June 2009

Top at the shops

The Garden Industry Manufacturers Association (GIMA) has recently given its awards for the best products of the past year. These included:

• Environmental Award – the Rotak 34 battery powered mower from Bosch
• Equipment & sundries – a Reusable Growbag from Gardman
• Garden landscaping – David Domony Weave Paving from Aggregate Industries
• Tools & Equipment – Powerstep Loppers from Fiskars

So if you want to find out what the industry themselves think are the best products, check out the GIMA website.

Thinking ahead

We are only just passing the longest day and already plans are in hand for autumn garden treatments, particularly for the lawn. Feeding your grass in autumn helps toughen it up to face the winter, so look out for good early offers on products like these when you visit the garden centre.

 Best sellers this week

Unbelievably, Gardman solar lights are still at the top of the chart, followed by Scotts Tomorite (well, we’ve got all those best-selling tomatoes from the spring lists to keep alive!) and Apta pot toppers.

Pruning at the RHS

Staff at the RHS are worried about their jobs in light of the news that around 80 full-time posts are to go to save costs. Many of the gardeners will also lose their homes if their jobs go, as they live in tied accommodation. Many lower-paid staff are annoyed that they are at risk, when consultants on high salaries seem safe.

Hampton Court

For the first time, children will be given free admission to the RHS Hampton Court flower show this year. Two under-16s will be allowed with each paying adult on certain days. Full details are on the RHS website.

Peat hysteria

The debate about peat is escalating with calls for a “peat tax” on its use that will drive many growers out of business. Some plants simply will not grow in the replacements for this natural material and the growers are worried that without it, they will have to fold and plant development and breeding will cease.

Open days

If you enjoy growing bedding plants (or if you need persuading) then summer open days at the major seed and young plant production companies are a fantastic day out. Ball Colegrave, Thompson & Morgan, Mr Fothergills and Suttons all open their trial grounds to the public to show off their best sellers and new lines that will be on sale in the future. Check their web sites for details and be one step ahead of your neighbours!

Slugging it out

These June showers are brilliant for the plants, but are also very good for the pest life in your garden. You need to be vigilant with your slug control now or you’ll lose new shoots without even realising, because they’ll be grazed off as they emerge. With veg plants in full growth, we’re trying one based on ferric (iron) phosphate this year – it’s not harmful to other wildlife and actually becomes a plant fertiliser as it decays.

Look out

On the subject of wildlife, so far this week in our (very small) garden, we’ve seen a toad, a frog (puzzling, as we don’t have a pond), several hedgehogs, a sand lizard and more solitary bees than you could count. Yes, we’re in the South East of England and live quite close to a common, but it goes to show that you need to be alert as you mow the lawn or spray any insecticides. If you have to spray, do it in the evening when the bees aren’t flying and avoid using derris (if you still have any) as, despite its claims to being organic, it kills every insect, not just the ones you don’t want.

Getting choosy

Specialist nurseries are booming as people tire of the poor choice and quality of plants in garden centres, and the lack of proper advice from the staff. A survey found that although people are spending slightly less per visit, they are being much more selective in their choice of plants and are rediscovering plants that evoke memories of parents and grandparents. Species like Dahlias and Chrysanthemums are hugely popular, but many younger gardeners have forgotten them, because the current TV programs favour trendy plants and fashions.  

Innovative grower

A grower from Perry Court Farm in Kent, who has specialised in fruit for 60 years, is going to expand into making apple crisps as a way to use fruit that he could not otherwise sell as grade A in shops (slightly smaller or with minor bruising). He’s invested in kit that will peel, core, crinkle-cut and dry the crisps and expects to produce 20,000 packets a day. Sounds like an excellent (and very tasty) way to use the fruit instead of wasting it.

Top sellers

The plant sales are declining as we’re well into the growing season, so it’s just the sundries list now – and it looks like we’re turning to the products we need to keep the plants going. Solar lights from Gardman are still top, closely followed by Levington Tomorite tomato feed and Scotts Miracle-Gro All Purpose Soluble Plant Food.

Feeding

Just a quick note here: although it’s true to say that plants can’t read and you don’t need a separate feed for each one in the garden, you do need different food for fruiting plants and veg compared with flowering ones. The back of the pack will show you the N:P:K ratio (Nitrogen:Phosphorus:Potassium) and as a really quick rule of thumb, it’s

• Nitrogen for shoots
• Phosphorus for roots and
• Potassium for fruits

So you need the number in the N:P:K ratio to be higher in the right element to suit the plant in question.

Lettuce alone

There was a scare story in the Daily Mail (where else?) last week about lettuce plants being grown in some kind of Frankenstein laboratory, where the workers wear protective masks and the plants never see the light of day or a grain of soil. There is a fear, they say, that this will come to the UK and will be the fate of our salads in the future. 

First, growing plants without soil has been going on for years – it’s called hydroponics and works very well indeed for crops like tomatoes and cucumbers that have a really high water requirement. Second, the demand for salad in this country is huge, so growing our own means fulfilling our own needs without a) racking up millions of “food miles”, b) having to take crops with a pesticide residue (the UK adheres to the rules more stringently than most other EU countries or Africa), or c) taking away water from countries that need it much more than we do.

What a pity they don’t do their homework – but then, the facts might get in the way of a good story!

Lucky heather

Heather has been out in the cold for more than a decade, but it’s about to make a come-back. The British Heather Growers Association are re-launching these pretty, reliable plants with a display at the RHS Hampton Court Palace flower show next month. Not all heathers need acidic soil; there is a variety to flower in almost every month of the year and they have attractive foliage as well (some even change colour in winter). Bees love the flowers (heather honey is delicious), so they are good plants for encouraging these vital pollinators into your garden.

Top in the garden centre this week

Onions topped the plant sales this week, closely followed by tomatoes and salad leaves. Tomato ‘Tumbler’ is a top seller, so people would seem to be starting to make the most of whatever space they have to grow-their-own with this tasty container variety. The top of the sundries chart remains unchanged, so apparently the nation is still buying solar lights, pot toppers and Tomorite (to feed all the Tumblers?). Surely the solar lights have to drop down a few places soon? Maybe gardeners are weeding by solar light?

Open gardens

This is the peak time for the “Yellow Book” garden open days, so if you’re looking for inspiration – or just like looking at gardens – why not see if there are any open nearby? The owners of the gardens work really hard to make sure the gardens look their best for the day and they are usually quite happy to talk about the plants and the design. Many also have a plant sales area to raise funds and these are a wonderful source of plants if you are starting a new garden or replanting part of an old one. If you’re really lucky, they may be selling tea and homemade cakes, too!