Fact Sheet Sixteen
Download here
THE GARDENERS DIARY
WEEK 16
16th January 2005
THE DIARY FLOWER GARDEN JOBS: Clean thoroughly. All over the garden leaves and dead twigs will be sitting underneath all your hedges and shrubs. These need to be removed and burnt or disposed of. The main reason for doing this is not only to get the garden tidier for spring but also that hibernating in all that rubbish are various pests and diseases which if not removed could cause serious damage to your crops and could make controlling them a costly and tiresome job.
GREENHOUSE JOBS: Start sowing Sweet Peas.
Now's the time to start sowing Sweet Peas. This can be done from now and all the way through till early March though you can wait till late March/early April and then sow them directly in their growing positions. Take 5-7 seeds and plant them into a 9cm container in some multi-purpose compost. Cover them with about 1 cm worth of compost. Water well and place them in the greenhouse. Once the seed has germinated allow the seedlings to grow to around 5cm and then start introducing them to outside conditions. Sweet Peas are a hardy annual so you do not need a heated greenhouse to be able to grow them. There are various varieties available, from dwarf varieties which can even be placed in containers for patio culture to rampant climbing varieties which will easily clamber up netting or trellis work. Wherever you decide to grow Sweet Peas their sweetly scented flowers are a must for the amateur or professional gardener alike. Coming shortly we will be sowing sweet peas and will include more in depth instruction on exactly how to do it.
FRUIT & VEGETABLE JOBS: Sow for an early crop of Tomatoes. This week sees the first sowing for an early crop of tomatoes. If you sow now you can probably guarantee your first fruit for early June. Sow your seed into a tray slightly covering the seed with some vermiculite which is a mineral used in potting and then place the tray under a propagator lid. If you possess a heated propagator then place your sown tomato seed and tray onto this to help guarantee an even germination. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle pot each seedling into a small pot and then grow on. Again something we will cover in more depth in future shows.
PEST PROBLEM OF THE WEEK: Watch your seedlings for damping off. Once your seedlings start to germinate you may find some of them keel over and die. This is what is known as damping off and it is caused by soil or water-borne fungi. This infection will normally occur when the soil around the seedlings is over-wet and in prolonged spells of raised temperatures. Other problems are over crowding of the seedlings, inadequate light and propagating materials and tools that have not been properly sterilized. To prevent this happening sow seeds thinly. Insure that all your equipment is clean and always water seedlings with mains water as water from a butt can be contaminated with fungal spores. Chemical measures can be used by drenching the compost with a copper-based fungicide. Some seedlings will also appreciate intervals of being watered with this throughout their progress.
GREENHOUSE JOBS: Try and maintain the temperature. Now seeds are being sown and germinating and existing plants are starting to re-shoot then it is worth ensuring that the heat in the glasshouse is kept at least a steady 12-15'C depending on what prize plants being grown. To keep this temperature steady make sure that heaters are working efficiently. Electric heaters are usually the best as they will have a thermostat which will shut off once the building gets to a particular temperature. Those of you without any electricity then paraffin heaters are the next best option. Paraffin heaters can be more difficult to control as they will burn at the right temperature you require though you have to make sure that you have plenty of paraffin and wick. Also the smell of burning paraffin is not the most desired smell in the world
FRUIT & VEGETABLE JOBS: Mulch under Gooseberries.
If you possess some Gooseberry bushes then this week they need to be shown some attention. Mulch with some well-rotted manure or soil improver to add some organic matter to the area 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 | 
