Wet Weather Gardening

Wet weather is part and parcel of gardening in the UK, but changes to the climate in recent years suggest that heavier and prolonged bouts of rainfall will become a common occurrence. There are numerous problems that wet weather can cause in the garden.

Waterlogged soil

When soil is waterlogged, plants literally drown. Water fills all the air spaces between the soil particles and this prevents oxygen from reaching the roots. In turn, this causes the soil to stagnate and prevents root growth.

Symptoms:

• plants may look like they need water because symptoms include yellowing leaves that wither and drop off. Wilting of the plant may also occur
• the surface of the soil is soaking wet with puddles on it
• when lifted, the plant roots are black, soft and soggy, and the soil smells of rotten eggs
• plant growth is stunted or plants fail to sprout and shoots die back

Whatever the weather, it is vitally important to have the right basic tools to garden with.

You can find more information on wet weather gardening here

Should we use Peat RHS?

Another year, another Chelsea, and I’m asking myself, why does the RHS still tolerate peat at its garden shows? Especially when climate change was again a prominent theme at last week’s event.

Not only are peatlands important habitats, they are also vital in the fight against global warming. Healthy peat bogs store carbon and once they are dug up and the peat degrades, this ends up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. There is an argument that businesses would suffer without peat to help the nurture of young plants, and with that would come the loss of jobs and livelihoods. According to many professionals, the alternatives are just not up to the mark.

No one wants to see job losses and misery for those who already earn rubbish wages. But when faced with potentially disastrous climate change, is it not time to get tough with those dragging their feet in horticulture, as Obama has done with a dinosaur car industry? Is it not the moment to say, adapt or die?

To be fair, awareness is on the increase and overall use of peat is falling. Chelsea, for its part, has banned peat from display coverings, though it accepts it is still used to grow the plants themselves. Why does this attitude persist? If it’s the quality of plants that everyone is worried about (and given the global context, this is a lame excuse) then look at the National Trust. It manages wonderful gardens without the use of peat. Ditto Kew, which hasn’t been near the stuff for years.

If its policing the ban that’s the problem, why not do random tests at the flower shows, like they do for drugs in sport? Anyone in breach of the rules would be banned, then named and shamed. They would be the Ben Johnson or Dwain Chambers of the potting shed. Gardeners could be given a season or two to sort out their supply chains, before any ban came into force.

There are further parallels here with sport. Performance of certain plants may suffer, as it has done in with some athletes, though then again it may not. Either way, it’s the ethics that count, not the ego of the gardener. And either way, the environment would be the better for it.

Where can I buy Trees & Shrubs?

where to buy trees

Trees are vital to the future of our planet as they soak up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I want to encourage everyone to think about where and how they can plant trees – they are beautiful and easy to look after as long as you choose the right tree for the right soil and position.

Consult the tree experts who will guide you in the right direction and help you to appreciate the huge choice available.Use these sites to find out more and contact them for expert advice:

Poplar Tree Garden Centre supply plants and trees to the UK market and will be only too happy to give advice on which trees or plants will best suit your needs.

www.poplartreegardencentre.co.uk
www.brambledown.com

Why do I need to use a hoe?

Many people make more work of hoeing than is necessary. Although, the hoe is one of the most primitive of all tillage tools, it can be designed and used more effectively now. No, there isn’t really any way to make hoeing fun, but isn’t a beautiful garden or flower bed and a painless back all the rewards you need?
The first problem with contemporary hoeing is that too often hoes are used for deep cultivation or chopping, rather than the scrapping action they are designed for. Let’s not mistake a hoe for a shovel. Using a hoe in place of another tool accounts for sore muscles. We need a sharp cutting apparatus designed to slice weeds at their life-giving stems, not to dig them up. The majority of garden weeds have newly invaded with their shallow roots and fall easy victims to the scraping of your hoe. This scraping action takes relatively little work in comparison to cultivating or digging, and there are several hoe types that facilitate maximum scraping and weed death. For example, a shuffle hoe has blades on both sides to cut weeds on either side at the same time with pushing or pulling movements by its handler.