Amateur Gardening 25-Aug-2018

IS it really the August Bank Holiday? Part of me is sad because it feels like the curtain is on the verge of falling on this glorious summer, but another part is looking forward to some rain. (Feel free to remind me of that in a few months’ time when everything is waterlogged and the sun is a distant memory.) As usual, many people’s long weekend will involve the garden, either catching up on essential tasks or enjoying being outside. Much of my weekend will be spent dealing with the consequences of the very dry summer. If the past few weeks have proved one thing, it’s that you can never have too many water butts so I’m installing another one. Butts, connectors and stands are widely and relatively cheaply available from DIY outlets…

1 Place your butt on its stand close to a downpipe. Using a spirit level, mark where the two will connect. 2 The diverter kit should include a strip to show where to cut your drainpipe. A hacksaw will cut cleanly. 3 Join the drainpipe back together using the diverter and attach the water hose that will lead to the butt. 4 Using a drill, carefully make a hole in the butt where the diverter hose will go (the location should be marked). 5 Insert the hose into the newly drilled hole, put the lid back on the butt and you are ready to collect rainwater! 6 Attach your butts to where the water is needed, such as a shed or greenhouse downpipe.…

1 In drought conditions, provide fresh water for birds and garden mammals such as hedgehogs. Make sure your birdbath is kept clean. 2 Keep adding green and brown garden waste to composts, plus a little high-potassium barbecue ash as long as it doesn’t contain food scraps. 3 Use dry days to protect wood and metalwork. Sand it down if necessary first and wipe off any dust and debris with a damp cloth. 4 Keep an eye on pest numbers. Slugs and snails will emerge in the cooler, damper weather so set beer traps for them. Chafing chafers: In next week’s AG (out August 28) I look at autumn lawn pests and problems and how to deal with them.…

THOMPSON & Morgan invited AG to its new Floral Fantasia garden display at RHS Hyde Hall in Essex recently to see some of their new plants for 2019. For those who have not yet visited, Floral Fantasia is an amazingly colourful display we would recommend to everyone. Of the new plants featured here, the tomatoes and spring onions will be availble as seeds in September and the rest will be available as either postiplugs or jumbo plugs in late December. Alstroemeria — Everest collection In pink, purple and orange-striped colouring to give a bright, zesty outlook. Height 5ft (1.5m). Sold as jumbo plugs. Bidens — ‘Stop light’ VPBI 15/6 A genus of the aster family, this variety comes in unique colours for bidens. Height 8in (20cm). Sold as postiplugs. Tomato — Red Profusion Claimed as best variety…

DARLAC has added a new pair of crosscut secateurs to its Expert Range. Called the Rhino (after the shape of the blades), the secateurs weigh 260g, with an overall length of 8½in (21.5cm) and cut capacity of 1in (25mm). The blades are made of SK5 carbon steel, while the handles are of drop-forged and anodised aluminium. I tried the Rhino out on an overgrown forsythia and a climbing rose. The secateurs coped with the rose with ease and made short work of the forsythia – so much so that I ended up spending far longer than I intended cutting it back. The secateurs were well balanced and easy to use, with a solid safety catch. Cutting was sharp and precise. Priced £29.99, the Rhino Expert Bypass secateurs come with a lifetime guarantee against ‘defect…

A NEW, organic soil improver made from live charcoal will be available to gardeners from September 1. Biochar Soil Booster is made in Sussex by community land project Sacred Earth. The charcoal base is baked at a low temperature so it retains beneficial organisms that are key to soil health. It is then mixed with soil-enriching ingredients, including comfrey tea, soil from worm casts, seaweed and biodynamic compost preparations. Because the product is ‘live’, it should be used within a fortnight of purchase, but once added to the soil it will slowly break down and enrich it. Sacred Earth founder Phil Greenwood said: “Soil health is a critical issue that we all need to be concerned about. United Nations research shows that a third of all soil on our planet is ‘severely…