From the Garden shed by Moira Wells - It's All in the Preparation

From The Garden Shed By Moira Wells

It's All in the Preparation

ays are getting longer and new life is stirring in the garden.  Already I have to tread carefully for green shoots are rising in unexpected places and a multitude of snowdrops have appeared over the last few days.  My recently ordered plants have arrived and are wintering in the utility room until I am ready to plant them since I have no greenhouse in the new garden yet.
January may be the month for planning, but February is all about preparation for the seasons ahead and tidying the greenhouse, if you have one, is a good place to begin.  First take out pots of autumn cuttings, and any plants brought in for the winter, ruthlessly throwing away any that look decidedly unhealthy.   Out with torn grow bags and empty compost sacks; sweep up debris hiding in corners.  If your greenhouse has been insulated for the winter leave washing the glass until the weather is warm enough to remove the bubble wrap, but scrub any cloches and cold frames.  Add a splash of disinfectant to the water and tackle empty pots and propagation kits ready for seed sowing.  It is not too late to insulate the greenhouse and it would probably be a good idea in view of the current cold weather.  Finally clean and sharpen blades of garden and pruning tools, mending where necessary.  Then wipe over with an oily cloth to prevent rusting.

Vegetables
There is nothing like the taste of home grown vegetables and the potato is no exception.  To enjoy an early, mature, crop of potatoes chit seed potatoes now ready for planting out next month.  Although I have to confess to experimenting with old potatoes found languishing at the back of the larder, tempted by the long white buds already sprouting, this is not the way to go.  Those long white buds have been caused by the darkness but natural light is essential to produce the desired short, strong buds.  Not to mention specially prepared seed potatoes are resistant to diseases and potato pests.  To chit the seed potatoes place them upright in an empty egg box or apply tray or anything similar ‘rose end’ up (the end where tiny buds can be seen) and leave, in a light cool place, for between four to six weeks to allow the chits to develop.  Don’t forget that chitting in an outdoor shed can leave your potatoes, like any other crop stored there, vulnerable to rats and other vermin.  The potatoes are ready for outside planting once the sprouts are roughly one inch long.  
There is a wide range of seed potatoes available, in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, tastes and cooking characteristics and if you decide to try different ones to see which best suits your soil, taste and requirements, make sure you label each container.  Have a look at the choice available from Greenfingers.com.

A vegetable patch or allotment is not necessary to grow potatoes.  This year because my garden is ‘still work in progress’ I am going to grow them, indeed most of my vegetables, in a very convenient ‘gro-bag’.  Have a look at the Potato Growing Bag from Unwins.  Each reusable bag will nurture the potato from ‘plant to kitchen’.  All you need to do is add the potatoes and compost.
Unlike the potato, rhubarb flourishes in the dark so cover with an old bucket to keep out the light.  This will encourage an early crop of long and tender stalks ripe for a delicious crumble.  Garlic and shallots sets also enjoy the cold, indeed they need temperatures of 0 - 10° C to break dormancy – but make sure the soil is well prepared first.

Hedges and Trees
Choose bare-root trees (‘standards’ or ‘feathers’), shrubs and hedging (‘whips’) to plant now.  This is one of the most economical ways to buy plants.    As the name suggests bare root plants are dug up and stored without any soil at all covering the roots.  They arrive ready to be planted directly into the ground and it is vital this is done within a week of their arrival as the roots will dry out and die if left exposed for any length of time.  Always make sure the roots are kept covered and moist until planting.

Consider hedges that attract wildlife such as Holly and Hawthorn.  However if you have pets or children do remember that Holly berries are poisonous.  Hedging Trees Direct provide some inspirational hedging ideas and solutions.  But for that instant luxurious hedge, indoors or outside, check these out.  Pretty stunning, don’t you think?  Blackmoor Fruit Nursery have a good stock of bare-root fruit trees to choose from and to make these trees even more tempting they also have a sale on at the moment .  

Wildlife
During this freezing cold weather spare a thought for the little creatures outside.  Keep feeding the birds, check their water has not frozen over, swish the ball around the fish pond to make sure their water doesn’t freeze either. Build eco-friendly homes with twigs, leaves, flowerpots laid on their side, anything handy lying around the garden.  For posh pads have a snuffle around these houses from Ecotopia.  Make a hedgehog happy with a hogitat or provide muh needed homes for our sadly declining dormouse and bee (although knowledge of bee keeping is probably essential here) populations.

Keep digging when you can, but most of all keep warm.

Previous Articles

May 10 - Sheer Grit in Dorset
June 10 - A Buzz at the Hive
Aug 10 - Rocks and Beakers
Oct 10 - The Garden Shed
Nov 10 - The Garden Shed 2
Dec 10 - Beat the Frost
Jan 11 - A Gardener's Work Is Never Done
Feb 11 - Busy Waiting for Spring
Mar 11 - Spring into Action
Apr 11 - New Beginning
May 11 -The Language of Flowers
June 11 - RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Toilets & Skypods
July 11 - Hot Stuff
Aug 11 - Hotels, Holidays and Wild Angelica
Sept 11 - Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, Want not for money all the year
Oct 11 - Grass Matters
Nov 11 - Wildlife and Wormeries
Dec 11 - The Season to be Jolly
Jan 12 - A New Year and New Beginnings