Gardening Tips for May ? From the Potting Shed

[Dulwich Gardening]

As David Cheetham Gardens are in full flurry for the forthcoming Chelsea Flower Show, I am taking up the challenge of broadening the gardening minds and souls of EDF readers from the seclusion of Finca Lucia in Andalucia.

Now on my travels to this delightful haven of peace and tranquillity (volcanic ash permitting) I?ve browsed across the Spanish Gardening Forum, hot topics for this month include; ?how is your orange crop, flowering cacti and the tales of the poor palms?. Reading through the comments on orange crops I can see that gardening is taken just as seriously here as it is in the UK.

But back to our green and pleasant pastures. Now that most of the country is enjoying a period of prolonged warmth (not really heat) we should be seeing changes throughout the garden.

Weed Control

And as we experience the start of the growing season so cometh the weeds. Regular hoeing will keep the weeds down and stop them from becoming too big and overpowering. Also, putting down a layer of mulch will help to stop further weeds but remember to water well first, as this helps to seal in the moisture around your plants.

Lawns

Your grass will be growing well now so you'll need to keep on top of the mowing ideally on a weekly basis. Avoid scalping the lawn by keeping the blades relatively high, but each time you do mow it, lower them slightly. This is also a great time to feed established lawns and don?t forget to water them during the prolonged hot spells before they start going brown.

Vegetable Plot

This month is the perfect time to sow runner and French beans outside and if you sowed leeks earlier, these can go out too. Marrows and courgettes are tender plants so protect them from any late frosts and keep them well watered throughout the summer. If you don?t have room for a vegetable plot then don?t forget you can grow a wide selection of veg favourites and berries in pots and containers.

Flower Beds & Boarders

Stake your flowers now as this makes them easier to train.

Begin cutting and deadheading as soon as blossoming begins and for late blooming bulbs be sure to take off the bloom and leave plenty of leaf so the bulb can store energy for next season.

With so much available in sow direct seed, you should try and plan successive sowings of your favourite flowers. Have a look around your local garden centres for seeds or buy them direct on-line.

Plan to add edging plants to borders and walkways. Good annuals include ageratum, alyssum, dusty miller, petunias, lobelia, phlox, portulaca, marigolds, nasturiums, pansies and verbena.

And, don?t forget your window boxes and planters. Mix flowers, herbs and a little ivy for a beautiful display.

Happy Gardening - Have fun and experiment!

Shane Hickey

Dulwich Gardening Company

[Dulwich Gardening]

Hi Everyone,

Still seem to be getting some questions via the April message, so would appreaciate messages on here now.

Thanks

Shane

[chez]

cool thanks!

[Dulwich Gardening]

Hi,

On my return flight from Finca Lucia in Andalucia, with the Gardener's World magazine in toe I came across a great article about "10 ways to use nettles", and was amazed to find out that they are not necessarily the baddies of the garden but the, and I quote "unsung heroes".

So, here it is in a nutshell. At number 10, a composter booster, 9 quality soil, 8 ladybird heaven, 7 aphid trap, 6, liquid feed, 5 a tasty nettle brew, 4, butterfly target, 3, a nettle tea, 2, spring greens and at number 1 a hearty soup.

Now, I'm not saying that I've been totally converted but definitely going to give some of them a try.

Happy gardening!

Shane Hickey

Dulwich Gardening Company

[????]

I only went and did my summer containers during last week's fine weather...I'm now bringing thenm in every night! Am I being too cautious?

[SteveT]

No. Bedding plants are traditionally planted from the first of June onwards because the frosts have finished by then.

[????]

I know, I know seduced by BBQ weather the last couple of weekends :(

[Gimme]

When can I put my little tomato plants outside?

They were bought from ED Garden Centre and were outside there but not sure how to harden them before putting them into the planters. Any suggestions? Can I just stick them out now?

[Dulwich Gardening]

Hi Everyone,

I'm afraid it's very hit and miss at the moment with regards your containers in or out. To be honest I've had all my veg out for the last few weeks including tomatoe plants and salad crops. Also, picked up some more strawberry plants and potted them out.

However, I had some veg seeds out in small pots which don't seem to be doing much so have bought them back in for a 'warm up' so hopefully that will help.

If you have a very large veg area which you are worried about, you could always cover it in gardening fleece. But, as I'm typing this and looking out the window, my neighbour who has turned his entire garden over to veg, just seems to be letting nature get on with it.

Happy Gardening

Shane Hickey

Dulwich Gardening Company

[giggirl]

I bought myself a multi-tasking gardening tool from QVC and I've been a real deamon with it this weekend. Running round my garden like old Leatherface. Cordless and lightweight; it prunes, it trims it weeds and it scares off all the cats. Job done and very satisfying.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Giggirl in summer garb

http://starcmc.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/blowing_smoking_gun.jpg

[Dulwich Gardening]

Hi

So giggirl are you going to share with us what this amazing tool fomr QVC is?

Very intrigued this end.

Shane Hickey

Dulwich Gardening Company

[giggirl]

Here it is:

http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/walk.yah.UKGD~U084

It's cordless, doesn't weigh too much and has a telescopic handle. A bit plastic-y but it got the job done. I haven't seen anything comparable in the shops. The tools I've seen in the shops were too heavy to be practical (for me). Also, I'm not very tall unless I'm in heels (and I would have to rule out gardening in heels) so telescopic tics a box for me.

There's a sycamore tree next door which strangles my garden and I cut it right back without very much effort and in no time at all. I've been looking at the garden in dismay for weeks and wondering how to get to grips with it - and it was all taken care of in less than an hour and then a bit of tidying up. I don't want to throw money at the garden at the moment because I'm going to re-model it completely when I've finished the house (hopefully by the Autumn).

As I said, it's a bit plastic-y and I don't know how durable it will be - but if it wasn't made of plastic I wouldn't be able to lift it up high for any length of time. So it's a trade off really.

[giggirl]

Oh dear, that link doesn't work does it. Try putting in item number 563297