Weeding and watering are starting to get a bit boring after a while

By Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Weeding and watering are starting to get a bit boring now, in the South-East of England at the end of May 2011, seeing that we have been at it ever since March of this year.

But we also know that we have to keep it up, especially the watering, or we'll have no vegetables later but it can really start to get you down after a while.

Weeding too, obviously, is a necessary task so that the weed do not compete for the veg for water and nutrients, but it is less of importance than is watering in this time of drought and a drought it, officially, is by now.

Mind you, on the morning of Sunday, May 22, we woke to some dampness on the ground and even a little standing water here and there on the hard surfaces but it is nothing in way of what really is needed.

The trouble is that tap water, while fine for us for drinking, somehow only just about keeps the plants alive; a discovery that I shared with the readers before. Rain water, on the other hand, especially in the form of rain, immediately makes everything perk up and get going and growing.

Now I have also have to consider planting a couple of tomato plants that I have got – bought (I cheated, as those i tried growing from seed - a new variety – did not do much at all) – into grow bags.

The problem with using grow bags, however, is that they dry out quickly and thus there will be need for even more watering and being in a bag that, to a great degree, remains closed rain does not get to the plants easily either.

However, this year I have a few things here to trial for review. One of them is a set of three GrowPots (from Garden Innovations via Lakeland) and the other being the GrowTube, a watering system for grow bags that employs a 2liter soda bottle, (also from Lakeland).

Tomatoes, like potatoes, like to be fed, and that quite a good deal. You can use Tomarite or Tomato Food from Chempak which was voted Best Buy Tomato Food in May 2010 by the Which? Magazine.

I am also using the Vegetable Fertilizer from Chempak and must say that my potatoes, which are one of the primary recipients of this fertilizer under review, are doing very well with its help.

© 2011

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Fertilizer from banana peels

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

If you eat lots of bananas, like I do, at least at times, you end up with lots of banana peels. Instead of throwing them out or even composting all of them you can turn them into a potassium- and phosphorus-rich fertilizer.

While it is indeed true that, if you compost them, those minerals will find their way into the compost and subsequently to your plants by making this banana fertilizer you can apply the nutrients to the plants directly.

All they then need are matured chicken pellets for nitrogen. No, matured chicken pellets don't come from old chickens, but it is chicken pellets that have rested for at least a year.

Making banana peel fertilizer:

Place a tray in the oven and lay banana peels on it. Place the banana peels on the tray with the outer skin facing down so that they don't stick to the tray.

Leave the tray with the banana peels in the oven when you cook other food. That way you save energy by piggy-backing on your normal oven usage. Don't turn the oven on just to roast the banana peels. Just leave the tray in the oven until you're cooking something else.

Once the banana peels have cooled break them up and store them in an airtight container.

To use the baked banana peels as a fertilizer spread the mulch around houseplants and garden plants. The cooked peels will fertilize the plants as they break down, gently releasing the potassium and phosphorus.

You will need – and this is all rather more than obvious:

Banana peels (add them to the tray as the bananas are eaten)

Tray for the oven & before anyone wonders, yes, you also need an oven.

While, as I have said, it would be possible, and to a degree easier, just adding the banana peels to your compost heap, this way you can create a potassium and phosphorus fertilizer that you can use in addition to your compost.

© 2011

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Grow your own small vegetable garden

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Even the smallest space can produce plenty of vegetables, and this has been shown by several “studies”, for lack of a better words, such as the square foot gardening idea of the RHS in Britain. It works.

But in order to work the way they did it feeding an family of four from a very, very small space of raised beds, you have to have a way of groping plants on as plugs, ideally, bar those that cannot and should not be done that way. You cannot, period, grow carrot plugs. They do not work.

The advantages of growing your own vegetables are written about on a regular basis and some authors, no doubt correctly, have pointed out that not only do people waste less food by being able to go pick fresh vegetables when they need them, but the cost of having a small garden compared to buying fresh produce from the grocery store can save us a lot on food.

To make a statement, however, saying that a tomato plant can be worth $50 and then backing it up with a comparison that says that if you harvest 30 pounds at $2 per pound, that plant is worth $60 and when the plant costs only $2.90 to buy the plant, a few cents for water and 15 cents for the fertilizer, then that would make it at least $50 worth. I would like to see a tomato plants that will produce that amount in weight in fruit. Yes, tomatoes are fruit not vegetables. I have yet to get more than a couple of kilograms from a single tomato plant. So, such a comparison does not add up, except when grown either in an area where they can produce well or in the greenhouse and then other costs have to be factored in.

Plastic Tub Gardening

There are a number of “ready-made”solutions on the market, such as Earth Box and I do like the idea, but the price tag (almost $50 a piece) is a definite turn off, and not just to me. I should assume than many poorer families have looked at the ready-made solutions and decided that small space backyard gardening is not for them because of the cost.

However, you can make your own Earth Boxes out of Tupperware containers for about $12 a piece, and if you use other materials and sources too for even less.

Do you have to go out and buy stuff? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends what you can make and what you can scrounge and what you can find thrown away.

First of all, some vegetable do not need much in the way of depth of soil. Lettuces do best with little soil depth and thus they can be grown in shallow containers such as old washing up bowls, whether round or sort of square or rectangular or other containers.

Another great way of making rather deep raised beds, without using boards or anything like that, is using so-called builder bags, which are large woven polypropylene sacks in which sand, etc., is delivered to building sites and especially to the home builders. In this country they now are no longer returnable – they once were – and will end up in the skip outside the site and are destined for the landfill.

Fold their sides down to about half – you don't need more soil depth than that for growing vegetables and fill with earth. They make great planters, can be had for nothing or next to nothing from out of the skips and can, if need, rolled or folded up when you don't need them anymore or when you move.

In addition to all manner of vegetables – only chose, for starters those that you definitely like and those that are, according to books like “Down to Earth” are easy enough to grow – you can also grow herbs for use in the kitchen and in medicine.

Space is not an issue

The do-it-yourself Earth-type boxes are perfect for roof-top gardening 9just ensure that your roof can handle whatever amount of soil and remember that wet soil is several times heavier than dry soil), apartment balconies, small courtyards or a yard without a lot of sun. Another benefit is that when the growing season ends, it can all be taken down and stored until next year.

In all cases, ensure how much weight you roof or balcony can take. There is, obviously, not problem like that with courtyards, backyards with hard standing only, patios, and such like.

In fact, by using containers, and there are many kinds that can be used, just let your imagination go wild, there is nigh on no place where you cannot grow some food.

You like to grow some flowers too, for color and such. No problem. Just plant veg in with the flowers or vice versa and some benefits can be had by planting some flowers with some veg. It's called “companion planting” and some flowers are most beneficial when planted with vegetables.

So, go on, start a vegetable garden.

© 2011

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Things to do in the garden as the weather gets warmer

Things to do in the garden now, at the end of February and the beginning of March

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

As the weather starts to get warmer – well a little bit anyway – the list of jobs in the garden starts to grow, and if you don't tackle the jobs when you can bad weather may prevent you from getting them done at all. However, so far every time it try to get into my garden I am looking for a way to do drainage; it is still like a swamp out there.

I have been trying to get the planters prepared for the new season and also start to set out the first potatoes into containers but bad weather has so far prevented me from doing so.

There is so much to do, in my garden and I am sure in yours too, however, with another wet weekend forecast it looks like it there isn't much going to happen there this weekend either.

The apple trees need pruning and so far that has not been possible either simply because of the weather but it must be done soon, before it is too late, and the espalier trees of mine are getting way too high. The branches, however, will, some of them at least, make nice walking sticks, I should think. As said, it has to happen soon and I may have to do it this weekend, regardless of what the weather is going to be like, as long as it is not raining too much. as the buds are swelling up already.

Winter pruning of apple trees

The first months of the year, theoretically, is the time to prune apple trees and the same also applied to pears.

So, when I start pruning the first thing I do is look at the tree and look at the shape and how the branches have grown. Keeping the general shape in mind whilst you are pruning helps you to not make any rash decisions and prune with a heavy hand.

The next thing to do is to remove any dead, diseased or damaged branches and any branches which cross or touch another, as branches that are getting close to each other or are even touching will rub and such rubbing will cause wounds and can allow – in fact, it will allow – pathogens and diseases to enter. And that is something you definitely do not want.

What that is done look to open up the centre of the tree so air can circulate around and reduce the possibility of any disease building in the still air. This, obviously, only applies to free-standing trees; espaliers are different.

Lastly you should be left with last years growth to prune and this should be trimmed to about half the length and to an outside facing bud.

If you follow all those steps you should now have a healthy tree which should produce a good crop of apples.

If you have your trees in an espalier style growing against a wall or fence you don't want it to get too long ion the tooth, so to speak. Thus you may, like what I will have to do, cut off some serious long growth, as I got delayed to do it last year and could not do it because it had gotten too late.

Any dead, decayed and diseased branched that remove from the trees burn and do not chip and use in composting or as mulch as you might transfer disease to other areas. Always consider any and all branches that are dead on a tree as having, probably, dies as a result of disease, to be on the safe side and, as said, burn any such wood.

Other tasks

You can now, as it is getting warmer, start the early potatoes from slips that have eyes on them and you do not, necessarily, have to have seed potatoes. On the contrary; if you have store bought potatoes developing eyes peel the potatoes thickly where the eyes are and those slips will grow into potato plants without any problems.

Other tasks are putting on well rotted manure and other soil improvers, such as compost made with bracken, and a very good one on that level is the “Lakeland Gold” compost. If you use such compost as soil improver, or, obviously, your own, home-grown one, apply about a two to three inch thick layer and fork over the beds and containers to give some goodness back to the soil. Don't use the likes of “Grow More” or such “fertilizers”, as they do nothing for the soil; they are but plant food.

Dandelion has started to grow now as well and you can either go and dig them out or allow them to grow, if not in the wrong place, and harvest the leaves – and other parts of the plant. Dandelion leaves are great in salads and on sandwiches too.

If you want or have to dig them out try to go for green ways of doing it and the investment in a Weed Puller, such as the Fiskars W52 or W82, or the Grandpa's Weeder, will soon pay for itself. Those tools make removal of such weeds extremely simple and easy.

© 2011

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Bulldog Mini Bypass Pruning Shears BD3150 – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith


The Bulldog BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears are a very nice and handy little pair of pruners for the cutting back of live or 'green' foliage and also capable of basically all small pruning tasks. In my opinion those pruners are also great for children who wish to help in the garden. Yes, I do know that they are cutting tools and sharp but they will never learn how to do things if they are not permitted to learn when young.

The cutting capacity is 6mm which is just under 1/2 inch in old money. However, it is probably possible to cut a little thicker pieces like that. It all depends on what material they are. While I would not suggest to cut a 3/4 inch apple twig or one of other hard wood with this pair of pruning shears it it, however, possible to cut bramble runners of that size and even bigger, especially if they are “green”.

While an ideal little pair of pruning shears for the home and also the allotment gardener they are also suitable for the professional when about generally in case there is something to be that needs dead heading, whether roses or flowering plants in general. In addition it is also an ideal small pair of secateurs for the Park and Countryside Ranger on patrol should the need arise to cut some bramble runners or such clear from a path to protect the public from injury. It is the small size here that comes in at the forefront, allowing it to just be slipped into a pocket or a notebook belt pouch or such.

Those mini bypass pruners are also brilliant for harvesting produce in your veggie garden or plot, whether those be beans or other vegetables, and do a much better job than garden scissors, for instance.

The grip is a soft elastomer kind of material than makes using them a pleasure.

Priced at an RRP of £8.44 they hardly break the bank and as with all Bulldog tools we are talking quality at an affordable price. I know that you can get secateurs for less than £3 or even for as low as 99pence but what are you getting there?

The only one thing that I am not too sure about, I must say, as to reliability and durability, is the yellow – in the case of the green handles version of the BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears that I was given for review – plastic sliding lock. I would have rather seen something like the lock on the BD3152 bypass pruning shears. In use I find that at times that lock slides forward and, in fact, locks the shears. This is, though, not the only kind of lock on secateurs that I have a problem with. The old style, as on the afore mentioned BD3152 – the clasp on the bottom of the handles – still takes a lot of beating. The spring too, maybe, just maybe, could do with, in my opinion, being just a little bit stronger.

However, this small pair of mini pruners is something that many people will have been waiting for, and also those gardeners that want to be able to allow their youngsters a go in the garden with dead heading and such but the secateurs on the market in general are too large to really be able to do that. These mini pruning shears will, certainly, bridge that gap.

© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Plant Minder - Product Review

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)



Clay Pot Irrigation, also known as olla irrigation, is used in many regions of the world including Asia and Latin America, and only more recently in the US in places like New Mexico.

Clay pot irrigation is an effective and low cost and minimum effort method of watering plants, whether in containers of in beds, and the technique is simple as well.

In principle all you do is to take an unglazed clay vessel and bury it in the ground up to the rim. Pour water into the pot and let osmosis do its thing. OK, maybe it is not that simple, but that is how it, basically, works.

There are a few factors to take into account such as the porosity of the clay pot or olla and the surrounding soil as well. The porosity of the vessel depends on the type of clay used, but unless you specifically purchase an olla or make your own clay pots, this factor might be out of your hands. In other words, it may probably not be advisable to use any old unglazed clay pot. In addition, the soil should ideally be well drained. Add compost or organic matter, or sand if needed. Ensure that it is enough to allow water to percolate from the clay pot to the soil and then to the plant root zones.

If you are planning on irrigating a vegetable garden, place each clay pot or olla about 3 feet apart and plant your crops around each olla. Fill the olla with water every week or so, depending on rainfall.

With the Plant Minder from Feed N Leave Ltd. in the UK, on the other hand, you don't have to worry as to whether you top up the container often enough. Checking whether there is still water in the green (blue in the diagram) “bubble” will do the trick.



Plant Minder is the modern way of clay pot irrigation and the principle is the same but it takes it a little bit further in that you fill a green plastic “bubble” - for lack of a better word - with water, turn it upside down into the clay “pot” rather than just fill up the pot with water. This prevents evaporation and also any debris falling into the pot and the water in it. Works brilliant.

A variety of different porosities are available, including for those kind of plants that are rather thirsty, such as tomatoes.

Plant Minder are entirely UK made with the clay pots made in the old pottery areas of Staffordshire.

I have a review sample of the Plant Minder installed in a pot with a newly planted lemon balm plant and I have got it in the pot for the last month or so and, while the plant is growing extremely well, the water i still half full in the green “bubble” which means that very little water, has so far been used from the clay pot. This may also be due to the fact that we have a rather wet summer this year – yet again, much like last year – but the pot does not really get that much rain water.

All I can say is that this system is a real great idea and invention and I can but recommend it to anyone, especially those of us who garden in containers, whether fruit and vegetables or just flowers.

Depending on condition and such it is reckoned that Plant Minder only will need refilling once every six weeks. That does not mean that you do not have to check on it as to whether it may need filling. As long, however, there is water showing in the green plastic globe then you still have more that enough water in the clay pot to water the plant or plants.

Plant Minder is available from PlantMinder.com in the UK and from a variety of garden centers and other such outlets.

© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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Grow your own small vegetable garden

Even the smallest space can produce plenty of vegetables, even a patio can

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

I am no market gardener, that's for sure, and I have varied success with my own small garden in that fashion but that is due to the location and the fact that I get overrun by slugs and snails and also the squirrels and pigeons think that my garden is a feeding station for them. Well, it is not but try telling them that.

Also, I must add that I am not the most consistent home gardener, as I am often too busy with writing material for the many magazines that I own and edit.

However, while I doubt that most families could become entirely self-sufficient (then again, is complete self-sufficiency even possible?) in the suburbs on their patio and/or small part of garden that they are often only willing to sacrifice for food growing, the food thus grown can go someways towards reducing food miles and costs.

Obviously, the bigger the area the more food you can grow. But, having said that, lots can be done in a small space. This was shown at the “Grand Designs Live” exhibition with the small garden that was shown there and also in other places. It is possible.

If you do not want to build raised beds with timber, bricks or whatever, then there are nowadays a couple of companies that produce “clickable” plastic siding that make then up a raised beds. But be warned! They are not cheap but they will last nigh on forever, unlike timber.

However, there are many other options for building a small garden – I mean other than digging up the ground. On a patio you would not and could not do that anyway. So, here comes “container gardening”.

There are containers and there are containers for gardening, obviously, From the old style terracotta put and tub to the plastic ones and everything else. You do not even have to go and buy such containers, as they can often be found thrown away. Old washing-up bowls can be used, the pots that contained trees from nurseries, the barrels that contained cooking oils – cut in half makes two – and many more. In addition to that there are the large bags in which building sands and the likes comes nowadays. Fold over the sides and – voila – one square raised bed of rather some depth.

The tubs presently mentioned all – bar the containers that once will have had trees in them – will require holes for drainage drilled into the bottom. I handle that quite simply and quickly here; a few shots of target practice with a .22 air rifle and, well, drainage holes. Who said they had to be x-amount of millimeter in size and perfectly round?

That is container gardening on the cheap, basically. It beats – in cost at least – any store bought tubs for plastic tub/container gardening.

In addition to that there are other containers that can be employed as well. Know of an old bathtub, whether iron (well, they are worth money...) or fiberglass? They too make great planters for vegetables.

There have been articles around about the advantages of growing your own vegetables and in them it is pointed out that not only do people waste less food by being able to go pick fresh vegetables when they need them, but the cost of having a small garden compared to buying fresh produce from the grocery store can save us all a lot on food.

So, what's stopping you?

© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008

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Growing potatoes in biodegradable cardboard boxes

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Growing potatoes in raised beds works well but building a raised bed can be costly and requires hard work. An easy to build, inexpensive, useful and attractive alternative for growing of potatoes can be had by using cardboard boxes.

Because of the hard work of building raised beds and the cost of it I decided to use the existing beds for other crops rather than potatoes and left growing potatoes out for a couple of years.

However, this year I came up with the idea of cardboard boxes, in lieu of the potato patio planters which are rather costly to the tune of about US$35 around these parts of the world. I am thinking, though, of maybe building my own (oar maybe I can find a manufacturer who would like me to review a couple of them). So, I have took two boxes that I had lying about, lined them up in the garden and planted potatoes in the bottom of the box using a soil mixed with mild potting compost. As the potatoes grew, I have added more soil. So far they are growing beautifully but we don't know as yet as to how good they are producing and as to whether it works at all, though there seem to be some small potatoes already to be had.

Such boxes are free, can be quite attractive and will bio-degrade and compost at the end of the season. New ones can be set up the following year and years in different parts of the vegetable garden to help rotate the crops. The top flaps of the boxes can be closed to protect the tender plants from a late frost. It is easy to build up soil around the growing potatoes; harvesting is also easy. You can either reach in for new potatoes, or you can peel the rotting sides away at the end of the season.

It is important to consider that as with all container planting you may need to check a little more on the watering.

So, why not grow your spuds in cardboard planters? No cost (for the planters, I mean) and at the end of the useful life of the “planter” it will compost to soil.

© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008

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Fourteen ways to save water in your garden

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

It is important, especially nowadays, that we all protect our precious water sources and water resources by using water wisely. This does bot mean, however, that you have to let your yard and garden dry up completely. The trick is to know when to water and how much water to use on the plants and also and especially as well as what to plant and when. The following tips will help you water less often and more effectively.

Please also remember that everything that you put in or on your plants and lawn to make them grow is also going to find its way either onto your skin or into your vegetables, and the excess will go into the groundwater.

Chemicals do not all decompose into meaningless neutral entities. On the contrary rather. If you have not done so already, it might be advisable to make a change t to organic or natural fertilizers and insecticides. They are safer to handle, safer for your pets and safer for your kids, plus they don't contaminate the groundwater.

Read the rest here...

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Pea pod soup

At one time I thought growing English peas was a waste of time and garden space for what we got back. Now I grow lots of peas since my wife discovered how to make soup from the pods.

In case you would like to try it, here is the recipe.

• 2 qts green pea pods (pods only)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Cups milk
• 3 TBSP flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• a little Nutmeg
• 3 TBSP butter
Wash pea pods, cut into 1' long pieces, boil in water with onion for 1 1/2 hrs. Strain through colander, add pepper, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and milk (which has been scalded). Bring to boil and thicken with butter and flour mixture.

With a sandwich, this is really good, especially on a cold day.

Owen Newman 2008

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Tend to Your Garden in Winter

Although many of the perennials grown in the garden slumber through the winter months, the gardener is far from inactive.

In fact, winter in the garden can be as busy as any other season of the year.

Here are some essential gardening tasks that are recommend green fingers take care of when it gets frosty outside:

1./ Check in on your plants: Examine the greenhouse (or cold frame) regularly for any sign of pests or disease it could be harboring. Remove any dead flower heads, yellowing leaves, and other plant debris before mold starts to form, to cut the risk of infection.

Heavy snowfall can settle on conifers and evergreens with larger surface areas, causing the branches to buckle or break under all that heft. Knock the snow off to help reduce damage, because a torn branch leaves an open wound for infections in spring.

2./ Protect them from the cold: Insulate your greenhouse and cold frame with bubble wrap or similar insulation, because reducing drafts saves on heat loss and plant casualties.
Outdoor evergreens, container plants, tall plants, and plants introduced since the previous winter will need protection if the weather takes a nasty turn. (They can be severely damaged by wind, which can loosen roots.) Consider planting a windbreak or shelter to reduce the airflow.

Another problem caused by the wind is foliage drying out, which happens when freezing gusts draw moisture from leaves faster than it can be replaced. Erect a screen of woven plastic mesh or horticultural fleece on the windward side of vulnerable plants to reduce the wind's effects and protect the leaves. During heavy frosts, some plants may even benefit from being bundled up in protective fleece, which absorbs some of cold.

3./ Prepare the soil: Because winter frost can break down sticky clay soil better than any cultivation tool, it can be an ally when it comes to preparing heavy soils. This is the time to incorporate compost or other organic conditioners that will improve soil structure and boost plant growth.

4./ Deal with construction and landscaping jobs: Because sections of the garden will be bare, it's easier to see the garden layout and make changes for the coming spring. If the soil isn't too wet to be structurally damaged by foot traffic and wheelbarrows, you can take the opportunity to install or improve drainage systems.

5./ Handle repairs and maintenance, and that includes repairing handles: Consider the lack of vegetation a bonus, because this is an ideal time to drain and clean pools and ponds, as well as repair pond sides, walls, and liners. Or use this time to re-level, change the shape, increase the shape and size of borders, and reseed areas where growth is sparse. However, no work should be carried out if the grass is frozen, because footprints made on frozen grass can cause it to turn brown.

Repair, sharpen, clean, service, and otherwise maintain tools that are used in your garden, whether the lawnmower, the strimmer, bill hooks, secateurs, etc. A well-maintained tool or piece of machinery will give you good service for many, many years and will make life and work easier.

Michael Smith (Veshengro), January 2008

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