CHECKING OVER THE FRUIT CROPS

CHECKING OVER THE FRUIT CROPS

The fruit season is just about starting as the early strawberries under my polythene tunnels begin to show the promise of the first fruits. To make sure we bring in a decent harvest crops must be checked for pests and diseases and birds. The mild winter has helped most fruits, but not all as some prefer a period of cold weather with frosts to keep them dormant and give them a decent rest. Frost also helps to kill off some pests and diseases. Plants are affected by weather patterns occurring in the two previous years as well as last winter. The wet year of 2012 did not help to ripen up wood for fruiting last year so some crops failed to produce any fruit. However this helped them to build up their strength in the off year and now this year there is a huge potential crop everywhere.

 

Top fruit

As usual apple Arbroath Pippin was very early to flower and now there are plenty of young fruitlets. Last year all apples cropped very well, so this year although there was plenty of flowers, I reckon they are a bit down on last year. Fiesta has a tendency towards biennial bearing and last year cropped brilliantly. I expected a poor result this year, but it had plenty of flowers so looks like another bumper year.

My pear tree has not given any fruit for several years but had been grafted with new varieties which take time to grow before ripening up fruiting wood. This is their year, with plenty of flowers and ample small fruits forming.

I reported a few weeks back that although my plum was a mass of flowers I never saw a single bee anywhere near my tree so I was not hopeful for a crop as the flowers need insects for pollination then warmth for fertilisation. Someone must have been on nightshift, as there are plenty of wee plums along most branches. The tree suffered a major attack of greenfly, so I had to get the sprayer out and give the whole tree a good soaking with insecticide.

Cherry Cherokee was also a mass of flowers and now a good crop of cherries are swelling up. So far no signs of blackfly, but I will keep checking as they can build up quickly.

Soft Fruit

Strawberries look very promising, but I have scattered some slug pellets around just in case a wet spell comes along. They will soon need to be bedded with straw to keep the fruit clean from soil splashing when it rains.

Gooseberries appear to be having a huge crop, but I will keep an eye on them as no doubt the sawfly will have a go at them soon. Growth is also strong, so some summer spur pruning will get done to assist easier picking. Some greenfly attacked the tips, so an insecticide spray was needed. Blackcurrants were also infected by greenfly so got sprayed at the same time. Roses nearby also needed the spray as greenfly seem to be having a field day.

Exotics

Peach Peregrine was hand pollinated as there was no signs of any pollinating insects. At this moment I would appear to have about thirty young peaches on my tree, but a lot of things can happen so I am hopeful, but time will tell if they all ripen. Peach leaf curl disease is still a problem even though the tree has been sprayed frequently. I remove all infected leaves as soon as they are seen.

Figs just loved the mild winter and now I must have nearly a couple of hundred wee figs. However it is too early to judge as I expect a fair few to fall off.

My Goji did not survive the mild winter. I can see no obvious reason for its demise. However the most likely cause could be the spread of the root rot phytophthora introduced on raspberries several years ago. They died within two years then many other bushes died down the slope from the rasps. There are many strains of phytophthora that can infect plants. The reason I have this as the culprit is that I have also lost my two outdoor grape vines which were brilliant all last year and even fruited, but none has grown this year. Grapes Phoenix and Rondo were planted where the diseased rasps used to be. Other grapes not in this area are all doing very well. Disease spores could be getting transmitted in my garden compost, or by soil on my boots as I walk over my plot.

Greenhouse grapes are all showing plenty of bunches so I will let these grow a bit longer then start my pruning by tipping all the fruiting shoots at two leaves after the last bunch. Later on in summer all shoots get stopped at one leaf otherwise they will take over the greenhouse.

 

Plant of the week

Bluebells can be very attractive planted amongst trees and allowed to spread into thick drifts. However take care as they can soon become very established and will want to spread well beyond their intended area. The bulbs can be quite deep in the soil and also spread by underground runners and seed on the surface. Do not compost the bulbs or seed heads as these will all grow again.

END

PLANT SOME SUMMER FLOWERS

PLANT SOME SUMMER FLOWERS

The spring bedding displays were brilliant as the cool weather prolonged the show, but as it came to an end we look forward to the next display of flowers as we begin to plant the summer flowers.

There is any amount of summer bedding plants available in garden centres, nurseries and stores. However be quite selective for colour and type to make sure your flower beds have the best and don’t just go for basement bargains as the chances are these will be inferior colours.

Some plants such as fuchsias, tuberous begonias, geraniums and impatiens, (Bizzie Lizzie) can be retained from year to year once you have got the best colours in each group. My begonias and geraniums have been with me for over fifteen years, but I lost my impatiens a few years ago when an attack of red spider devastated them.

Tubs, hanging baskets, flower beds and any other spare land can be planted up or sown down with annuals from seed. The allotment has a display border at the front which gets all my spare plants as well as a chrysanthemum bed and a few rows of gladioli for cut flower for the house.

Sweet peas were planted several weeks ago and are now beginning to climb up their weldmesh supports.

Flower beds and tubs

I have two main beds which I alternate each year, so my main bed will get the tuberous begonias this year as they got geraniums last year. The geraniums are quite hardy so they were the first to get planted as most had stood outdoors in a sheltered spot since the beginning of March. I got lucky as the threat of frosts just did not happen. I have planned my colour schemes for harmony or complete contrast. Salmon pink geraniums will be central in a tub with deep blue petunias and my white geraniums will have pink and red petunias and impatiens. Red geraniums will be planted with Nemesia carnival and some deep blue lobelia.

One tub of fuchsia Swingtime, an old favourite, was left outdoors plunged into my compost heap hoping the fermentation process would generate enough heat to keep it cosy after my greenhouse was destroyed in last Decembers gales. It was later transferred to the new greenhouse in April and has never been happier. It has started to flower already but that is a wee bit too early.

Tuberous begonia corms are well sprouted and getting quite big, so I usually cut a few in half in early May when potting up to increase numbers as long as each portion has several young shoots. I never loose any as they are quite tough.

Hanging baskets

These get planted up in early May and kept in the greenhouse till they bulk up. I line the basket with a plastic sheet cut from an old compost bag with the black colour facing outside. Half fill with compost (home mixed with added garden soil, sand and rock dust) then cut a few holes in the side and push a few plug plants through before topping up with more compost and completing the planting. There should be enough trailing and bulking up plants such as nemesia, impatiens and petunias to create a complete ball of colour once established. My baskets sit on a large pot for several weeks before erecting them on the wall brackets. Keep them well watered and fed all summer. I always use some dark blue petunias in baskets at front door entrances as they have a fantastic scent which makes visitors very welcome.

Chrysanthemums and gladioli

Chrysanthemum stools are retained from one year to the next but usually topped up with new varieties as some often die over the winter, or I just fancy a new variety. As stools grow, cuttings are taken and rooted indoors. These are then potted up and grown on under glass before hardening off in early May. I plant mine out in a bed three foot wide planting about nine inches apart. They are supported by weld mesh wire slowly raised up on four supporting posts as the plants grow. I grow spray varieties for display and cut flower so do not need to disbud. Depending on the variety, early  chrysanthemums may need two foot spacing if grown in a single row and staked individually.

Gladioli are planted in rows a foot apart spacing the corms four to six inches apart depending on their size. They are planted about four inches deep. Each year I buy in a few extra varieties to increase the colour range.

Plant of the week

Azalea Hinodegiri is a dwarf evergreen Japanese azalea with scarlet flowers. However this one which I have had for over thirty years may be Vyuks Scarlet, the label getting lost in the mists of time. The plant explorer E H Wilson discovered this range of hybrids of Rhododendron obtusum growing in the mountains above the Japanese city of Kurume. He brought back his selection of the best fifty in 1920 which became famous as the Wilson Fifty. They come in a wide range of colours from pure white to pink, mauves, orange and scarlet. They root very easy from cuttings taken in autumn and kept cool and moist.

END

Exhibition of Paintings, ceramics, fabrics and jewellery

The Angus Open Studios is holding an exhibition of members work at Inverquharity Castle, a historic 15th century castle set in the Angus Glens just north of Kirriemuir.

Open from Saturday 17th May to Tuesday 20th May 2014.

Open from 11am to 5pm, (4pm on Tuesday)

I will be showing some paintings before I exhibit paintings and prints in Arbroath at the Old Ladyloan School on the seafront.     More information on this event on this link to my website exhibitions page.

Tulip Carnival de Nice

Pink Lady

Alyth Bridge

Falls of Dochart

Forfar Loch

A GREAT YEAR FOR TULIPS

A GREAT YEAR FOR TULIPS

This spring has been brilliant for tulips. The weather has remained cool with just enough moisture so tulips have flowered for a long time. Flower tubs, beds, borders and other spare land where tulips have been planted have all been a blaze of colour for ages.

Whilst we wander around the garden enjoying this display we must also take the opportunity to assess each variety and make notes so we know what we will be ordering next autumn.

Last autumn I bought in a range of dwarf double early tulips to be planted amongst my main flower bed of mixed polyanthus which are quite low growing so a short stemmed tulip would give a better display. I mixed Abba a red tulip with Double Price, violet purple, Monsella a yellow and Purissima a taller white fosteriana tulip. The mixture worked very well but was let down by the very poor range of colours of my polyanthus. It was definitely not what was shown on the seed packet.

However I got quite a surprise at the fantastic scent from my white Purissima tulips. They had always been sold as scented but I had never really given it much thought. This year it was very strong and quite exotic.

Next autumn I will buy in more scented tulips in a wider range and see how they compare.

I grew a fair bit of Myosotis Blue Ball (Forget me nots) so selected the single early yellow Yokohama the dwarf early pink Peach Blossom and some bright scarlet Greigii Red Reiding Hood which would all go very well against the blue bedding myosotis. The idea worked fairly well, though mildew affected my myosotis and killed out some plants. Fortunately I had some spare pansies to replace them with so there were no gaps.

It is good to change the flower schemes each year so I have bought in some wallflower seed for my main display bed for flowering next spring. These grow quite tall so my tulip selection in autumn will include a range of the taller Darwin Hybrids.

As the spring flowering bedding plants and tulips go over to be replaced with summer flowering geraniums, tuberous begonias, nemesia, petunias and impatiens nothing will be wasted. The best colours of my polyanthus will be lifted and lined out on the allotment so they can grow on for a year then be ready for next years bedding. Other bedding plants will be composted. All tulip and hyacinth bulbs will be lifted carefully and I try to keep them growing a wee bit longer somewhere until they are ready to be dried off. I keep them in a cool outdoor area so they don’t dry out too much.  In mid summer they will get cleaned up and the bigger bulbs separated from the smaller bulbils. The bigger bulbs get reused in bedding schemes or planted in some spare piece of ground needing some colour. The bulbils get planted in borders where they will naturalise over the years and form large bold clumps of colour such as at the front of my allotment plot.

I put all my old hyacinths in between clumps of summer flowering herbaceous plants such as flag iris and oriental poppies as they give this border some colour in spring, then die down when the herbaceous plants need the space.

Plant of the week

Cytisus praecox Allgold is the best bright yellow broom. The species praecox is a lemon yellow colour. These brooms are very easy to grow as long as the soil is well drained and the plant gets plenty sunshine. It will grow to about three or four feet tall, and although it is not long lived, only lasting six to ten years it can be propagated by semi ripe cutting towards the end of summer. It is excellent for dry stony banks. It can get a bit straggly in time so better to prune about a third of all shoots after flowering. It grows well amongst drifts of red tulips and the blue grape hyacinths which will all flower together.

Painting of the month

Taybridge from Broughty Ferry is a large acrylic painting on canvas. I will be showing this painting with many others at the Angus Open Studio event at the end of this month.

 Artists from all over Angus will be displaying their paintings and crafts in numerous venues and studios. A preview of works by members will be held in Inverquharity Castle from 10^th to 20^th May with proceeds going to the charities Dyslexia Scotland.

I will then be displaying recent paintings in Old Ladyloan School along the seafront in Arbroath together with other artists from 22 to 26 May 2014, open every day from 10am to 5pm.

END

PERFECT SEED SOWING TIME

PERFECT SEED SOWING TIME

Successful germination of seeds on allotments and in the greenhouse can vary according to many different factors. We have been blessed with a long dry spell and a reasonably mild Easter, and just as the soil was getting a bit too dry down came the rains. Perfect timing!!! As this begins to dry out the soil surface, it makes the rough ground a lot easier to break down into a deep tilth. I like to cultivate  the surface a couple of inches deep to create a good crumbly tilth, then rake it level before adding some fertiliser and starting to sow seeds. Rake the fertiliser into the surface before marking out the rows for sowing. We have to provide the best conditions for seed sowing as nowadays seed packets have an absolute minimalistic quantity of seeds in them.

Vegetables

I try to keep to my four year rotation to minimise the impact of pests and diseases which can build up if you grow the same crop on the same patch every year. However difficulties occur with the brassica family. The kale, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts all go together as they all suffer the same wide range of pests and diseases, but other vegetables such as radish are treated as salads in the rotation, and turnip and Swedes are root crops in the rotation.

My answer to the problem is to intercrop my radish for spring sowing in between other brassicas before they need the space.

Later on put them between young overwintering spring cabbage and cauliflower.

I now only grow club root resistant varieties of swede such as Gowrie and Marion, so these can safely go with the other root crops. Purple Top Milan and Golden Ball turnip are the odd couple that I put with my root crops as their soil needs are the same as other root crops, i.e. they need fertile soil that was manured for a previous crop such as peas, beans or onions. They are a quick summer catch crop that do not stay in the ground very long and this is the drier season, (sometimes) so minimises the risk of clubroot reinfection. Maybe one day someone will breed clubroot resistance into these summer turnips as well as mustard green manures.

Other vegetable seeds to sow now include parsnips, carrots, beetroot, lettuce, radish, spring onion and peas. Broad beans were sown inside in March and planted out in early April, but French beans and runner beans are a wee bit more tender so don’t rush out to get them in early. Mid to late May is fine as they can grow very quickly in summer. Start them indoors in cellular trays to gain a few weeks, but be very careful with peat free or reduced peat composts. Make sure you only sow seed in bought seed composts otherwise the drainage may not be sufficient for tender seedlings and losses can be high. Last year I lost nearly all my French beans and many other flower seedlings due to poor composts. I now make my own by using some bought in compost mixed with fertile garden soil, plus extra grit for drainage and some rockdust to add some natural minerals. I am getting good results, but make sure you remove worms and any other beasties from the garden soil before you mix it into the compost.

Carrots are a special case because of carrot fly infestations which are just about impossible to avoid on an allotment site. I grow mine in a bed system of three rows six inches apart and cover them early with fleece. It worked just fine till our local allotment cat thought the fleece would make a nice hammock for a catnap, and a handy scratching pole. The carrot foliage pushed through the holes and stopped any carrot flies entering so saving my crop.

Peas are sown in very fertile land in six inch wide rows two inches deep. I space the peas about two inches apart. There is plenty of varieties to choose from, though I tend to stick to my old favourites, Kelvedon Wonder and Hurst Green Shaft.

Flowers

Annuals such as poppies, godetia, cosmos, cornflower, candytuft and Livingston daisies can be sown direct into borders where they are to flower, or they can be started in cellular trays then planted out when big enough.

Wallflower, myosotis and Iceland poppies are treated as biennials to be sown now then lined out in nursery lines till autumn. Transplant them in October to beds and borders where they will flower next spring.

Plant of the week

Cerinthe major Purpurascens commonly known as the honeywort grows to about two feet. It has grey green foliage and blue flowers which are in bloom now and are great for attracting bees and butterflies. Cerinthes can be grown as an annual, biennial or perennial started as seed sown in spring. They prefer well drained fertile soil in full sun. They are great for naturalising as they will grow again from their own seeds.

END