The Final Push

Tags

cold frames, cut flower patch, Dahlias, scented flowers, stocks, zinnias

The sun shone on Saturday, after another week of heavy rain, giving me the opportunity to get up to the plot for the final push. This is the latest I have left the planting out of half hardies and tender plants. Often dictated by an upcoming holiday, I would normally expect to have empty cold frames by the start of June but not this year. Difficult weather conditions have meant a slow start to the growing season. Plants such as rudbeckias and zinnias are a quarter of the size they were this time last year.

Whilst some plants have struggled, it has been great weather for grass and weeds, unfortunately. Wellyman was on hand to tidy up the paths at the plot. With no strimmer and only hand shears to keep everything in check its a job neither of us enjoy but a trim every 3 weeks or so is better than leaving it and letting it get out of control.

Nigella damascena ‘Double White’ on the cut flower patch

I weeded the whole plot, which took an hour and a half. The ground was nice and soft after the rain making the weed removal easy. My problem weeds are speedwell, hairy bittercress and, in one bed, bindweed but none of them are too bad, mainly because I do as little digging as possible.

The last patch of stocks was removed. They had been such great plants, straggly looking things I’ll grant you, but they had been flowering since last October and had provided so many bunches of gloriously scented flowers, I’m slightly sad to see them go. They were finally giving up the ghost, though and I needed the space, so in their place are now some larkspurs and zinnias.

The plot in June

I managed to squeeze in two dahlias which I’d stored in the downstairs loo over winter. Potted up in April they have spent the last couple of months in the cold frame and have made good-sized plants, one is even about to flower. I have no idea which varieties they are, somewhere along the line their labels have disappeared. Still, it’ll be a nice surprise when they do flower.

The last plants went into the cut flower patch; cornflowers, gypsophila, rudbeckias and godetia. The plants were a little smaller than I would have liked them to be but I’m going to be away for a while, so they need to fend for themselves. I’m hoping I’m going to have enough flowers to take me through to October and for my first foray into the world of the horticulture show. If I can get myself organised I’ve decided to enter some flowers into one of my local shows. I haven’t decided which show yet or had a look at the schedules to see which class I’ll enter. See what I mean about needing to get organised.

Sweet Williams – I possibly didn’t need quite so many plants

Fortunately, the heavy rain and gale force winds didn’t do too much damage but some extra staking and tying in was necessary. The broad beans were now tall enough to pinch out the growing tips, this encourages the plants to divert their energy into producing pods and also helps to discourage black fly. Don’t put them on the compost heap though, they are really nice steamed – a bit like spinach but with a mild broad bean flavour.

So that’s it for another year, the seed sowing and plant nurturing frenzy of spring is over. I always feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief when the cold frames and window sills are emptied and the plot fills up with plants. But there’s little time to rest on my laurels as June is the perfect time to sow biennials. Better go and dig out my seed tins.

Making a dash for it

Tags

broad beans, charlotte potatoes, cold frames, courgettes, seed sowing, squashes

Dry days have been few and far between so far this April. Now I’m not complaining, there’s no denying we need the rain to fill the reservoirs and aquifers and my garden has taken on a lovely green hue as herbaceous perennials spring into growth. But I had started to suffer a window sill and cold frame backup, with plants needing to be potted on and moved into the cold frames to harden off but with no space available in the cold frames for them. It’s just been too wet to plant anything out. Well to be honest it’s been a bit on the cold side too.

So with the weather forecast suggesting more sunshine than showers yesterday I decide to make a dash for it and in a flurry of activity I planted out, potted on, sowed more seed and shuffled plants between window sills, cold frame and the allotment.

Sweet peas ready for planting out

The first to be planted out were the first batch of sweet peas. Sown back in February they were great looking, bushy plants in desperate need of some support so they could do their thing and start climbing. Due to lack of space at the allotment these sweet peas were destined for a hazel wigwam in my front garden. The idea is that they will add some height and provide scent for the warm, sheltered garden in front of my kitchen. To be honest the ground was a little on the wet side to be planting into but with the forecast suggesting another couple of weeks of similar wet weather these plants were going in regardless. Sweet peas can grow to over 2 metres over the summer and will produce huge numbers of flowers if you keep picking them so all this effort requires some food. I tend to add a bit of compost to the planting hole with a handful of comfrey pellets. Comfrey is high in potassium, the nutrient that plants use in the flowering process so this should encourage a good supply of blooms over the next couple of months.

Another batch of broad beans and some scabious plants were taken up to the allotment and planted up. Whilst there I spotted the first Charlotte potato pushing through so grabbing a spade I earthed up the shoots to protect them from any frost.

Back at home I sowed some more lettuce, basil and carrots in pots and then moved into the cold frame some antirrhinums, asters and larkspur. It’s all a bit of juggling act at the moment trying to have enough plants to plant out with some spares. It’s also time when gardeners start to gamble, gamble on the weather that is. When to sow the tender plants such as french beans, cucumbers and squashes can be a difficult one to call. None of them like sitting in cold, wet soil and don’t like fluctuations in temperature. Sown and grown inside these plants can grow quickly with the warmth of a window sill or greenhouse. The problem is if it hasn’t warmed up outside you could have some triffids on your hands probably not a problem if you have a greenhouse but squashes and courgettes are hard to maintain on a window sill once they get going.

It’s already later than I have previously sown but I decided to sow some courgettes, Defender, Romanseco and a patty pan type squash called Sunbeam and also a couple of pots of a red skinned squash called Uchiki kuri. I’m going to wait another week or so before I sow any cucumbers or french beans.

The first Clematis in flower despite the weather

As I’m writing this it has been teeming down for about 6 hours now and I’m just preparing to go out with waterproof trousers and wellies on. Such a good look but at least I’ll be dry. They say a months worth of rain will have fallen by the end of the week and I can well believe it. Hope the plants don’t drown!!

First Pickings and Frost Fears

Tags

cold frames, forcing rhubarb, protecting from frost, seed sowing

The first produce of the year

Throughout the winter whilst I’m pining to be out in the garden or at the allotment it’s easy to forget about the ongoing battle gardening can sometimes be. If it’s not something trying to eat the plants, it’s the weather conspiring to make life as difficult as possible and last week was the perfect example.

I’m now in full blown seed sowing mode with cold frames stuffed with pots and trays and window sills performing their role as substitute greenhouse. The weather here in Wales, like most of the UK has been beautiful for several weeks now with unseasonably warm temperatures and unbroken sunshine. It has been a real pleasure to get out and garden in a t-shirt after spending months cocooned in layers of clothing. The soil has been dry allowing for preparation of beds for the coming season and I’ve been able to get so much done that wouldn’t have been possible with typical spring weather.

The problems, however came on Tuesday when I was preparing to go away for a long weekend, visiting family and friends. Now I know you might think I was bringing these problems on myself by going away at such a crucial time but arranging these visits is already a logistical nightmare without me saying I can’t go anywhere because I have plants to look after. We did once take some plants away with us on holiday. They were tender plants, courgettes and the like and it was May and too early for them to go out so they came with us and sat outside the cottage during the day and then I brought them in on a night. I can’t surely be the only one who has done this, can I?

Anyway back to the problem. The front garden cold frame gets sun from early morning right through to mid afternoon at the moment and it’s a real sun trap which is great ordinarily but not when the young seedlings are drying out so quickly and I won’t be around for 4 days. I knew I couldn’t leave them there so I moved them all round to the back garden which is much more shaded at the moment. Not everything would fit in my other cold frame though so I took a gamble and left some grouped together by the house. The other problem was to close the cold frame or not. Do I risk the plants keeling over from too much heat or being exposed to frost? Even at this time of year and especially with this weather the temperature under glass can rise significantly but then at night can drop dramatically. What was I to do? I settled for slightly propped open and then gave everything a good water before I left on the Wednesday, hoping for the best.

I was fairly confident my little plants would be fine until we caught the weather forecast on Friday night. Sharp frosts and minus 4C in rural parts of Wales were predicted for Saturday night. I envisaged coming back to blackened seedlings, some I’d be able to sow again, others like celeriac, which I’d been nurturing since February wouldn’t have a second chance this year. It’s hard to explain to non gardeners how it feels to see plants you’ve lovingly tended wiped out. Like the row of marigolds completely decimated overnight by slugs, the ripe and juicy strawberries nibbled by blackbirds or podding much anticipated peas only to discover the pea moth larvae have got there first, it can be soul destroying. Contrary to what some books and magazines say, gardening is hard work; pleasurable and enjoyable yes but requiring time and effort to produce the desired results. To see your hard work destroyed before you even get a chance to eat it, smell it or cut it is a bitter pill to swallow.

They survived!

Fortunately, this tale has a happy ending. There had been some frost and I did lose a baby fatsia but have another two that survived and a few flower seedlings aren’t looking too great but everything else including the celeriac survived unscathed, much to my relief. But with the warm spell coming to an end with predictions of snow for part of the week and still no significant rainfall it looks like the weather will make gardening a challenge again this year.

To end on a happier note we had our first produce from the plot yesterday, which is always cause for celebration. Two stems from the forced rhubarb clump made a very tasty crumble when combined with some apple. Hopefully the start of a productive year for all gardeners.

I wouldn’t be without ….

Tags

cold frames, half hardy plants, hardy plants, sowing biennials, sowing seeds

I wouldn't be without my cold frames

The seed sowing season is about to start in earnest and over the next couple of months my window sills will be stuffed with seed trays and pots as I grow vegetables and flower plants for my allotment and garden. I prefer to start seeds off at home rather than directly into the ground for several reasons. Last year, the seeds I sowed directly germinated very patchily because of the very dry spring, whereas the seeds started off at home germinated well as it was easier to control their growing conditions. I also find that if I can nurture a plant to a reasonable size before planting out they are less prone to pest attacks, slugs in particular love young seedlings, but I wouldn’t be able to grow the volume of plants I do without my cold frames.

When we first moved here we realised, sadly that there wasn’t the space for a greenhouse, which was even more annoying because we were offered one for free. The compromise came in the form of a sturdy, 5ft by 3ft cold frame from the Greenhouse People. It cost £250, which felt like quite a lot to spend on a cold frame, especially since money was tight as we were doing quite a bit of work to the house and garden but I wanted something that looked like it would last. Two years later and with a newly acquired allotment I knew one cold frame wouldn’t be enough so I bought another but this time I went for the cheaper option. Well I certainly have proof you get what you pay for. The second cold frame took twice as long to erect and wasn’t very well designed. It has perspex lights rather than glass and annoyingly the perspex has a habit of working it’s way out of it’s fittings and slipping down exposing plants to the elements. Despite the second cold frame’s shortcomings it has still provided me with the extra space I need.

Seedling packed cold frame

In February and March you will find hardy plants such as broad beans, sweet peas and early peas in my cold frames and then towards the end of March and into April, as these hardy plants are moved to open ground, they are replaced by hardy flowering plants such as antirrhinums, sunflowers, scabious and cornflowers that will form my cut flower patch. Half hardy and tender plants sown indoors in April will gradually move to the cold frames in May. By the end of May, with the danger of frost having receded and all the plants now in their final growing place, the cold frames fall quiet for a while. But it isn’t long before they have filled again with sowings of biennials such as sweet williams, honesty, sweet rocket and wallflowers, sown in July to flower the following spring. Then in September I start off hardy annuals such as orlaya and scabious that will overwinter in the coldframes and can then be planted out in early spring to provide an early show of flowers.

This all sounds very organised but invariably some plants are slow to germinate, or the weather makes life difficult. Last spring was so warm and my plants grew so quickly that my cold frames were bursting at the seams but it was still only the start of May and too early to plant out, in case the weather changed and there was a late frost.

It’s not just for providing protection for young seedlings that I wouldn’t be without my cold frames, they have been useful places to overwinter plants that can cope with cold but just don’t like sitting in wet compost. Winters here in Wales tend to be wet so I move herbs, succulents and alpines into the cold frames so they stay dry, protected from the winter rains.

Of course, like anything cold frames have their problems. It is really important to keep on top of ventilation. Even in early spring the warmth of the sun on the glass can make temperatures underneath rise, causing young plants to wilt. On mild days in autumn and winter ventilation is important to stop damp air lingering and fungal diseases such as botrytis flourishing. It’s also essential to keep an eye out for pests, in particular aphids and slugs. Aphids multiply rapidly and in a confined space will spread quickly from plant to plant and if slugs find their way into your cold frame full of young, juicy seedlings. Well, lets just say it will be like a banquet for those loathsome creatures. I speak from experience, the damage caused by slugs unleashed in a cold frame can be heartbreaking. I don’t like using slug pellets, even though I buy the ones that aren’t supposed to be dangerous to wildlife but I now find a scattering in the cold frame is the best way to keep on top of them. Birds and hedgehogs don’t go into the cold frame so there is no danger of them coming into contact with them.

What wouldn’t you be without in your garden or on your plot? What piece of gardening kit has really made a difference for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.