Gardening Tips

Gardening Tip of the Week - Marc Mallender - 23.01.12

 

 

This week’s tip:

 

If you wish to be sitting in the sun enjoying grapes from your vine this summer then now is the time to give them a prune.

 

Mature vines will need up to 95 percent of last year’s growth removed this may seem harsh but it will benefit the vines.

 

Many vines in France are trained to the double or single ‘Guyot system’ (the oldest part of the vine  is trained left and right making a ‘T’ shape or sometimes just in one direction making a ‘r’ shape), either on wires or against a wall with 5-10 fruit producing spurs coming off each cordon.

 

When pruning you are trying to keep the new, fruit producing wood(canes) as near to the old wood(spur) as possible and  want to encourage new canes to grow from buds at the bottom of last year’s canes.

 

     It is a fairly complicated process and difficult to explain but below is a link to a short video showing the procedure.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSMLIZpH7so&feature=related

 

   If you have been unsure of when to prune in the past have a look to see when local vineyards’ start to prune.

 

The vineyards in the Charente were full of people pruning last week but do not leave it too late as vines do bleed a lot if the sap has begun to rise.

 

P.s With this week's cold snap it would be advisable to wait for warmer weather to prune, saving your fingers and not shocking the vine too much


Spring Bulb Sale

Leclerc in Riberac are selling off spring bulbs all at 1€ a packet

They have Tulips, Crocus, Daffs, Iris and many more.

If planted quickly they may still flower this year if not next year will be a good display.

NEEM OIL

In Indian culture the Neem tree is known as the village pharmacy.  Preparations of leaves, seeds and oil are made for their distinctive health promoting and protective properties.

The dramatic effects of Neem oil in every area of daily life have been common knowledge for many years, but its pungent odour makes it unpleasant to use.  If this can be ignored, Neem is a natural anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent.  It is used in organic farming as a bio-pesticide and insecticide as it repels a wide variety of pests.

 For further information go to wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil

The essential oil is available on ebay.co.uk at £10.99 for 500 ml and the ordinary oil can be found on amazon.co.uk at £3.99 for 100 ml or £9.49 for 250 ml.


1.DRIED CHILLIES- cut up and sprinkled round the crocus will deter mice from nibbling and possibly the birds (maybe a bit late for this year now!)

 1.EGG SHELLS baked first then broken up (especially in a food processor) can be added to seed compost, also slightly broken can be sprinkled around hostas to deter slugs and snails.

Cover the beds with manure in the autumn to keep away weeds and dig in during the spring.

Don't pull up Coriander or Rocket in the autumn as they survive the winter, including snow
 

1. HERBAL FLEA-AWAY SPRITZ suitable for cats and dogs 

Ensure your pet stays freshly scented, whilst keeping dreaded fleas at bay. 

Ingredients:  1 litre of mineral water, 1 teaspoon each of dried rosemary and mint leaves, ½ teaspoon of vinegar, plastic spray bottle

 Method:   in a saucepan bring the water to the boil, add the rosemary, mint and vinegar and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and rest for 10 minutes.  Pour the liquid through a strainer into a jug.  Once cooled, pour into the spray bottle.  Shake well.  To apply, spray sparingly approximately 20-30cm away from the coat, avoiding the head and eyes.

1.A very kind way to prevent moles:

Plant bulbs which are supposed to get rid of moles... it worked !! Last spring, my neighbours tried this plant and it worked for them too ! I found this bulb on this site www.jacques-briant.fr  Its name is Incarvillea. The plant is a little pink flower and is not expensive at all ( around 7 € for three bulbs.) Just plant the bulbs at different places on your lawn or next to your garden. Our garden / lawn area is about 200 m2 and three bulbs were far enough. If you are interested in ordering this plant, you'll have to wait until January or February because it's not available in Autumn months. If you wish to order, don't delay because as it's probably a very popular plant, they run short of it very quickly.

    hardy gloxinia

Have a look at this site for more information:

http://www.gaygardener.com/gardenspot/perennial/peren026.phtml
 

Traditionally, garlic is planted on the shortest day (December 21st) and harvested on the longest (June 21st).

 from Daily Telegraph gardening section, Saturday 11 December 2010


The growing season starts when the temperature is greater than 5ºC for five consecutive days, and ends when it drops below 5ºC for five consecutive days.

 from the Guardian, by Dr. Liz Bentley - Weather & Climatology expert at the Royal Meteoroglogical Society, Saturday 11 December 2010

Cucumbers become bitter if flowers have been pollinated.  To prevent
this, remove all the male flowers from your plants as they appear.
Members Recommended books:
  • The French Country Garden by Louisa Jones (Published by Thames and Hudson)
  • L'Agenda du Jardinier Bio et son calendrier lunaire, published by Terre Vivante
  • Harry Dodson's Practical Kitchen Garden - available from Abebooks.co.uk
    for £24.50
  • Fork to Fork by Monty and Sarah Don - available from Abebooks for £6.19
    or Amazon.co.uk
  • Comfrey for Gardeners, A step-by-step guide published and sold by garden
    organic.org.uk for £1.35






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2.Overall notes for managing and coppicing in woodland

  • Let dead standing trees stand, unless they are unsafe.

  • Let fallen dead trees lie unless they block vital areas.

  • Do not coppice under large standard trees, the light will be blocked by the larger tree and re-growth will be difficult.

  • Cut low and slightly angled so that the rain falls away for the cut edge.

  • Coppicing lets in the light to buds that are at the base and these will grow strongly as there is now a root-branch unbalanced ratio; this spurs growth.

  • Coppice on a rotation according to the tree and the woodland mix.

  • Traditionally these trees have been coppiced: hazel, sweet chestnut, alder, hornbeam, field maple, beech and ash. Oak was also coppiced in the past for ship’s timbers.

  • Coppiced trees live a very long time as they are kept young by being coppiced.

Coppicing in the garden setting means keeping certain shrubs and trees under control. After coppicing, grub out any ivy from where it is shading growth buds.

Shrubs suitable for garden coppicing are laurel, all the dog woods and hazel. It is possible to be selective after the initial full coppicing, taking what you need.

Angela Morley ran the coppicing workshop, to discover more about her & her work go to  http://www.angelamorley.co.uk/

 
3,PEONIES

They like bone (CORNE BROYÉE TORREFIÉE NATUREN) when the snouts are just emerging, greedy beggars! Try letting Peonies go to seed and save the seeds and sow them and then forget about them as they are slow to germinate. Another lovely surprise for later on.

  

5.Pumpkins, Marrows & Squashes - Mallet Cut

 When harvesting pumpkins, marrows and squashes use a mallet cut to take the fruits from the plant.  You cut each side of the vine by about three inches where the stalk joins so that you are left with a T-shaped end to your squash.  This prevents rot setting in down the stalk and ensures longer keeping qualities.

Kindly contributed by Gill Howl