Handy Gardening Tips...

We have a great range ofvegetable plants. Regularlyharvest rhubarb and remove anyflower spikes. Take care to coverup potatoes from late frosts.Beans hate cold and cold windsso protect them with fleece oncold nights, pot a few up andkeep them indoors as aninsurance in case the weatherturns cold.Now that the soil is warmer anddrier, continue to sow crops,taking care to sprinkle the seedsrelatively thinlyWhat To Do:Pot your vegetable plants usingJohn Innes No.2 pottingcompost.

Ensure that the soil around newfruit trees is not allowed to dry outwhile they become established,and keep grass away from trees forat least three years.Handy Tip: Push straw underripening strawberries.

Fruit

WVegetable Plants

Ideally, bedding plants should beplanted in May. But be awarethat cold nights and east windscan damage them, so you mayneed to fleece them in severeweather.Handy Tip:Use Gro Sure easy containercompost and Stay Wet+ slowrelease fertiliser with waterabsorbing granules.

After two or more mowings at ahigh setting, the mower heightcan be moved to the normalsetting. To keep the lawn in tiptop condition, aim to cut it oncea week. If you have unsightlybare patches, over seeding orturfing is the solution.We Recommend: Miracle Grosoluble lawn food, and use PatchMagic to fill bear spots.

Bedding Plants

LawnsHerbs

Flowers

Trees and ShrubsProtect ripening fruit from birdswith nets, harvest raspberries,blackcurrants, strawberries andrhubarb. Plum trees should bepruned to avoid overcrowding &any diseased branchesremoved. Small fruits will startnaturally dropping in June butto get the best-size fruits it’sworth thinning them out.Handy Tip: keep well-watered,use Vitax Vitafeed Flower &Fruit. Feed Tomatoes, peppers &chillies with Tomorite.

Tall growing perennials such asdelphiniums and lupins shouldbe staked otherwise they willflop and be weighed down bywind and rain.Handy Tip: support usingGardman hoops.

Fruit FlowersPrune flowering shrubs as soonas they finish flowering so theycan regrow and flower well nextyear. Prune rampant Clematis assoon as it has finished flowering.You can really cut it down at thistime of year. See our range of pruning shears.

Now is the time to sowvegetables such as leeks.Brussels sprouts and wintercabbages. Nearer the end ofJune, lift a few potatoes to checkif they are ready, and pick outsome of the larger ones forimmediate use.Handy Tip: keep well watered tostop plants like lettuce frombolting & feed with VitaxVitafeed Vegetable &Leafy Plants.

Vegetables

Pruning

Sadly this is the time of yearpests & weeds are about, thereare various things you can do todeal with thistles, nettles, aphids,slugs and other problems. We Recommend: SBK ToughWeedkill & Bug Clear Ultra forflowers, fruit & Veg

Pests & Weeds

MayOne of the busiest months in the gardening calendar, with plants catching up from their cold,

slow start and thriving under milder conditions. Everything is growing at a great pace,and the dark, cold winter seems like a distant memory.

JuneMuch of the heavier work, maintenance jobs and planting should be completedin the garden by now, leaving you more time to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

There’s is still plenty to be getting on with now. Here are some tips...

We stock HTA vouchers,which are a great gift idea.We are members of the Horticultural Trade Association (HTA)which promotes high standards in the gardening industry.

Weeds will be appearing thickand fast, so stay on top of them byweeding thoroughly, before theyhave a chance to seed and spread. Handy Tip:Mulching borders will preventweeds from taking over andconserve moisture.

This is the best month for making anew garden pond. If your pond hasturned green with algae, add moreoxygenating plants. Plant new waterlilies, and divide and replant existingones. A new filter system will ensurethe water is clear and healthy and addto your enjoyment of your pond.Replace old filter matting and UVbulbs. Add filter start and use AquaSafe after water changes.

Ponds

Hedges are beginning to sprout, sokeep well trimmed to prevent themfrom becoming too unruly. Mosthedge varieties can be left aloneuntil early summer, but some fastergrowing types need around threetrims each year.We Recommend:Feed with Liquid Seaweed fertiliserto give it a boost.

May is the month to plant herbs.Plant out the hardy ones: thyme, mintetc first and leave the more tenderherbs such as basil till early June. Plant a selection in Elho Grow YourOwn Raised Containers. Use JohnInnes to help keep in moisture toprevent salad leaves from bolting.

June is a great month forchoosing roses as the buds areforming and you can see thefirst flowers. Handy Tip: tie in some stems ofclimbing and rambling roses asnear to horizontal as possible.This will encourage lots of denseflowering shoots to come fromthem.

Roses

Autumn and spring planted treesand shrubs should be kept wellwatered during dry spells. If youwant a few large rose bloomsrather than a few smaller ones,take out the smaller buds on eachstem, leaving the largest one togrow on.

Trees and Shrubs

Avoid wasting water on lawns.Instead raise the height of thecut in dry spells to make thegrass more drought resistant.Continue to edge regularly, andfeed with a general fertiliser.Handy Tip: Feed with MiracleGrow Soluble Lawn Feed.

Lawns

CENTRE PAGES YHG MAG.qxp_Layout 1 22/05/2020 12:59 Page 1

JulyJuly can be a busy gardening season, a busy gardener is a productive gardener who will have ahealthier, bigger, more diverse harvest to enjoy. After the work is done long enjoy balmy evenings

with one of our rattan table & chair sets to extend your evenings in the garden.

Spring rains have ended & summerheat is picking up in July, stressingplants & making adequate watering apriority. Gardens should be wateredeither early or late in the day whenless water will be lost to evaporation,and drip systems are the best optionsto minimize water loss.Use: Hozelock Super Hose, no morehose kinking!

While most planting is complete byJuly, planting late autumn vegetables& blooms can extend the growingseason and provide a more bountifulharvest. Lettuce, cabbage, beets,broccoli, radishes, turnips, and pansiescan all be planted in July.Handy Tip: Top dress with farmyardmanure and 6X chicken pellets forcontinues feed.

Planting

Watering

As different flowers, vines and plants growtaller in July, it is important to stake andsupport them appropriately so they do notfall or break. When staking plants,however, keep ties loose so the plants arenot choked as they continue to grow.Use: Obelisks for very tall plants or growhoops to keep them together.

Plant kale and sprouting broccoli, andsow parsley, turnips, lettuces, salad onionsand radishes. Pick courgettes when theyare relatively young to encourage morefruit to form. Keep plants in frames wellwatered to avoid drying out.Handy Tip: Feed weekly with Tomorite orevery 2 weeks with Growmore.

Vegetables

Tall Plants

Weeding is a never-ending garden task,and even during hot July days it isessential to remove unwanted plants thatcompete for water and soil nutrients.Weeds will be easier to pull when thesoil is damp, so it can be better to weedimmediately after watering the garden.Handy Tip: To make weeding easier usea good quality hoe to dig up thoseweeds.

Keep Weeding

Propagate Plants

PotsFeed your tubs and containers at thistime of year to keep them going allsummer long. You might need: slowrelease, liquid and granular fertiliser.Liquids are best for containers, andgranular feeds for the garden: lawn,fruit and vegetables.Use: Miracle Grows range of solubleor slow release granular feeds.

This is a good time to sow seeds of winterflowering pansies and smaller, but resilient,violas. By sowing them now, they should beestablished by autumn, and ready to flowerthroughout the winter period.Use: Grow It range of seed trays, & JohnInnes No1 Potting Compost.

Flowers

Take softwood cuttings of your favouriteshrubs by cutting a piece of new stemabout 15cm in length, and removing allbuds and leaves except for a few at theend. Space these out in a pot of sandycompost, leave in a shady corner andwater well. In a few weeks, the cuttingswill have formed roots, and you will beable to pot them individually.Handy Tip: It’s important to keepwatering even mature shrubs thathave been planted a while.

pp

Trees and Shrubs

July is the perfect time to propagateshrubs, herbs and spring perennials tospread plants to other parts of the garden.Choose only the healthiest plants forpropagation, however, and care for themwell to encourage luxurious growth.Use: Growmore Granular or Blood Fishand Bone round the roots whenpropagating.

AugustGarden activity should now be slowing down after the previous months of accelerated growth.

Fruit, Vegetables, herbs, perennials, roses, bedding plants should all be in full flower.Watering will be necessary, but give yourself time to relax too!

You should now be able to reap therewards of all your hard work.Harvest onions, garlic, shallots andrunner beans and gather herbs. Digup early potatoes and dry in the sun.Keep broccoli well watered as theheads form. Tidy your vegetablepatch, placing the remains of cropsthat have been harvested on thecompost heap. Make sure the runnerbeans and peas do not go short ofwater. Use: Tomorite.

Hanging baskets and pots should bewatered daily and fed weekly.Be sure to remove the dead leavesand stalks, monitor pests.House plants will appreciate a spell inthe open air, place them where lightis dappled, but not scorching.Use: Miracle Grow Multi purposeWater Crystals.

Pots

Vegetables

Remove all dead head flowers, leavesand stalks, and continue with weedingand watering. Train wisteria,honeysuckle and clematis before theshoots grow out of control, and disbuddahlias. This is a good time to takecuttings of many plants, rooting them inpots of sandy compost.Use: Obelisks and plant ties.

Give hedging a last clipping of the season,and remove all dead flowers and stalksfrom summer flowering shrubs, unlessthey produce berries.Use: Hedge shears/Telescopic shears.

Trees & Shrubs

Flowers

Most perennial weeds are best dealtwith when they are actively growingbecause the weed killer relies onthe liquid being taken into the plant(the weed thinking it is being givena drink). This will ensure that theroots are killed along with theleaves. Aphids & greenfly can alsobe a problem in dry weather theyare usually found on the undersideof leaves.Use: Bug Clear Ultra for flowers,fruit & veg.

Weeds & Aphids

Essential Tools

PlantingPlant autumn crocus corms now, atthree or four times their own depth indrifts at the front of the border,between small perennials, or in rockgardens, troughs or pots. You can alsocan start planting crocus, snowdrops& bluebells from mid August.Use: Bulb planting compost

If there has been a spell of hot dryweather, set the mower on a slightlyhigher setting, and trim less frequently.Use: Lawn edgers and grass shears.

Lawns

A good gardener always plans ahead andthere are a variety of flowers & vegetablesthat you can sow in August such asForget-Me-Not, Pansies, Violas &Antirrhinum. You can also sow cabbage,turnip, pak choi.We stock: Mr.Fothergills seeds.

Seeds To Sow

Soil can become hard and compactedover time so to make planting easier andto provide better growing conditions thetilth of the soil should be quite fine.A good quality garden rake should bestrong enough to break up clumps of soiland pull out stones. Garden rakes can alsobe used to mix fertilizer and compost, orspread mulch over soil to retain moistureand improve its quality. We also havemany garden tools from spades to shears.A brand we stock: Moulton Mill.

We Hope You’veFound Some Of TheseHandy Tips Useful

CENTRE PAGES YHG MAG.qxp_Layout 1 22/05/2020 13:00 Page 3