Gardening Tips

Gardening enemy No 1 : slugs and snails. 

Tricky creatures who can decimate a bedding plant or lettuce overnight.  As soon as spring arrives, so do the slugs, nasty slimy creatures which can shred a Hosta overnight or devastate a tender Delphinium.

There are many effective ways to beat the slugs, such as beer traps, nematodes, picking and dispatching. The Sunday Gardener has detailed advice on how to beat the slugs.   

A great tip on what to do about a slug chewed bedding plant.  It is very disheartening, after planting rows of attractive summer bedding plants, to find that the slugs have had the best of them. Here is how to rescue a chewed up bedding plant.     

  Weeding is not everyone's favourite task in the garden.

You cannot eliminate weeding, but you can reduce it.

Three great tips on how to reduce weeding here's how to Beat the Weeds

There are lots of ways to save money in the garden, recycling, make your own plant mister, make sustainable plant labels, make a propagator and double your plants. 

How to turn 3 plants into 6 and lots more sustainable money-saving tips.

Lots of vegetables can be directly sown into the veg plot, but how to tell the emerging seedlings from weeds? 

Tip: sow seeds in straight lines because weeds don't grow in straight lines. 

When the tiny seedlings germinate, the seedlings can be hard to recognise. It's tricky to tell the seeds from the weeds. If you sow in a straight line, you will know which are the fledgling plants. Tips on Growing vegetables.

 Many plants need support, and they can be expensive to purchase. Commercial plant supports of metal and steel come with a price and can look intrusive. An excellent alternative is natural supports; whenever I am cutting down plants, whether it is removing saplings as in this image, or cutting down the Cornus, I keep the off cuts and they make ideal plant supports and pea sticks. I also think they look more attractive in the border than metal supports. More information on free plant supports.

It is a good idea to drain the water butt before the worst of the winter frost and cold. The image left shows what can happen if frost gets a hold.

Naturally, when the water freezes and it expands inside the water butt it can cause it to fracture, a costly mistake. 

More hints on winter gardening tips. 

To help get plants established, it is the roots which need watering, and regularly. One way to direct water to the roots, especially if you have planted on a slope where the water may just run off, is to sink a water bottle alongside the plant with the bottom cut off.

 When you water, put extra water into the bottle and it will run down deeper towards the roots.

This is also good for plants such tomatoes, as illustrated, where it is important to keep the water off the leaves to reduce disease. More about growing tomatoes.

If you are going on holiday, you will need to keep your plants, containers and hanging baskets happy and watered whilst you are away. Happy Holiday tips.

Later in the year, as the colder weather approaches, you need to bring tender non frost hardy plants under cover. It is expensive to buy new bedding plants each year. Many Pelargoniums, common name Geraniums and Fuchsias can be overwintered and planted out again next year. Plants for free.

One of the best ways to keep on top of weeds, especially in the veg plot is by hoeing. Running a hoe over weeds helps to keep them at bay. To make this easier when planting into the veg plot, plant a Hoe's width apart and then you can easily hoe in between rows to beat the weeds.