LOOKING BACK OVER 2016

LOOKING BACK OVER 2016

The Festive season is a time to relax and enjoy the benefits of our labour over the past year. We have filled the freezer with fruit and vegetables, there is ample fruit and vegetables in storage, and plenty leeks, swedes, cabbages, winter cauliflower, kale, winter lettuce, rocket, Swiss chard and parsnips still quietly growing through the winter months. It is a time to look back and review the year, looking at the successes, failures, varieties we grow, sowing dates and how much we have worked with the climate that can never be relied on as no one knows what is normal any more.

John and Anna wish everybody a very Merry Christmas

However it is the climate more than anything else that determines how plants will grow. The UK climate varies dramatically from north to south and east to west, but looking back my Dundee area hasnae done too bad. Early on we came through a reasonably mild winter which had snowdrops beginning to flower the previous December, just a bit like this winter as mine are all showing white tips as I write. The year will go on record as a mild dry year, with always just enough rain to keep plants growing in between warm dry weather. The south of UK got plenty heatwaves, which we were promised would travel north, but the heat seemed to wither away round about the borders.

Fuchsia Mrs Popple

Spring arrived early and never got too warm so displays of daffodils, crocus and tulips were brilliant and lasted a very long time. Fruit trees flowered abundantly, and there always seemed to be plenty bees around to pollinate them. The apples gave the heaviest crop ever and had to get some serious thinning. Fiesta was my biggest winner as fruit was huge, very flavoursome and is still very fresh in storage. Discovery and Red Devil both cropped heavily. Pears looked great in full blossom, but only produced three fruits, so either a late frost stopped fertilisation or my four varieties on one tree are not compatible. I thought Conference, Comice, The Christie and Beurre hardy would help to pollinate each other, so next March I will graft some Concorde onto the tree to see if that helps.

Figs also had a great year, as did all my currants, gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, saskatoons and brambles. New autumn raspberry Polka was excellent with large fruits and spine free stems. Autumn Treasure was also good, but fruited a fortnight later. My new primocane bramble

Red tuberous begonias

Reuben was a disaster as the new canes never flowered till November, then withered away. I will leave the canes in place and see how it fares as a floricane type.

New perpetual strawberry Albion was cropping right into November, but the flesh is very firm and not as soft as we expect from a summer strawberry. I will retain it another year and review progress.

The dry mild summer brought out the best in flowering plants with geraniums, begonias, fuchsias  and roses all at their best, but petunias were miserable as they really like it to be a wee bit warmer.

Vegetables had a mixed year, as disease was hard to control, so the onions suffered some white rot, brassicas got clubroot and potatoes got blackleg and late blight, though I still got a great crop with Amour producing huge spuds. Broad and French beans, peas, courgettes

Tulip Monte orange

and pumpkins all had a great year, but root crops have not been as big as in previous years.

Indoor and outdoor grapes had a very good year, but the lack of a warm sunny autumn did not help to ripen up the fruits and increase the sugar content, other than with Muscat flavoured Seigerrebe which ripens in August and was this year’s star attraction. Just a pity the fruit is so small.

The dry autumn allowed me to complete all my composting and digging ahead of winter and now raking up leaves will soon be completed so next year’s compost heap will have a good start.

Now I am well ahead of gardening tasks, I can sit back, enjoy the festive season, and with a glass of three year old Saskatoon wine in hand let’s look to 2017 and make new plans. Cheers!!!

Check over fruit and veg in store

Wee jobs to do this week

Rake Check over stored apples onions potatoes beetroot carrots as well as dahlias, begonias and gladioli and remove any with signs of decay in case it spreads to healthy plants.

Check chrysanthemums stools growing in the cold greenhouse for overwintering greenfly on young foliage. Try to keep them frost free and growing away slowly.

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BLACKCURRANTS

BLACKCURRANTS

Blackcurrants are now almost an essential fruit on allotments and in gardens. They have come a long way over the years. Native to northern Europe and northern Asia our soils and climate are perfect for their successful cultivation and fruiting. Their popularity was encouraged after the last war when a shortage of fresh fruit such as oranges rich in vitamin C was likely to affect the health of the nation. The variety Baldwin was very popular as were Wellington XXX and others. However many of these were prone to pests and diseases, especially reversion, a virus disease spread by the gall mite which was quite common making the bushes worthless. The Scottish Crop Research Institute, now #James Hutton Institute, took on the task to sort these problems.

Rex Brennan and scientific team sample the blackcurrants

Another problem causing poor yields was late frosts affected some varieties prone to flowering too early. Research work started about sixty years ago with Malcolm Anderson and continues today with Rex Brennan along these lines and also looking to increase berry size, vitamin C content, flavour, health benefits, sweetness and resistance to other diseases. The new range of varieties in the “Ben”series now account for about 99% of all blackcurrants grown in UK, 95% of which goes for Ribena production. One of the first to be released was Ben Lomond in 1972. In the garden Ben Hope and Ben Connan are hard to beat, but Big Ben, with larger sweeter berries that are great to eat straight off the bush is giving strong competition. Blackcurrants are very high in vitamin C as well as vitamin A and B, the minerals iron, manganese, phosphorus, copper and many others and the fruit has high levels of anthocyanins.

Blackcurrant Ben Connan

We can eat the berries fresh in summer, especially #Big Ben, and freeze surplus for future use in jams, jellies, juice, compote, summer puddings and it makes one of my favourite wines, especially after laying down for three years. If patience is not your strong point, try a Blackcurrant Cassis which will be ready for Christmas if crushed immediately after a summer harvest and put in a large glass jar with sugar, a few blanched almonds and steeped with a dark rum. Strain off the liquid a few days before Christmas for a warm festive tipple with a fantastic flavour.

Blackcurrants grow on most soils but prefer them fertile and free draining, but still retaining moisture. Plant two year old bushes in prepared soil, spacing them about five to six feet apart. Then prune all shoots to a few buds above ground level, dress with some fertiliser and add a mulch to control weeds and retain moisture. In future prune to retain young shoots and remove old less productive wood. Give an annual dressing of fertiliser and continue to mulch and keep weed free. Bushes should grow to about six feet tall and yield up to ten pounds of fruit per plant.

Blackcurrant bushes after pruning

Breeding over the last sixty years has eliminated most pest and disease problems, but young shoots can still attract greenfly infestations so keep a watch over them and if necessary spray with an insecticide used for rose pests, or if you wish to go organic then cut out any infested shoot tips.

Propagation of blackcurrants is very easy and rooting is usually 100% successful. Take strong one year old shoots from healthy bushes after leaf fall and before growth starts again in spring, and trim them to about ten inches long. Line out in a nursery row, spacing the cutting four to six inches apart and inserting them into the ground about six inches deep. Keep them watered if dry weather prevails in summer and remove all weeds. They should be rooted and ready to lift and replant with more space a year later to make a strong bush for permanent planting.

Wee jobs to do this week

Land now composted and dug over for winter

Recent winds and frost have helped trees and shrubs to drop their leaves so take the chance on any dry day to get them raked up, collected and added to the compost heap. Autumn has been remarkably dry this year, so getting the garden and allotment ready for winter is well ahead and all of this year’s compost heap has been spread and dug in so these fresh leaves will begin a new compost heap. This will be added to with kitchen waste, trimmings from winter vegetables and whatever the next ten months has to offer.

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WINTER PRUNING FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES

WINTER PRUNING FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES

Most fruit bushes and trees have now lost their leaves and are completely dormant so this is a perfect time for the winter pruning. A frosty day is perfect, or if the ground has a covering of snow, this will prevent any surface soil damage.

Apples and pears

Remove branches too close to ground level after getting weighed down with heavy crops, and thin out shoots to keep the centre of the trees

Apple Fiesta

open for good air and light circulation. Remove any over vigorous shoots growing straight upwards and cut back a few other shoots by about a third to maintain a well balanced shape and encourage fruiting spurs. Sometimes a mature pear tree can produce too many spurs resulting in a massive crop of smaller pears, so thin these out if necessary.

With some forms of apple trees growth is controlled by spur pruning, such as with espaliers, fan trained trees, columnar forms and stepovers. Growth is pruned in late summer cutting back side shoots in half, then in winter these are further pruned to a few buds to encourage the formation of fruiting spurs.

Plums

Do not prune these in winter otherwise they are liable to infection from the silver leaf fungus disease. Wait till spring for young trees and mid summer for older mature trees.

Blackcurrants

Try to retain and encourage strong young shoots by removing some old wood every year. Young shoots usually grow lower down on older fruiting branches, so cut these back to the young shoots.

Anna picks #blackcurrant Ben Connan

Any branches that got bent over with heavy crops should be removed as the fruit on these is liable to get soil splashed onto them when it rains.

Red and whitecurrants

These fruit on spurs established on older branches, so retain about ten older branches growing from the crown and cut back by half all young shoots on them in summer and then in winter cut back to just a few buds. Replace older branches over the years from new shoots growing from the crown.

Gooseberries

These are best grown on a single clear stem to keep fruiting wood well above ground level, so prune out all low growing shoots as well as some in the centre of the bush, otherwise it can get too crowded making picking a nightmare. Cut back any very long shoots to encourage fruiting spurs.

Raspberries

John prunes autumn fruiting raspberry Polka

Summer fruiting raspberries fruit on six foot tall shoots grown the previous year, so these are retained and last summers fruiting shoots are removed to ground level. Thin out excessive growth to allow spacing of about four inches between shoots after tying in to the top wire with a running knot.

Autumn fruiting raspberries are easier to manage as they fruit on shoots produced in the same year, so everything gets cut to ground level as soon as fruiting has stopped in early winter.

Brambles

Blackberries are like summer raspberries that fruit on long shoots produced the previous year. Depending on variety these shoots could be very long so they are best trained along wires fixed to a fence or wall or other free standing permanent solid structure. Remove all of the old shoots that have fruited and tie in the new young canes to replace them.

Wee jobs to do this week

Erecting the bird feeders

Now that frosty weather is with us we need to look after our feathered friends, even though they will still return in summer to eat our strawberries, currants, saskatoons and blueberries. I keep replenishing a water dish with clean warm water so it can last a few hours before freezing up again. Once the ground gets frozen birds can struggle to find food although in early winter there is still plenty of berries around. Keep bird feeders topped up regularly all winter.

Art Studio

Back in the art studio I am finishing off another oil painting for my #Lady in Red #art exhibition.

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THE WINTER GARDEN

THE WINTER GARDEN

The winter months can be a quiet time in the garden as most plants are dormant, but with a wee bit of research you will find there are quite a few plants that have their day in winter. Bringing these together to create a winter garden can give a focus of interest from November till the end of March.

Although we may not get a blaze of dazzling flowers, we do get a surge in the feel good factor on coming across the Chinese Witch Hazel, Hamamelis mollis and Jasminum nudiflorum in full flower on a sunny January day, and Viburnum bodnantense Dawn’s pink flowers have a terrific scent. Down at ground level the heather Erica carnea flowers all winter with red, pink and white flowers and the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger has pink, mauve and my favourite with a pure white flower. Another impressive specimen with tall yellow flowers is Mahonia Charity.

Chinese Witch hazel

Many variegated evergreen shrubs show off their brightly coloured leaves in winter without having to compete with the spring or summer flowers. Euonymous Emerald N’Gold, and Emerald Gaiety, (the silver variety), Elaeagnus pungens maculata with a yellow variegation and  Lonicera Baggesons Gold are some of the brightest shrubs in winter, but some can grow quite big so need plenty of room. The Lonicera is also a favourite for nesting birds as the dense foliage gives them ample protection and camouflage, so please do not clip these shrubs into modern round, square or other unusual shapes to keep them under control.

Give them plenty of space and let them grow naturally.

As autumn gives way to winter there is a period of several months when it is the berried plants that take centre stage from trees to ground cover. The rowans come in a range of colours from white to pink and yellow to red. They also have fiery autumn colour as the leaves drop leaving behind a prolific crop of berries to feed the birds for a couple of months.

Joseph Rock

The Cotoneaster genus has a huge range of red berried shrubs varying in size from the massive Cotoneaster frigidus up to 20 feet tall to the normal C. simonsii then coming down the scale to C. horizontalis with its herring bone pattern and down to the ground cover C. dammeri.

If you are looking for a plant to cover a north facing wall the firethorn, Pyracantha comes in a range of colours and the thorny habit gives perfect cover for your local blackbird at nesting time.

If you have room for a specimen tree several maples have bright coloured stems, such as the coral bark maple Acer palmatum Sango Kaku, and some have peeling bark, but it is the white stemmed birch, Betula jaquemontii that gets my top marks for an impressive tree to stop you in your tracks.

Several shrubs have dazzling coloured stems in winter, very visible once all the leaves are off.

Dogwood and snowdrops

Rowan with golden berries and autumn colour

Cornus alba Westonbirt and Mid Winter Fire are two beauties and the Cornus stolonifera flaviramea has yellow stems. If you want variety, try the grey stemmed Rubus giraldianus which appears as if it was covered in frost. However it has very thorny stems which can be a nuisance for spring pruning. Kerria japonica has bright green stems but also gets covered in a mass of yellow flowers in spring.

The willow Salix britzensis has orange stems that can grow ten feet tall in one season. All these shrubs which are grown for their coloured stems are best treated as stooled bushes, (except the Kerria,) which get cut back to ground level at the end of March just when they are ready to burst into growth. It is the new one year old shoots that have the brightest colours. These shrubs can be planted together in a large drift for greatest impact, and plant some crocus and tulips between them for spring colour as they can all grow happily together.

Wee jobs to do this week

Arthur Bell in November

Most roses will now be dormant so they can be pruned now, but leave any buds still clinging on, hoping to flower on a sunny day as fresh roses in early winter are great to enjoy. Otherwise for bush roses remove some old shoots but leaving behind all strong young shoots and hopefully you will have about five or so young shoots which can be tipped by about a third of their height.

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Limited Edition Prints on a special Festive Offer 

Dundee artist John Stoa has published quite a few limited edition prints which he is now offering at reduced prices during the festive season and into winter.

See his prints on his website print pages at www.johnstoa.com with some samples here.

Evening Lights from Broughty Ferry

Guardian of Peace

Mist over the Tay

Winters Evening West End