AUTUMN IS ARRIVING

I THINK AUTUMN IS ARRIVING

The sweet corn has been harvested, the onions are drying off and the pumpkins are beginning to colour up so all the signs are in place that autumn is just round the corner. Just like everyone else I am still waiting on summer to arrive, but it is getting a bit late now. I should never have joked to a guest from Italy way back in March while enjoying an unbelievable warm sunny spell lasting the whole month. I said I hoped they enjoyed the early Scottish summer, as that would probably be it, reasoning that by tradition, any period of three or more days of constant sunshine constituted a Scottish summer. I was just joking, but fate kicked in to make my humour come true.

We won’t forget this year. Everyone has a tale to tell and most of them concern water logging and the year of the slug and snail.

Harvesting of crops is well under way, the freezer is bulging, and our healthy lifestyle with fresh supplies of fruit and veg. every day has become routine.

Vegetables

Cabbage, kale, lettuce, radish, spring onions and Swiss chard continue to give us plenty of fresh produce, but French beans have been miserable this year. However courgettes just love the moist weather so we have had ample supplies to ensure we have plenty courgette soup.

Beetroot have been brilliant though we have many reports of other folk with very poor beetroot crops.

The wet weather has given clubroot a field day and a double row of January King cabbages got devastated, reducing the plants to four miserable specimens.

I have just purchased some Perlka which contains calcium cyanamide. It is a nitrogenous slow release fertiliser with a 50% lime content and claimed to help to strengthen cell walls in the roots making it less likely to attack from clubroot disease. All my brassicas, turnips, Swedes, wallflower and radish will now get a dressing to see if I can get my clubroot under control.

Sweet corn has now been harvested with a good crop of cobs though a wee bit smaller than previous years.

Fruit

Autumn Bliss raspberries are giving good crops, but lack of sunshine reduces sweetness in the berries. Cape gooseberries are growing strongly on a south facing fence protected with some double glazed window frames. Figs are plentiful, but will need some sunshine and warmth to ripen up outdoors. We keep trying these exotics. My peach tree gave me six fruits, but had a great potential early on, only to be reduced by rotting due to the wet weather. However those few fruits made the effort very worth while.

Blueberries continue to ripen up and give us good crops.

Under glass the first Black Hamburg grapes are now ready and Perlette, my white seedless grapes only need a few more days of decent sunshine and we will be sampling them. Poor summer weather with cool temperatures and too much rain means we have to be vigilant of botrytis rots in the bunches and immediately remove any berries showing signs of rotting before it spreads.

Green manures

Broad beans, onions and spring cabbage have been harvested and cleared so the land can be dug over and sown with a green manure. I am using clover as this does not get affected with clubroot disease. Previously mustard was my choice as it is excellent as a green manure crop having bulky foliage and good roots. It is also easy to kill for digging in and does not regrow. Clover also grows thickly but not so tall as mustard and the fibrous roots have nitrogen fixing nodules so improve fertility. It is easier to bury than mustard and also dies out when dug in.

Let it grow strong till it begins to flower then trample it down and dig it in.

Plant of the week

Eucryphia rostrevor has been in flower for a few weeks now. It is a small columner shaped evergreen tree growing to about 20 to 30 feet tall. It grows naturally in the temperate rain forests of Australia, Chile and Argentina. As it prefers mild winters, cool summers and plenty rainfall it is perfect in our climate, and you can see a fine specimen in Camperdown Park at the side of the first fairway to the west of the big house. My tree is about six years old and only six foot tall, but gets covered in large white scented flowers.

END

A SUNNY DAY AT KEW GARDENS

A SUNNY DAY AT KEW GARDENS

The last time I visited Kew I was studying horticulture for my National Diploma way back in the sixties. I was very impressed and knew that I would go back again another time, but to enjoy the gardens rather than study plants. Anna had never been there before and as she loves gardening as much as me it was a memorable visit. I think we got the last of the summer weather as we enjoyed three glorious days with cloudless skies and temperatures of 27 degrees C. Kew was at its best.

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew started over 250 years ago as wealthy people liked to show their status with large gardens furnished with the latest exotic plant discoveries from around the world. Plant collections grew in time and buildings and garden structures were created. The tall Chinese pagoda was built in 1761, then a palm house, temperate house, an arboretum and as the gardens expanded they were adopted as a National Botanical Garden in 1840.

It now has a massive plant collection for botanical interest and research, a massive library and a herbarium with 7 million specimens. It participates in the Millennium Seed bank project. Billions of seed from plants all over the world are preserved in nuclear bomb proof underground vaults in case of natural disasters.

Back at ground level it is reputed to have Europe’s largest compost heap created from plant material from its garden maintenance. And I thought I had a big compost heap on my allotment!!!

A museum shows how humans depend on plants for food, tools, clothes, medicines and ornaments.

Two galleries are dedicated to botanical paintings.

The gardens receive about 2 million visitors annually, maintained by about 700 staff. Botanical research is carried out by 650 scientists on projects of a world wide scale, as well as maintaining accuracy on the botanical naming of plants from DNA sampling.

Kew lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987, though there is now little evidence of the devastation.

Glasshouses

The huge palm house was completed in 1848 but more recently the Princess of Wales Conservatory was opened by Princess Diana in 1987. It has ten computer controlled micro climates for wet tropical plants to dry tropical plants. Excellent displays of tropical water lilies, orchids and carnivorous plants in the middle sections with cactus on the outer areas needing hot dry conditions.

The water lily house is very hot and humid to accommodate tropical water lilies including the large leaved Victoria Amazonica.

The Davies Alpine House was opened in 2006 to house a collection of alpine plants. The construction has an arched roof to allow maximum light penetration, and cool air is circulated for ventilation with automatic blinds to prevent overheating in mid summer. It is glazed with special glass which allows 90% of the ultraviolet light to pass through. All the plants looked very happy.

The Orangery constructed in 1761 never really worked, so it has been converted into a restaurant.

There is so much to see you can wander around for days and always find something new. I was very impressed with some excellent mature sweet chestnuts with huge crops of nuts, but not yet ripe. However we did find a large fruiting Mulberry tree full of red berries. They were delicious and a new experience for both of us.

We found an Italian grotto surrounded with olive trees and white fruiting grape vines. However there was not an olive in sight, and surprisingly the grapes were far from ripe, I was told.

A perfect hot day was finished off with a round of very tasty ice cream.

Plant of the week

Cyclamen hederifolium is perfect for giving a bright splash of colour (pink, mauve and white) at the end of summer in rock gardens and woodland fringe with dappled sunlight. This perennial grows about six inches high and the leaves emerge in autumn after flowering remaining green till spring. They go dormant all summer. Seed is produced in autumn protected as the old flower stem coils around the maturing seed pod. Allow the seed to fall, or scatter it to form a natural drift.

 

Painting for September

Happy Thoughts is an acrylic painting on canvas. This study is one of many figurative images being prepared for my exhibition at the Dundee Botanical Gardens in October where I will show studies of my “Artist’s Models” Figure painting presents the artist with a huge challenge combining an attractive model in a modern setting but retaining artistic values of good composition, variety of tones and good use of colour and texture.

END

James Hutton Institute

HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH ON OUR DOORSTEP

The James Hutton Institute, (formerly known as the Scottish Crops Research Institute) is based in Invergowrie, and has been carrying out research into food crops for over sixty years.

In the early years it was recognised that agricultural productivity was very poor due to pests, diseases, weeds, growing systems and poor yielding varieties of crops. Research stations were set up all over the UK to rectify these problems, often at local levels with the Scottish Horticultural Research Institute being set up at Mylnefield farm in Invergowrie in the early fifties.

I can remember my time at SCRI in the mid sixties when research was concerned with plant breeding to create higher yielding crops, disease resistance in soft fruit and vegetables, fertiliser trials, weed control and studies into plant viruses and eelworm in potatoes and raspberries. We also had a museum collection of apple trees from all over the world to assess their suitability for Scottish conditions, and the first blueberries, saskatoons and aronias were planted.

Many problems of that time were solved, as chemical controls were found for many pests, diseases, and weeds, but today most of these chemicals have been withdrawn, creating more problems to solve.

Growing methods have also changed, so plants suited for open fields are no longer the best for tunnel production as demanded by the supermarkets.

Effects of climate change are also being addressed as Scotland suffers a wetter climate but with a milder winter.

Work is also undertaken to establish isotopes to identify the authenticity of Scottish whiskies in the battle to prevent inferior counterfeits. Isotope signatures are also used for olive oils.

Fruit crops

Strawberries no longer suffer from red core disease, botrytis (apart from this very wet year) and virus and SCRI bred Symphony and Rhapsody are very popular

Raspberry breeding gave us a heavy yielding Glen Ample, but now pressure is on to find resistance to raspberry root rot (phytophthora) as it is so widespread that growers are finding it difficult to find clean land unaffected by root rot. They are now growing them in compost bags in tunnels with Glen Fyne one of the most promising new varieties. Work is ongoing to breed other varieties resistant to common strains of root rot, while still having good size, flavour, colour and taste.

Blackcurrants are mainly grown commercially for production of juice high in Vitamin C, though many of the Ben series are excellent for gardeners. I grow Ben Conan on my allotment. It is a very heavy cropper with large sweet fruit and not troubled by any pests or diseases. The new variety Big Ben has huge fruit, twice the normal size, and suited for supermarket retail sales. I intend to plant this variety in the winter as we like to eat fresh blackcurrants straight from the bush, as well as putting them in compote and summer puddings. Research is ongoing to continue to find ways of increasing the levels of vitamin C in the fruit for new varieties. Other research is underway to tackle the problem of lack of winter chill as we get milder winters. Blackcurrants need a period of cold weather to initiate fruit buds and have been suffering poor crops following recent mild winters, which have also advanced flowering times making the young fruit liable to damage with a late frost.

Gooseberry breeding has been successful in creating mildew resistance and an almost thornless bush. A new variety is approaching release. I have harvested some fruit from these bushes and lost very little blood, whereas my Invicta bush has superb fruit, but it is a vicious bloody battle to pick the crop.

Blackberries for tunnel production include Loch Ness and Loch Tay.

Vegetable crops

Potato breeding is looking at the problems of late blight in our wetter climate, as well as increasing levels of vitamin C and other healthy traits. A new range of Phureja varieties such as Mayan Gold with enhanced levels of carotenoides in the deep yellow fleshed tubers have been created from potatoes grown in Peru.

Turnips and Swedes are being bred with resistance to clubroot and powdery mildew, such as Invitation, Gowrie and Lomond

Plant of the week

Livingstone Daisy (Mesembryanthemum criniflorum) is also known as the Ice plant as the succulent leaves have a frosted appearance. However it is quite tender and really thrives best in a sunny hot summer. Gardens are planned well in advance, so I had the perfect spot for a dwarf annual that would thrive in a dry sunny border at the top of a wall. Seeds were sown in early April in trays indoors, then after a good germination (they are pretty easy to grow) they were pricked out into cellular trays to grow on for another few weeks. Nice sturdy plants were planted out in May awaiting the long hot sunny summer so they could burst into a mass of dazzling colour. They were quite outstanding on several occasions, but this was just not their best year.

They can withstand a bit of salt spray so are perfect for maritime planting locations, and are fine for sowing direct into the soil in a normal year.

END

REJUVENATE THE HERBACEOUS BORDER

REJUVENATE THE HERBACEOUS BORDER  

Herbaceous and border plants are no longer confined to the formal straight rectangular border, but can be planned to fit in with other shrubs or garden plants. However it is useful to group together plants with similar flowering times for impact and maintenance. Modern herbaceous plants can happily be mixed in with other border plants, annual bedding and annual flowers from seed. Underplanting with bulbs such as snowdrops, crocus, anemone blanda, narcissi, tulips and lilies can extend the flowering season and keep an interest going for most of the year.

 Herbaceous plants start flowering in early spring with the Hellebores, Doronicums, Pulmonarias and bulbs planted in between large meandering drifts. There is plenty of time for bulbs to flower and grow before the herbaceous plants need the space, and at the end of the season those that lose their foliage early can be underplanted with cyclamen which flower at the end of summer and come into leaf in autumn.

Flowering continues right through till autumn with the Anemone Honorine Jobert, Phlox, Aster (Michaelmas daisies) and red hot pokers. Whilst we are still enjoying these later flowers many of the earlier flowering types are now looking a wee bit bedraggled and in need of some attention.

Flag Iris is well past its flowering time and even growth has slowed down allowing disease to affect older leaves, so they really need a good clean up. Remove all old dead leaves, flowering stems and give the plant a trim. This is a good time to replant, replace and plant up new varieties. Older clumps can be lifted up and divided to keep them fresh. Use young growths with two or more prominent buds, and some decent roots. Dig over the border, adding garden compost and replant about a foot apart with the rhizomes are still visible above the soil. Make sure the transplants are well watered just in case we get a dry autumn, (it is possible!!!) Try a few new varieties from a specialist UK grower sourced from the internet.

Delphiniums, Oriental Poppies, Campanulas, Shasta daisies and other spring and summer flowering plants now need dead heading and cutting back the old foliage. Also remove any canes or stakes and ties no longer needed. Delphiniums start to plump up buds for next years flowering stems and in this wet season slugs and snails are having a fantastic time, so keep sprinkling the slug pellets or next years show could be quite diminished. Sometimes the Oriental poppies will flower for a second time after cutting back if luck is on your side.

Peonies tend to retain their foliage till late autumn so I leave them intact to build up good crowns for flowering the following year.

Some of these clump forming plants can now be dug up, divided and replanted into a freshly prepared border. It is best to fork out small plants from the outside of large established clumps as these will be the youngest plants. As the borders are permanent for several years, this is the time to add a generous helping of well rotted garden compost. I have a huge compost heap, but it is still rotting down so I will be using the Council’s Discovery compost, which is readily available, cheap, weed free and well rotted down, so very easy to add to the soil. It is also excellent for those areas of established border with a lot of spring bulbs so you can’t really cultivate to any depth. I spread Discovery compost on these areas about two inches thick and lightly fork it in taking care to replant any tulips, crocus or other bulbs I accidentally dig up. Always apply a compost mulch in autumn before any early bulb foliage such as grape hyacinths, appears otherwise you may bury new emerging young leaves.

Herbaceous plants such as some low growing Bellflowers, Campanula are excellent for ground cover to create permanent planting areas of low maintenance, lasting for three or more years, but then every so often you do need to dig up and replant, getting rid of old spent clumps. With careful selection you can establish a border with plants that need no staking. Many herbaceous plants can be quite tall so support is essential, but Iris, Hemmerocallis, some Phlox, Heucheras (see below) Bergenias, Kniphophia (red hot pokers) Anemone Honorine Jobert, Hostas and Doronicums and many others can be left unsupported.

Plant of the week

Heuchera is an herbaceous perennial plant grown for its brightly coloured foliage in green, pink, bronze, scarlet and variegated with long racemes of white, pink and red flowers in spring. It is very popular on account of its evergreen foliage and ability to thrive in most situations, and is the perfect plant to brighten up a dull corner. The common name is alumroot and they come from North America so are very hardy in UK. It tolerates winds, sea spray, dry and many different soils, but will thrive better in rich well manured soils as it can be a gross feeder. It is happy in full sun or moist shade and rarely affected by pests or diseases. Even the slugs and snails leave it alone.

END