Archive for the ‘Gardeners view’ Category

We weren’t expecting to be talking about snow in the garden just yet…

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

A typical late November and early December in the garden, for me at least, involves wrapping up warmly, donning my wellies and taking a stroll around with a warm cup of coffee, just giving everything a once over. Tidying up, attending to the little things I’ve missed or forgotten about and planning for the year to come – a little escape from Christmas shopping.

We hope you got your plants into the greenhouse

November snow-fall took us all by surprise, I was very happy that I’d got most of my delicate plants in the greenhouse and under cold-frames and our frost-jackets have come in really handy lately – I’ve only lost a chillie plant, the poor thing was something of an orphan, tucked in a sunny corner I’d left it there as it was burgeoning and still flowering in mid-November and the fruits maturing nicely to a very deep red. The chillies are pretty bold and they’ve since been “sun-dried” for a couple of hours on a low heat in the oven – great for adding to marinades, they’ll be as good as fresh come barbecue time, yum!

A few snow precautions for the garden

When the garden is snow bound it’s good fun to get out and build a snow-man or have a little snow-ball fight with the kids – but try and be a bit careful on the lawn, as you can end up with nasty marks and fungal diseases like the cool weather when it all starts to thaw.

It’s worth clearing the snow from your cold-frames and very carefully from greenhouses, as the weight of the snow can leave them warped.  Don’t be tempted to climb a step ladder in this weather, but just get rid of the worse with careful wielding of a broom-handle.

Try to shake snow off the branches on your smaller trees, shrubs and hedges; they won’t like the excess weight caused by snow and can end up damaged, be careful of ice again.

Last month we told you about some of the things that our garden birds like to eat, when the bad weather hits, as it just has, they really feel it the most. Frost and snow can make their search for essential foods really tough; they’ll really appreciate your bird tables and feeders.

Christmas is nearly here

There’s still a little time before Christmas, don’t forget to check out our shopping pages for some great garden deals for the gardeners in your life – a good sturdy pair of boots is just what we all need at this time of year. We still have some Christmas tree stands left, sturdy and attractive they’re just what you need to show your tree at it’s best.

We hope 2010 has been a good year for you all and your gardens and we’ve really appreciated another year of support from you.

Everyone at GardenXtras.com wishes you a joyful festive season and another year of happy gardening in 2011.

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Prepare Your Garden For Winter

Monday, November 1st, 2010

Well if you haven’t got your winter boots out yet, you know it’s definitely time to, we’re seeing a fair bit of rain now and it’s all getting a bit damp underfoot. We’ve got some really nice funky wellies, which are ideal Christmas presents for your gardening friends and don’t forget if you buy a pair of Marie Curie wellies from us we make a donation to them.

Prepare for Winter Months

There’s still plenty to be done in the garden though and we thought we’d share some thoughts on what needs to be done to prepare your garden for the winter months.

You’ll be thinking about getting in your winter bedding plants to keep it vibrant over winter and of course and you’ll be wanting to dig over and collect any composting materials – removing leaves from your beds will keep them looking nice and add to your composting for Spring feeding time.

Get your mulch down when the beds are tidied; this will protect them when the frost starts to bite.

Sort your non-hardy plants out too, it’s time to bring out your cold frames. Put your planters in sheltered areas or get them into the greenhouse or even the conservatory if your chosen plants will tolerate it.  Take a look at our portable greenhouses which can be a really convenient solution here.

You might even get a few final cuts of the lawns in, if it does stay dry, remember not to cut it too short. It’s also a good time to spike the lawn to keep the turf aerated and now is a great time to lay fresh turf to any areas that have worn through the Summer.

If you have a pond then remember to thin out the aerators, clear any rotting vegetation and put your nets over, your fish will really appreciate that.

Protect your Garden Furniture

Even the best quality garden furniture will appreciate being bought into shelter over winter, if you can’t squeeze it all into your shed and you don’t already have covers for it then you should certainly look at our selection of garden furniture covers, we’ve a massive range and some of it is nicely discounted too!

Feed the Birds

A bit of wildlife in the garden can really brighten up your life, Mother Nature’s free garden ornaments! They appreciate a bit of extra food at any time of the year but winter can be tough on our little feathered friends so it’s a good time to get some bird feeders in your garden.   They really appreciate sunflower and nyjer seeds, peanuts too – but not salted or dry roasted as these won’t do them any good at all. Robins really like mealworms if you fancy attracting them to your garden for a perfect winter scene.

We’ve got a really nice selection of bird feeders in at the moment and a good nut mix or suet from us should do a great job at attracting some free colour and song to your garden.

Don’t feed them used cooking fat, many people think they appreciate the extra energy levels, but in fact it can be bad for their feathers and is often a breeding ground for bacteria, it’s probably best not to give them any of your leftovers.

Well, happy gardening and we look forward to you popping by again soon.

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Three excellent ways to profit from your own garden

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Financially

The great thing about keeping and growing your own is that it not only saves you money, it also frees you from the worry of future fluctuating prices!

The cost of our fresh produce has been steadily rising, and just today it was reported that inflation is above it’s target at well over 3% per annum. It looks set that our fruit and veg is to become even more costly.

You can preserve in one way or another any over production, so you can benefit from it all year round.

Physically

You’ll reduce the chemicals you consume, increase your intake of nutritions (vitamins and minerals) and improve your fitness

You are the one with the quality control and can choose to and afford to eat organic, after all you’ll be in charge of the pesticide. There are plenty of natural alternatives to chemical pesticides, I’ll list the ones I know in a future article.

You’ll be able eat much fresher and riper produce. Store bought produce is often picked before it is ripe so that it has the best chance to end up on the shelf unspoiled and undamaged. It is a well known that picking produce before it is ripe reduces its nutritional value.

You’ll definitely get exercise when growing your own, theres always something that needs doing.

Emotionally

Relaxing satisfying and a sense of achievement

There’s something about being out in the garden, is it some inner sense of communing with nature, or is it just that you’ve left your mobile inside whichever it does feel good.

…and in the end you do get something for your efforts, great value, great tasting food (possible not great looking though!)

What you could plan now for your vegetable garden

Broccoli, French Beans and Runner Beans can be planted now, you may even get away with planting carrots still as it has been colder than usual, up until now that is.

Remember to erect your poles for runners, make sure the ground is well manured, weed free and even now it"s worth protecting seedlings from frost (using fleece if need be)

Your tomatoes can go in your grow bags now – keep them watered, protected from frost and make sure you add feed every now and again

Enjoy

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