|
July
Tips
|
||
|
Put
garden twine into an empty inverted 450g yoghurt pot. Make a hole in
the bottom and pull the end through. Keeps it tidy. If
you are disabled as I am and you love gardening, put raised beds in.
A bit costly to start with, but you will reap the rewards ten fold as
the years go on, as I have found. A
cheap and effective wat to protect strawberry fruit, is to cut the top
section off a plastic lemonade bottle and carefully place it over the
growing fruit. This will protect the fruit from pests, keep it clean
and act as a tiny greenhouse to promote ripening. If
you have to transport longer tools like hoes, rakes, etc. or don't yet
have hooks in your shed for hanging them up, slot them into some old
plastic drain pipes. It's better than tying them together - then just
stack in the corner. You can use leftover or old lino if you don't have
piping - simply roll it into a tube and stick with waterproof insulating
tape. We
have a double childrens swing in our garden, the type with one ordinary
and one "basket" type baby seat in a rather loud shade of orange plastic.
It only gets used by visiting relatives but would be a shame to lose
it. I have planted sweetpeas at the foot of the four corners of the
frame for the last two years. Wtih a bit of chicken wire wrapped round
the frame to give the plants a foothold, it has turned something I used
to resent for using up valuable planting space, into a positive asset!
Just make sure you use varieties bred for scent. Sweet
potatoes make great vines to fill in an ugly fence area. If
normal gardening gloves are too bulky for sewing fine seeds or handling
small plants etc buy thin evening and fancy day ware gloves at charity
shops and when they're worn through you can just throw them away and
buy more helping you and other good causes. To
thoroughly water dried out compost in seed trays, fill a cement mixing
tray with water, stand the seed tray in the water, and you will be surprised
how quickly your plants will perk up. Don't
throw away egg shells. Break them up and scatter round Hostas, Dahlias
etc.. wonderful organic method for keeping slugs at bay. Banana skins
are a good source of potassium for roses, bury them beside the plant
just below the surface of the soil. Sprinkle
salt in the centre of Dandelions and they disappear in only a few days! Fill
gaps with late flowering plants e.g Verbena Bonariensis, Schizostylis,
Sedums, Heleniums and Asters to have a show late into October and November. To
keep cats off your newly-tilled soil I use Cotoneaster prunings. When
the leaves drop off they blend into the soil & the myriad of small close
branches leaves nowhere for tender footed felines. As they arch they
can be stuck into the soil to prevent them blowing away. This is my
best 'discovery' yet! Buy
bracken compost as an environmentally friendly alternative to Peat.
Bracken is forage harvested each year to control it's spread - especially
in the New Forest and makes a useful compost. When
you take cuttings with a heel on them, instead of putting them in compost,
do as I do, out them in an earthenware small plant pot, then cut a 1.5ltr
clear soft drinks bottle in half and place the bottom half over the
plant pot. This is great as a cloche and the pot retains the water,
roots are produced quite quickly and very healthy too. When
planting any type of cabbage put a piece of rhubarb near the root to
combat club root. Keep
your salted vegetable/potato water to pour over the weeds on your patio. I'ts
always a good idea to save water, but mosquitoes tend to lay their eggs
in barrels of still water. one way of preventing flies that hatch from
leaving the cask is to pour a layer of cooking oil onto the water surface. Do
you have a problem with snails in your garden? Press five garlic cloves
and boil in 2 pints of water. Leave to cool and then water over the
problem areas. Crush some garlic and put around your plant. Best of
luck!
©1998 Gecko 55 Ltd. All rights reserved |
