evergreen clematis. I top dress with a sprinkling of fish blood and bone in late autumn, but I have to say this year it’s looking a bit sorry for itself. Not sure how long they are supposed to last.

The Polytunnel is starting to come into its own now more than ever. It can be raining all it likes outside, but it’s nice and dry in the tunnel. At this time of the year it’s is full of seeds and this year is no exception as there are cut flower seedlings everywhere in preparation for my new cut flower garden project.

The compost heap is working hard and I should have a a couple of barrow loads of home grown compost soon, just in time to give the roses a Spring mulch.

So that’s a brief round up of Spring in my garden in Hampshire and with April just around the corner there’s lots more to come!

Back soon.

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SAVING WATER IN THE GARDEN

Posted in Natural Ponds, tagged English Gardens, Kitchen Garden, Organic, The Polytunnel, Wildlife Pond on June 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

When we first moved into Blackbirds we were fortunate to be on mains water, which essentially means the supply is pumped into the house by the local water company. We were soon brought down to earth in March 2010, when we had our first water meter installed. This meant we were going to be charged for every drop of water we use, which with a large garden, 2 lodgers and a polytunnel might result in some fairly hefty water bills, so I just had to find ways to reduce our overall consumption, recycle what we could, and collect and store as much as possible.

I thought it might help other gardeners if I shared the process I went through and list a few of the ideas that I adopted along the way.

1. Conduct Your Own Water Audit

First have a look around around your property and see if/where you might be able to collect water. Most properties have a roof leading to a downpipe, so why not collect and store the rainwater. You can use it on the garden, to wash the car, or to wash the worst of the muck of your hands after a busy day in the garden.

When I did my own audit I found I could collect rainwater from the roof of the house, the chicken house, the workshop and the potting shed, which actually amounted to quite a lot of stored water. I did think about investing in a small solar panel and a pump to pump the rainwater from the tanks to the garden, but to be honest I’m happy using a watering can, it does wonders for my biceps and it costs virtually nothing to implement!

2. Improve Your Soil

There really is no substitute for digging in barrow loads of manure into the vegetable beds. Coupled with regular mulching this is probably the best way to ensure your plants stand a good chance of making it through a dry summer, without too much watering.

3. Check the soil before watering

Sounds simple but before I do any watering I check the soil first to see if it actually needs watering. It might look dry on the surface, but try sticking a trowel in nice and deep and you may find underneath is just fine. I like to water in the evening, around 7.00pm when the sun is on the way down. This helps prevent moisture evaporating from the soil before darkness sets in.

4. Sensible Watering

A friend gave me a great tip once. Try giving your plants a really good water once a week, and make sure it is enough to get right down to the roots. I used to water little and often, which was a complete pain as it took loads of time. This way I now only have to do it once a week, and the plants (especially the veg) seem to grow stronger as a result.

5. Collect Rainwater

There are many water butts on the Market, but if you have an old plastic dustbin it will work just as well, as the shop bought models.This is a shop bought model I bought at the weekend for £26 from SCATS, and which is made from 100% recycled plastic. Some connect directly into the down pipe, and can be shut off when the tank is full, while others are simply fed direct from the down pipe.

Try and get as large as you can afford, or you won’t be able to collect very much, but of course something is better than nothing. If you can find more than one they can be attached using a simple plastic pipe fitting, then as soon as the first tank is full it will start to fill the second.

6. Consider Installing A Rainwater Harvester

I read a surprising statistic the other day, that 24,000 liters of water will fall on the average house in 1 year. With that amount of free water available, it makes perfect sense to capture as much of it as possible. We are fortunate at Blackbirds as we installed a water harvesting system when we built the house. It supplements our mains water supply by around 40%.

Basically a water harvester is a huge plastic tank sunk into the ground, and fed by the downpipes from around the house in exactly the same way as a water butt. Ours holds approximately 3000 litres of clean water when full, which we use for the toilets, washing machine and garden. If you’re thinking about investing in a rain harvester, the best advice I can give you is go for the biggest one you can possibly afford, and buy it from a reputable dealer. You’ll be surprised just how much money a harvester will save you, but it can be very disruptive while it is being installed, but the end certainly justifies the means.

7. Build a Garden Pond

Another great way to collect rain water is a garden pond. They are fairly simple to construct and well worth it if you have the space. We built ours in April this year and it’s constant source of interest with all the wildlife that use it as a bath, or drink from. Although we don’t rely on our pond for watering the garden, in a dry spell it does provide us with another option.

Garden Ponds are a useful source of rainwater

8. Mulching

Although we collect rainwater we never take it for granted and also place as much emphasis on conserving water. Mulching is a cost effective way of retaining much needed moisture and an added bonus is the worms will drag it into the soil which improves the moisture retention qualities of the soil immensely.

Mulching is basically taking a couple of inches of well rotted material and layering it around the base of the plant, to help conserve moisture. I mulch most of my veg patch, and if I run out of compost I use a small amount of grass cuttings, which works ok, but does go a nasty brown colour, after a few days.

Preserve moisture by mulching around cucumber plants

9. Grow Drought Resistant Plants

As I said earlier, In Hampshire we are prone to long dry periods which can make growing some plants almost impossible in open ground, but it does have it’s advantages. For one thing our herb garden does really well, especially the Mediterranean herbs like Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender and Marjoram. Always amazes me, I lavish all the treatment in the world on my herb garden, but the seedlings that are growing in the cracks in the paving happily grow away, and the flavour is so much more intense.

I do grow broad leaved herbs like Parsley, Mint and Lovage, but they need a little more attention as they prefer a rich moist soil. As with the veg beds I dig in extra compost. I also grow them quite close together as the shade tends to stops the ground drying out quite so fast.

Other examples of drought lovers I like to grow include Buddleia, Mock Orange and Echinacea. We grow them all at Blackbirds, and they seem to respond well to our dry, chalky well drained soil.

10. Lawns

It may be tempting to turn the sprinkler on but we haven’t watered our lawn for the last 2 years, and it’s still looking good. I think part of the secret is to grow drought tolerant grass seed in the first place, and not to cut it too short. It does go brown from time to time but we live with it, and it’s something to look forward to knowing it will be green again.

11. Polytunnel

When it comes to the Polytunnel it’s slightly different in that it is more likely to dry out, so I dig in plenty of compost deep into the beds, and water close to the stem of the plant, so as not to waste it watering the space between the rows. You can find out more on how I prepare the polytunnel for planting, here
http://ruralgardener.co.uk/2011/05/16/planting-tomatoes-in-the-polytunnel/

I do have an overhead misting system, that uses water from the rain harvester, but I try to limit it’s use, unless a lot of rain is forecast.

Not only is collecting and storing rainwater key to our desire to be as self sufficient as we possibly can, but it also makes perfect sense. Why pay for costly tap water, just to water the garden, when with a little bit of effort is can be collected, for free?

Also I find my garden responds to rainwater better than tap water. Have you noticed how much better your plants look when there has been a down pour? The plants clearly prefer it, and it also helps with my gardening budget.

As our climate continues to produce warmer Spring and Summer temperatures we will need to continue to find inventive ways to collect, and store one of our most important natural resources, if the garden at Blackbirds is to continue to flourish.

I’m now off to learn about Permaculture, which I’m told, is a great alternative to the more conventional growing methods.

Best wishes,

As I sit here writing this blog post we’ve just had a week of really heavy rainfall at Blackbirds. Pleased to report all the water butts are full. Wahey!

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HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WILDLIFE POND 2 – CREATING A STREAM

Posted in Natural Ponds, tagged Organic, Wildlife Pond on May 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

If you’d like to see how the pond is looking 1 year on click the link below.

Watch a video of our wildlife pond.

If you’d like to keep this post for future reference I have created a PDF. It’s absolutely free, so please feel free to download as many times as you like, with my best wishes.

<FREE PDF DOWNLOAD>

Busy weekend at Blackbirds as we’ve just finished the second stage of our new wildlife pond.

In my last post I went through how we made the basic pond. In this post I’ll explain how you can add a little stream to feed the pond.

Three months on and it looks like it’s been there forever.

The thing to remember when constructing any water feature that is intended to attract wildlife, is to leave it as natural as possible. Let the weeds and grasses grow away, and introduce plants that attract insects, the classic wildflowers such as Red Campion, Cornflowers and Field Scabious.

Basic components to make your own little stream are:

Underlay to protect the liner (purpose made or offcuts of old carpet will do).
A narrow strip of liner, preferably butyl and at least double the width of the finished stream.
A pump to recycle the water from the pond to the top of the stream.
A length of pipe to carry the water from the pump to the top of the stream.
Cobbles and Pebbles to line the bottom of the stream.
Good quality soil to line the banks of the stream.

Forming a Basic Stream Shape

As we had the soil left over from excavating the pond I used it to build up the levels just enough to create sufficient fall for the water to gradually creep it’s way from the feeder pond down to the main pond. I’m not looking for anything too dramatic by way of falling water as water lily’s are not keen on fast running water and I love to see them flowering in mid summer.

Although it may look like a lot of work, all I did was take my trusty little garden spade, landscaped the mound, and then dug out a small trench approximately 1/2 metre across from the edge of the pond to the top of the mound. It took me all of Saturday morning to finish the shape, and the rest of Saturday was spent laying the liner and setting up the pump.

Lining the stream

To line the bottom of the stream I used a couple of old pieces of carpet we had left over from the old house, and managed to find a suitable off-cut of pond liner at the local Aquatic Center for £30, which went straight on top of the liner. I remember watching Geoff Hamilton prepare a stream when he hosted Gardeners World and he virtually back filled the entire length of the stream with a shallow layer of soil and pebbles. Mainly to hide the nasty black liner, but also to encourage new plants and wild grasses. The finished stream made for a more natural looking pond and it kept the water crystal clear.

I’m not sure why, but it worked for Geoff, so I thought I’d give it a go. You could always add loads of rocks and stones, but I’m after a more natural looking stream so I’ve also gone for a mix of soil and pebbles. The logs were salvaged on a recent walk to the woods, and the few plants I had to plant on the marginals came from the old house.

Pumping the water

It’s really simple, all you need to do is attach a length of pipe to the pump and run the other end up to the feeder pond. If you don’t want it to look naff it’s best to bury it along the bank of the stream, hiding the end with a few stones and logs.

Getting power to the pump is not overly complicated, but unless you know what you’re doing it’s best left to a qualified electrician.

How much did it all cost?

The most expensive item of the project was the pump, which cost just under £100. It was more than I’d planned to spend, but I needed a pump powerful enough to get the water 8 meters from the pond to the feeder pool at the top of the stream, so I guessed it will last me a few years to come.

The rubber liner was £30 and the pebbles and stones were all salvaged from other parts of the garden, and a few were ‘relocated’ from the front drive

Total cost £130.

If you need to keep the cost down make a smaller feature, which in turn will require a much smaller pump.

As you can see from the photo’s the banks are still pretty bare, but in the next few weeks I plan to sow a mix of grasses and wildflowers,
along with a few native marginal plants like bearded iris, Caltha palustris, and Zantedeschia with its lovely white trumpet flowers on long slender green stems. The important thing is to make sure the soil on the bank is at least 30cm (1ft) deep to stop it drying out and allow a few marginal plants a fighting chance of survival.

Finishing touches

Last job was to add a few logs and some pine cones for effect, along with a modest log pile which should help the wildlife to settle around the pond. Since the weekend the stream has attracted loads of visitors, including native birds that come to drink and to take a much needed bath. I can’t wait to see what else we can attract as the local wildlife seek out some much needed water as we all bask in this wonderful Spring sunshine we’re enjoying at the moment.