It is the height of summer and we are all really busy in our gardens, the work is endless, the heat relentless, the days long; as if it couldn’t get any worse, the idiot son has returned as “Chicken Boy”. I am too weary to explain now, let’s get on with the gardening and I will explain later.
18th July 2023. Things I have been doing lately:
Deadheading. The glory of summer is to see your borders and flower beds packed with flowering waving annuals, especially if you have grown them all from seed. I know I have said it before, but if you haven’t grown from seed, then try it, it will give you a whole new perspective on gardening. However, if you want to maintain that lovely packed flowering look all summer then you need to go round your garden and deadhead on a daily basis. The photo below shows one of my borders packed with flowers waiting for their daily prune.
All flowering plants need to be deadheaded otherwise they will produce one or two flowers and go straight into seed production. By deadheading you are removing the viable seed which forces the plant to produce more flowers and hence more seed. To deadhead flowers, don’t just chop off the flower head, if you do you will leave a useless piece of stem that will invite disease. Instead grasp the flowerhead in your hand and then with your other hand run your secateurs down the stem until you meet a lower group of leaves, and cut here. This will encourage the plant to throw another side shoot and flower from this point. Another deadheading technique you can use with multi flowering plants such as Osteospermums is to use hand held side shears to crop off the old flowers. Both techniques are shown in the photos below. For a larger view click on each photo.
Finally, don’t forget to prop up and stake plants that are beginning to flop. I will be covering this in future posts, but below you can see my mini sunflower already propped up with a broom handle.
Thinning fruit crops. If you have a heavy crop of fruit on a tree then you need to make a decision about thinning the crop. Thinning is simply removing a number of fruits to ensure that the tree does not begin to drop the fruit itself because it is in distress at a heavy crop. Another good reason for thinning is to ensure better size fruit. I always think it is better to have a slightly smaller crop with larger fruits, than a large crop with smaller fruits. I tend only to thin my persimmons and probably peach. I do not bother with figs as I tend to crop them on a daily basis. The first photo below shows me reluctantly pruning out healthy persimmons, whilst the second shows them on their way to the compost heap. For a larger view click on each photo.
Netting fruit. If you have soft fruit trees, and you want to retain the fruit as opposed to fattening the birds, then now is the time to net. I have a range of trees and plants that require netting. The photo below shows: fig, persimmons, and peach all prime bird fatteners. For a larger view click on each photo.
People often ask me when is the correct time to net their fruit? and the answer is simple, before it ripens. If you leave your fruit till it is ripe then the birds will undoubtedly beat you to it. Birds know the instant that fruit is ripe and they can easily strip a tree of all soft fruit in a day. If you are going to net your fruit then make sure you use a small mesh net as this is more bird friendly. Remember the key is to keep them out not trap them in your net. If you use a wide mesh net then birds will try and get through, and every morning you will be met by the sight of fat angry birds hanging upside down from your nets. The photo below shows the correct mesh size. Followed by a photo of a fig attacked by an enterprising bird even after I had netted. For a larger view click on each photo.
Keeping compost wet. It will soon be time for my annual “big compost special” post. And I know that you are all waiting with bated breath. But, in the meantime, it is important that you keep your compost wet in this very hot weather, otherwise you will find it full of ants and they can disrupt the composting process.. Every week, check your compost for ants and put your hand in to feel how dry it is. The idea is to use a watering can or hosepipe to keep the compost constantly damp, but not soaked. If you have two compost bins, one live and one resting then you still need to keep them both moist or the ants will just move to the other one. The action packed photos below show me watering both compost bins. For a larger view click on each photo.
Repotting plants. If you have plants that have become too big for their pot, or, if you have cuttings that have grown strongly and need a bigger pot, then now is the time to repot. There are two basic windows when you can repot plants. One is in January when everything is dormant and you can’t do much damage. The other is now when everything is growing strongly and the plant should take well to its new pot. Whilst both repotting windows are fine, I prefer now if possible as there is always the danger of overwatering in January when the plant has no growth and it’s roots will just sit and rot in the wet.
I have a little avocado tree that I have grown from a stone that now needs to be potted on to give it a bit more room. Eventually it will end up in the soil, but not just yet. If you decide it is time to pot on then ideally you want to disturb the plants roots as little as possible. This means preparing the right compost in advance and having the larger pot ready. When you are ready half fill the new pot with your compost. Then place your plant in its old pot into the centre of the new pot. Carefully fill around the old pot and tamp down the new compost so that it is firm but not compacted. Then holding the old pot twist it around and around to create a pot shaped space in the new compost. Once you have achieved this, carefully tap out the plant from its old pot and place it into the ready made hole in the new compost. If possible slightly tease out the roots before replanting. When finished water well and place in the shade for a few days. The first photo shows my little avocado about to occupy its new space. The second shows it resting in its new home in the shade. For a larger view click on each photo.
The return of Chicken Boy. Cruella (my wife) was beside herself with excitement as our idiot son was coming to visit for a week. Her normal excitement had been heightened by the fact that she had declared him her successor where chickens are concerned and expects him to inherit all her chickens. To this end she has declared him “Prince of all Chickens”, she gets upset when I call him Chicken Boy.
Anyway, they have both spent most of the week in the chicken coop conversing with the chickens in chickenese, as she and the chickens inaugurated him into the mysteries of chickendom. There was lots of chanting, squawking, smoke and some drumbeats (I didn’t even know chickens could play the drums). The end result was he emerged with a whole new set of pronouns, some chicken poo smeared on his face and a feather sticking out of his hair. From then on the whole holiday was spent with him showing off his chicken wrangling skills. The photos below show him in action. For a larger view click on each photo.
All good things come to an end and Chicken Boy had to go back to London to ruin the financial system of the City. Cruella meanwhile has sunk into the usual pit of despair that accompanies his leaving. For three days she has been sleeping in his bed and refusing to eat; declaring loudly that she will probably never eat again – I keep finding Mars bar wrappers under the bed! The photo below shows Cruella in the pit of despair. If you look carefully, those lumps in the bed is where she has sneaked chickens in.
Spanish Garden 
Oh my!
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