Gardening Tips

Garden Tools and Weeds
A weed is technically just a plant in the wrong place. It could be an unwanted seedling from another plant, or something more pernicious and invasive that you really want to eradicate. However, even with the best garden tools while you'll never be able to completely stop weeds from popping up, there are ways to ensure they have less places to grow. Bare patches of soil will quickly be colonised by both annual and perennial weeds, so a well-stocked border is less likely to support a thriving population of these pesky plants. If you have gaps in your borders, plug them by using garden tools and planting ground covering plants.

Prevention
Bare soil. Use your garden tools to Mulch with a thick, 8cm (3in), layer of bark chippings, well-rotted manure or leaf mould in the spring. Not only will this prevent weeds from growing, but it will help to retain moisture in the soil.

• If you have a large area, such as an unused patch at the allotment, cover with plastic, landscape material or even old carpet to prevent weeds from germinating.
• Annual weed seeds can survive for years in the soil, waiting for the perfect conditions to grow. They germinate at lower temperatures than most garden plants and can grow and set seed very quickly. It's important to recognise them at the seedling stage, so you can eliminate them without accidentally removing your flower or vegetable seedlings.
• Use your garden tools to remove annual weeds from bare patches of soil by hand or with a hoe or similar garden tool, severing the tops from the roots, before they have a chance to produce seed and spread.
• Use a hand fork or similar garden tool to lever perennial weeds from the soil or use a special long handed weeding tool. It's important to remove all the roots, as some weeds can regrow from any bits left behind.
• Herbicides can also damage garden plants so are best avoided unless absolutely necessary. Bindweed, which is a serious problem for some, sometimes winds itself into shrubs and is best destroyed by painting the leaves with a herbicide gel, which will be taken down to the roots.

Weeds on Paths

• Use an old knife or a special paving brush or similoar garden tool, with an angled head of wire bristles, to scrape weeds out of the gaps between paving slabs.
• If you have large areas of paving that need weeding, try a gas powered flame gun or other garden tool. These are hand held, lightweight gadgets - all you do is pass the flame over the weeds, the tops blacken and quickly die.

Weeds in the lawn

• Many shallow rooted, rosette forming lawn weeds can be removed with a daisy grubber, while tap-rooted weeds can be hoicked out of turf with a long-handled weed tool or other garden tool.
• Alternatively, weeds can also be treated with a herbicide gel brushed onto the leaves. This will only affect the weeds treated.
• Moss and many other lawn weeds can be prevented by keeping the lawn healthy. Use your garden tools to aerate, spike and rake annually to improve drainage and remove debris.
• If you have a problem with coarse grasses in the lawn, they can be controlled by slashing through the crowns with a knife or smilar garden tools before mowing, while weeds that spread by runners can be weakened by raking the stems upright before cutting.
• If you have a serious weed problem, use a weed and feed product, ensuring that the formulation is for the right time of year. These are usually for spring or autumn application.

Weeds in Pots

• Moss, algae and weeds can sometimes overrun pots and rob moisture from the roots of plants. Pull out by hand – if necessary scoop off the surface layer – and add a layer of fresh compost.
• An ornamental mulch of pebbles, shells or glass chippings will prevent weeds from returning.
  

About Green Manure
Green manures are ideal whenever a patch of land is going to be free of crops for six weeks or more, and they are particularly useful to vegetable gardeners and allotment holders for gardening. Although many green manures can be sown all year round, they are ideal when sown in the autumn to overwinter, when vegetable plots are generally empty. They have many benefits for gardening. As they grow they form a green carpet that prevents weeds from growing and some have the ability to absorb nitrogen from the air, which is transferred to the roots and released when dug into the soil, giving a boost to the vegetables that follow.

Growing a green manure for your garden in winter prevents soil from having garden nutrients washed away by rain or snow, and some varieties have a fibrous root system that helps to give the soil structure. Clover is a green manure that can be left to grow for a year - when it flowers it attracts bees and other pollinating insects to your garden.

• Use your garden tools to prepare the soil by removing weeds in the garden, digging over if it hasn't been recently cultivated and raking level.
• Scatter seeds over the surface of the garden soil using around 50g of seed per square metre or following suppliers recommendations for specific crops.
• Make sure the seed is in firm contact with the garden soil by gently tapping over the surface with the back of a spade or other garden tools. Water in well.
• Bare patches in the garden should be covered within two to three weeks and plants will the most good if they are left for around eight weeks before digging in.
• If plants start to flower in the garden before this, cut off the tops and dig in. Leave the green manure to decompose in the garden soil for up to four weeks before growing vegetables.

Cultivating the garden soil by digging in the garden is fundamental to good gardening. Learn the difference between single and double digging and when the no dig method works. Digging the garden soil is essential for good plant growth in the garden. If the garden soil condition is poor organic matter can be added at the same time as digging. The best time to dig is from October through December, when the garden soil is free of frost and can be left to overwinter. From mid-winter until early spring, the ground in the garden is frequently wet or frozen and difficult to work with. Heavy garden soil must never be dug when it's wet as this can damage the garden soil structure and lead to poor aeration and drainage in the garden.

The depth of your topgarden soil, quality of drainage and whether or not your plot has been previously cultivated, will all determine the digging method required. Single and double digging are the most effective and labour-efficient digging techniques. Before digging in the garden, use your garden tools to make sure the site is clear of all persistent weeds in the garden.

Single digging with Garden Tools
Adopt this method on regularly-shaped plots, where it's important that the garden soil has an even texture. Single digging is also useful in the garden when large quantities of organic matter need to be incorporated in the garden.

• Use your garden tools to dig out trenches in the garden to a spade's depth, known as a 'spit', and about 30cm (12in) wide.
• Place the garden soil from the first trench on the ground in front and use your garden tools to work backwards along the plot, turning the garden soil from each subsequent trench into the one in front.
• Double digging is useful when drainage in the garden needs to be improved, or if the ground has not been previously cultivated. This is a time-consuming process but is worth the hard work and will result in good garden soil.
• The garden soil is worked to a depth of two spades, rather than one, and it’s essential to keep the two layers of garden soil (subsoil and topsoil) separate. In order to do this, the lower half of the trench can be dug over in the garden.
• Use your garden tools to remove the garden soil from the upper and lower spits of the first trench in the garden and from the upper spit of the second, placing it aside on the ground in three separate, clearly marked piles.
• The garden soil can then be transferred from the lower spit of the second trench to the base of the first trench in the garden, and from the upper spit of the third trench to the top of the first. This ensures that the topsoil and subsoil remain separate.
• Continue digging trenches in the same way, until you reach the end of the bed where garden soil saved from the first trench can be used to fill the appropriate layers in the final trench in the garden.

Simple Digging with Garden Tools
This method of digging is suitable for cleaning the garden soil surface of any debris and non-persistent weeds. This is often the best option for working with irregularly-shaped beds or around existing plants in the garden. Simply lift a spade of garden soil, invert it and drop it back in its original position in the garden.

No dig method without Gardent Tools
If you suffer from a bad back you may prefer this method over other digging techniques. It's useful for vegetable plots which need organic matter added.

• Ensure your garden soil is weed-free and level.
• In late autumn, spread manure or compost over the surface of the bed and worms will do the work of incorporating it by taking it down into the garden soil.
• Further mulch can be applied in the garden during the growing season. Repeating this process annually in the garden will keep your garden soil fertile.
  

Preparing garden soil for seed usign Garden Tools
A 'tilth' is a fine garden soil surface which is essential for seed germination. A surface tilth should guarantee good contact between seed and garden soil, so that moisture can easily be absorbed.

• Use your garden tools to prepare seed beds about one month before sowing by digging the garden soil and then leaving it to weather.
• Just before sowing, break up any remaining clumps of garden soil with a rake or other garden tools, level the ground by lightly treading on it, and rake the surface to give it a fine tilth

Choosing your vegetables
Deciding what to grow in the garden is one of the best things about vegetable growing, but it's important to choose carefully and not get too carried away. Choose vegetables you really like, and look out for interesting varieties that you can harvest progressively. This will ensure that you have a ready supply of delicious vegetables throughout the growing season in the garden.

Plot Rotation
Vegetables in the garden can be ordered into four main groups, so choose the vegetables you like from each of these groups.

• Group one - Potatoes, beetroot, carrots, chicory, artichokes, parsnips and salsify
• Group two - Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, swede and turnips
• Group three - Peas, all types of beans
• Group four - All other vegetables and salad crops

Once you've made your selection, Use your garden tools to divide up your plot into four beds. Grow vegetables in four separate beds in the garden, grouped according to our guide. The reason for this 'grouping' is that you should not grow the same vegetable in the same place year after year. You may find other suggestions of which crops to put where, but the important thing to know is that continuous cropping of the same plant can exhaust the garden soil of nutrients and pests and diseases can build up in the garden.

The answer to this potential problem is consistent plot rotation in the garden: in your second year of vegetable growing, your vegetables will 'move up' one bed. Your group two vegetables will be planted where the group three vegetables previously were, group three moves to the group four bed and so on. This allows the garden soil to recover, and the rotation can even be beneficial to future vegetables: for example, the nitrogen that peas and beans naturally deposit in the garden soil is perfect for encouraging growth in cauliflowers and cabbages in the garden.

Top Gardening Tips
When you're laying out your vegetable plot, bear in mind these starter tips:

• Beds about 1.2m (4ft) wide with paths all around are perfect, because you can water and weed without having to tread on the bed.
• Use your garden tools to leave sufficient space between the beds to allow easy access to the plants. A path with a hard surface the width of a wheelbarrow is ideal.
• Make sure there is a source of water nearby. It may be worth investing in an outdoor tap or installing a rainwater butt nearby in the garden.
• If your garden soil is poor or doesn't drain well, consider building raised beds in the garden. By creating a retaining wall from bricks or old railway sleepers, you can add a thick layer of organic material that will improve the garden soil. In addition, raised beds are easier to tend and don't need digging over in the autumn.
• If you've only got a small space, choose early or dwarf vegetable cultivars as they require less space in the garden and can be planted closer together.

Help your plants to thrive in the garden by giving them a healthy diet, full of the right nutrients. Here's our guide to feeding your garden. Most plants need three major nutrients to thrive in the garden; nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, which are generally known as NPK (their chemical symbols). The three main nutrients are needed by plants for different reasons. Nitrogen promotes leaf growth, phosphorous is for the roots and potassium is needed for flower and fruits.

The amount of each is written on fertiliser packets as a ratio, for instance 6:4:6. Note that the order of nutrients is always the same, ie N, P, K. If the ratios are about the same, it is a general-purpose fertiliser and will aid all round growth, but some fertilisers are higher in one or another nutirent. For instance, tomato fertiliser is designed to promote lots of plump fruit and will be high in potassium (K) and have a ratio of 4:5:8. Similarly a fertiliser for feeding grass in the spring will be high in nitrogen.

To remain healthy, plants in the garden also need other nutrients, such as calcium (Ca), sulphur (S) and magnesium (Mg), as well as zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), boron (B) and manganese (Mn). Smaller amounts of these will be contained in most general fertilisers.

• Give beds and borders a kick start by feeding in spring with a slow release fertiliser in the garden, before plants have put on too much growth. This is known as top dressing. Fertiliser applied to the garden soil and worked in prior to sowing or planting is called base dressing.
• Vegetables are hungry crops and will thrive if given a slow-release fertiliser two or three times a year in the garden.
• Other 'greedy' flowering plants, such as sweet peas, clematis and roses, will benefit from a mid-summer 'top up'. Sprinkle fertiliser around plants and water in. There's no need to feed in late summer. This only encourages a flush of late, lush growth that'll get hit hard by frosts.
• During the growing season, feed flowers in the garden in hanging baskets, pots and containers once a week, using a liquid feed applied from a watering can.
  Apart from providing fertilisers to the garden soil, it's a good idea to enrich garden soil before planting by adding plenty of organic matter, such as leafmould, garden compost or well-rotted manure. Not only will this boost the nutrient content of the garden soil, but it will improve its structure and help it to retain moisture.
• To do this spread a thick (about 5cm (2in) will do) layer of the material over the garden soil and use your garden tools to fork into the surface in the garden to a depth of about 10cm (4in). To give existing beds a boost, mulch around plants with organic matter in the spring.

There are many different types of fertiliser available, including liquid tonics that can be applied from a watering can, granular fertilisers that are mixed into compost and powdered feed that is applied to the garden soil in the garden. These feeds work in three main ways:

1. Controlled release fertiliser – ideal for containers, these come as granules that are mixed into compost and release their nutrients over a long period of time, some for up to 12 months. Plugs made from granules bonded together are also available - these can simply be pushed into the surface of the compost.
2. Slow release fertiliser – good for feeding plants in the garden soil. Usually applied as a powder that can be scattered around perennials, trees, shrubs and vegetables.
3. Fast acting fertiliser in the garden – for plants in need of a pick-me-up in the garden. These are ideal if a plant is suffering from a deficiency and are usually applied in a liquid form that can be used by the plant quickly.
4. Seaweed fertilizers are a good organic option. Alternatively try diluting the liquid from a worm composter.

Top Tips

• Always read the manufacturers instructions before applying fertilisers in the garden
• Don’t overfeed plants in the garden

Types of Compost Bin
Compost heaps can be designed to suit gardens of all sizes. You can build your own or choose from a whole range of specially designed bins, available at garden centres and through internet and mail order outlets. Some local councils now offer subsidised compost bins. A larger garden can easily accommodate a simple heap in a lesser used part of the garden, while even the smallest terrace could accommodate a worm composter in the garden.

To erect your own bin, use your garden tools to hammer into the ground four 10cm x 10cm (4in x 4in) posts to enclose an area about 1sq m (40sq in.) Then bash the garden soil with the back of a spade to consolidate it. Next either tack wire netting to the posts, or nail planks around them, leaving the front side easily detachable so you can get the finished compost out.

Making Compost

What not to compost

• diseased plants
• meat and fish
• dairy
• cooked food
• coal ash
• cat and dog litter
• disposable nappies
• glossy magazines and cardboard
• perennial weeds eg bindweed
  

A slimy compost heap in the garden is usually due to too much of one material such as grass clippings, and not enough air in the heap. To solve this problem, remove the slimy layer and add material such as straw, shredded hedge clippings or crumpled paper. Use your garden tools to turn your heap periodically to get more air in. A cold compost heap doesn't mean it isn't decomposing, just that the process will take a little longer. Wear gloves if handling powder or granular fertilisers in the garden.

• Once you have chosen a compost bin and site for it there are a few simple rules to follow in the garden. Ideally start your compost bin in spring and for best results combine a mixture of soft, green, nitrogen-rich material and dry, brown, carbon-rich material in roughly even quantities. The main rule is not to let one material dominate the heap. A glut of autumn leaves will decompose very slowly and would be better used making leaf mould in the garden.
• Place the more woody material at the bottom to help with air circulation and layers of different materials at least 30cm deep. Shred larger items so they decompose more easily and if the waste is very dry, spray with water to moisten the pile, but do not soak it.
• Use your garden tools to keep adding to this initial pile at regular intervals. When the heap or bin is full, it will start to heat up as the decomposition process gets underway. After a couple of weeks when it begins to cool down, turn the heap with a fork, mixing up the contents thoroughly and adding water if it is drying out. If turned regularly and in warm conditions your compost will be ready in about 2-4 months.
• A heap left unattended and using bulkier, unshredded material may take over a year to fully decompose. When the compost is finished, the pile will be about half its original size and have an earthy smell to it.
• If you want a fast turnaround, create a hot compost heap by adding nitrogen, moisture and turning the heap regularly to improve the air circulation. When the heap begins to cool down slightly, use your garden tools to turn the heap to introduce oxygen and undecomposed material into the centre and regenerate heating. The composting process is complete when mixing no longer produces heat in the pile