April Gardening Articles

• Time to Fill those Baskets
• Flower Pouches

• If You Can't Beat Them...

• Coping with Slugs and Snails

The increase in popularity of hanging baskets in recent years has been nothing short of spectacular, yet some gardeners still struggle to get a good lasting display!

Some fundamental errors, which often lead to poor results, include;

Using poor potting compost.

Failing to incorporate slow release fertiliser such as Osmocote and failing to top up nutrient levels with a liquid fertiliser, such as Miracle-Gro, especially at the end of the summer.

Failing to water every day and not giving enough water (really soak the basket).So how do we go about getting a basket outside your front door that you are proud of?

 

Here is how we plant a typical 30 cm (12") wire basket.

 

Stand the empty basket on a bucket and then line the base with damp moss. Put about 5 cm (2") of compost in the bottom.

 

Push the roots of three trailing plants such as Lobelia, Ivies or Creeping Jenny through from the outside so that their roots lie on the compost inside.

 

Then pour in another 5 cm layer of hanging basket compost and line the basket with more moss to about halfway up the sides.

 

Add another 4 or 5 trailing plants such as Busy Lizzies, Petunias, Verbena, Diascia, Nepeta etc.

 

Fill to the top of the moss lining with more compost.

 

This is a good time to add some Osmocote tablets or other slow release fertiliser!

 

Complete the moss lining to the top of the basket and fill to the brim with compost.

 

Put edging plants around the lip of the basket. Ivy leaf geraniums, trailing Fuchsias, grey leaf Helichrysum and the amazingly reliable Surfinia Petunias are great for this. You will need 4-5 plants to tumble down over the lip and give a good show.

Finally, plant one upright growing plant to fill the centre. Fuchsia, Pelargonium, or Nemesia are good at this.

 

If your basket is bigger than 30 cm diameter you will need to increase the number of plants. There are lots of substitutes for traditional moss linings but not all look as natural and allow you to plant through the sides to create a full ball effect.

 

Finally water the basket thoroughly and keep it in a warm place with plenty of natural light such as a greenhouse or conservatory. We have found that we get better growth if we keep our baskets in for at least 10 days and they seem to grow better when kept near to the ground at this stage, perhaps it's the effect of a better micro climate down there. Another tip we use is to push a forked stick into the centre of the basket and hook the chain on to it. This prevents the chain getting tangled up with all the new growth that quickly appears.

 

In rural locations in the South-West it is safe to put your basket outside from the middle of May, in sheltered spots in town it can be hung outside earlier.

 

Finally here are a few more tips for success.

 

Use only special hanging basket compost which contains moisture retaining and re-wetting agents. We use and recommend Levington Container and Hanging Basket compost.

The fertiliser in your compost will feed the plants for about a month, even with slow release fertilisers such as `Osmocote in the compost, it is a wise idea to feed occasionally with a liquid fertiliser. We recommend `Miracle-Gro' or 'Tomorite' soluble fertiliser. REMEMBER IF YOUR PLANTS ARE GOING TO FLOWER ALL SUMMER, THEY NEED FEEDING!

 

Remove flowers when they are past their best, as well as making it look tidier, this actually encourages more flowers to be produced!

 

Regular watering is vital. Some traditional wire baskets, when full of plants, may need watering every day or even twice a day! If your potting compost doesn't contain it already, mix some water retaining granules into the compost before planting the hanging basket. This forms a water storing gel. Plastic hanging pots often incorporate a drip tray, which acts as a reservoir. Wicker baskets are lined with polythene.

 

Hosepipe attachments for watering baskets are worth considering and the small pulley type bracket attachments, which enable you to lower your basket for watering and dead heading, are excellent!

 

Make sure the fixing for your basket is strong enough and firmly attached.

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Do you get infuriated by discovering that there is virtually nothing left of the precious new plants you have so lovingly planted? If you do then it's time to get cute! You see, not every plant you can grow tastes like caviar to slugs and snails.

 

My garden is mostly surrounded by old limestone walls with thousands of places for snails to hide and when my back is turned out they come and obliterate any succulent lettuce, Hosta or Delphinium that I leave unguarded. Away from the walls its' the slugs that do the damage but these hide in damp nooks and crannies or come out of the soil just as soon as I'm not looking.

 

Over the years I have been keeping a list of plants that I can grow and they don't like to eat and it's become a pretty impressive list too. Okay, that's a bit defeatist I hear you say but why fight the inevitable especially in a garden where I would rather not use chemicals.

 

So gone are the Dahlias, Marigolds, Lupins, Begonias and bedding Petunias.But my garden is still filled with colour! Instead of these, my summer colour is provided by long flowering Pelargonium, Nemesia 'Confetti', Gazanias and cool blue Agapanthus. Hardier perennials such as dramatic Oriental Poppies, a wide variety of hardy Geraniums, Day Lilies (Hemerocallis) and Penstemons in at least ten varieties fill my borders. Peonies may have a short flowering season but the richness of their gorgeous blooms and subtle scent make them well worth the space they occupy.

 

In spring I grow good old fashioned scented Wallflowers which must taste awful as these pests never touch them. In the autumn I have lovely displays of montbretia (Crocosmia), Japanese Anemone and masses of ornamental grasses to keep the show going.

 

Its' a good bet that so called Mediterranean plants will be safe from attack by slugs and snails. Lavender, mints and rosemary will not be touched. Marjoram, sage and fennel all have beautiful coloured-leaf forms that are good enough to grace any border and still just as useful in the kitchen.

 

Look for plants that have hairy leaves or are adapted to save water. Furry 'Lambs Ears' (Stachys), Verbascums or the less hairy 'Yarrows' (Achillea) and Anthemis will be safe. Thick fleshy 'Ice Plants' (Sedums), 'House Leeks' (Semperviviums') and Thrift (Armeria) are safe too.

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Winter was reluctant to go this year and after the coldest March for many years it is safe to assume that the hoards of hungry slugs and snails are going to be keen to make up for lost time! They have been hunkered down all winter and its' a safe bet that they are hungry and eager to chomp any fresh young plants that you plant out!

 

So what can we do to protect our tender little babies?

 

Firstly, it is the youngest, juiciest young plants that they prefer, so concentrate on protecting these. This can be done with a physical or chemical barrier. Something a simple as a mini cloche over the top of each plant works but is unsightly and not too practical for large areas. These can be created from recycled plastic lemonade bottles with the bottoms cut off and will give good protection until your plants are larger and less attractive to these pests.

 

For larger areas I find that baiting an area before planting works well. I lay small heaps of cabbage leaves or vegetable peelings on the soil a few days before acts like a magnet and every morning I gather up the slugs and snails from underneath them and dispose of them. This reduces the number of pests in the immediate area. Delaying planting can also help but, when spring is as late as it is this year, its' not an option.

 

Slugs and snails love moisture and for this reason are most active at night and during rain showers. A hunt for them at night with a torch can be surprisingly successful but it is wise to warn the neighbours first. You don't want to get arrested for prowling! I know of gardeners who have paid a bounty to get their children collecting them but be warned, it would be wise to agree a limit if you don't want to end up breaking the bank!

 

Many slugs (over 80%) spend most of their lives under ground and chomp away at your plants roots and shoots before they even get their heads above the soil. These are the difficult ones to control and that is where liquid slug killer and natural predators in the form of nematodes come into their own. These watered on to the soil will control the pests below ground. Natural predators are available from all good garden centres and nurseries now but there are some to encourage in the garden too. Ground beetles do a great job of seeking out slugs and eating them and of course hedgehogs and song thrushes are well known gardeners friends but they are under threat from loss of habitat. Frogs, toads, grass snakes and slow worms are other good guys and all play their part.

 

A disgusting trait of slugs is that they are quite happy to become cannibals. So a dead slug lying on the path becomes a strong magnet to others and a place where it is easy to thin them out a bit. Slugs in particular follow the slimy trials left by others and this is often how they find food.

 

So what of chemical control? As with so many things, used as directed on the packaging, its' safe but I'm afraid I often see it misused and applied as though it was some kind of colourful mulch or fertiliser. Avoid making piles of pellets as this can be attractive to pets and easy for them to eat lots at one time. Pellets are invariably blue as this is a colour that birds find less attractive and there is precious little evidence, as RSPB now agree, of birds actually being killed by slug pellets used correctly. However, a new type of slug and snail killer is now available to gardeners and this one is not only safer to wildlife and us but also very effective.

 

In the past there have been many that claim to be 'safe' but in my experience they have been pretty safe to the pests too! Growing Success' Advanced Slug Killer is permitted for use by the Soil Association for organic crops and eventually, after being broken down by soil microbes, ends up feeding the plants as well. We have been trialing it for over a year in our nursery and have now changed over to it completely.

 

There are masses of other ways of controlling slugs and snails or protecting plants from attack by them but it is hard to beat these main methods.

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If you find planting up a hanging basket a bit of a challenge then the hanging flower pouch is for you!

Hanging polythene tubes filled with potting compost and stuffed full of bedding plants can be a spectacular alternative to the traditional hanging basket or perhaps supplement it. Where they really score is in their ease to plant up and the way they can be hung against a fence or wall and instantly make the garden look more attractive.

 

The concept couldn't be simpler and now is the time to plant them up for spectacular hanging colour this summer.

 

The flower pouches, or 'tumble tubes' as they are sometimes called, are very reasonably priced at around 99p each. It is vital to fill them with good hanging basket compost that has water retaining gel additive. Levington Container and Hanging basket compost, for instance, has it included but, if you find the potting compost you have bought hasn't got this special additive, then you can buy the gel separately and mix it in before filling your pouch. There is no doubt that getting even watering with this type of container is the big challenge so add a little extra gel to be on the safe side. A tweak we have found worthwhile is to sink an empty 9cm pot in to the top of the pouch to act as a small water reservoir that slowly drains water in to the main volume of compost.

 

Most pouches will have the planting holes already marked out on the front for you and they generally require around 8 small plants to fill each one. We find that we get better growth if the plants are allowed to settle in for around ten days with the pouches lying on their backs in a greenhouse or conservatory. After this, the pouch can be simply hung on a nail firmly driven into a wooden fence or on to a firm fixing on a wall.

 

Plants that we find perform well in flower pouches are Impatiens (Busy Lizzies), Fibrous Rooted Begonias, Brachyscome (Swan River Daisies), Sutera or Bacopa and of course Surfinia Petunias. The Impatiens and Begonias do particularly well in cooler spots in the garden and really grow well on north and east facing walls where they get very little sun.

The volume of these containers is very small so it is essential to give your plants plenty of feed. We use Osmocote resin coated slow release fertiliser granules and supplement that with extra Miracle Gro liquid feed every week.

 

Of course flower pouches don't have to be filled with flowers! They make good containers for salad leaf vegetables and have the distinct advantage that, when hung up, they will be well out of reach of most slugs and away from rain splashed soil. Some of the cut-and-come again lettuce like Lollo Rossa, Salad Bowl and Oak Leaf look attractive enough in their own rite but add a few herbs like chives, basil and chervil and you suddenly have a fresh and healthy salad available on your doorstep. What's more you don't even have to bend your back to pick it!

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