Amateur Gardening 18-Jun-2022

“By the time you read this, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 will be a memory, and (for the first time in a while) a positive one for me. Why? Classic plants are back at Chelsea. Recent years have seen a decline in traditional planting and an emphasis on landscaping with trees, shrubs, even weeds and unfortunately concrete and rusty silos. This ugliness was ignored, like the Emperor’s New Clothes, as commentators waxed lyrical about designs that bore no relation to what most gardeners would really want. But there was a palpable sense of relief this year that we could talk about plants again. Let’s hope this is a positive sign of change at future shows.” Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 0330 3906566…

EVEN though we’re in the busiest season of the year, it is still worth making time to fill any emerging gaps with summer bedding and use the leftovers to create colourful pots and baskets. Early spring plants will have had their moment, leaving bare patches in their wake. Bedding, which is relatively cheap and still widely available in garden centres and supermarkets, is the perfect way of adding instant and long-lasting interest to the garden. As with all aspects of growing, the health and longevity of your display starts before planting. You will get the best results by buying healthy plants, enriching the soil where they are to grow, using good quality fresh compost if growing in containers, and feeding and watering consistently. It also pays to be a bit left-field in your…

ONCE you’ve planted your containers and baskets, beds and borders, and they are growing well, the next thing to do is keep them healthy and flowering for as long as possible. Feeding and watering regularly are the obvious top priorities, though take care when using peat-free compost as it can look dry on the surface but still be well hydrated underneath. This can make gardeners think they need to add more water when in fact the opposite is needed. To check, stick a finger in the compost up to the first knuckle; if it feels dry, add water, but if there is still moisture there, check again the next day. Lots of plants in a container will gobble up all the original goodness in the compost, so start feeding with liquid tomato fertiliser…

THE oldest cliché in gardening – ‘the answer lies in the soil’ – still rings true. Good gardeners know that enriching soil gives bigger flowers and bumper harvests of fruit and veg. With the horticulture industry united in belief that there is no reason to use peat to improve soil structure, what are the latest sustainable soil improvement options for gardeners? Eco-friendly compost maker Melcourt Industries points to SylvaGrow Farmyard, which has replaced its Farmyard Manure. “It is completely free of animal products, making it suitable for use by vegans,” technical director Catherine Dawson told AG. “It is now made with anaerobic digestate, the solid byproduct of the renewable energy process. It is uniform, looks like farmyard manure and has a virtually identical nutrient content which, like manure, is released over a long…

ANOTHER rapidly growing peat-free brand of soil improver, Bloomin Amazing, is also made from digestate – and the company claims it doesn’t even have to be dug into soil, unlike peat. A spokeswoman said: “We recommend Bloomin Amazing for digfree gardening, where it’s applied as a mulch. It makes an excellent soil conditioner that helps to retain moisture. Gardeners report that it deters slugs. An excellent soil conditioner “We had good results using Bloomin Amazing as a mulch around all plants, including ericaceous. However, we recommend using an ericaceous mix for soil incorporation when planting acidloving shrubs.” If digestate doesn’t appeal, gardeners can try Westland’s Bio-Life Soil Improver. It’s a blend of manure and bark that claims to improve soil structure and fertility, creating a more open, freedraining soil that retains nutrients and is easier…

WHAT options are available for gardeners who don’t have a compost bin? Charlotte Beaty, director at Natural Grower, a brand of soil improver made from digestate from a maize-fuelled renewable energy plant, is keen to wean gardeners off farmyard manure. Charlotte says: “Traditionally, gardeners used horse manure or compost as a soil improver. Horse manure can contain pyralid weedkiller, which risks polluting soil, stunting the growth of crops. “Compost adds organic matter but is broken down quickly and doesn’t provide many nutrients. Our soil improver breaks down slowly, and can be added as a mulch on the surface, mixed into the bed or used when planting.” Consistent nutrient value She adds that the product range is ‘pH-neutral’, so they don’t adversely affect the acidic balance of soil or compost, claiming that diluting Natural Grower…