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Which mower do you choose?
As the weather warms up, gardeners will be setting their lawnmower blades high to give their grass the first cut of the season. But if your mower is past its best, what is the best new option?
There are many mowers on the market, but do you need a rotary or a cylinder, an electric or a petrol? There are even robotic types on the market which claim to do the job for you.
Electric mowers are fine if you have a mains electric socket handy and enough cable needed to cover the ground. They also tend to be cheaper and are easy to use. The disadvantage is that the trailing cable can be a nuisance as you must be careful not to run over it and it can restrict your mobility in a large garden. Make sure you use a Residual Current Device, so that the current is switched off automatically if there is a fault or an accident.
You may be better off with a petrol motor if you want the freedom to cover a lot of ground, although they are heavier. But this means that the roller (if you have one) will produce stripes on the lawn. Remember, though, to take the mower off the lawn for refuelling, as spilled petrol will kill the grass.
Cylinder mowers have a series of moving blades fixed around a cylinder, passing over a fixed bottom blade to create a scissor-like cut. Efficiency is determined by the number of blades on the cylinder and how fast they rotate. Cylinder mowers tend to give the cleanest cuts and are ideal for maintaining top quality lawns but are generally unsuitable for long, coarse or wiry grass.
They are quiet so you won't annoy the neighbours and will keep you fit while pulling and pushing the machine over a small lawn.
With rotary mowers, a blade or blades rotate horizontally, supported either by wheels or, in the case of hover mowers, by riding on a cushion of air.
Rotary mowers are more suitable for longer, rougher grass areas and slopes. They are not designed for straight-line mowing and won't stripe your lawn.
I would personally go for a mower with a grass collection box, as leaving clippings on the lawn is messy, they are often trodden into the house and clumps of clippings left on the lawn cut off light and air.
Today you can buy mulch mowers, which chop the clippings into tiny pieces and blast them firmly down the lawn, where they will rot down to feed the grass and conserve moisture, although they still leave you with the irritation of treading grass into the house.
It may be wise to leave the first and last clippings of the season on the lawn as the grass can benefit from the nutrients, shade and moisture provided by the clippings without too many clogging problems.
However, if you do this constantly, it can lead to thatch, a thick layer of dead grass and weeds which can hinder a lawn's growth and lead to other problems including bad drainage and moss.
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Snake's Head Fritillary
Also known as the snake's head lily, Fritillaria meleagris is a British native wildflower which used to be widespread in water meadows. In spring it bears hanging, bell-shaped flowers in delicate, chequered shades of pink, purple or white. It grows to around 30cm (12in) tall and will naturalise, given full sun and a damp site that doesn't dry out in summer. It will tolerate quite heavy soil.
Bulbs should be planted in autumn two or three times their own depth and the same distance apart. Make the most of the flowers by growing them in a pot, especially when the container is raised on a low wall or table. They look good in groups in the centre of small containers and can also be combined with dwarf narcissi, chionodoxa and crocus in shallow bowls oversown with grass to create a natural meadow look in a container.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - Florence Fennel
Florence fennel provides that delicious aniseed-flavoured addition to many dishes, while its leaves can be used in garnishes and salads. It's an unusual-looking vegetable which forms a spreading bulb at the base of the plant, celery-like leaf stalks and feathery sprays of aromatic leaves.
It prefers a Mediterranean climate, so grow it in a warm site in light, well-drained soil, working in plenty of well-rotted organic matter and watering it well in dry spells. You can start it off indoors about a month before the last frost, then plant out the young seedlings when they have two pair of leaves, 30cm apart. Keep the area well weeded and well watered to promote growth.
For some reason, other vegetables don't grow well with Florence fennel, so it's best to grow it in a separate bed, so it doesn't disturb them. Also be warned that it may bolt if sown too early or in a cold summer
It has few pests and usually requires no feeding but will need even, light watering for best growth. Mulch around the base of the plant to blanch the bulb and make it more tender. When the bulb is around 10cm (4in) across you can harvest it, cutting the base just above soil level. The stump may produce a crop of smaller shoots.
Good varieties include 'Zefa Fino' and 'Cantino', which produce large bulbs.
THREE WAYS TO... Improve clay soil
1. Improve drainage for crops like garlic by planting into ridges made above soil level. This is great for winter crops and early plantings because the roots are raised out of the coldest, soggiest part of the soil.
2. Cover a cold, wet, heavy soil early in the year with polythene to dry it prior to planting and sowing. Fix piping over beds in hoops to raise the polythene off the soil to allow air in to dry and warm it.
3. Spread 5cm (2in) of gritty sand or fine shingle over the surface and fork it in, or spread grit, then a thick organic mulch on top and let the worms mix it in for you.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Plant early, second early and maincrop potatoes.
:: Prepare trenches for celery and runner beans by manuring a strip of ground for each.
:: Start dahlia tubers into growth in a warm greenhouse and take cuttings from those already producing shoots.
:: Repot houseplants and give them a week or two in the greenhouse to convalesce.
:: Plant out autumn-sown sweet peas.
:: Protect emerging hostas and other susceptible plants from slugs and snails.
:: Thin out autumn-sown annuals.
:: Firm in newly planted fruit trees and bushes after frost.
:: Sow herbs in a cold frame.
:: Plant out cabbages raised under glass in January.
:: Continue to spike and scarify your lawn to improve drainage and remove thatch.
:: Thin early grapes growing in a heated greenhouse.
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
