Sunday 11 January 2015

Tulips.

Some tulip varieties come back better than others. To help your bulbs be longer-lived perennials, grow them in well-drained soil. It also helps to plant them 8-10 inches below the soil surface -- deeper than usual. To discover which tulips are good bets for long life, read on.
- The 'Apeldoorn's Elite' tulip glows with its red- and gold-striped petals in midspring. This bicolor Darwin hybrid tulip, in true character of the class, is a prolific perennial. It can reach 2 feet tall.
Red Apeldoorn

- Tulips Lily Flowering 'Macarena'

- Tulip "Concerto" is a harmony in white and cream colors. This dwarf, early flowering tulip is quite able to re-flower even if you don’t lift the bulbs during dormancy. Long lasting blooms and easy growth requirements make this tulip a winner.
Sarah Raven chooses her favourite varieties to make your garden a riot of colour all spring long
- Tulip 'Purissima' is one of the early flowerers
Plant tulips in containers, too. Don’t go for splendid isolation, but put them together in rich and beautiful colour combinations to create a living arrangement. My favourites include a mix of the red 'Couleur Cardinal’, orange 'Prinses Irene’ and black 'Havran’. We call this our Venetian tulip collection. It has been a winner for years and is now joined by another stalwart, the Brandy Snap mixture of conker-orange 'Cairo’, purple 'Ronaldo’, copper 'Bruine Wimpel’ and the delicious latte-coloured, 'La Belle Epoque’.

Какие цветы посадить в контейнере за окном.

Этот выбор обусловлен и одним немаловажным критерием - аромат, запах цветов.
Залузианския овальная (Zaluzianskya ovata)
Космос кроваво-красный (Cosmos atrosanguineus-Chocolate Cosmos)
Неме́зия (Nemesia)
Петуния Тумбелина. (Petunia Tumbelina Collection).
"Неподалеку от Кембриджа, окруженный живой изгородью стоит питомник Tumbelina, производящий лучшие в мире сорта и гибриды петуний.
Наиболее известные из них каскадные растения вошли в серию Тумбелина (Tumbelina)".

Friday 9 January 2015

Otter Farm in Devon.

Autumn recipes from Otter Farm in Devon - Telegraph:

The seed for Otter Farm was hidden inside the first mulberry I ate, the summer before we came here. Eaten perfectly ripe from a friend’s tree, it was the finest fruit I’d ever tasted. Imagine a blackberry, a raspberry and a handful of blackcurrants with a teaspoon of sherbet and you’ll have the mulberry – the perfect fruit.
I’d started growing food a couple of years before, when we were living in mid-Devon, and had done everything wrong. I’d cultivated too much land, grown too much on it, chosen predictable varieties of common vegetables; in short, I’d dedicated my weekends and evenings to growing mountains of unspectacular food. Our first pigs were very grateful.
The experience taught me that there are many things I’d rather be doing than growing ordinary food. Those mulberries, eaten at the end of that initial veg-heavy summer, showed me there was another way.
A few weeks later I paid my first visit to Martin Crawford’s forest garden near Totnes, Devon. It was one of those rare moments when your usual pattern of thought about something turns a right angle. His two-acre patch flipped the idea of a kitchen garden on its head, adding a third dimension and modelling the growing space on a natural forest. From there grew the idea of a largely perennial, diverse farm, with every inch dedicated to flavour.
When we moved here, I made a list of everything I loved to eat or liked the sound of. This wish list of possibilities was long and not limited by practical limitations of growing in Britain – partly because I wanted to make a dream list and partly because I hadn’t the faintest idea what was viable here.
When Mark started growing vegetables he made a number of common mistakes, including focusing on unspectacular foods
I was all enthusiasm and little knowledge. I whittled the possibilities into a shortlist with three categories: the best of the familiar; ‘forgotten’ food that was once popular here; and climate change food. The first list included the most delicious varieties that had done well for me in my first few years of growing: Hurst Green Shaft peas, Sungold tomatoes and Annie Elizabeth apples were familiar favourites. The ‘forgotten’ list comprised fruit, herbs and vegetables that had once been popular but had either gone out of fashion or fallen out of favour as they didn’t suit the supermarket supply chain – parsley root, Chilean guava, mulberries, quince and medlars among them. The climate change list was perhaps the most exciting but also the riskiest. With the expected rise in temperatures over the coming decades, I wondered whether peaches, nectarines, apricots and other foods that thrive in neighbouring, slightly warmer, countries might become viable to grow in Britain.
Seventeen acres is a vast space. Half an acre, less even, is plenty to keep a family in fruit, veg and herbs. It presented the opportunity for growing some from that wish list on a small commercial scale, but what? I decided on a range of small harvests rather than dedicating the whole farm to one or two, the idea being that in any given year – wet and windy, sunny and dry and everything in between – I could hope for seven or so out of 10 crops to be productive. I liked the model: it built in some edible insurance against imperfect conditions and made the idea of failure less absolute. So, a plan of sorts. And a piece of land to try and turn into a farm.
The farm is bounded to the east and south by the River Otter and split into two fields by a tributary that flows into it. To the north is a small farm of cattle and apple trees; to the west, a line of houses, including ours. Within those boundaries I’ve planted orchards, a vineyard, a forest garden and a perennial garden, put up polytunnels and created a veg patch. A few unplanted acres await either the next new idea or the expansion of an orchard or vineyard.
There has been no master plan executed with precision, nor a bucketful of money to invest. I’ve learnt and added things as I’ve gone along, and planted when money and opportunity allowed. In return we have enjoyed homegrown peaches, almonds, apricots, sparkling wine, Szechuan and Japanese peppercorns, the finest asparagus and much more besides. Slowly, everything is getting established, and there is, I hope, plenty more to come. In truth, it feels like I’ve just started. The first three years were spent finding my feet, making obvious mistakes, learning and deciding what to grow; three more were consumed in making large mistakes and undoing some of what I’d done in years one to three; and the last three have gone pretty well.
When it comes down to it, Otter Farm is all about flavour. It starts and ends with the question: what do I really want to eat?

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Saturday 29 November 2014

10 climbers (climbing plants) for shady walls.

Pinterest: The Times & Sunday Times • 5 days ago
Joe Swift chooses the top 10 climbers (climbing plants) for shady walls

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Wednesday 26 November 2014

Банан - удобрение

Не только в мякоти банан, но и в его шкурке высокое содержание калия, магния и фосфора. Т.е. тех элементов, что обеспечивают хороший рост, развитую корневую систему и качественное цветение и плодоношение. Ну и самое главное – удобрение из банановых шкурок органическое, безопасное. И совершенно бесплатное.

На двухлитровую банку теплой воды достаточно шкурок с трех бананов. Настаивать трое суток, процедить, разбавить 1:2. Поливать 1 раз в 14 дней. Не поверите, как преобразятся ваши увядающие пеларгонии, выстреливающие бутонами цикламены и прочие прелестные цветы.

А как хорошо реагирует на банановую подкормку лимон! Листопада как не бывало, листья нормального размера и без признаков морщинистости, цветки не осыпаются, завязи многозначительно толстеют.
от http://tasha-jardinier.livejournal.com/

Saturday 15 November 2014

How to Transplant Quince.

How to Transplant Quince | Home Guides | SF Gate:
Quince (Cydonia oblonga) adapts well to all soil types and a range of moisture conditions, making it easy to adapt to transplanting. Grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9, quince produces large fruits called pomes that are commonly used in fruit sauces and other recipes. Nursery grown quince must be transplanted in the ground in order to grow to maturity. If a mature tree cannot stay in its place in your yard, you can dig up the tree and transplant it to a new location. Basic plant needs remain the same for both situations.

Removing Mature Quince
1
Cut an 18-inch-deep (45.72 centimetres) circle around the tree, using a sharpened spade to cut through the roots. Multiply the trunk diameter by nine to calculate the radius needed for the circle. Prune the roots in this way at least two months or up to two years in advance of transplanting, to reduce the shock and improve the chances of a successful transplant.
2
Water the roots deeply the day before you plan to transplant the tree. To ensure the roots are evenly saturated, water around the base of the tree until water pools up on the surface. Allow the water to drain into the soil for about an hour, then water the plant again. Fall is generally the best time to transplant the mature tree. Wait until after the fruit has dropped in fall, but allow a few weeks before the first expected frost, to transplant before the tree enters dormancy.
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3
Mark a circle about 6 inches (15.24 centimetres) outside the original root pruning zone, using a garden hose. Cut the roots around the new circle to a depth of about 18 inches. Tilt the tree back with a shovel and sever the roots on the bottom of the root ball with bypass pruners or a sharpened spade.
4
Lean the tree from side to side so you can push a square piece of burlap under the entire root ball, taking extra care to ensure the soil stays intact around the roots. Grab the corners of the burlap and the tree trunk, and lift the quince tree out of its hole. Gather the burlap corners around the tree trunk and tie in place with natural twine.
Planting Quince
1
Mark an area for the quince transplant that is two to three times wider than the root ball or the nursery container. Use line-marking spray paint or lay garden hoses to indicate the size for the planting hole. Select a site that receives full sun to partial shade.
2
Till the soil about 6 inches deeper than the root ball or planting container or to a depth of about 24 inches.
3
Add 4 to 6 inches of organic humus material, such as finished compost, dried grass clippings, leaf mold, aged manure and sphagnum peat moss if you have poor soil, or extremely sandy or clay soil. Till the soil a second time to mix the amendments with the native soil.
4
Dig a hole equal to the height of the root ball. Remove the quince tree from the nursery container, if applicable, and place the root ball in the hole. Leave the burlap in place until you place the tree in the hole, then untie the twine and leave the burlap in the hole under the root ball.
5
Fill in the hole with the amended soil up to the level of the tree's root crown. Pack the soil gently to remove air pockets, then add more soil if needed.
6
Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the base of the tree, without pushing the mulch directly against the tree trunk. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil and insulates roots, but pushing it against the tree trunk can cause rot or infestation. Replenish the mulch in early spring when new growth appears.
7
Water the tree deeply to ensure the roots and surrounding soil are evenly moist. Repeat watering as needed to keep the soil moist until the tree establishes itself. Quinces need at least 1 inch of water each week, but up to 1 1/2 inches a week is best until new transplants spread roots and establish themselves. Push a rain gauge in the ground just outside the tree canopy to measure the amount of rainfall, then supplement irrigation to make up the difference.
8

Apply a general fertilizer around the quince, if desired, or use organic fertilizers, such as blood and bone meal, or fish emulsion. If you add plenty of organic humus to the soil at the time of transplanting, fertilizer isn't necessary, but quince benefits from a fertilizer in late winter before it breaks dormancy.
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Thursday 6 November 2014

Садовое обозрение - Зимний огород

Садовое обозрение - Зимний огород: "Что можно выращивать в зимнее время на подоконнике? Базилик, бораго, горчицу листовую, иссоп, котовник, кресс-салат, лук репчатый, мангольд, мяту, перец острый, периллу, петрушку, розмарин, руколу, сельдерей, шалфей, шнитт-лук, эстрагон. Продвинутые огородники выращивают мини-томаты, мини-перцы и лемон-грасс. Кроме того, в темноте можно выгонять зелень скорцонеры и цикория. "

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