Search - Articles

, preventing the flower from opening. An invisible soft, slimy layer of mycelium then fuses the petals together. The problem is most acute on roses with a multitude of thin petals.Apparently healthy rose buds develop and fatten but fail to open. They eventually

and other crops to keep them growing stronglyStop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to formThin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cookingMake successional sowings of salad leaves and radishes

Spray potatoes and outdoor tomatoes with Bordeaux mixture or similar to prevent blightThin heavy crops of apples, pears and plumsTie in new raspberry canes to support wiresCover brassicas with fine netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies laying

insideThin bunches of greenhouse grapesTake cuttings from pelargoniums, fuchsias, marguerites, penstemon, carnations, diascia and many othersDamp down the greenhouse floor each morning on hot days to increase humidityStand pot plants on capillary matting

of tulipsSow hardy annual flowers directly into bedsFlowersSow sweetcorn in deep modular seed traysFeed fruit trees and bushesPlant out onion sets grown in pots under glassFruit & vegBuy plug plants and young bedding plantsThin out heavy fruit sets

in the garden before you leave them out.Feed fast-growing plants with fertiliser Thin out congested pond plantsHand flower beds to prevent weeds establishing Around the gardenPlant out dahlias into well-prepared soil Regularly tie tall stems of delphiniums

on lupinsPush canes into pots of tall-growing liliesFlowersSow herbs in pots to grow on your kitchen windowsillCover strawberries with nettingThin out seedlings from earlier sowings Fruit & vegWater crops in growing bags and pots dailyIntroduce biological

Prune spring-flowering shrubs Don't let your physocarpus or other spring-flowering shrubs become overgrown, woody and thin on flowers. Pruning out the stems that have bloomed this spring will keep your plants at a manageable size and will guarantee

Remove blanket weed from pondsAround the gardenLift, divide and replant congested flag irises after floweringDeadhead border perennialsPick dead flowers off rhododendronsFlowersSow cabbages to pick as spring greensThin heavy crops of apples, pears

to drain.Sprinkle seeds evenly and thinly over the surface of the compost, leaving approx 2cm - 3cm between each one. Cover seeds with a thin layer of compost.Cover pot with a sheet of glass or an inverted polythene bag. Place on a well-lit windowsill