Winter wonders: the vegetables that thrive in frozen weather

Veg plots are usually bare and dug over at this time of year, but Charles Dowding advises the opposite

Imagine a vegetable garden in winter, and you’ll probably conjure up an expanse of bare earth alongside a frosted-up greenhouse. But market gardener Charles Dowding’s plot couldn’t be more different: celeriac roots the size of bowling balls stand in neat rows next to a carpet of spinach plants crusted with frost, huge globes of savoy cabbages and chicory blooms. He calls this his “outdoor larder”.

“More and more people are seeing the beauty of the vegetable garden in winter,” Dowding says. His 950 sq m of ground – about the size of four full-size allotment plots – near Shepton Mallet in Somerset produces £21,000-worth of produce for his local vegetable box scheme, as well as supplying produce for his family and the gardening and cookery courses he runs.

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How to renovate a fruit tree – part II | Alys Fowler

Resist the temptation to cut off large limbs - radical pruning is always disastrous

It may lean over its neighbours or have overgrown its spot, but you cannot treat a neglected apple or pear – one that has not regularly been pruned – with a short back and sides. Radical pruning of apples is always disastrous, because it results in more vigorous growth. It may look like you’ve solved your problem, but next spring, the tree will sprout a mass of watershoots. These are vigorous non-fruiting, vertical shoots produced to restore the balance of roots to shoots. Instead, in any one year, aim to take off no more than 25% of the canopy.

Standard apple and pear trees are pruned into a goblet shape with an open middle for air circulation and light, and equally placed framework of limbs, usually four to five main branches roughly 50-60cm apart. If it has not been pruned for a while, start by removing branches in the centre of the tree to open it up. You may need to take them right the way back to the main framework or point of origin. However, resist the temptation to prune off large limbs – avoid cutting off anything bigger than 20cm in diameter. If, by thinning out the middle, you have already taken off your 25%, then stop. No more pruning until next year.

Continue reading...

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Gardening tips: Camelia ‘Yuletide’ will spice up winter gardens

Plus, visit The Enchanted Garden at the William Morris Gallery and keep pelargoniums going through the cold

Camellias that flower over Christmas offer a splash of glamour and colour as gardens sink into winter. My favourite is ‘Yuletide’, a single flower with deep red petals and a golden centre. It does well in a pot in ericaceous compost, or in a west-facing, sheltered border. Height and spread: 2m x 2m.

Continue reading...

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via IFTTT

Winter wonders: the vegetables that thrive in frozen weather

Veg plots are usually bare and dug over at this time of year, but Charles Dowding advises the opposite

Imagine a vegetable garden in winter, and you’ll probably conjure up an expanse of bare earth alongside a frosted-up greenhouse. But market gardener Charles Dowding’s plot couldn’t be more different: celeriac roots the size of bowling balls stand in neat rows next to a carpet of spinach plants crusted with frost, huge globes of savoy cabbages and chicory blooms. He calls this his “outdoor larder”.

“More and more people are seeing the beauty of the vegetable garden in winter,” Dowding says. His 950 sq m of ground – about the size of four full-size allotment plots – near Shepton Mallet in Somerset produces £21,000-worth of produce for his local vegetable box scheme, as well as supplying produce for his family and the gardening and cookery courses he runs.

Continue reading...

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via IFTTT

How to renovate a fruit tree – part II | Alys Fowler

Resist the temptation to cut off large limbs - radical pruning is always disastrous

It may lean over its neighbours or have overgrown its spot, but you cannot treat a neglected apple or pear – one that has not regularly been pruned – with a short back and sides. Radical pruning of apples is always disastrous, because it results in more vigorous growth. It may look like you’ve solved your problem, but next spring, the tree will sprout a mass of watershoots. These are vigorous non-fruiting, vertical shoots produced to restore the balance of roots to shoots. Instead, in any one year, aim to take off no more than 25% of the canopy.

Standard apple and pear trees are pruned into a goblet shape with an open middle for air circulation and light, and equally placed framework of limbs, usually four to five main branches roughly 50-60cm apart. If it has not been pruned for a while, start by removing branches in the centre of the tree to open it up. You may need to take them right the way back to the main framework or point of origin. However, resist the temptation to prune off large limbs – avoid cutting off anything bigger than 20cm in diameter. If, by thinning out the middle, you have already taken off your 25%, then stop. No more pruning until next year.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E9fq1z
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: Camelia ‘Yuletide’ will spice up winter gardens

Plus, visit The Enchanted Garden at the William Morris Gallery and keep pelargoniums going through the cold

Camellias that flower over Christmas offer a splash of glamour and colour as gardens sink into winter. My favourite is ‘Yuletide’, a single flower with deep red petals and a golden centre. It does well in a pot in ericaceous compost, or in a west-facing, sheltered border. Height and spread: 2m x 2m.

Continue reading...

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Top Tips for First Time Home Buyers https://t.co/274optfWtj https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM #estate agents Nottingham, #conveymove

Top Tips for First Time Home Buyers https://t.co/274optfWtj https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM #estate agents Nottingham, #conveymove (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1068825109362810885)