Garden And Gardener

Everything for the Gardener and their Garden

Archive for October, 2011

Carrot fly

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Garlic, onion and marigolds are all meant to help – so try planting your carrots in rows between lots of these.
This takes forward planning though! Although you can buy marigolds as garden ready plants and pop them in.
Sow thinly so you don’t have to thin out the carrots – this avoids creating any carrot smell which attracts them.
Plant in tubs high up. Get plenty of sandy soil and good drainage but water often and feed. This is supposed to work because carrot fly won’t fly over a certain height. Some experienced allotmenters think this is nonsense. Sow them thinly by mixing the carrot seed with dry sand and sprinkling this into the prepared seed drills.
and sprinkle that in the drills

Some species are supposed to be much more resistant to carrot fly. Some farmers plant after a certain date in Spring to miss the carrot fly which happens in two lots – spring and autumn. By careful planting in theory you could miss them entirely.
Barrier methods might also work – fleece stapled to canes around the bed can help.

Jersey Plants Direct have these carrot seeds available.

Carrot Flyaway F1 500 Seeds

Carrot Flyaway F1 500 Seeds £2.99
natural sweet & British bredThis variety is a popular, naturally sweet, British bred carrot.

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Free delivery on all orders at Jersey plants direct

Thursday, October 27th, 2011



Jersey Plants Direct have some great offers on for bedding plants for instant colour, plus plenty of plants for every corner of the garden. With bargains on fruit trees to, get ordering now! Seeds, plants, bird food – everything you need for your garden.

Shop now at Jersey Plants Direct

Delivery is free too on every order!

Daffodil Tete a tete 50 Bulbs

Daffodil Tete a tete 50 Bulbs £9.99
Free Flowering Dwarf Daffodil BulbsThis free flowering dwarf variety of daffodil is great for garden containers or pots and can also be grown indoors.

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Horseradish Roots

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Morrisons is selling Horseradish Roots for £1.99 at the moment – soneonne I know has stuck some in the ground and they’re growing! This isn’t the official way of growing it but the root you eat is the bit you plant to get new bits. It can be a prolific plant and will grow from any small bits left in the ground when you harvest.

Thompson & Morgan sell the roots also known as thongs too.

Horseradish Root - 5 thongs

Horseradish Root – 5 thongs £11.99
The essential accompaniment to roast beef – nothing beats the bite of your own freshly grated horseradish root. Horseradish is a vigorous perennial herb that will return year after year for an increasing supply of hot, tangy roots. These thongs are quick to establish and easy to grow, requiring little aftercare. When planted in ideal conditions, horseradish plants may become invasive, but can grown in a container to control its growth and restrict its spread. Height: 60cm (24″). Spread: 45cm (18″).Useful links:How to grow herbs 

Minding My Peas and Cucumbers

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Minding My Peas and CucumbersFab book – I got this for my birthday and have just finished reading it.

Minding My Peas and Cucumbers is written by Kay Seaton who’s worked on several different allotment sites as a co-worker. She explains all about co-workers (an idea by which a plot holder gets help with their plot, but the co-worker has no tenancy rights) and the fun she’s had on allotments. There’s some funny and poignant stories in the book and I know if you have an interest in allotments you will actually laugh out loud at it!





Buy Minding My Peas and Cucumbers: Quirky Tales of Allotment Life
from amazon uk now

Her book makes it clear how much hard work it is to get an allotment, let alone actually working on one! It’s an interesting story that might make you approach your local allotment site and see if any plotholders want a co-worker, so that rather than waiting years you can get a go on a plot now and start digging and planting and harvesting.

Garden book competition

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Enter this garden competition just by emailing – details at the bottom of the page
This competition closes at 23.59 on 13.11.11.

Garden Magazines

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

There are lots of garden magazines available and they can be useful resources full of seasonal hints. Some come with free seeds! If you love reading about gardening then a subscription is the cheaper way to buy magazines. Pick your favourite and start getting a gardening magazine delivered every month!

Amateur Gardening

Amateur Gardening from Magazine Group £41.49
In Amateur Gardening you will find everything you need to know to create a beautiful garden. Each week you’ll learn from the experts – like Peter Seabrook, Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithinbank – as they pass on their hints, tips and gardening secrets. Step-by-step you’ll discover how to grow champion vegetables, perfect flowerbeds and stunning borders. In fact, there’s always something new inside Amateur Gardening, whether you’re a novice or a green-fingered expert.

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Garden Competitions

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Big Wildlife Garden competition!
Entry is free, and prizes will include a year’s membership of both the Royal Horticultural Society, and your local Wildlife Trust, plus attendance at a wildlife gardening masterclass at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

200 words maximum and 2-6 photos needed. The deadline is 20 May 2012.

Small Residential – (Assume your garden is small if it is 50 sq m in size, the
size of approximately four car parking spaces)
Large Residential (Assume your garden is large if it is more than 50 sq m in size,
larger than approximately four car parking spaces.)

New Residential – If you live in a new house that was completed in the past
two to three years, within a larger development of houses, then this category
is for you. Chances are your garden may have started off as, or still be, a
blank canvas. There may be a bit of lawn or even just soil. It’s what
you do to improve it that will make a difference to wildlife.

Educational
Any school, college or nursery garden managed with wildlife in mind can enter.

Community
Are you involved with a garden collectively managed by a group of people in
your community? For example, a street or neighbourhood garden, a garden for
a place of worship or for a prison? If so then this category is for you.

Business
Many businesses own land. Do you have a wildlife garden – or better still,
could you create a new one? If so, this category will be for you.

Stop slugs with copper

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Harrod Horticultural has these slug copper tape products to help you stop slugs attacking your plants in pots. Slugs hate copper! They won’t crawl over it so it stops them climbing up plant pots.

Slug and Snail Copper Tape -

Slug and Snail Copper Tape – £6.95
Slug and Snail Copper Tape will protect your pots planters greenhouse staging and raised beds from marauding slugs and snails – it’s the go-anywhere alternative to slug rings and slug traps. Supplied in a 4m roll – plenty to kit out all your garden beds and pots for a full season. The sticky-backed slug copper tape which features a serrated edge gives both slugs and snails serious problems as they try to cross – a toxic reaction occurs between the metal and the mucus slugs and snails produce to move giving any attempted raiders an unpleasant electric shock sensation and sending them slithering back to munch on less well-protected plants!

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Garden Canes

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Harrod Horticultural have these cane tops to stop you hurting yourself on canes in the garden as well as a range of canes in different sizes.
Some people prefer making wigwams of canes for beans and some people like a tunnel. To make the tunnel you need to make like a tent frame shape with two canes and tie them at the top. Firm them in well and put another two in a foot or so apart. At the top do the same and then put a cane across the top. If you have long canes you can go across several sections. FIx this top cane on as it stablises the structure. Runner beans will race along the top. There are often discussions about which makes it easier to pick the beans but it’s down to personal preference I think.

If you’re using them for tomatoes make sure they are sturdy enough as tomatoes weight a lot!

Cane Caps (pack of 10) -

Cane
Caps (pack of 10) –
 £2.75
Simple but very effective these Cane Caps will protect your eyes from the tips
of the many bamboo canes used in the garden for plant support purposes and are
one of those little greenhouse and garden essentials you just can’t do without!Made
from rubberised plastic the cane toppers plastic will fit sungly over bamboo
canes of all sizes and the dark green colour ensures they blend into the garden
surroundings but still offer eye and facial protection. Use the bamboo cane
caps year after year and even though they’re supplied in a handy pack size of
10 cane caps you can never have enough of them!

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One log fire!

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

This is very neat and you could try this in the garden this bonfire night!