Fact Sheet Eighteen
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THE GARDENERS DIARY
WEEK 18
30th January 2005
THE DIARY HOW TO PLANT SHALLOTS 1. Single dig the soil and feed some goodness in. Compost or well rotted manure would be ideal. 2. Make Sure you leave enough space between crops to walk along and tend over the coming months. 3. With the short edge of a rake create a small trench which is roughly 4" deep and try and keep the trench straight. 4. Push bulbs into the ground by hand leaving half the bulb uncovered. 5. Plant bulbs the width of a rake or roughly 9 inches apart 6. Using the end of the rake or a spade lightly cover the shallots. 7. Make sure you mark where you have planted your crop. You could use stakes or canes but don't lose track of where your crop is.
THE DIARY
FLOWER GARDEN JOBS:
Tidy your perennials.
Your herbaceous border perennials now need your attention. A good clean and tidy now needs to be done.
Remove all dead and dying growth. Weeds should be removed in aid to stop them smothering the young growth of your plants.
Old and tired plants which are well-established should be lifted and divided.
Tease the over-grown clump out of the ground with the aid of a border fork.
Once the clump has been lifted place it onto some sheeting and then using a second fork split the clump into as many plants as you need. Ideally keep each clump the size of a fist.
With the perennial now lifted and split; dig the planting area over whilst adding some organic matter and slow release fertilizer. This will give the plants some nourishment to encourage them to re-establish.
Any plant material that is surplus to requirements can be planted in any spaces that could appreciate being filled.
If you can't find any spaces which need filling then plant the remainder of the lifted border plant into containers?
One thing I would suggest before you give away the access plant material to friends and relations, always keep a few plants back just in case the ones in the border fail. FLOWER GARDEN JOBS: Time to start scalping!
With signs of life in the garden starting to show its time to go into the shed or garage blow the dust off your tools and bravely venture out into the wide unknown.
This week is a good sign to start the hard pruning around the garden. Buddleia, summer flowering forms of Spiraea, Cornus and Roses are just some of the victims which will require a drastic prune.
A lot of people when it comes to pruning have the tendencies to prune too little off and their prize garden quickly over grows and they then rip out perfectly healthy plants due to their own cultural mistakes.
When pruning your plants always prune away from the bud about 5mm above and at a forty-five degree angle. Also when pruning if you are not sure always check your garden books or consult your local garden expert if you are not sure.
Buddleia and Cornus and other late summer flowering deciduous shrubs should be trimmed down to around 30cm. This will encourage plenty of new growth and flower. Spiraea can be trimmed as drastically as 10cm in height.
FRUIT & VEGETABLE JOBS: Feed fruit trees.
Top fruit such as Apples, Pears, and Plums etc. will benefit from a good top dress of fertiliser.
Use a granular fertiliser like Vitax Q4. When applying sprinkle about a handful around the base of each plant and also top dress with some soil improver or organic matter which helps enrich the soil structure.
If your trees are in a grassed orchard remove a 90cm diameter of turf around each tree which will help the feed to get to the tree and not to the lawn.
LAWN CARE JOBS: Scatter worm casts.
Lawns man everywhere now can breathe a sigh of relief as work can finally start on the lawn.
Worm casts will be in the first concern. This regurgitated soil should be carefully swept onto borders using a besom or ekel broom.
Only do this if the weather is fine and when the lawn is dry. LAWN CARE JOBS: Relay stepping stones
Lawns with stepping stones passing through them will need some attention. Not so much to the lawn but to the stepping stones.
Where the stones have been used to feed the birds and to put the washing out they will have compacted the soil beneath them and if you don't corrected them they could soon cause puddles to form on the lawn thus causing future problems.
Lift the slabs carefully and then rake the soil beneath. Apply some fresh sharp sand and firmly knock back down checking that they are level with the lawn using a plank and a spirit level.
Check with the plank to make sure that your lawn mower will glide freely over the top of the stepping stone. GREENHOUSE JOBS: Sow for an early crop of Cues.
For an early crop of Cucumbers then you will need to sow this week.
Plant each seed into an individual pot using a seed and cutting compost. Push them sideways into the compost then if possible place each pot onto a heated propagator. This will encourage the seeds to germinate.
Once they have germinated, place the seedlings as near to the glass in your greenhouse as possible. This will help to prevent them becoming spindly and drawn.
Nurture the plants until they start to produce their first set of mature leaves. Once this occurs plant 2 plants per grow bag or individually into cropping pots and then grow on.
Keep the crop moist at all times but never let it get waterlogged. The temperature should be kept at a steady 60-70'F at all times inside the greenhouse.
Train the plants up a vertical wire or cane and pinch out the leader once it reaches the top of the roof/cane.
Try and grow an all-female strain which will save you time in removing unwanted male flowers. The difference between these is the female flower will have what resembles a small cucumber behind it.
Once fruit has set, count two leaves on from the miniature cue and then pinch out the tip. Another job which will need to be done is any shoots which grow flowerless, allow them to get 60cm in length and then pinch out.
As the fruit starts to swell feed every two weeks with a high potash feed like Tomorite.
Crop fruit once it is of a reasonable size.
GREENHOUSE JOBS: Plant up over-wintered Dahlia's.
Those of you whom have over-wintered Dahlia's from last year should now fetch them from their resting place and start planting them up into pots ready for planting out later on in the spring.
Check tubers for signs of distress and any which are badly covered in mould should be thrown and replaced with new stock.
Once potted up water the tubers in and place in a warm position.
A little tip to consider is as you pot up the tubers place a plant support or stake whilst the plant is still dormant. This will save you having to support later when you plants start shooting and will also help you stop damaging the tuber and its root system.
If you haven't over wintered any Dahlia or would still like to try growing some then your local garden centre or nursery should have a wide range of decorative and ornamental varieties available.
PEST PROBLEM FOR THE WEEK: Slugs/Snails
As tidying up on your flower borders continues it can be worth watching out for slugs and snails feeding on the young growth of herbaceous perennials.
Once areas are tidied, apply some slug pellets or apply one of the alternative measures available on the market, though neither are as affective as the old organic method
place the slug/snail on block A and then hit it with block B.
Listen to The Gardener's Diary with Luke Ashmead on BBC Three Counties Radio every Sunday afternoon at 2.00pm Contact The Gardener's Diary Here BBC Three Counties Radio 98, 103.8, 95.5 and 104.5FM | 
