Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Apologies for being MIA the past few weeks, I didn't mean to abandon the blog! I had an increase in work hours which left me with barely any time to go outside and then I ended up with Migraines and Headaches, so all in all it has't been great over the past few weeks lol Anyhoo I am here now and here are a few bits that I will be getting on with in my garden this week that you can do too.

1.Sempervivum - If like me you have a couple of pots of these lovely plants you will have noticed that in recent weeks they have started producing offsets. To give yourself more plants and to stop the pots becoming too congested, simply tease each of these away from the main plant and pot on into individual pots of gritty compost. You will notice that each of these already has it's own root system making them a good plant to start with when learning how to propagate.

2. Tomatoes - I'm not sure about you, but my Tomato's have been rather slow to ripen this year, with the weather blowing hot and cold it seems to have held them back! However some of them are slowly starting to ripen on my 'Sungold' variety. Make sure you pick them as soon as they are ready to avoid the fruits splitting and don't forget to give them a weekly feed. 

Hopefully my other two varieties will start ripening soon!

3. Pond Weed- Even in a Half Barrel like mine, Pond Weed can soon appear! Make sure you keep on top of it by removing it as soon as you spot it. However don't forget to let it rest at the side for 24 hours to allow any little critters caught up in it to get back into the pond. 

4. Eyesore - If like me you have a part of the Garden that you enjoy looking at less than the rest, why not try make a feature of it? 

For example we lowered the top off the Raised Bed and placed the off-cut behind the Bins until we'd decided what to do with it. Weeks later it's still sat there (due to my indecisiveness, lack of space and the fact our home is a Rental so we can't really do much) and with Bins being an eyesore anyway I really didn't like looking over at the space.
 I placed some little pots of Alpines along the top of the ledge using it as a shelf to cheer it up a little bit! It's only a little change but it makes a big difference!

5. Weeds - Keep an eye out for Weeds popping up where you might not expect it. At first glance you might not see them but as the picture below shows they can grow right in the middle of your plants undetected, for example this one blended right in between my Cotoneaster and Astrantia!

6. Carrots - Finally you may remember a few weeks ago I sowed some Carrot Seeds in the Raised Bed. Well if you also did that at the same time then they should be about ready! I harvested my first Carrots yesterday morning.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist, let's get started!

1.Poppies- Once Poppies have finished flowering, if you don't like how they look and would rather not have the seed spread around the garden, then you can cut them back to the ground. This will encourage fresh foliage so that you will still have ground cover. However I like to keep the seed heads intact as it's adds some interest to my garden.

2. Delphiniums - Along with Poppies you can also dead head Delphiniums and Foxgloves once they have finished flowering. For example with the white Delphinium below the middle spike will finish fist, so I will cut that out to allow the plant to focus it's energy on the two smaller spikes either side. Once these are over I will cut the who plant back down to the ground, this will encourage another flush of flowers later in the year.

3. Acid Loving Plants- Plants such as Rhodoendrons, Azaleas and Camelia's would benefit from a feed and a good soak right now, specially with all this warm weather we've been having. All I do is mix some Liquid Feed specially for these plants in a watering can with Rainwater, then give the plants a water. 

4. Apples- If you have Apple Trees, Pears or Plums and they are starting to set fruit then it's a good idea to decrease the number of fruit in each crop to two or three to increase the size and quality of the fruit. Unfortunately my Apple Trees did not flower & fruit this year but this can happen if they are only young plants. 

5. Baskets & Pots - Lastly don't forget to keep up with the Weekly feeds for Hanging Baskets and Pots. A solution of Liquid Seaweed or Tomato Feed encourages more blooms and tops up the soil with nutrients which can be lost when watering.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX