User Login

Username
Password
Forgot Password?

Click here to register and contribute to How To.


Categories

How to Grow your own Food

May, 2nd Week - A Word From The Flower Garden

Dirty Nails writes from personal experience, having supplied his family of four over the years with enough fresh produce to eat their fill. His book combines his love of gardening with the natural pleasures of being outdoors and 'in amongst it'. The author seeks to de-mystify the art of kitchen and allotment gardening, making the thrills, spills, triumphs and tribulations accessible to all-comers, whatever their level of gardening experience.

Share |

 

A WORD FROM THE FLOWER GARDEN

This week Mrs Nails has been tidying up the long sprawling remains of her daffodils. In their full splendour the various varieties have sung the song of spring, and made the walk to Dirty Nails’ vegetable patch a true delight. However there is little more displeasing to her eye than that which is left behind, deflecting from the glory of the bluebells and shading shoots of irises yet to come into their own.

The challenge for Mrs Nails is to fold and gently tie without using any string or bruising the leaves. It is tempting to cut them away, especially of the larger varieties, but beware! Such a measure may provide instant neatness, but the bulb (and, subsequently, next season’s produce) will not thank you for the lack of essential nutrients and goodness that it needs to reabsorb to thrive year after year.

Allowing time for the foliage to soften, Mrs Nails divides each group of stems and leaves and folds them either twice or thrice, using a couple of the softest outer leaves as ties to hold them in place. It is a skill that may take some practice, but be patient. Next spring your garden will repay you with a reward of golden delight.

NATURAL HISTORY IN THE GARDEN
White Dead-Nettle

The white dead-nettle looks similar to the stinger at first glance, but is actually quite different. It is a member of the mint family. This month it sports clusters of white, hooded, flask-like flowers up the stem. It is much sought after by bumble bees and has adapted its flowers especially for them. When the bee dips down into the depths of the flower for a sip of nectar, pollen is brushed onto the fluffy insect’s back by stamens (the male part) which are concealed beneath the hood. As the bee works amongst other dead-nettles, it mixes pollen from different flowers onto the styles (female part) of others, so ensuring that pollination occurs.

VEGETABLE SNIPPETS
TALKING WEEDS

Weeds are described as ephemeral, annual or perennial.

Ephemeral weeds

Ephemeral weeds are very short-lived and sometimes called ruderals. These pioneering plants are among the first to colonise open soil. They can complete their life cycle in any month of the year, often producing several generations in one season. For example, chickweed can flower and set seed every five to six weeks, spawning on average 2,500 seeds per plant. Hairy bitter cress and groundsel are similarly short-lived and rapid reproducers, spilling an average of 600 and 1,500 seeds respectively every few weeks. All these ruderals are especially prolific in the months between April and October.

Annual weeds

Annual weeds cannot survive the cold of UK winters. They are adapted to grow, set seed and die over the course of one season. Wild flowers such as poppies, fat hen (Good King Henry) and cleavers (also known as sticky-buds, or goose grass) are examples of annuals. They over-winter as seeds which are produced in abundance.

Perennials

Perennials persist from year to year. Slower growing than the other types of weed, species such as dandelion and dock survive the winter cold and summer heat thanks to their thick, fleshy roots in which they gather and store reserves of nutrients and moisture. The daisy, so common and lovely in the lawn, is a perennial flower that stashes winter supplies in fibrous roots.

Share |

Our Top 5 How To's