Garden And Gardener

Everything for the Gardener and their Garden

Archive for October, 2016

11 spring bulbs you’ll love

Friday, October 28th, 2016
we've hand picked 11 spring bulb deals you will love
spring bulb deals not to miss this weekend

Suttons weekend offers

Friday, October 28th, 2016
Huge Savings On Spring Bulbs
tricolor bulb - only £3.99

Free Harkness Rose With Multibuy Purchase

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016
When you buy any 3 harkness bare root rose plants

Free Harkness Rose With Multibuy Purchase

 

Dobies
FREE Harkness Rose
View All Harkness Roses
UK Bred Roses

Pick and Mix – Buy 2 Packs and Get a Third Pack FREE

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

 

Pick and Mix – Buy 2 Packs and Get a Third Pack FREE
Early Delivery Now Available - Find Out More
Limited Time Offer
Gazania Plants
Begonia Plants
Stock Plants- Sugar and Spice
View the full range

buy shallots at suttons

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016

Easy to grow – prepare a fine tilth and plant them. Give them a feed and keep the bed weeded.


Shallot Banana Plants – Simiane
 £5.99
This torpedo-shaped variety has mild sweet flesh that forms in tender, rose-coloured rings. It is truly versatile in the kitchen and can be used young as a bunching onion or left to mature for uses from stock and soups to putting on a skewer on a BBQ. These superb vegetables combine the subtle taste of sweet shallots, but they’re as large and as easy to peel as an onion!

Shallot Banana Plants – Twin Pack
 £9.99
These superb vegetables combine the subtle taste of sweet shallots, but they’re as large and as easy to peel as an onion! Twin Pack contains 90 plants (45 of each variety):Zebrune (White) – This elongated shallot x onion hybrid is favoured by top chefs for its delicate flavour and the ease of use of the long single bulb compared to traditional shallots. Good resistance to bolting.Simiane (Pink) – This torpedo-shaped variety has mild sweet flesh that forms in tender, rose-coloured rings. It is truly versatile in the kitchen and can be used young as a bunching onion or left to mature for uses from stock and soups to putting on a skewer on a BBQ.

Shallot Banana Plants – Zebrune
 £5.99
This elongated shallot x onion hybrid is favoured by top chefs for its delicate flavour and the ease of use of the long single bulb compared to traditional shallots. Good resistance to bolting.(White variety.) These superb vegetables combine the subtle taste of sweet shallots, but they’re as large and as easy to peel as an onion!

Shallot Bulbs – Golden Gourmet
 £3.99
This superb variety will consistently produce heavy crops of good flavoured shallots that keep well for several months. Plant from February onwards.. A great beginner variety.We would also recommend Shallot French Bulbs – Mikor

Shallot Bulbs – Griselle
 £5.99
A robust spicy taste that will not disappoint! Best planted October to mid December, it multiplies well to give a good crop of long, grey-skinned bulbs in June. Use green or dried for storage well into winter.

Shallot Bulbs – Longor
 £5.99
An excellent elongated banana-type variety with copper coloured skins and pink flesh. Each shallot yields 6-8 bulbs at harvest. Very easy to peel and slice. Great tasting sweet flavour! Harvest June-September. 400g pack.

Shallot Bulbs – Red Gourmet
 £4.49
An early-to-mature, red-fleshed variety with a spicy taste, excellent for use in salads and cooking. Plant from February onwards.

Shallot Bulbs – Red Sun
 £3.99
A red variety producing large, tasty shallots with a distinctive spicy taste. The skins are firm and bulbs solid, and they will store for months! Plant from February onwards.

Shallot Bulbs – Triple Pack
 £9.99
Pack of tasty shallots contains 3 different varieties – 400g pack of each:Griselle – A robust spicy taste that will not disappoint! Best planted October to mid December, it multiplies well to give a good crop of long, grey-skinned bulbs in June. Use green or dried for storage well into winter.Yellow Moon – An attractive and tasty, round yellow dutch shallot, with excellent skin quality and a low sensitivity to bolting, which makes it a good choice for autumn planting. It reliably produces a good crop of healthy shallots which should be ready to harvest in June/July.Longor – An excellent elongated banana-type variety with copper coloured skins and pink flesh. Each shallot yields 6-8 bulbs at harvest. Very easy to peel and slice. Great tasting sweet flavour!

Shallot Bulbs – Yellow Moon
 £3.99
An attractive and tasty, round, yellow dutch shallot, with excellent skin quality and a low sensitivity to bolting, which makes it a good choice for autumn planting. It reliably produces a good crop of healthy shallots which should be ready to harvest in June/July. 400g pack.

Shallot French Bulbs – Jermor
 £4.99
An excellent, slightly elongated shallot, with copper-coloured skins and great tasting pink-tinged flesh. Each bulb yields 6-8 bulbs at harvest. Plant from mid January onwards. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner.Grown in Brittany, in the heart of Frances main shallot growing region, these superb certified varieties are of superior quality and will produce an outstanding crop for you.

Shallot Triple Pack – Spring Planting
 £9.99
Pack of tasty shallots contains 3 different varieties – 400g pack of each:Jermor – An excellent, slightly elongated shallot, with copper-coloured skins and great tasting pink-tinged flesh. Each bulb yields 6-8 bulbs at harvest. Plant from mid January onwards. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Golden Gourmet – This superb variety will consistently produce heavy crops of good flavoured shallots that keep well for several months. Plant from February onwards. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. A great beginner variety.Red SunA red variety producing large, tasty shallots with a distinctive spicy taste. The skins are firm and bulbs solid, and they will store for months! Plant from February onwards.

Shallots

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016

I havested my shallots. The red sun did better than the golden ones. So I’ll be trying more red sun next year.
I’ve pickled them according to a recipe my mum gave me.

Use red english shallots if possible.
Peel and top and tail them. Wash thoroughly in cold water a couple of times and then dry them off. Place the shallots in a large china bowl and cover with salt. Leave for a day covered – use a plate if you don’t have a lid for the bowl.
Wash off all the salt and rinse under the tap. Dry them carefully. Pack them into jars tightly and add a pinch of pickling spice – but not too much! Add the pickling vinegar which has been sweetened with demerara sugar to taste. Ensure the shallots are all covered and then lid the jars. Place in a dark cupboard and leave for 3-6 weeks before eating.

pickled shallots

3d printer mouseguard

Tuesday, October 11th, 2016

My husband has got a 3d printer and what better use than something for the bees?
3d printer mouseguard

It’s a prototype, so we are giving it some field trials at the moment and need to test how well it stays in. It just has pegs on the back that go through the entrance.

Garlic bulbs

Monday, October 10th, 2016

Garlic/Shallot/Onion Collection
 £9.99
Collection contains one pack each of garlic, shallot and onion, all ideal for giving great flavour:Garlic Flavor – An Italian pink type, produced in France, that matures in late July. The white-skinned bulbs each contain 9-16 pretty pink cloves that store for a long time once opened. (French grown – hardneck.) Garlic is about as French a vegetable as you can get. Extensively used in French cuisine, you can buy smoked, fresh, green, violet, pink, giant and all sorts of garlic at most markets throughout France with regional specialities from the north to the south. As well as the traditional softneck garlic varieties, we also have some superb hardneck types (these are very hardy – ideal for northern areas – and are widely regarded as the finest tasting of all garlics!). 2 bulbs.Shallot Red Sun – A red variety producing large, tasty shallots with a distinctive spicy taste. The skins are firm and bulbs solid, and they will store for months! Plant from February onwards. 400g pack.Onion Sturon – A well known and flavoursome variety which produces round, straw-coloured, medium-sized onions just right for the kitchen. Being quite thin-necked they keep extremely well through the winter, remaining in good condition right through until February-March. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. 250g pack.

Garlic Elephant (4 cloves)
 £5.99
This colossal garlic can grow to an amazing 15cm (6) across and weighs almost 1kg (2.2lb). Each clove is bigger than a regular garlic bulb! As it is closely related to the common leek, the flavour is more mild, making it suitable to shave and use raw in salads

Garlic Bulbs – Twin Pack Champion White & Purple
 £5.99
Try our giant garlic, the best bulbs for the home grower – only bigger! 1 bulb of each variety (expect around 10 cloves per bulb):Champion White – Great tasting, very large bulbs. Fantastic variety, great for the British climate. Suitable for planting from October right through to April. Begin harvesting in July from an October planting.Champion Purple – Excellent strong taste with very purple skin. Grows great in any climate, even throughout a wet summer! Suitable for planting from October to January. One of the earliest garlics, begin harvesting in June from October planting.

Garlic Bulbs – Printanor
 £5.99
A reasonably new variety with large bulbs filled with plump tasty cloves. Can be planted in the autumn and in the spring. Harvest June-September. (French grown – softneck). 2 bulbs (12-15 cloves per bulb).

Garlic Bulbs – Messidrome
 £4.99
White with excellent flavour for all culinary uses. Softneck variety. Plant October-January. 2 Bulbs (10-11 cloves per bulb).Virus-free French variety – bulbs come from virus-free stock, ensuring that they’ll grow into healthier plants and produce larger harvests! Softneck types the majority of modern varieties. This type, despite its name, stores for longer and has more numerous but smaller cloves.It doesn’t matter whether you’re growing them in pots on the patio or in a half-acre vegetable patch – either way the rewards are great! Now an essential part of so many kitchen gardens, with excellent health benefits (lowering blood pressure, fat and cholesterol levels and combating infections). And they couldn’t be easier to grow – simply plant the garlic cloves in autumn, and they’ll be ready to lift and dry next July!

Garlic Bulbs – Lovers Collection
 £7.99
Now an essential part of so many kitchen gardens, with excellent health benefits (lowering blood pressure, fat and cholesterol levels and combating infections). And they couldn’t be easier to grow – simply plant the garlic cloves in autumn, and they’ll be ready to lift and dry next July! Garlic Lovers’ Collection contains 6 bulbs (2 packs of Edenrose and 1 pack of Printanor):Edenrose (French grown – hardneck) – A superb, high yielding hardneck variety. Bulbs contain a large number of easy to peel, rose skinned cloves with a strong flavour. (12-15 cloves per bulb). Printanor (French grown – softneck) – Large bulbs with plump tasty cloves. (10-12 cloves per bulb).

Garlic Bulbs – Germidour
 £4.99
Violet-streaked skin with white cloves and a mild flavour, easily stored and split for cooking. Softneck variety. RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. 2 Bulbs (10-11 cloves per bulb).Virus-free French variety – bulbs come from virus-free stock, ensuring that they’ll grow into healthier plants and produce larger harvests! Softneck types the majority of modern varieties. This type, despite its name, stores for longer and has more numerous but smaller cloves.It doesn’t matter whether you’re growing htem in pots on the patio or in a half-acre vegetable patch – either way the rewards are great! Now an essential part of so many kitchen gardens, with excellent health benefits (lowering blood pressure, fat and cholesterol levels and combating infections). And they couldn’t be easier to grow – simply plant the garlic cloves in autumn, and they’ll be ready to lift and dry next July!

Garlic Bulbs – Flavor
 £4.99
An Italian pink type, produced in France, that matures in late July. The white-skinned bulbs each contain 9-16 pretty pink cloves that store for a long time once opened. (French grown – hardneck)

Garlic Bulbs – Edenrose
 £4.99
A superb, high yielding hardneck variety. bulbs contain a large number of easy to peel, rosy skinned cloves with a strong flavour. Can be planted in the autumn and in the spring. (French-grown hardneck: these are very hardy – ideal for northern areas – and are widely regarded as the finest tasting of all garlics!). 2 bulbs (12-15 clovers per bulb).

Garlic Bulbs – Autumn Planting Collection
 £10.48
Now an essential part of so many kitchen gardens, with excellent health benefits (lowering blood pressure, fat and cholesterol levels and combating infections). And they couldn’t be easier to grow – simply plant the garlic cloves in autumn, and they’ll be ready to lift and dry next July! Garlic Lovers’ Collection contains 8 bulbs (2 of each variety):Edenrose (French grown – hardneck) – A superb, high yielding hardneck variety. Bulbs contain a large number of easy to peel, rose skinned cloves with a strong flavour. 2 Bulbs (12-15 cloves per bulb).Printanor (French grown – softneck) – A reasonable new vareity with large bulbs filled with plump tasty cloves. Can be planted in the autumn and in the spring. 2 Bulbs (10-12 cloves per bulb).Germidour (French grown – softneck) – Violet-streaked skin with white cloves and a mild flavour, easily stored and split for cooking. Plant October-January. Plant October-January. 2 Bulbs (1-11 cloves per bulb). Messidrome (French grown – softneck) – White with excellent flavour for all culinary uses. Plant October-January. 2 Bulbs (10-11 cloves per bulb).

Japanese onions

Monday, October 10th, 2016

Very popular overwintering onions


Onion (Salad) Seeds – Shimonita
 £1.99
A unique, sweetly flavoured Japanese Salad Onion. Sown at wider spacings it produces thicker stems (almost like mini leeks!) and pungent tubular leaves.SMALL SPACES made easy! Are you feeling left behind by the grow-your-own revolution because you live in a gardenless apartment or have a postage-stamp-sized patio? Dont worry: Anyone with a sunny windowsill, patio, or balcony can cultivate home-grown vegetables. In fact, choosing plants that are nutritious, delicious, and attractive is the ultimate way to maximise limited space. Weve tried and tested these varieties suitable for small spaces and know theyll succeed, but thats not to say there arent other vegetable seeds that you could try!

Onion Seeds – F1 Bridger
 £3.49
A Japanese type over wintering hybrid. Has excellent bolting resistance. Flattened globe shape and thick smooth skin.

Onion Seeds – Senshyu Semi-Globe Yellow
 £2.79
Good crop of round, straw-coloured bulbs by early July. Recommended by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. Japanese bulb onion variety.

Onion Sets – Senshyu Yellow
 £3.49
An extremely popular Japanese over-wintering onion, reliably producing a heavy crop of semi-globe-shaped, straw-coloured bulbs of excellent quality, which should be ready to harvest in early July.

Onion Sets – Triple Pack
 £7.99
Onions are one of our most invaluable vegetables and also one of civilisation’s oldest medicines. They can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and are anti-asthmatic, antibacterial and antiseptic. This triple pack contains a 250g pack of the following three varieties:Electric – Produces outstanding quality, shiny, deep red semi-globe-shaped onions with excellent flavoured pink tinged flesh. Ideal for over-wintering, plant in autumn-early winter for harvest May-June.Radar – Our most popular over-wintered onion, producing superb pale-to-mid brown skinned onions from mid July. Green bulbs can be pulled from late May. Bulbs have firm flesh with a mild taste and keep well until autumn.Senshyu Yellow – An extremely popular Japanese over-wintering variety, reliably producing a heavy crop of semi-globe-shaped, straw-coloured bulbs of excellent quality, which should be ready to harvest in early July.

Tomato harvest

Monday, October 10th, 2016

I’ve had a good year for the greenhouse tomatoes. The outdoor ones succumbed to blight rather quickly, and although the sungold lasted a bit longer than the big tomatoes, they too went over very quickly.
homegrown tomatoes

I’ve left the plants there as there are some ripening still, with some green ones. I will leave them a little longer, but it’s getting cold at night now. I’ve shut the greenhouse door now to try and conserve the heat of the day.

My plan for winter will be to empty the greenhouse of all plant material, wash the glass and then add some muck to the beds. I might dig out some of the dry dusty material and make sure it’s packed with muck. The muck then gets to rot down before spring when it’s time to replant the greenhouse.