Â鶹Éç

Q – Will this excessive rainfall have affected my light soil? Will I need to give it extra feed to improve it?

Matthew – When you get a lot of rain on a light soil it can leech all the nutrients through.Ìý When it dries out I would treat it to a really good helping of well-rotted manure – that will help restore the balance of nutrients but it will also add bulk to the soil.

Bunny – The best thing you can do when it’s wet is to keep as much plant cover on there as possible. Avoid empty beds.

Ìý

Q – I planted some Rhubarb ‘Timperley Early’ and I didn’t pick any of the stalks.Ìý To protect from the weather, I put some straw and an upturned pot over it and I seem to have forced it. Can I get a crop this year or shall I abandon it?

Bob – You have a crop for this year! I would make the pot bigger, put more straw in there, and try and get it to grow a bit more.Ìý My rhubarb has started early this year – I wouldn’t worry too much.Ìý In March/April I’d take away the straw and the pot to encourage it to make new leaves.Ìý And give it a good load of muck.Ìý Don’t worry too much about the wet and cold either – they are quite hardy.

Ìý

Q – I usually grow plants from seed to sell. However, I no longer have a greenhouse and so I’d like suggestions for plants to grow outside that will look good/sell well at the end of June please.

Matthew – You’re going to want plants you can grow from seed directly into the soil. Californian Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Nigella ‘Love in a Mist’, Ammi majus and Orlaya grandiflora (‘Minoan Lace’) in the cow parsley family.

Bob – ‘Night-Scented’ Stock. Hesperis matronalis (‘The Dame’s Violet’). Hollyhocks and Wallflowers too – for flowering next year.

Bunny – Sweet peas. From cuttings I’d do things such as Thyme or French Tarragon.

Ìý

Q – We have three 10-year-old horse chestnut trees. One is stunted and seems to have a bleeding canker.Ìý Can it be treated or should I chop it down?

Bob – I think a lot of horse chestnuts are grown from seed so there should be some variation – so hopefully only some of them will be prone to diseases.Ìý I say keep them going and see what happens.Ìý You can get something nasty and recover from it – if it was a rare disease you’d immediately want to get rid of it but as it’s so common I wouldn’t say it’s essential.

Bunny – If you put a deciduous mulch around the base that really increases the micro-organisms in the top 7cm (2.75 inches) of soil.Ìý That helps the aeration of soil and benefits a sick tree. Do that to all three.

Ìý

Q – Our garden club is in process of deciding our Summer 2016 growing competition.Ìý What do the panel think to growing a potato in a pot?Ìý The judging/weighing will be in late-July. What variety can you recommend?

Bob – Rather than go just for yield go for flavour as well.Ìý I’d recommend ‘Dunluce’ variety – one of the best-flavoured earlies – or possibly ‘Concorde’, and see who can make the potato taste best!Ìý Also, try growing the tastiest tomato.

Ìý

Q – Can the panel tell me what the best way to put together a hot bed please?

Bob – It’s good when it works but it’s a lot of work.Ìý Problem is that it heats up and is too hot initially and then it cools down.Ìý I’d use a mixture of fresh grass clippings, some leaves, some compost – mix it all up and put it in plastic bags.Ìý Then surround that with insulation and then stand a layer of soil in a plastic bowl on that and then stick the plants on that.Ìý Then you can keep moving them along because the heat doesn’t last more than a couple of weeks.Ìý

Bunny – You must get a soil thermometer to make sure you’re getting the right temperature. Straw bale gardening is similar and much easier – and it will last for a whole season.

Ìý

Q – I enjoy the simplicity of Auriculas – can the panel advise me on whether they should overwinter outside or in a greenhouse, and where is the best site for a small Auricula Theatre? Full sun or partial shade?

Matthew – An Auricula Theatre is a traditional way of displaying them – and is essentially a large rectangular box, divided up with shelving, painted black, at eye level.Ìý The professionals will normally overwinter them in an unheated poly tunnel.Ìý Good air circulation is really important.Ìý They can be prone to rots so keep them dry. But don’t enclose them because they don’t like humidity.Ìý Location-wise – I would say an east-facing location as they don’t like all day sun.Ìý Put them in clay pots.

Ìý

Q – I’ve been growing beetroot for a few years now – using the ‘Boltardy’ variety – the plants do grow but they seem to stay quite small and don’t swell. Also, there seems to be signs of ‘Beet leaf miner’.Ìý I was wondering how I could get better success?

Bob – Beets are maritime plants originally and have a strong need for minerals so a good dose of seaweed solution during the growing solution would do it some good.

Bunny – Put a good mulch on regularly too – don’t be mean with the mulch!

Ìý

Q – My friends insist that I should replace the compost in my patio containers every year.Ìý Is this really necessary?

Matthew – Not necessarily – depends what you’re growing as some plants are very hungry and others not so much.Ìý I’d replace about a third every year so you have some fresh and some old.