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Internet plants seeds of advice
People who want advice on gardening dilemmas, from designing and pruning to pest identification and plant combinations, may have always relied on the staff at the local garden centre, green-fingered neighbours, or Gardeners' Question Time on Radio 4.
But there is a wealth of information and opportunities to expand your horizons on the internet, if you know where to look.
You can swap seeds and plants and share information and experiences with other gardeners and allotment holders on a variety of websites, some of which are better than others.
For easy-to-understand information from the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, you can't go far wrong with popular garden website crocus.co.uk, which features advice sections from TV's best-loved gardener. If you buy a plant from the company, you automatically qualify for its plant aftercare service, which now includes regular care tip emails from Mr Titchmarsh himself.
If you want to encourage wildlife to your garden, check out the new database at the Plant Press, www.plantpress.com, an online version of Gardening With Wildlife In Mind, from English Nature, which shows the relationship between garden plants and creatures that depend on them and focuses on 300 or so distinctive and desirable species.
On the same site you'll find the free online Plant Encyclopaedia now with more than 4,500 plants and more than 10,000 photographs.
If you want to grow seeds of vegetable varieties which are not widely available, it may be worth joining the Heritage Seed Library, run by leading charity Garden Organic.
Garden Organic has a collection of 800 old and unusual vegetable varieties, collected over the years, including several late 19th century tall peas, including Champion of England and Ne Plus Ultra.
The library aims to conserve and make available vegetable varieties that are not widely available. You can join the HSL for an annual fee of 20 (or 15 with Garden Organic membership).
Members receive their choice of up to six varieties and there is also also an informal seed swap section run between members themselves. For details go to www.gardenorganic.org.uk
If swapping plants is more your bag, on February 28, www.plantsreunited.co.uk goes live, a new on-line gardeners' market which allows members to swap, buy or sell plants of their choice, for an annual membership of 12.
There will also be gardening advice, weather forecasts and a chance to discuss horticultural issues as well as seek advice and put forward your own tips.
"All too often a much sought-after variety is not available from conventional gardening retail outlets," says gardening PR specialist Graham Paskett, who is launching the site. "Logging on at plantsreunited puts gardeners in touch and gives them the opportunity to post 'wanted' varieties."
One site which is free to join and allows people to share their gardens online is www.growsonyou.com. Members can exchange hints and tips across generations. The homepage offers a number of options including browsing the Open Garden's section, asking a gardening question or writing a blog. As a member you can ask questions of other members and add a photograph to explain your question.
Some members use the site to document their gardening experiences outdoors. You can also use the 'Colour Inspiration' tool where you can search for a particular shade of flower or plant, which then matches up to members' photographs posted on the site.
Co-founder Ajay Mathur says: "We are not experts on gardening but whatever pests, weather or geography you're dealing with, you can be sure one of the gardeners out there will have had similar experiences in one of their gardens."
Of course, there's a plethora of blogs from gardeners offering tips and advice based on their own experiences, but one of my favourite informative websites is www.digmyplot.co.uk, which offers some really good advice on growing fruit and veg organically.
So if it's raining or frosty in the run-up to spring, you can make the most of the advice which you can tap into, or start swapping seeds and plants, from the comfort of your home.
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Narcissus (Daffodil)
They all seem to be out early this year, but there's no escaping the optimism which daffodils offer when they provide a welcome burst of spring colour. There are so many varieties available now, it's difficult to narrow down the best, but I love the miniature scented varieties such as n.assoanus, a beautiful species with two or three deep yellow sweetly scented flowers, ideal for an alpine trough, or N. 'February Gold', one of the earliest flowering varieties.
Narcissi should be planted in August and September in any well-drained garden soil, in sun or light shade, at a depth of between 4-7in, depending on bulb size (the smaller the bulb, the shallower it can be planted). Overcrowded clumps should be lifted in late summer, divided and replanted.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - Globe artichokes
These beautifully ornamental and delicious veg should be planted in either the flower border or the vegetable garden from February until April. They need a sunny, sheltered spot and well-drained, moisture-retentive soil which has been enriched with organic matter.
Seed should be grown at 15C (59F) - one seed per 9cm (3 1/2in) pot - and then the seedlings should be hardened off gradually and planted out in early summer. Mulch them well in the first year and protect them from frost by covering them with horticultural fleece in cold snaps.
Plants should be watered well in their first year and weeded regularly. If you only want one large flower head, remove the side shoots on each flower stem during the growing period.
You have to be patient, as globe artichokes may take two or three years to crop well. Large heads are produced in summer. Cut off the heads with secateurs before the leaves start to open.
For me, they are best steamed and then eaten with vinaigrette. You can pick off the fleshy leaves, dip them in the vinaigrette and suck off the tender part of the leaf, before arriving at the delicious artichoke heart.
THREE WAYS TO - Keep your compost healthy
1. Don't throw in meat, fish and bones, which will attract rats.
2. Avoid putting in diseased plants which may spread the disease further, or vigorous perennial weeds such as ground elder, which may continue to grow and then infest your border when you add the compost to it.
3. Alternate materials in layers of contrasting textures, not just grass clippings! Balance thin layers of grass with thicker, coarser stuff, or mix with shredded newspaper. Add earth, blood, fish and bonemeal, or activator to layers every now and then to encourage bacteria.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Begin to feed plants in established borders using a controlled-release slow-acting fertiliser, but try to avoid getting it on new leaves.
:: Spray nectarine and peach trees to prevent peach leaf curl disease.
:: Sow quick-growing perennials under glass to flower this year.
:: Sow long-rooted parsnips as soon as possible, as they benefit from a long growing season.
:: Sow mustard and cress in shallow boxes, starting the cress four days before the mustard so that they are ready together.
:: Harden off autumn-sown cauliflowers being overwintered in frames, so they will be ready for planting out in March.
:: Continue to keep hippeastrums moist and feed them occasionally.
:: Plant begonia tubers in pots of soilless potting compost. Keep the tubers just damp until the first shoots begin to show.
:: Continue to plant fruit trees and bushes if soil conditions allow.
:: Carry on pruning apples and pears except when the temperature is below freezing.
DON'T MISS
Bizarre British Gardens: ITV1's This Morning gardening expert David Domoney discovers some of Britain's quirkier gardens, all of which hold a unique secret, in a new slot on the show, on Mondays from Feb 25 at 10.30am.
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Weather for Bedford
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
