It is being widely reported in the press that experts are predicting slugs will be a huge problem & the RHS has recommended applying nematodes (Nemaslug). Its good to hear they agree with what we have been saying for the last few months. 

As reported in the Telegraph – Guy Barter of the RHS explained: “Last year slugs had a field day. Slugs wander around on a trail of slime & can’t stand dryness. It started raining last April and carried on raining throughout the breeding time for slugs.” Despite the cold winter, when food will have been scarce, there are so many slugs that “an unusually large number are bound to have survived.” He added. “The slugs should emerge along with the blooms as warmer weather takes hold, especially if conditions this month are wet”. The RHS advises tackling possible invasions using nematodes (Nemaslug).

Each year the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) announces its ‘Top Ten’ pests for the previous year based on enquiries received by their Entomology department and it is great to see how many we can help control naturally. For the 2nd year running slugs and snails topped the list. Last year was the second wettest year in the last hundred years, so pests that like damp conditions like slugs and snails flourished. Mosquitoes also did well, because of the plentiful supply of water i.e. in temporary pools and wet soil, which provided the ideal breeding sites.

The wet weather & below average temperatures did bring some good news – the conditions reduced the successful mating and development of some pests, as well as restricting their movement. Pests, such as horse chestnut leaf-mining moth, euonymus scale and viburnum beetle, were noticeably less troublesome last summer. Aphids and scale insects, are susceptible to fungal infections that can spread rapidly in wet conditions, so last summers weather mean’t these pest were less of a problem.

Top 10 pests in 2012

1. Slugs and snails - The no.1 problem in gardens and on allotments. The wet summer provided ideal conditions for these pests. Most damage occurs during spring to autumn, affecting seedlings, many ornamental plants and vegetables – especially potato tubers, hostas and narcissus flowers. Green Gardener says – Apply Nemaslug NOW to control slugs naturally. CLICK HERE to find out more.

2. Cushion scale - This sap-sucking insect occurs on evergreen shrubs, especially camellia, holly, rhododendron, Trachelospermum and Euonymus japonicus. It excretes honeydew and infested plants develop a thick black coating of sooty mould on their foliage over the winter months. Green Gardener says – Apply nematodes as soon as it is warm enough. CLICK HERE to find out more.

3. Vine weevil - The adult beetles eat notches in the leaf margins of a wide range of herbaceous plants and shrubs. The larvae feed on plant roots, especially those being grown in pots or other containers and they are one of the few pests capable of killing plants. Green Gardener says – apply Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer NOW to control vine weevil naturally. CLICK HERE to find out more.

4. Ants - They cause little direct damage to plants, but the soil excavated from their nests can be a nuisance in lawns, on patios and in flower beds. Green Gardener says - Use Nemasys No Ants to control ants from mid May onwards. CLICK HERE to find out more.

5. Mealy bugs - This sap-sucking insect that attacks many plants grown in houses, glasshouses and conservatories. They infest leaf axils, covering the plant in white waxy secretions and they are very difficult to control with pesticides. Green Gardener says – use a combination of SB Invigorator and Cryptolaemus to control Mealybug. CLICK HERE to find out more.

6. Soft scale - A sap-sucking pest found on the stems and foliage of many plants, especially Citrus, bay trees, Ficus and Schefflera. Honeydew excreted by the insect causes the foliage to become stick PLUS sooty mould often develops on this honeydew. Green Gardener says – Apply nematodes as soon as it is warm enough. CLICK HERE to find out more.

7. Woolly aphid - Mainly a pest of apples. The clusters of aphids are covered in white waxy filaments secreted by the insects. Their feeding can induce lumpy swellings in the bark of their host plants. Green Gardener says – Spray with winter wash NOW and then release ladybird larvae in May. CLICK HERE to find out more about winter wash and then CLICK HERE to find out about releasing Ladybird Larvae.

8. Cypress aphid - Die-back of conifer hedges of Leyland cypress, Cupressus, Chamaecyparis and Thuya species has various causes, including infestation by
cypress aphid. This pest sucks sap from the stems resulting in large sections of a hedge becoming brown. Green Gardener says – we thought this one would be higher up the list but we suspect people fo not realise what is turning their hedges brown. Release ladybird larvae into the hedge in May and repair the brown patches with “Get it Green” spray. CLICK HERE to find out more about Get it Green Spray and then CLICK HERE to find out about releasing Ladybird Larvae.

9. Fuchsia Gall Mite - This pest infests the shoot tips and flower buds of fuchsias, causing gross distortion and preventing the normal development of foliage and flowers. Green Gardener says – we do not have a natural answer to this pest yet – sorry.

10. Lily beetle - This bright red beetle (and the larvae) feed on the foliage of lilies (Lilium species and hybrids) and fritillaries. The plants become defoliated, resulting in a lack of flowers in the following year. Green Gardener says – Use Lily Beetle spray, sprayed directly onto the beetles and larvae to keep them under control. CLICK HERE to find out more.

 CLICK HERE to find out more about our products.

Growing plants from seed is one of the most rewarding jobs in gardening, but if it goes wrong it can be very irritating! So here a  few tips and ideas to guide you on your way :-

• Temperature - Seeds have an optimum germination temperature. Below this temperature they will germinate very slowly and be very vulnerable to disease and rather strangely above this temperature they may also germinate slowly or not at all. The best way of providing the correct temp is to use a propagator with a thermostat. After some research I chose a propagator from Greenhouse Sensations from the Vitopod range. This is supplied with a thermostat that can be placed in the seed tray so it can control the temperature where the seed is germinating. It also has vents to reduce the temp when it gets too warm. The optimum temperature can normally be found on the seed packet.

• Keep it clean – Use clean trays tools etc. and use sterilised good quality seed sowing compost Although the price of compost has risen in recent years it is worth spending a bit extra for seed sowing or universal compost.
• Watering – Water compost BEFORE sowing and at this time of year allow the watered compost to warm up overnight in the propagator before sowing.
• Single sow where possible – Rather than handling small seedlings and pricking them out into larger pots where the roots or stems can get damaged, I prefer to single sow seeds into coir pellets (see details below) where they can grow undisturbed before potting on into larger pots or planting directly into baskets or flower pouches. With  the smallest seeds i.e. lobelia for example, “pinch” sow the into a coir pellet and grow as a group of seedlings.
• Covering – In my experience covering seedlings with compost is too easy to get wrong! I either put on too much or too little. I have much more success when covering with vermiculite.

• Aftercare – Cover the top of the propagator with a sheet of newspaper to keep direct sun off the seeds as the temperature can quickly rise.

We supply a range of Coir Products, which are ideal for seed sowing. Our Coir Pellets, Coir Trays, Coir Pots, Coir Compost and Coir Growbags are PEAT FREE making them better for the environment and your plants. They are also easier to use (no more clearing up plastic / polystyrene pots, because the pots simply rot down in the soil after use) and produce healthier, faster growing plants (the roots grow through the pot into the soil, so there is no need to disturb the roots when you plant).

Coir Pellets – These compressed coir pellets are ideal for sowing seeds or for rooting cuttings. Add water to them and watch them swell to make the ideal growing medium (3.6cm in diameter). It is always best to sow seeds into individual pellets, so you don’t have to handle young delicate seedlings as it is so easy to damage them. Once large enough, pot up or plant out the plant and the pellet. For small seeds such as begonia and lobelia sow a tiny pinch of seeds into a coir pellet. For larger seeds such as tomato simply drop 1 or 2 seeds into the a coir pellet. I prefer to cover these larger seeds with a sprinkling of vermiculite. For cuttings of tender perennials such as fuchsias, geraniums, verbena etc. (many of the plants used in baskets and tubs through the summer will provide cuttings), push the cuttings into the coir pellets and place in a propagator or simply cover with a plastic bag and keep on a warm windowsill. They should root in 2-3 weeks.

CLICK HERE to find out more about Coir Products.

I am trying to grow dwarf iris in containers to flower on a window sill in the kitchen. The bulbs were planted in October and placed in a ‘plunge’ bed of moist coir. The idea is to keep the bulbs cool and moist through the winter. The roots develop and as the temperature rises in the spring the leaves start to emerge. When they are about 5cms tall the iris are lifted and placed in a cool greenhouse so the leaves can turn green in the light.

After10-14 days in the cool, I will bring them into the warm and ‘force’ them into flower. This happens very quickly - in fact mine flowered in 36 hours. Once in flower keep them cool to prolong the flowering period as long as possible. I also have some dwarf daffs in the plunge bed as well but I will leave them for another week or to so they will flower after the Iris.

After flowering, plant in the garden in well drained soil and they may naturalise to give you flowers again next spring.

To buy coir, please visit http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=16&cat=14&id_product=205 

Growing early potatoes - My first crop in my new greenhouse (see my earlier Blog about the new greenhouse) is going to be early potatoes grown in willow potato planters from Burgeon and Ball.

The potato variety is Rocket – a very early variety from Thompson and Morgan. I haven’t grown it before so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Seed potatoes are placed in the light with the ‘eyes’ upright. This will stimulate them into growth. When the eyes are developed (in about 14 days) I will plant them in the planters.

The willow planters have been prepared with soil/well rotted compost in the bottom followed by a layer of coir compost. I want the potatoes to develop in the coir as this should keep the skins nice and clean. By preparing them now the soil/compost will be warm in time for planting. Once the coir is warm I plant 4 seed potatoes to a tub. The planter is only about two thirds full, so that I can ‘earth’ the potatoes up with more coir as they grow. I will start them off in the greenhouse until the threat of frost has gone and then put them outside. Hopefully once the potatoes are finished I can use the containers for something else.

To find out more about coir compost visit http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=16&cat=14&id_product=205

It is important to fumigate a greenhouse to clear out any pests that have flourished during the summer before you move plants in for the winter. Clear your greenhouse of any unwanted pests by fumigating with a Biofume Greenhouse Candle NOW. Fumigating with a sulphur candle has been the traditional way of clearing pests, but now you can replace these nasty sulphur candles with this unique chemical-free Biofume Garlic Candle. It is important to kill any pests which have thrived during the summer i.e. red spider mite, whitefly and aphids before moving all your plants into your greenhouse for the winter . Clear your greenhouse of unwanted pests by fumigating with a Biofume Greenhouse Candle NOW.

Biofume Greenhouse Candles as recommended by Adam Pascoe in the Gardeners World magazine - “Take this opportunity to clean the glass & framework & fumigate to get rid of any pests & fungal spores. Try Biofume from Green Gardener, which produces smoke that gets into all the nooks & crannies. Use 2 candles per greenhouse. Seal the windows and doors, so the smoke does not escape.”

Biofume Greenhouse Candles - This natural garlic candle is used in the same way as a sulphur candle i.e. simply place in your greenhouse, light the fuse and leave overnight. HOWEVER, unlike sulphur candles you do NOT need to remove the plants before using the Biofume Candle and they are safe to use in aluminium greenhouses and polytunnels. Biofume Greenhouse Smokes do not leave any smell or visible deposits in the greenhouse and they will not taint any fruit and / or vegetables. Each Biofume Greenhouse Smoke is sufficient to treat approximately 20 cubic metres (equivalent to a 3m x 2m greehouse). How do I use them :-  

1. Water all the plants in the greenhouse in the morning.
2. Ensure that all doors, windows etc of the greenhouse are firmly closed.
3. Place the Biofume Smoke on a brick or in a metal container in the middle of the greenhouse and light the paper wick.
4. Close the door and leave overnight.
5. After at least 12 hours, open the greenhouse and ventilate well.

Biofume Greenhouse Candles are available NOW – CLICK HERE to find out more.

8 years ago when I moved into the woods, I built a barbecue area / gazebo out of wood, but over the years it has started to rot until finally a few weeks ago the supports gave way and the roof collapsed onto my barbecue and wood fired oven. As an enthusiastic barbacuer (I am not sure if this is a word), I cook outside all through the winter and I have even been know to cook some of the Christmas dinner over a open fire, so losing my undercover area was very sad and I knew I would need to replace it ASAP. This is when a simple plan to replace it like for like began to evolve……….. My old gazebo was just 4 posts with a tarpaulin roof and then some trellis over the roof and up the sides to allow the plants to take over and this looked great, but as you can see from the pictures that once I started it ended up becoming much bigger with a sloping roof. This time I have decided to use naturally treated timber (so it lasts longer) to create the frame and I connected it all together using crude joints cut with a chainsaw, but I have used hazel from our woods to create screens for the walls. These were created by attaching vertical hazel sticks to the frame and then “weaving” smaller hazel sticks cut from our woods (which have been stripped of leaves) in and out the uprights. By alternating the weaving I was amazed how quickly we were able to produce a very effective sceen which looks great. With the roof being much larger, I knew it would need some supports this time, so I built an apex roof, which I will be able to cover in a waterproof membrane and then cover with bark screening, but a apex roof is much higher than the old roof and having built it I then realised that the chimneys from by barbecue and oven were not tall enough! Luckily I still had some bricks left over from when we built the house, so I have now added another 8 brick courses to the oven chimney and it is now high enough to clear the new roof when it is put on. I still need to extend the barbecue chimney in the same way.

The next job was to cover the roof in a waterproof membrane and then for added protection, I covered it in bark screening. The bark screening comes in large rolls (4m x 2m) and is usually used to cover ugly fence panels, but I found it perfect for covering the roof – I just rolled it out over the roof and then tacked it down to the roof supports and once in place it really gives the roof a more woodland apperance. With the roof in place, it was just a case of sorting out the electrics (these needed to be positioned in a waterproof box) and adding some outside lights to light up my efforts during the long winter nights to come. My old gazebo was covered in roses, which I didn’t need to move, but as this gazeo is much bigger I have had to plant 2 extra standard roses and a climbing rose in the new raised beds to ensure that this one is covered in roses too.

When we moved to Stokesby, the one of the things missing was a greenhouse, so in the summer I had a greenhouse erected ready to protect tender plants through the winter, but more important ready for next spring and summer-why do home grown tomatoes taste so good? In choosing a greenhouse think about the following :-

1. Size - however big it is it will never be big enough, so always buy the largest possible – it also brings the cost per sq. ft down.
2. Site in an open situation - the amount of light plants receive in the spring and early summer will control the rate of growth of your bedding plants, tomatoes and cucumbers.
3. Material – wood or aluminium – we wanted wood, because we thought it would fit in better with the house, but having looked around it became obvious that with a modern house an aluminium greenhouse would be more appropriate. Aluminium has other advantages including low maintenance and larger panes of glass allowing in more light – it is also cheaper!
4. When to buy – best deals seem to be in Midsummer!

We chose a Robinson greenhouse in the end – although not the cheapest it does have a number of features which we liked including very large panes of glass for maximum light transmission PLUS fewer joints means less chance of leaks and less heat loss. It also has plastic bar capping, which reduce heat loss through the aluminium. Being in an exposed site, we needed a strong greenhouse and the design with cross bracing gives this strength.

Daddy Long Legs are about NOW – I know it seems unlikely, but these delicate creatures are the adult stages of the leatherjacket, which can cause havoc in lawns. This is one of the first ones I have seen this season encouraged into the house by the lights and open windows during this warm spell of weather. This is the normal time of year for adults to emerge from the lawn. They mate and then tend to lay eggs back where they have come from, so numbers of leatherjackets increase each year doing more and more damage. If you see a lot of daddy long legs in the house and birds particularly starlings pecking at the lawn then treat with Nemasys Nemasys Leatherjacket Killer NOW.

Nemasys® Leatherjacket Killer – Control leatherjackets naturally by applying Nemasys® Leatherjacket Killer containing millions of nematodes (Steinernema Feltiae) to the infected lawn in September i.e. NOW. Nemasys® Leatherjacket Killer is effective at killing leatherjackets, but is harmless to children, wildlife and pets and the lawn may be used immediately after application. Nemasys® Leatherjacket Killer is available in 2 pack sizes, so for smaller lawns just make solution stronger – you can’t overdose! CLICK HERE to find out more.