AG gardening editor Kris Collins, shows you how to get your flower garden underway
Fill cell trays with sieved seed and cutting compost. Don’t compact the compost by pressing down, but do tap the tray to knock out trapped air.
Water the trays with a fine-rose watering can until you see water escaping from the drainage holes. Allow to drain fully…
Even though the weather has prevented me finishing my winter digging in borders, I did manage to venture into the greenhouse last weekend.
Trying to stay busy I decided to check over my potted plants for pests and diseases. One plant that caught my eye was a hellebore, which I bought bare rooted last autumn.
The foliage is showing signs of either…
Consumer editor Julia Heaton hand picks gloves to see which is the most thornproof
Best Buy 18/20
Tough Touch £26.95 (£2 p&p) Harrod Horticultural,
Tel. 0845 218 5301 www.harrodhorticultural.com
Build: 4
Hand is gold grain leather and the hide cuff has a suede feel. Available in both ladies and gents sizes.
Features: 5
The leather has been treated for more water resistance and the cuff is a…
AG garden editor, Kris Collins, is dusting off the heated propagator to gets his favourite summer crops underway
Fill cells with seed and cuttings compost. I sieve mine first, to take out all the lumps so there are no obstructions for root development.
Water the trays before sowing, to settle the compost and help seeds to stick firmly in place. Watering afterwards…
Plant begonia tubers now ready to early cuttings in spring, says AG garden writer Michelle
Fill a seed tray with light, sandy, loam-based compost. Or mix horticultural sand with multi-purpose compost. Adding leaf mould to the mixture will give the tubers perfect growing conditions.
Space the tubers in the tray, hollow-side up, about 2in (5cm) apart so they are not touching each…
Grit bin
Forget hunting down the local council grit bin – now making the garden path safe is a whole lot easier. You can have your very own on hand in the shape of the 30 litre mini grit bin from Seltek Warehouse. Made from a tough, recycled black polyethylene it comes supplied with a 25 kg bag of road salt…
I’m in my garden whenever I can manage it, but I have to admit that even I struggled to get out there this week. There was no snow, but the soil was rock-hard and frozen so no digging action for me!
Because of this I took advantage of my greenhouse and managed a bit of sowing, mostly chilies (with a few…
A distinct lack of space for a good-sized pond in your garden doesn’t mean you have to give up on the idea.
Now there’s the Pondable – a versatile garden feature comprising a chunky hardwood outdoor dining table with integral plug-in fishpond.
There’s no digging or setting up of complicated running systems involved and it requires just five minutes maintenance…
Got gaps to fill, or didn’t plant in autumn? Plant sprouted bulbs this weekend for a quick fix, says AG garden editor Kris Collins
Autumn is the traditional time to plant out dormant spring bulbs, but if you didn’t get round to the job last year, help is now at hand. Garden centres seem to have upped their game in supplying…
Want a quick fix green boundary or screen? ‘Trough’ hedging is an option, says AG garden writer Michelle
Although we have hit a cold spell, spring is just around the corner so if you are thinking of planting bare-rooted plants the time to do so is running out.
But don’t forget that many plants can be bought in containers and these can…
