May In The Gardens

May In The Gardens 2003

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Week 1

General
Shredding woody waste when it was too wet to get on the gardens.

Riveting engraved labels to aluminium pegs on wet days.

Pruned MAHONIA x media where they had outgrown their allotted space.

Planting in various parts of the gardens.

Took DAHLIA cuttings from tubers being stored in the heated greenhouse.

Potted up rotted cuttings of COLEUS and BRUGMANSIA taken earlier in the year.

Topping up bark pathways in the Woodland.

All DAFFODIL dead-heading now finished.

Students from the Vale of Catmose College in Oakham have prepared their bed between the Town Paradise Garden and the Courtyard Gardens by spreading well rotted horse manure and then digging it in. It is now ready for planting.

Allotment
Earthing up POTATOES.

Hoeing.

Planted out CABBAGE 'Cuor Di Bue' and BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Hamlet'.

Directly sown SWISS CHARD 'Bright Lights' and LEAF BEET 'Bute'.

Removed side shoots from all SWEET PEA plants and tied main shoot to supports.

Cleaned polythene on tunnels.

Moved early batch of TOMATOES into tunnel, put into position and attached strings from the pots to overhead wires.

Parterre
Directly sown LETTUCE 'Pandero', ROCKET 'Wild', ONION 'Redmate' and DWARF FRENCH BEAN 'Teepee'.

Nursery
Cleared all remaining module trays used for seed propagation out of the greenhouse and set up the mist system.

First batches of SEDUM cuttings taken from plants in the gardens.

Glass House
Potted all CUCUMBERS into 10 litre pots.

Potted all MELONS into 3 litre pots.

CAPE GOOSEBERRIES potted into 1 and 3 litre pots depending on how advanced the plants were.

Potted BASIL 'Neopolitan' and CELERY 'Lorreta' into 7cm (3") pots.

Potted the experimental PEPPERS from Suttons into 3 litre pots.

Sown SWEET CORN 'Indian Summer' and RUNNER BEAN 'Painted Lady into 10cm (4") pots).

Pinched out tops of established BASIL plants to bush them up.

Potted PEPPERS, AUBERGINES and TOMATO 'Tumbler' into 3 litre pots.

Harvested first crop of early POTATO 'Swift' grown in large containers on 2nd May - and very nice they were too!

Week 2

General
Painting fences around various gardens.

Pruning FORSYTHIA and RIBES as the flowers finish.

Spraying with soft soap in greenhouses and conservatory.

Put link stakes and metal 'grow thoughs' into position on the taller perennials.

Strimming rough grass areas and edged lawns.

Pruned fan trained PLUMS, CHERRIES and PEACHES.

Started clipping BUXUS hedging in various parts of the garden.

Allotment
Earthed up POTATOES and put leaf mould between the rows as a mulch.

Tied in SWEET PEAS.

Sideshooting TOMATOES in poly tunnel.

Direct sown a row of FRENCH BEAN 'Purple Teepee' and Radish 'Scarlet Globe'.

Planted out BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Braveheart', 'Brigit' and 'Red Delicious' and CABBAGE 'Greyhound', 'Red Sky' and 'Red Drumhead' and covered with netting also planted CELERIAC 'Snow White'.

Students from the Vale of Catmose College directly sowing part rows of RADISH, BEETROOT, CARROT and LEEKS.

Harvesting SPRING CABBAGE.

Hoeing between rows.

Parterre
Planted SWEET CORN and FRENCH MARIGOLDS.

Elizabethan Vegetable Garden
Planted THYMES, ORIGANUM, PARSLEY and FENNEL in the herb wheel.

Nursery
Vale of Catmose students sowing a variety of different summer bedding into modules to be used in their bed.

Taking SEDUM cuttings.

Glass House
Sown RUNNER BEAN 'Painted Lady' and FRENCH BEAN 'Sultana' into 7cm (3") pots.

Sown KOHL RABI 'Superschmeltz' into trays (seed received from National Vegetable Society and results to be recorded).

Sown BORECOLE 'Showbor', CURLY KALE 'Dwarf Green Curled', 'Nero de Toscana Precoce' and KALE 'Redbor' into trays.

Planted SWEET POTATO 'Beauregard'.

Set out PEPPERS, AUBERGINES and CUCUMBERS in their final positions.

Week 3

General
Finished pruning of early flowering shrubs such as VIBURNUM bodnantense, FORSYTHIA, LONICERA purpusii, and RIBES sanguineum varieties.

Made up and put out new benches in various parts of the garden.

Continuing to plant where necessary.

Allotment
Planted DWARF FRENCH BEAN 'Purple Queen', Snow White, 'Hestia', 'Slenderette' and 'Flamenco'; CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN 'Sultana'; RUNNER BEAN 'Enorma' and TOMATO 'Auriea', 'Alicante', 'Gardener's Delight' and 'Sungold'.

Sown LETTUCE 'Can Can' and 'Mini Green'.

Two students from the Vale of Catmose College dug, hoed and raked a piece of ground before sowing SPRING ONIONS.

Planted BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Bedford Filbasket', CABBAGE 'Greyhound' and 'Protovoy' and PUMPKINS under victorian style cloches.

Planted RUNNER BEAN 'Painted Lady' on alternate arches of the hazel archway leading to the allotment shed with the SWEET PEAS already planted.

Week 4

General
Planting out CANNAS, CHRYSANTHEMUMS and DAHLIAS.

Winter flowering HEATHERS have been given a light trim to tidy them up now they have finished flowering.

Allotment
Planted CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN 'Sultana'; FRENCH BEAN 'Purple Queen', RUNNER BEAN 'Enorma' and MARROW COURGETTE and SQUASHES.

Parterre
Planted FRENCH and AFRICAN MARIGOLDS.

Orchard
Edged the soft fruit beds with FRENCH and AFRICAN MARIGOLDS.

Reclaim Garden
Planted TOMATO 'Tumbler' into the tops of the chimney pipes.

Nursery
Started tidying plants ready for the display in the RHS Floral Marquee ate the BBC Gardeners' World Live Exhibition.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

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