Green Fingers: Making the most of the season
One of the best locations to relax in is simply at home.
The peak growing season is usually eight weeks from the middle of June until August and a time to enjoy our long and hopefully warm balmy days. The urgency or panic to get things done is over and there is more time for relaxing. We expect fruit and vegetable harvests to be good this year, due to the mild spring, as long as they continue to be watered and fed regularly.
Nothing stays the same in life, including gardening and I feel it is important to have a balance regardless of whether you have a strong passion for a particular hobby or occupation. It is great that there are so many varied activities going on - the difficulty being to make a choice on what to be involved in. It is also pointless to try and fill up your spare time to the brim, as this will leave little left to have down time.
One of the best locations to relax in is simply at home. It has all the advantages and ticks all the boxes of what you like to do. The only disadvantage is that you might get distracted by seeing something that needs doing but if you overcome that minor irritation, you can then unwind and just enjoy the peace and tranquillity of your own space, and sharing it when you wish with others as the mood takes you. Set up easy chairs and tables that can stay outside and you are ready to go at any time. Eating outside in your garden and chatting long into the evenings is rare enough but grab the opportunity as it happens.
One huge additional attraction is the recently completed greenway. This runs practically the length of the county so that this facility is literally at the back door of so many communities and homes, and people have gravitated to their local segment for their regular walk or cycle or both. It is a great success with obvious health benefits and I hope, in addition, that visitors will continue to arrive and spend some time in our county.
There is an old saying that planting should be done when there is an R in the month. In the past I think that made perfect sense as plants were able to become established before the summer and therefore need little or no attention regardless of the weather. We must remember that plants in those days were usually dug straight from the ground and not grown in containers, so the advice was sound but the advent of almost all plants grown in pots has made that advice largely redundant.
Our advice is that planting can be done all the year round but adjust this to conditions where you are. Therefore, we generally advise people to plant in the spring where they are very exposed or near the sea, and anytime for all other areas.
Life is getting busier all the time and for some it might be the only time that they can get planting done while on holidays and for others there might be a gap that needs filling with a new plant.
For planting, water the plant well the night before and then after planting give a good watering in, and thereafter maybe a watering twice a week until the weather cools or we have significant rain.
The intensity of the spring hot weather may cause leaf scorch on a number of plants, especially those in containers and those that have delicate foliage. Scorched leaves usually drop off and give way to new foliage before the end of the season but badly shrivelled leaves can be removed and the plant given a weak feed and covered with fleece to speed recovery.
If you have any queries or comments you are welcome to share them with me on 051-384273 or orchardstowngardencentre@hotmail.com and if of general interest I will include them in a future newsletter.
