Twenty timely tips for winter
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When winter gets serious - no more of those little squalls that send gardeners scurrying for shelter - but days of rain and numbing cold, it can seem that hibernation really is the best way to get through winter. But once all the seed and plant catalogues and the latest books have been read, what next? You can’t huddle by that fireside forever. Well, not for much longer anyway.
Gardeners know that regardless of the weather there’s always
some sort of plant oriented activity to keep them occupied. There are certainly
times, however, when it’s neither desirable nor advisable to be out in the
garden. So, in the spirit of keeping idle hands away from more devilish tasks,
here are twenty little jobs for winter. They’re a combination of indoor tasks
for the really bad days and outdoor jobs for the fine spells.
1. Make a garden journal
Update the records of your planting, sowing and things to do
over the next few months. Although it can be a chore to go to the trouble of
writing everything down, it’s amazing how useful good records can be. How can
you know when to make changes if you can’t accurately assess the results of
your past efforts? Also, order or purchase any seeds that are needed and keep
them in a cardboard box, filed in the order of sowing.
2. Take hardwood cuttings
Hardwood cutting of deciduous plants can be taken as soon as
the last of the foliage has fallen. The cuttings are generally quite long —
around 20–30 cm — inserted in beds of fine tilled soil outdoors, and
simply left to develop roots on their own accord. Many conifers too can be
grown from hardwood cuttings; tear them from the stem leaving a “heel” of stem
wood attached. When new growth develops it’s usually a sign that the cuttings
have struck. Some may develop quickly enough to be lifted in summer, otherwise
transplant or pot up when dormant in the following winter. Of course, that’s
tip 21: lift last year’s hardwood cuttings.
3. Clean away any fallen debris
If left to rot on the ground, fallen leaves and fruits are
great breeding and overwintering sites for pests and diseases. Take the time to
rake up them up and you’ll not only lessen that risk, you’ll also have some top
class composting material.
4. Make compost bins
If you don’t already have compost bins, now is the time to
make them — if only to take all those fallen leaves you’ve just raked up.
Slatted timber bins with removable fronts allow good air circulation and are
easily made. Remember to use treated timber; while H3 will do, h3 lasts far
longer. A cover is a good idea in periods of heavy rain as the rain can make
the conditions too cold and wet for the composting process to work properly.
5. Plant new deciduous trees and shrubs
Field grown deciduous trees and shrubs are lifted in late
May or early June and arrive in the shops soon after. Roses, fruit trees, cane
fruit and large specimen trees such as oaks and maples should all be available
now or very soon. Remember to prepare your soil with plenty of compost well in
advance of planting.
6. Know your onions
Onions, garlic and shallots are usually first planted around
the shortest day. However if the soil stays wet and cold they may be slow to
start into growth and could suffer from neck rots. To help prevent this, soak
the seed bulbs for a couple of hours in a systemic fungicide then allow them to
dry before planting.
7. Divide hardy perennials
The toughest of the herbaceous perennials can now be lifted
and divided. Large clumps can be broken up with a spade or by using the
time-honoured method of prising them apart with two forks back-to-back. Divide
smaller clumps with a knife or by hand. Before replanting, trim any damaged
roots or stems, dust them with sulphur to prevent fungal problems and work in
plenty of compost. Rhubarb crowns can be lifted now. Tender perennials are best
left until late winter or early spring before dividing.
8. Why wait for spring?
There are plenty of plants that will flower early if potted
up and moved indoors. While it’s getting a little late now for spring bulbs,
you can still lift and pot spring-flowering shrubs such as evergreen azaleas.
Bringing them indoors will soon see them in bloom. Of course, you could always
simply buy some potted bulbs or hardy annuals for quick indoor colour.
9. Pruning
Apples, pears, grapes, gooseberries and other bush fruits
can be pruned soon after leaf fall. Stone fruit, however, should not be pruned
in winter, as the cut branches will be susceptible to invasion by silverleaf
disease.
10. Feed berries, currants and other soft fruit
There’s no need for anything fancy, just a general garden
fertiliser. That should encourage good growth and fruiting in the coming
summer, but if the crop was poor last season try some additional sulphate of
potash. And don’t forget to top it off with a decent layer of mulch, which will
not only improve the soil structure but should help stop the winter rains
washing the fertiliser away.
11. Liming
If liming is necessary it should be done now. Lawns often
benefit from a light winter lime dressing. Vegetables usually appreciate an
annual 250g/mē dressing of dolomite lime. Use dolomite lime or sulphur
fertilisers to influence the colour of next season’s hydrangeas: lime for pink
flowers, sulphur for blue.
12. Spraying
Spraying in winter with a copper and oil mixture will kill
any dormant fungal spores and overwintering insects and help to prevent any
problems developing in the spring. Lime sulphur will control any lichen
deposits, though I find lichen quite attractive and unless it’s really heavily
coating a plant it’s unlikely to cause any problems. Don’t use lime sulphur on
foliage; it’s for deciduous plants or the trunks and larger branches of
evergreens.
13. Digging
If the soil is workable it’s a good time to dig over the
vegetable garden and apply compost, fertiliser and mulches. However, avoid
walking on or working over very wet soils in order to prevent compaction. If you’re in an area with heavy frosts dig with a spade and leave
the large sods of earth exposed to allow the frost to break them up.
This results in a fine soil that is easily raked at sowing time.
14. Feed the flowers
Feed polyanthus and primroses with dried blood and liquid
fertilisers. Other hardy winter- to early spring-flowering annuals, such as
pansies, violas, bellis daises and calendula will also flower better with an
occasional shot of a mild general garden fertiliser or liquid feed.
15. Plant strawberries
Prepare strawberry beds and set out new plants. Strawberries
can rot if left sitting on wet ground. The best way to avoid this is to plant
the strawberry crowns at the top of ridges around 20 cm high by
30–40 cm wide. Because rain and wind can erode the ridges it’s a good idea
to cover the soil in weed matting before planting, if you can afford it. The
old stand-by — straw — is alright, but it tends to get blown all over the
garden.
16. Have an indoor clean-up
Winter is a good time to clean all those pots, seedling
boxes and punnets that have been thrown away still encrusted with soil. If
they’re to be used again they should be cleaned out with a bleach or
disinfectant solution to prevent the transmission of diseases and to kill any
overwintering pests.
17. Tool maintenance
Tools are obviously great labour-savers yet we often
overlook even their most basic maintenance. When the weather’s too bad to work
outdoors is an ideal time for stripping down tools for sharpening, lubricating,
rust removing, replacing broken handles and all those other little touch-up and
repair jobs that have been held-over from summer.
18. Clean out the greenhouse
As they’re used only for summer crops such as tomatoes,
peppers and cucumbers, many home greenhouses are empty in winter. Now, while
the greenhouse is empty, get stuck in and clean the glass, replace any damaged
panes or plastic sheeting and, if you’re serious about disease control,
sterilise the soil. Apply fertilisers after sterilising. Over years of
cultivation greenhouse soils become dry and dusty. Extra humus is required and
that’s best obtained from compost. If you’re sure your compost has been
thoroughly rotted at a high temperature it should be disease-free, otherwise
work it in before sterilising the soil.
19. Prevent waterlogged pots
Plants grow only very slowly in winter and use far less
water than in summer. Those outdoor pots you could barely keep moist in summer
may now be thoroughly waterlogged. Check them after the first heavy rainfall
and if necessary raise them up on bricks or small timber blocks to allow the
drainage holes to work properly. If that doesn’t work try moving them to a
sunnier or more sheltered position.
20. Sow early seedlings
Provided you have somewhere sheltered to harden off the
seedlings, you can now make your first container sowings ready for planting out
in spring. Any of the following will germinate in reasonably cool conditions,
such as in an airing cupboard: alyssum, Antirrhinum, Calendula,
Clarkia, cornflower, forget-me-not, larkspur, Linaria, lupins,
poppies, scabious, stocks, sweet peas, sweet williams and wallflowers. The short
winter days can make the seedlings drawn and lanky, so make sure they get plenty
of light to prevent this happening.
So there you have it. Whatever the weather there’s always something to do gardenwise.
Copyright Geoff Bryant
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