A couple of lovely summer days snuck in last weekend to give us a taste of what is to come, followed by a soft drizzle, perfect growing weather.Weeds are in full growing force now! but the soft damp ground makes them easy to hoe and pull out. Weeds need to be removed before they make seed or, you will be chasing them through the months to come.
I have been potting up seedlings I have grown from seed, lupins, Oriental poppies, delphiniums, penstemons, and nasturtiums. To give small seedlings the best chance to survive chewing pests it i best to pot seedlings into punnets or individual pots for roots to become established and top growth to become less tasty before planting out.
Strong growing plants like sunflowers and delphinium seeds need to be planted straight into peat pots and once the pot is filled with new roots plant pot and all into the ground, the strong roots will grow out through the pot as it breaks down.
Planting wildflowers can be a waste of time if the patch of ground becomes full of weeds before the wildflower seeds germinate. This year I am using the method of clearing the soil of weeds, then laying out sheets of newspaper soaked with a hose before piling potting mix on top to sow a wildflower mix into. The wet newspaper should suppress weed seeds from germinating, giving the wildflowers a chance to grow thickly.
Hostas are pushing fresh new leaves up for waiting slugs! put sharp gravel under hostas and spray with fish emulsion to deter them. In our past garden I had 6 little Pekin bantams who took care of snails and slugs, they are very short in the leg and their scratching is minimal compared to long-legged hens
Compost: The compost I have been cultivating over winter has lately been getting the heat needed to start working again, I was able to use bottom layers for adding to pots and the garden, it was full of worms and beneficial invertebrates. Start now to layer on the ground so worms can be drawn up (
not on concrete). Layer soft growth, seedless weeds and brown stalky growth, aged manure, kitchen scraps (no meat) soil and old compost. Keep water up to the layers as you build and you will have ready compost for autumn.
Lawns: Gypsum went on my lawn this week to help break down the clay, so far I have aerated, spread fine compost and fed with lawn fertiliser during rain and popped out many weeds with the blade of my secateurs, now I wait to see how it performs during summer.
Vegetables:
This is a good time to consider companion planting in the veg garden now all herbs are clumping up again. Nasturtium attracts caterpillars, so planting it alongside or around vegetables such as lettuces, broccoli, and cabbages should mean the nasturtium will get attacked rather than your edible crop. Marigolds have a scent that repels aphids and attracts hoverflies, which are predator insects, the lovely little tagetes, or French marigolds, are invaluable in companion planting. Cabbage white butterflies are attracted to their host plant by smell and planting rows of targets is effective in masking the smell and reducing cabbage moth damage. Secretion from the roots of Mexican tagetes deters eelworms and your potatoes and tomatoes are left alone. Tagetes and calendula marigolds planted near tomatoes will attract hoverflies to feast on pests. Basil and tomatoes are a well-known combination. Dill is popular with bees so attracts them into the garden, dill planted with corn will ensure a bumper crop with more bees to pollinate the corn strings. Sage is a herb to plant around a celery crop, Hyssop repels white butterflies from all brassica crops. Carrots and leeks work well planted together, they both have strong aromas, which repel pests.
Fruit:
With all fruit trees in blossom, it's sunny days we need to keep the bees busy working along with the help of windy days for pollination. Keep the water up to them and mulch with un-sprayed grass clippings right out to their drip line, they have a lot of work ahead of them growing plump, juicy fruit.
Cheers, Linda.
Wonderful Hostas.
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