Posts Tagged ‘weeds’ < back
Post holiday blues
23rd Aug:
Post holiday blues.
We are now at that time of year when most of us have returned from our long awaited summer holidays, the weather is awful (its’ raining as I write) and not only does it not feel like we have been on holiday, but sometimes it feels like we need another one.
The garden is probably overgrown and if the irrigation system has been working as it should, it is all looking very lush and the grass is about six inches long. I know you are all desperate to get out there and sort it all out but below are a couple of hints for you.
1. Even if the grass is very long don’t put your mower on a low setting and cut it right back. For the first cut having returned from holiday give the grass a small trim first and then a couple of days later reduce the height a bit more and cut again. This will stop the grass from going into shock and allowing weeds to get established.
2. After a long hot summer (we wish!) The ground will be quite hard and now would be a good idea to spike the ground (aerate) to allow water to penetrate further down to the deeper roots. Also give the grass a feed.
3. The latter part of the summer is also the best time to prune many midsummer-flowering shrubs to keep them vigorous and flowering well.
A lot of you may have been having problems with your Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) this year and are finding them either dying or struggling to survive. This is due to a disfiguring disease that has hit the whole of the UK. The disease is called Impatiens downy mildew and they reckon has been encouraged by our damp cool summer. At the moment there is not a lot we can do as the usual fungicides aren’t working.
On a more cheerful note, I hope you all have had a good summer and if there is anything we can help with, even if it is just some advice please feel free to give us a call.
Gardening jobs for April
16th Mar:
Jobs for April
1) Slugs and snails – they’re starting to wake up, so do beware! It’s early days, but a mild spell will see them destructively active, and they will munch up any tasty new shoots and growth. Slug pellets are effective, but a risk for birds and pets; nematodes are effective – highly effective, easy to source online through mail-order; birds are great – entice them with food and water, and enjoy their company; copper tapes around pots is great, but slugs can come up through the holes in the bottom and bypass; anti-slug drenches are very effective – they will wipe out everything in sight, but they’re very strong, and aren’t good for soil organisms. Do your research, and consider your options. If you have a ‘major slug problem’ – accept it, and adapt. There are many plants that slugs won’t touch – even some varieties of Hostas (their favourite).
2) Lawns – time to kill that moss. Use a drench or spray, and get on top of it now. Scarify in a month, and give your grass room to grow and re-colonise. Perfect time to lay new turf, and it’s fine to reseed a lawn now. Have a look, and think that if ‘it looks bad now, imagine it in the hot Summer months’ – now is the time for major repairs, or starting-from-scratch, or simply improving what you have.
3) Pruning – it’s not too late to prune your Roses, ornamental grasses, deciduous shrubs etc… get them ready for their new growth. Prune your Dogwoods, and other Winter-interest-stem-plants. Get them right down low, and they shall shoot back up. Shrubs that flower in late-Summer can still have drastic pruning work, and will still flower. Late Spring/early Summer-flowering shrubs should be left, unless you can accept them not flowering this year.
4) Pot plants – get them re-potted now, if they look like they could do with the extra room. Top dress plants that are happy in their pots with a good few inches of compost – ‘proper’ compost, either manure, or home-made; never ‘multi-purpose’.
5) Plant, plant, plant – it’s still a perfect time to get large and mature, specimen shrubs into your garden. They’re dormant, so require little in the way of watering, and availability is good for ‘instant’ hedges, trees, and mature plants. Perfect time to invest, and think of the near-future.
6) Weeding. Dig over those beds and catch your weeds before they go to seed and spread. Trust me thos will save a lot of time later in the year.
