Fact Sheet 35
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THE GARDENERS DIARY
WEEK 35
29th May 2005
THE DIARY THE FLOWER GARDEN: Start planting out bedding schemes. Now that the threat of ground frost has gone. Bedding plant lovers up and down the country will be placing their plants into their resting places. Keen gardeners will raise their own plants and will have their schemes planned out. For those of you who aren't so organised there are plenty of plants and ideas which can be found at your local garden centre. Choose plants which are going to do well in the positions you have chosen. Another thing is to ensure the area is well prepared. Turning the area over with your fork and as you do this dig in some organic compost and make sure that you break up any large lumps especially if you are on a heavy soil. Once the area has been turned over it should be raked. Before you start raking it can be worth adding some time release fertiliser to the soil. This will encourage your bedding plants to establish and will also save you time later in the season feeding your plants. Once this has been scattered in rake the area over so it is left in a fine tilth. Whatever you decide to plant in the way of bedding remember to keep dead heading all of your plants. This will enable you to enjoy you plants throughout the summer and into the early autumn.
THE GREENHOUSE: Splash it all over!
With the doors, roof and louver vents wide open. The temperature inside your glasshouse can still be scorching. One easy way to reduce the temperature is to damp down inside the greenhouse. Damping down is easily done by splashing water on the floor. This will need to be done at least 2-3 times a day. Damping down will also reduce pest problems like red spider mite and whitefly. These prefer dry, arid atmospheres so by increasing the humidity you will also reduce the amount of pest control needed through the summer period.
FRUIT & VEG: Watch onions for flowers!!!
Onions which were sown in the autumn or those which have been grown from sets will need to be watched. Do not allow them to flower. If you have noticed flowers being produced by your crop then snap them off and remove them. If left the bulbs will bolt which and go to seed, reducing the size of your onions and crop. LAWN CARE: Summer mowing! The never-ending job of summer mowing starts this week. Areas of grass and turf will need to be cut at least twice a week. Keep an eye on the weather if it turns dry start irrigating well in the evening.
DISEASE PROBLEM OF THE WEEK: Rust on Snapdragons.
If you have noticed that your Antirrhinums have produced brown concentric rings or circles on the underside of leaves. A yellow chlorotic halo develops around each patch of spores. If untreated the yellowing will continue to the upper side of the leaf. These affected leaves will slowly die and if left untreated the rust will spread to stems and flower buds. These severely infected plants will fail to flower and may even die. Treatment is difficult on this particular disease. Badly infected plants are best removed and destroyed. If the disease is in its early stages then remove the infected leaves and then spray with a fungacide. Repeating this treatment every two weeks. At the end of the season remove all the Snapdragons from the area and do not plant them for two consecutive seasons.
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 94.7, 98, 103.8, 95.5 and 104.5FM | 
