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Gardening

Gardeners’ Guide  with Luke Eastwood

Seasonal tips for the garden month by month with RHS trained Horticulturalist Luke Eastwood

September – watch out for weeds!

Now is a good time for planting hardy plants or sowing trees, the weather is generally cooler but still mild, excellent conditions for germination usually, which is why September is a popular time for sowing grass.

Unfortunately it is also an excellent time for germination of weeds, which means that extra vigilance if required. A great many plants set seed at this time and if the conditions are right these seeds will germinate en masse immediately and get established before winter and in the case of weeds this is exactly what you don’t want. So be prepared to get the trowel or hoe out and get weeding as this will help reduce the level of weeds germinating in the spring.

Now is also the time to harvest the rest of your vegetables especially as some of the softer plants such as courgettes and marrows will suffer with the cooler nights, especially at higher altitudes. It is also a good time to plant winter cabbage and onions etc.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Golf and Spa Hotel, Ballymoney.

August – beginning to wind down

At this point of the year the bulk of plant growth has finished, everything is now finishing flowering, in fruit or going to seed. The days are noticeably shorter although the days are still long and there is usually some very hot weather. It’s important to watch out for drought conditions, particularly if you plan to go on holiday – arrange for someone to check on your plants otherwise you might come back to a lot of withered specimens!

It’s also important to continue to keep an eye on the lawn in dry periods, it’s better to leave it even if it’s not as neat as you’d like and wait for rainfall before cutting again. Now or September is a good time to use a selective weedkiller (except during drought) but if your grass is a bit weak you might want to add fertilizer or choose a ‘weed and feed’ product instead.

If you are growing fruit and vegetables a large amount of this is likely to be ready around now, it’s best to pick both fruit and veg and use them immediately or freeze them to retain the nutrients. Herbs can be used fresh or dried out for later use.

If you have not already pruned cherry trees, do it now during a dry spell. It is also a good time to prune fruit trees that have already fruited as this helps reduce diseases.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Golf and Spa Hotel, Ballymoney.



June/July – enjoy the benefits of your hard work!

If you’ve made the effort to take care of your garden in the months prior to this period you should be able to take a bit of a breather and enjoy the garden. Of course the notable exception to this is the grass cutting, as the grass is generally growing at its fastest unless there is a period of drought. If  there is no rain for three of four weeks it is important to stop cutting the grass, otherwise you may cause it to go brown and die.

Of course, if drought conditions occur,  you will need to hand water your plants, especially those in containers. Many people forget about trees, thinking that they will just suck it up – this is true of more established trees but saplings, particularly fruit trees need quite a lot of water.

If you have fruit bushes and trees or a vegetable garden you should be getting some produce by now – e.g. raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, early potatoes, lettuce, peas etc. If you’ve had time to do staggered planting (e.g. at intervals of two weeks) then you should have a steady flow instead of a bumper crop all in one go.

Depending on the growth you might want to consider cutting hedges in July, generally I would not recommend doing it any earlier if they were not done in spring. Now is a great time to prune cherry trees if the weather is fine as they are much less likely to suffer from canker if pruned in hot sunny weather.

Hopefully you will have less work to do than earlier in the year and can sit back and relax, and enjoy!

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Golf Club

 


 

May – Keeping it all under control

Finally soil temperatures are getting higher, which is essential for growth. It takes weeks for average soil temperatures to pick up so the recent run of warm weather has helped and was much needed. Around now everything gets into full swing with massive growth spurts happening if the conditions are right.

This is also a time when weeds multiply in abundance and pests such as aphids, rabbits and slugs (to name a few) can become a problem. In damp but warm conditions diseases can also be a problem e.g. botrytis and black spot fungus.

Weeds can be kept in check by regular hand weeding or using sprays, of course with herbicide sprays care is needed not to spray your plants, into ponds or onto grass areas. If possible it’s best to kill all of your weeds before they set seed as new batches arrive quickly or they will add to your problems next year. Common pests such as aphids can be treated with sprays or a cheap alternative is to spray washing up solution at about double strength that you would use for dishes! Snails and slugs can be eliminated in a number of ways – cheap beer in saucers or snail traps is very effective or nematodes are a good biological control. Rabbits and hares can be very destructive, especially to crops – these are harder to deal with, often fencing is the best way to keep them out.

Problems that affect fruit trees can often be prevented with copper based sprays although this is not so necessary if the weather remains fine. The same applies to roses as regards weather, if it remains mostly dry they are much less likely to suffer from blackspot and mildew problems.

The key to solving such problems in summer is regular observation as everything is developing faster situations can get out of control very quickly if they are not spotted in the early stages - the saying ‘nip it in the bud’ particularly apt.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Golf Club


April – Time to get busy!

After a long, hard winter the growth season is finally here. Although frost is still possible it is growing less and less likely and it should be possible to plant seedlings outside now with comparatively little risk.

It’s now time to turn your attention to the lawn, if you have not yet done the first cut of the year it should be done now. Don’t cut too low the first time, cut high and do it lower the second time. The key to a good lawn in consistent and regular cutting – generally it is best to collect cuttings to discourage thatch. Regular cutting helps keep back weeds and encourages thickening of the grass, however it does also mean that the lawn should be fertilized. A handy, time saving product is weed and feed granules in sacks that can be scattered (evenly) in late spring to green up the grass and eliminate low growing broadleaved weeds especially. Iron sulphate is also useful if your lawn suffers from moss problems, although this is best used in moderation throughout the year rather than a large dose once the moss has become very visible.

Now is a often a popular time for pruning as plants will tend to recover quickly and it can help to give bushes/hedges the desired shape before further growth in the wrong areas occurs. It is also a very active time for weeds as the increasing soil temperatures encourage germination and fast growth. If you can remove most of the weeds from your garden before they have time to flower and set seed you will save yourself a lot of work later on in the year. It’s amazing how fast some weeds (e.g. hairy bittercress or cardamine hirsute) can reproduce, sometimes in a just a week a whole new batch of weeds can be generated creating yet more work!

As a general rule I’d say that a good effort in the spring makes for a more relaxed and less work intensive summer and autumn - as spring and early summer is when the big growth spurts take place. The preparation of winter and also work done now should pay off later, making the garden more enjoyable rather it being a hard slog to keep it under control.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Golf Course in Ballymoney


March – Encouraging new growth

This year spring is fairly late, after a particularly harsh winter, however by now there should be signs of new growth, bulbs up and flowering especially nearer the coast.  Trees and shrubs will be showing buds of new shoots and leaves ready to emerge soon, birch trees are usually one of the first to break into leaf.

Because of the harsh winter spring pruning should be later this year, the pruning apart from restoring a better shape, encourages new growth but one should be careful not to do it whilst prolonged frosty weather is likely.

Now is also the time to give your plants a feed, this can be done in several ways – fertilizers applied regularly or a once off in the form of slow release balls such as Ozmocote or Miracle Grow. The advantage of the slow release method is that it only need be done in spring and hence it frees up time for other jobs, this may be particularly useful if you only have an hour or two each week spare for gardening. If you want to stay away from chemicals there are a number of excellent natural/organic alternatives such as manure, grass clippings, leaf mold and wood ash. As well as these you can also buy sterilized manure, poultry manure pellets, “blood, fish and bone” and rock dust mineral fertilizer.

It’s important to make sure to get the balance right, too much fertilizer can harm or kill your plants so use liberal quantities only on the hungriest plants such as roses. It is better to feed your plants moderately several times than to kill them by overdoing it!

If you are growing vegetables it’s a good time to get the spuds in, you can chit them first – leave in a box/tray in a light and airy room to encourage them to sprout. Many veg can be grown in seed trays first if the weather is still harsh but in the case of carrots it’s best to sow where you want them to grow (preferably in a free draining soil) as they don’t like to be moved.

It’s also time to think about getting the lawnmower out, once the average temperature hits around 10 degrees the grass will begin to get going, consistent mowing is key to maintaining a healthy lawn.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Gold Course in Ballymoney.


February – Springtime!

It’s great to finally see the snowdrops flowering and the emerging daffodils. The ground is finally warming up after the harsh winter, however, we may not have seem the last of the snow and heavy frost. In land it’s possible to get frost as late as May so don’t be in a hurry to remove fleece from your non-hardy perennials.

In my travels around Wexford I have noticed the devastation that the coldest winter in forty years has caused in the plant kingdom. I was quite shocked to see mature Cordyline Australis specimens with all of their leaves destroyed by the frost, when I remembered that it got to -17C around the Wexford/Carlow border I realized that it should really be no great surprise.

As a result of the harsh conditions a lot of gardens will need more tidying up than usual. In general all necrotic (dead) tissue should be cut away and put into the compost heap. Some shrubs will look like they are completely dead but by taking a very small nick into the bark you can see if there is still green under the surface, if this is the case the plant is still alive. Regrowth cannot happen on dead tissue  and in some cases the dead leaves and stalks can hamper the plant’s attempts to re-establish itself. Obviously if the whole plant has died it is best to completely remove it, including the roots, to discourage disease.

Now is the time to begin thinking about planting, if you wish to grow flowering plants or vegetables from seed you can get an early start provided you can protect your seedlings from fluctuations in temperature, excessive moisture and strong winds. This generally means using cloches, cold frames, greenhouses or a polytunnel. For those who don’t have this equipment germinating the seeds in a seed tray in the airing cubboard is a good option, after which they should be moved to a window with plenty of light (preferably south facing). As plants are heliocentric (they grow towards the sun) it might be necessary to turn the tray around every few days to prevent the seedlings from becoming lop-sided. Do not be in too much of a hurry to transfer them outside, give them plenty of time to get established as  it is possible for unpredictable weather to wipe out whole plantations of crops in their juvenile stages.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Gold Course in Ballymoney.


January – Getting ready for a new growth.

As this year demonstrates, it’s often difficult to do anything in January, especially when the garden in covered in snow! If your delicate plants are not already well protected then expect them to be dead or severely damaged by now, it’s already too late when the first real cold weather hits, all that can be done with those that survive the cold is to trim back the dead material.

Often the growth season can creep up on you by surprise; at the moment we have plenty of time, but weeks pass quickly and if there is an early spring, things may well start leaping out of the ground in late February or early March. In view of the unpredictable weather that has seen daffodils coming up in September, it is wise to prepare for all eventualities.

A successful year in the garden can be achieved more easily with a little preparation, the winter months being the ideal time for turning the compost heap, making leaf mould, making or repairing cloches, greenhouses, cold frames or polytunnels - ahead of seed sowing or planting seedlings. Now is also a good time to sort out the shed: make sure that all your tools are clean and sharp and (if appropriate) oiled to prevent rust. Worn out and broken pots should be discarded and ancient compost or peat that may be infected with viruses and weeds should also be disposed of.

If you plan to grow plants from seed, in particular fruit and vegetables, it is good to get them started as early as possible which gives them a longer season and also gives them a head start on the weeds. Although it’s too early to sow, now is a good time to sort out what you are going to plant, buy the seeds and make sure that you have seed trays etc. ready in time to start at the earliest opportunity.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Golf Club


December – Dealing with frost.

Frost damage can be a major problem for tender perennials including many popular plants such as Pelargoniums. With container grown plants they can be brought inside, however plants in the ground may need protection with horticultural fleece.Frost does have its advantages, the cold will kill off many of the weeds and insect pests and also help to reduce the number of rodents that do a lot of damage to plants, bulbs especially.

In recent years the weather has become very unpredictable with snow and frost appearing all along the Wexford coastline. Usually this is a mild climatic zone but last year, for instance, temperatures of as low as -10 degrees killed or badly damaged many plants that are usually fine in coastal areas. In view of this it is wise to cover at risk plants when there is harsh weather predicted.

Make sure to secure the fleece properly as it is lightweight and with the often strong winds of winter it can be blown away if not secure. Wind protection is another thing to consider as wind can also do a lot of damage to plants such as bamboo, Choisya  ternata, Clematis etc.

Now is not a bad time for putting down manure as a top dressing on your plants, although it is best to avoid this if the ground is hard with frost. Some early flowering plants such as Viburnums, Kerria japonica, Jasminium nudiflorum (winter jasmine) will be appreciative of some early feeding, as when plants are close to flowering is a time when they can use some extra nutrients. Camellias are another plant that can be fed in autumn/winter to aid flowering but like Azaleas and Rhododendrons they need special feed suitable for acid loving plants – which is available cheaply at all garden centres.

Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel and Golf Club, Ballymoney


November – Tidy up time.

A great many people think that there is no gardening to be done in winter, however that is far from true. By now all growth will have stopped and most herbaceous plants will have died back or are well on the way to it. Now is a good time to clear away this dead to dying material and put it in the compost heap. It’s perhaps best not to put weeds in the compost if there are seed heads as this will be a source of trouble next year, throw the seeding weeds in the bin or burn them.

Now is a great time to tidy up the garden and perhaps finish some jobs that were not done earlier in the year. Pruning can still be done if it’s not too cold and roses can be pruned now or later in the winter also. If there are weeds about – both recently germinated, or left from summer, now is a good time to remove them as they will not grow back and it is generally too cold for more to germinate now.

If mulch is put down on beds now it will help prevent weeds coming up in spring plus it also helps maintain good soil temperatures before the really harsh cold weather kicks in. I prefer to use fine bark mulch but heavier bark, stone chips or even recycled rubber can all be used as mulch. Be sure to use enough, minimum 2 inches for it to be effective, less than that will not really give you any of the expected benefits apart from the decorative appearance.

Another good thing to do at this time of year is making leaf mould. Usually all of the leaves are down by Halloween, although this year and last year it has seemed to take longer. Instead of throwing the leaves in a forgot corner or into the bin they can be made to work for you – simply pack into black sacks and tie up, then using a pen of sharp stick make half a dozen holes in the bag and leave stored for six months. The leaf mould will be a rich source of humus in summer, which will fertilize plants and can also act as a mulch to suppress weeds.

flower


October - Pruning.

October is a good time to prune for most shrubs and also for cutting back dying herbaceous plants. Pruning is vitally important to stop plants becoming cumbersome, tangled and unhealthy, however bad pruning can be worse than no pruning at all.

Pruning can be done in spring in some cases to encourage vigorous growth, with Cherry trees it’s best done in summer (to avoid disease) but as a rule of thumb it is best done in late autumn after flowering and seeding has finished.

Always use sharp sectateurs or loppers because badly cut branches help infections to get in as well as making an untidy wound. Be careful – look twice and cut once, it’s too late to put a piece back after it’s gone so be selective about what you remove and where. It is usually best to cut close to joins in stems so not to leave short stubby bits that later die back. Cut out weak and straggly growth completely plus any obviously dead material. 

In the case of roses it’s often best to wait until November or later even (but not during frost or snow) and these can usually be cut back hard. With roses, as with most plants, don’t forget that they will want feeding in spring to help them regenerate.

Regular and careful pruning is much better than a butchering session every few years, your plants will grow and look much healthier as a result.


Luke Eastwood is Head Gardener at Seafield Spa Hotel & Golf Course, Ballymoney.

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