Amateur Gardening 1-Jan-2022

“In my last column of 2021, I talked about the benefits AG readers can bring to the environment, and at the start of this year I would like to draw your attention to Peter Seabrook’s thought-provoking column on page 10. Peter talks a lot of common sense about how we deal with climate change, and there is an upside. If cutaway peat bogs can be reflooded that would be a great answer to the peat question, and why is it that no one else is talking about this? Lastly, well done to all the AG readers involved in the soil cleansing trial (see page 6). Let’s all have a great gardening 2022 and do our bit to help the environment as well.” Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 0330…

IAM sure I’m not the only person who casts an eye over their bank balance during the first week in January and resolves to tighten their belt and keep a firmer grip on the old purse strings. Unfortunately, gardening can be an expensive hobby, which is a worry at a time when bills and general expenditures are rising, but it doesn’t have to be this way and there are many ways to minimise costs. Away from the handson horticultural end of the business, take a look at where your money goes when it comes to buying all the necessary add-ons. Good quality compost, equipment, tools, feeds and supplements don’t come cheap and trying to skimp on any of them is simply a false economy. Lightweight tools break, cheap compost often doesn’t have the research…

IT sounds like a ridiculously obvious thing to say, but the best way to save money in the garden is to practice proper plant husbandry Start as you mean to go on, making sure the plants you buy are healthy and suitable for your soil and their position in your garden. Read the label carefully and make sure you plant where it will grow happily, and have enough room to flourish without crowding out other plants. Don’t buy an acid-loving rhododendron or blueberry if you have very chalky soil (unless you are planning to grow it in a pot of ericaceous compost) and don’t plant a climber on a sunny wall if its label says it prefers a cool, shady north-facing aspect. Tackle pests and garden hygiene head-on, before small niggles become major…

LORNA’S Seeds, the new scheme which extracts and upcycles heavy metals from garden soil using plants has entered the next stage of its development, thanks to Amateur Gardening readers. Dozens of readers responded to a call in AG to take part in the project, which asked them to sow a bag of seeds, then harvest the plants after six weeks and return them for ‘mining’ at Brunel University London’s Experimental Techniques Centre (ETC). The seeds, provided by Brunel, included a variety of plants including yarrow, mustard, oxeye daisies and Nemophila menziesii ‘Baby Blue Eyes,’ which turn a vibrant blue when high concentrations of aluminium are found. Dr Lorna Anguilano, a senior research fellow at the ETC and the founder of Lorna’s Seeds, said: “We had some very nice exchanges with participants really wanting…

WINTER, the skeleton of the garden is laid bare, so an ideal time to look at the overall landscape and decide if anything needs relocating. Between now and the end of February is also the best time for moving trees and shrubs that you think need relocating. However, remember that relocation is more likely to be successful if the tree or shrub has been in the ground for less than five years. Any longer and it is less likely to settle well into a new spot. Sun and wind can dry out roots during the move, so check the forecast and choose a cool, dull, still day. Speed is key, so prepare the planting hole before moving and once you have lifted the plant, wrap the rootball in plastic (a binliner is fine) for…

THE weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful – and while we may have no great incentive for getting into the garden, we can at least start sowing and growing undercover for the year ahead. Several ornamental and edible crops can be sown now, or prepared for shooting in early spring. In the flower corner we have bedding plants, lobelia, antirrhinums (snapdragons), pelargoniums and begonias as well as sweet peas. They can all be sown now to give you a head start come late spring and early summer when the frosts have had their day. Later this month you can also start thinking about sowing tomatoes and chillies, which need a long, slow germination in stable temperatures and good light undercover. You can also start swelling your ranks of edible crops…