Fact Sheet Nine - Download here THE GARDENERS DIARY
WEEK 9
28 November 2004 HOW TO CREATE A HERB PLANTER: 1. Choose what you will plant your herbs into. Janet chose a trough type planter but herbs will grow in anything. It really depends on the amount of herbs you'd like to plant. 2. The nearer to the house you locate the planter the better because you want easy access to the herbs for cooking. 3. Whatever you use make sure you line the bottom with broken pots or stone for drainage. Ensure you don't cover the drainage holes. 4. You might want added protection from slugs who like to use the drainage holes as access to the herbs.
5. Plasterboard tape is great because it acts as a mesh over the holes. 6. Once the drainage has been sorted fill the planter about 3 inches from the top with compost. You are now ready to plant your herbs. 7. When planting your herbs try and think about the size and spread of the plant. We planted a bay leaf which can grow very large so we placed that at the back of the planter. It's up to you but be aware of the way the herb grows. 8. You can plan where the herbs are going to go by placing the herbs still in the pots on top of the soil. This is a good way to see how different combinations would look before you plant. 9. The next step is to plant the herbs making sure the roots are fully covered and don't forget to water the freshly planted herbs. 10. Great smelling herbs to bring fragrance to your garden and flavour to your cooking.
THE DIARY
FLOWER GARDEN JOB: Beat the winter gardening blues. With December starting this week; digging, cleaning and tidying of the flower garden should continue as long as the weather permits. Hold back on trimming herbaceous plants that have died down as the old growth will help to insulate the crown of the plant against the adverse weather The persistence of doing a little often can cover a great amount of work in spite of the shortness of the days.
It is an advantage to complete as much as possible before the festive season sets in and of course looking at previous year's a lot of our bad weather doesn't usually set in until January and February. If all the major jobs are done and dealt with then why not push on with some constructional work; dig out those new beds that you aim to create; extend the rock garden or build the pergola you've always wanted. The possibilities are endless whilst the weather holds. GREENHOUSE JOB: Remember to ventilate. Ventilation is necessary at this time of the year to help remove some of the condensation and to keep the air from turning stagnant. To do this, open a ventilator that faces away from the wind. Close it down by mid-afternoon and only do this on milder days. FRUIT & VEGETABLE JOB: Plan for next year. Another job to do this week is to browse through your seed catalogues and also review the previous year. Complete notes of the past growing seasons triumphs and failures. Then re-plan the coming season. Try and purchase your seed as soon as possible to avoid disappointment or alternatively make a Christmas list and get your relations and friends to buy them for you. LAWN CARE JOB: Turf as long as possible. If the weather is fine you can continue to create new areas of lawn by laying turf but this will cease as soon as the weather worsens. 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 | 
