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Gardening
Tips
April,
Week One
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Use a 鈥 weed and feed鈥 treatment
on the lawn. The weedkiller and fertilizer
are combined in one application. |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: Use twigs off trees, especially
birch as support for peas and herbaceous
plants. |
| 3. |
Dig
a deep trench for sweet pea plants. Line
the base with newspaper to help hold water
and backfill with a mixture of soil and
moisture retentive compost. |
| 4. |
Remove
any growths which appear on the stems of
standard roses below the grafted head. Cut
them as close to the main stem as possible. |
| 5. |
Rake
the lawn with a wire rake before cutting
the grass. Any runners of buttercup and
clover will be raised and cut off reducing
the rate of spread. |
| 6. |
Where
bindweed is a problem among shrubs insert
canes. The weed will grow up the canes where
it can be sprayed with weedkiller without
damaging the shrubs. |
| 7. |
Old
hedges are a constant source of weeds. Dig
a trench 18 inches (45 cm ) deep in front
of the hedge and line it with polythene
to stop the weed roots spreading out into
the garden. |
April,
Week Two
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Fill a hessian sack or an
old pair of tights with chopped up barley
straw and place in the pond with a weight
to make it sink. It will control algae and
green water. |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: Some shrubs such as camellia,
rhododendron and hamamelis are expensive.
They will root by layering branches which
bend to ground level. It will take at least
12 months but you will have a large rooted
plant. |
| 3. |
An
effective method of preventing an attack
of carrot fly is to surround the young plants
with a 24 inch (60 cm ) barrier of horticultural
fleece. They can鈥檛 fly over the 鈥渨all鈥 to
lay their eggs. |
| 4. |
If you collect rainwater off the roof use
an old pair of tights over the end of the
gutter to strain out any debris or leaves. |
| 5. |
Sow
a few lettuce every two weeks to have a
continuous supply through the summer and
autumn. |
| 6. |
Don鈥檛
buy cheap grow bags for your tomatoes.You
get what you pay for and it may contain
peat without any nutrients. |
| 7. |
This
is a good time to repot house plants. Use
a pot one size up and leave the top inch
free of compost to allow for watering. |
| 8. |
Newly
planted hedges should be pruned back by
one third to encourage the plants to become
bushy with good side shoots. |
April,
Week Three
This weeks鈥 tips are methods of controlling slugs
and snails. Good luck!
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Training wall grown shrubs
and fruit trees to wires is quicker than
individually tying branches to masonry nails.
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| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: After burning branches use
the wood ash round the root area of fruit
trees.It is high in potash. |
| 3. |
Surround
treasured plants with coarse grit or crushed
egg shells. The don鈥檛 like crawling over
the surface on their bare tummies. |
| 4. |
If using pellets hide them under stones
where other animals can鈥檛 eat them. |
| 5. |
Plants
in containers can be protected by coating
the rim in vaseline. They won鈥檛 crawl through
it. Make sure none are lurking in the plant
or compost. |
| 6. |
Use
beer to trap them. A lovely way to drown! |
| 7. |
They
are attracted to the skins of citrus fruit.
Remove them each morning to the bin. |
| 8. |
If
pellets are used remove the bodies each
morning. They may not be dead. |
April,
Week Four
| 1. |
Time
Saving Tip: Cut the broken handle of
a spade down to 12 inches (30 cm ) and sharpen
the end. Now you have a good dibber. |
| 2. |
Money
Saving Tip: Foliar feed leafy house
plants which are looking tired. Don鈥檛 use
it on Begonia rex or Saint Paulias. |
| 3. |
Before
spraying horsetail weed with glyphosate
crush the stems with a stick or your feet.
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| 4. |
If
your soil is heavy,wet or clay, plant summer
bulbs such as gladioli on a layer of grit
or sharp sand for drainage. |
| 5. |
Fill gaps between shrubs with annuals for
summer show. |
| 6. |
Flood
glasshouse soil two weeks before planting
tomatoes. It will help to wash out unwanted
salts, the residue of last year鈥檚 feeding.
The soil will have drained by the time you
plant. |
| 7. |
Earth
up the early potatoes with soil to protect
the emerging shoots from frost damage. |
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