Growing Fruit and Veg
Pruning Untrained Apple & Pear Trees
Always use sharp secateurs, loppers and a pruning saw. Start by removing crossing, rubbing, weak, dead, diseased, damaged and dying branches. Then shorten the previous year’s growth on each main branch (primary) by about one third to a bud facing outwards from the middle of the tree. This will encourage the development of new branches…
Read MoreGrowing and Using Edible Flowers
ONLY CERTAIN FLOWERS ARE EDIBLE AND EVEN THOSE LISTED AS EDIBLE NEED TO HAVE BEEN GROWN UNDER CONDITIONS SUITABLE FOR CULINARY USE (NO CONTAMINATION BY ANIMALS OR PESTICIDE RESIDUES PRESENT). Edible flowers add colour and flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes. They have to be home-grown as they need to be gathered fresh on…
Read MoreGrowing Strawberries
Home-grown strawberries are sweet and flavoursome and you can pick just as you need them. Strawberries picked in the warmest part of the day will be at their sweetest. They are very easy to grow and adapt well to growing in containers. They just need a sunny spot with soil which drains well. Planting New…
Read More10 of the Best Herbs to Grow in Containers
Herbs are one of the most rewarding container crops; most are also easy to grow. The simplest way to succeed with herbs is to buy plants, although some can be grown from seed. To ensure long lasting supply of herbs make sure you pick your herbs regularly during the growing season, and make sure you…
Read MoreGrowing Onions from Sets
HAVE A GO AT GROWING ONIONS FROM SETS Onions are especially easy to grow if grown from onion sets. A set is a baby onion. You could choose to grow versatile white onions, sweet red onions for salads or shallots to store for winter stews. Planting Choose a sunny site. Ideally the soil will have…
Read MoreSuccess with Salad
Even the smallest garden will have room to grow salad leaves either in containers, raised beds or small areas of ground. They are very easy to grow, crop quickly and you can pick, fresh exactly what you like to put in your salad bowl. Wholehead lettuce You may choose to grow lettuce varieties which are…
Read MoreGrowing Rhubarb
Invest in a rhubarb plant and it will produce stems for 20 years in good conditions. Planting You can plant rhubarb divisions; these are a piece of the fleshy root with a bud. Or you can plant young rhubarb plants in grown pots. Plant in the dormant season, which is autumn through to late winter. …
Read MoreGrowing Raspberries
Raspberries are grouped into two types; summer fruiting and autumn fruiting. These two groups are distinct in their growth habits and have different training and pruning requirements. By growing varieties from each group it is possible to have a supply of raspberries from mid-summer to mid-autumn. Recommended varieties Summer fruiting; Glen Ample Autumn Fruiting; Autumn…
Read MorePumpkins, Squash and Courgettes
These vegetables are all in the same plant family known as cucurbits. Although they can have different growing habits they are all cultivated in a similar way. Which varieties to choose? Summer squash include courgettes and patty pans. They produce prolific fruits throughout the summer but these fruits do not store. Patrick’s Patch favourite bush…
Read MorePlanting a Container Grown Fruit Tree
Fruit trees are best planted in the tree’s dormant season (October to March). The earlier the better as the soil is more likely to be workable. Planting You will need; soil improver ( Westland tree and shrub compost), bonemeal, mycorrizal soil stimulant (optional), a stake and tie, a rabbit /squirrel guard for the lower trunk.…
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