Gardening Advice

Bees are increasingly under pressure, so why not plant some good plants for nectar? Often bees get stranded when out looking for food, so providing a little staging post will allow them to recharge their batteries and make it home to the hive. This is especially important in early spring and autumn when the weather is a bit cooler (affecting their energy levels) – so include plants such as primroses, lungwort, asters and sedums, as well as summer flowers such as cosmos and Echinacea.

These are of course just a few suggestions – there are many more flowers suitable for bees. When choosing your plants, keep the bees in mind by going for open flowers. Many of the modern hybrids have double flowers with so many petals that it’s impossible for the bees to get to the nectar in the centre. Daisy types are especially useful, but there’s a list supplied by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) that details good plants by type and season (https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/pdf/conservation-and-biodiversity/wildlife/rhs_pollinators_plantlist) and look for the ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ symbol on plant labels.

When planting for butterflies, think ‘landing pad’ – they prefer flower types that have a large, flat top like yarrow and sedums, which give them space to land and drink the nectar. Again, refer to the RHS list for appropriate choices. Finally, if you include some plants that not only provide nectar in the summer, but also seed heads in the winter, you’ll get some bird visitors as well.

With all this going on in the garden, it’s a shame to miss it. Watching wildlife going about its daily business is a great way to relax and forget about the worries of the human world, and so planting in raised beds allows you to get that much closer to the action, without getting muddy or grassy knees!

Alternatively, for a front-row seat, why not add a raised bed with integral seating or a bench with planters at either end? WoodBlocX have a number of kits for both of these options, or you could use their free design service to create a bespoke bed or seat to turn your garden into a wildlife theatre!

WoodBlocX uses only sustainably-sourced timber, and other components are created from recycled materials, so its environmental credentials are already very high making the application of WoodblocX products a safe and superior choice for your garden.

Watering is gardening’s most basic task, in every sense of the word. It’s always needed at some point, no matter what the garden. Watering is really a very simple task, however so often it is under-watering or over-watering that can cause our plants to suffer and even die.

All plants need water, even the drought tolerant ones, but the volume and frequency of that watering varies hugely from plant to plant. The first thing to consider is where the plant is originally from (and I don’t mean the garden centre – but where around the world do its ancestors live)? If you know what kind of environment your plants descend from, replicating that as closely as possible when you care for it will bring the most success.

If you’re not sure about your plants’ origins, the leaves will give a good indication of what it needs. Narrow, silvery/white or fleshy leaves show it is adapted to minimise water loss or store water for long periods, so it is from a hot area with little rainfall. Wide or large, green, thin leaves indicate it is not used to being without water for very long, so it will need more watering in dry periods.

Raised beds such as those supplied by WoodBlocX can make watering plants much easier. The soil you put in them can be adapted to the planting; for example, gravel can be mixed in to mimic the free-draining soils most Mediterranean herbs such as lavender and thyme are used to. The watering itself is easier because the soil level is lifted off the ground, meaning less stooping with a heavy watering can and it’s much easier to get the water directly to the soil (see below). Alternatively, raised beds lend themselves very well to the installation of automatic irrigation systems – from the high tech to the simple leaky hose attached to a water butt.

Always check the moisture level in the soil before beginning to water, because a dry dusty surface may actually be moist further down, or vice versa. Sticking your finger in the soil is the only way to find out! However and how often you are watering, it’s important to water in the morning or evening. Watering in the middle of the day is a waste of time – most of the water you apply will evaporate before it even gets to the roots, and on really hot days, before it even hits the ground! The cool of the morning and evening means the water has a chance to penetrate the soil.

That said, in very dry and hot weather, it may be necessary to water plants that are drying out too fast in order to save them, but always check the soil first. Some plants will flag in the midday sun, looking as if they are wilting and dying, but in fact they have enough water in the soil – it’s just a temporary mechanism to prevent too much water loss.

Always give your plants a really good soak when you water them, rather than just a sprinkle over the top. Not only does this mean you have to water less often, it will also encourage the roots to grow down into the soil, rather than up to the surface where they will then dry out faster anyway. Make sure the water is going on to the soil rather than the foliage as much as possible as well – this will ensure it gets to the roots where it is needed, and not create a humid atmosphere around the plant which can encourage disease. Follow these simple steps and your plants will thank you for it.

Growing in your own garden means you have total control over what goes into your plants, and many gardeners are opting to have an organic garden, at least for their edible plants. Organic gardening means to grow without the use of chemicals but can be interpreted in different ways depending on how strict you want to be.

The first consideration is where – or in what – are you growing your plants? If you are growing in the ground, you have less control over what is in the soil, and what has been added to it by those who previously tended it, but by growing in raised beds and planters you can start afresh with topsoil and compost that is certified organic.

However, don’t forget that the raised beds themselves may contain chemicals which can leach into the soil and then get taken up by the plants. This is especially true of old railway sleepers, the older ones of which will be impregnated with creosote. WoodBlocX wood is not only treated in such a way that the wood will not leach any chemicals like traditional railway sleepers.

Artificial fertilisers are out if you are growing organically, but there are some organic multipurpose feeds available, including liquid seaweed extract. Alternatively, make your own by steeping fresh nettles or comfrey in a bucket of water for 24 hours and then straining the liquid to water the plants.

Most of the organic-or-not considerations relate to pest and disease control. Government and EU regulations have removed a lot of pesticides and other sprays from the market anyway, so it makes sense to stay organic. Raised beds makes keeping the pests away from your plants easier – many WoodBlocX beds are the same width as protective tunnels and cloches, so they will look neat and keep out the birds and bugs that want to eat the plants, and slugs and snails will not like to crawl up the wooden sides to get to them either.

The best way to keep your plants healthy and performing well is to look after them! Keep the areas around them clean, use clean tools, and keep an eye out for breakouts of pests and disease all the time: removing the affected parts promptly can often save the whole plant. All of this is again easier in raised beds, as the plants are that much closer to eye level, and it’s easier to see under the leaves where a lot of pests and diseases first take hold.

Gardening organically means working with nature, rather than trying to control it, for we inevitably lose that battle. Employ some natural predators by planting flowers such as marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula species), borage, dill, cosmos and herbs such as Mint, Fennel and Lavender to attract them to your garden. Feed the birds over winter too – in the summer they will feast instead on the aphids in your garden (blue tits are especially good for this, so put peanuts, their favourite, in the feeder).

Growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruit is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s easy to get in on the action. In a few short months – weeks even – you can be picking your first harvests straight from the garden.

The first thing to decide is what you want to grow – there is no point growing fruit or veg you don’t like to eat! It’s also worth starting in a relatively small way: grow the crops that it’s really worth having fresh, such as sweetcorn and salad leaves, or that really benefit from being able to ripen fully on the plant, like tomatoes and strawberries (many fruits and vegetables sold in the supermarkets are picked when still unripe to make them easier to transport).

Once you’ve got the bug, then it’s time to move onto the bigger crops such as potatoes, cabbages and onions. These are relatively inexpensive in the shops, so you’re unlikely to save a lot of money by growing your own, but the range of varieties available to the home grower is much better than the supermarkets, so you can trial and test your favourites. New potatoes especially benefit from going straight from the soil to the pan – ‘International Kidney’ is the closest the home grower can get to a Jersey Royal.

Fruit is a more expensive initial investment than most veg, as you generally have to buy plants, bushes or trees rather than seeds, but after that they need very little attention and can soon provide you with kilos and kilos of fruit every year. Again, it’s also possible to grow fruit not widely available in the shops, such as greengages (try ‘Cambridge Gage’) and unusual hybrids such as white strawberries.

Think about what space – and time – you have to be growing your crops. Most fruit trees and bushes can be trained into, for example, cordons or fans that are perfect against a wall or fence, and can even be grown in raised beds of a minimum depth of 45cm. Alternatively, grow them as a ‘normal’ tree shape in a large pot or planter. WoodBlocX planters are a great choice here as they will not crack in a frost and give the tree’s roots plenty of space and protection.

Raised beds are often used by gardeners for fruit and veg growing, and with good reason. With raised beds the soil is never compacted, so it remains really healthy year on year, and is easily topped up with fresh compost full of nutrients to grow big, flavoursome crops. Take care that the beds are not made of materials that will leach chemicals into the soil that will be then taken up by the plants – using something like WoodBlocX (all pressure treated without nasty chemicals) means you don’t have to worry about that at all.

Finally, think about the design of your growing area. Do you want to have square or rectangular beds with straight rows (attractive in their own right), or a more informal circular area, perhaps with a central fruit tree? Consider what crops you will be growing: it might be worth having a segmented raised bed – either all on the same level or at different heights – to divide into areas for annual vegetables, herbs, and perennial fruit bushes and trees that need a bit more root space than the veg and herbs. Corner beds work well in this regard, but WoodBlocX can be created in almost any configuration to fit your needs and space.

If inspiration is what you need, you’ll find lots of pictures of our easy to assemble kits on the WoodBlocX website. To get daily updates on all things WoodBlocX, be sure to follow us on social media; visit our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.

Yes, your WoodBlocX raised beds can indeed still be productive, even though British summer time is well and truly over and growing is now at a slower pace. As we reach the darker days of winter, it is still possible to enjoy an array of vegetables, such as salads with some planning and a little care!

The beauty of having a WoodblocX raised bed is that it should not require lots of maintenance and they can be sited within a polytunnel, making the maintenance of your area that much easier and ideal for growing a few fast salads that are ready in weeks.

DIY Polytunnel/Coldframes

Why not cover your WoodBlocX raised bed in polythene to make your own mini-poly tunnel? Simply use sticks or canes and some Figo Universal Frame Connectors to turn your WoodBlocX raised bed into a mini-cold frame. Then spinach, kale, and some varieties of lettuce will live through the winter inside.

Certain kinds of onion work well from a late autumn sowing as well and you’ll get a much earlier crop than if you’d waited till spring. Other possibilities are cabbage, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, and most root crops. Leeks, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, radishes, and rutabagas can be sown for winter harvest. The flavour improves if they’re left in the ground until a hard freeze as the cold turns their starches into sugar.

As it is still early November, you still have time to sow some Broad Beans and plant Rhubarb.

Broad beans should not be planted before November in southern England or they get too soft and lush making them liable to be killed by frosts and susceptible to botrytis and other fungal diseases. Good varieties include Super Aquadulce, and Aquadulec Claudia (This is a broad bean that is recognised as the best variety for an autumn sowing and comes with an RHS Award of Garden Merit.) It establishes itself quickly, is very hardy and produces very early crops. ‘Claudia’ produces very long glossy pods up to 9in, with tender light coloured beans. Or why not try Sutton Dwarf and Supersimonia.

Hardy peas can also be started this month: good varieties include;- Avola, Douce Provence, Feltham First and Meteor.

With Rhubarb why not try Stockbridge Arrow – A superb modern variety that has become recognised as the quality rhubarb. Tender, fine tasting and stringless when forced. Or Timperly Early – The earliest outdoor variety. Succulent pink stems with a delicious tart flavour.

You can buy special terracotta pots to stick over the top of the cluster, which can look very attractive on your WoodBlocX bed, but it’s just as easy to put a bucket over them.
You can also Plant out Cauliflower if done within next few days, such as early Mayflower, which you will be cutting from mid May to early June.
If you are not going to plant anything, once your other Beans and Peas have been harvested, turn the ground within the raised bed and leave it for the winter. Legumes root nodes store Nitrogen and winter frosts will break up the soil allowing the nitrogen to be absorbed into the surrounding ground.

By now you should also have lifted any remaining root vegetables, and store them for later use. Thin Onions and Turnips if required.
Then sit back inside with a nice hot beverage and start looking at those seed supplier catalogues to plan your spring sowing campaign!