yardz

MICROGREENS

 

Microgreens are all the rage with celebrity chefs as a decorative topping for their creations.

They have more flavour than mature greens, are packed with nutrients and are ready to harvest in days.

'Microgreens or micro leaves are vegetable seedlings harvested between 6 and 21 days old for their intense taste.  Microgreens can be grown all year round, all you need is a windowsill. Obviously during the winter months when there is not as much light as in the summer months, growing times may be little longer, but not much longer.'

Microgreens can be grown is the same manner as growing leafgreens but the are harvested at a much younger stage. You can buy seeds for this but the easiest way is to buy a prepared kit from sites such as www.themasterherbalist.co.uk.

   

Varieties include amaranth, red basil, celery, tatsoi, mizuma and purple broccoli and are all £2.92 a pot. 

 

POTATOES IN CONTAINERS JUST HAVING FUN 2

 

The seed potatoes have finally been put to bed in their bags, having been 'chitted' (allowed to sprout from the 'eyes') on a convenient bedroom windowsill.

I have planted them in Westland Organic Vegetable Compost (www.gardenhealth.com)  which I've not used before but this year has been selling well in garden centres due to the massive interest in growing vegetables in containers. The potatoes have been set in 4"/10cm of compost, more will be added as the potatoes grow until the bags are full.

The potato varieties I am growing this year are:

Charlotte - A very popular salad variety producing pear shaped yellow skinned waxy tubers Great flavour hot or cold.

Red Duke of York - A great general purpose potato with moist yellow flesh and a great flavour.

Vivaldi - No. 1 for taste. Great all rounder that produces high yields of baby potatoes as an early crop.

   

CONTEMPORARY CONES FOR SPRING

 

Spring hanging baskets can be rather obvious - pansies, primroses, ivy, etc.

This year I've gone for a more minimalist look using low growing evergreen grasses underplanted with grape hyacinths. The effect has worked well with the flower heads just bobbing above the waving grasses. Ready grown bulbs can be found in garden centres in pots and trays in spring which saves the trouble of planting dry bulbs in autumn.

 

The grape hyacinth I've used is Muscari armeniacum which has bright blue flowers and are only about 8" in height. They should flower for several weeks if the weather is cool.

 

SEEDBED ROLLS

 

I noticed this advertised in the Times yesterday and thought what a great idea to have been brought from the commercial horticulture field to enable it to be used in our own gardens.

Grow your own fresh salads and vegetables with minimum fuss and fantastic results (almost without getting your hands dirty) using an all-in-one biodegradable grow mat, seed and polytunnel. Originally developed for commercial growers and recently made available for the kitchen gardener. Grow perfect salad leaves quickly with no pests, no disease, no weeding, no chemicals, no transplanting, and with less water. Each box contains 4 x 12ft rows. Simply prepare the seed bed, spread the roll, weigh down the edges with a little soil, stones or a length of wood, water and wait for the plants to grow. You’ll be amazed by the results. Green and Red Batavia Lettuce, Tango Lettuce and Cos.

There are currently four varieties:-

Tender Vegetables: Carrots, Ruby Chard and Beetroot

Meditteranean Salad: Chicory Italico Rosso, Rocket Dentellata, Lettuce Catalogna Cerbiatta & Amaranth

English Summer Salad: Lettuce Red Batavia, Green Batavia, Tango Lettuce & Cos Lettuce

Oriental Leaves: Mustard Red Frills, Mustard Green Frills, Mizuna, Tatsoi & Pak Choi

They are available from www.themasterherbalist.co.uk @£14.95 each

http://www.themasterherbalist.co.uk/products.php?cat=42

LUPINS ARE MORE THAN FLOWERING SPIRES

 

Lupins are great easy to grow perennials. Their bright colourful spires of flowers are hard to beat for summer colour. The dwarf varieties such as Gallery are easy to grow from seed and if you get sowing now you may get a good show this year. They are great for containers giving a good balance of flower height to foliage volume.

There is though more to lupins than flowers. The early fresh spring foliage traps beads of water in the centre of the leaves which sparkle in the morning sun.

PLUGGING INTO FUCHSIAS

   

The hard winter has killed off many of the less hardy plants in my yard. Among them has been three pots of large fuchsias which I knew were not fully hardy but like most gardeners in the south west of England I have always overwintered them in situ.

I'm going to replace them with more fuchsias though and no doubt will let them take their chance next winter. I was intending buying fully grown plants later in spring but whilst doing the weekly shop in Morrisons I spotted these plugs for only £1.75. They are a bush variety called Patio Princess which should provide me with ample flowers of carmine and white.

They are sold in their own little greenhouse in a little tray of plug cells. The clever bit though is that the plug tray sits on a bed of gel, the same sort of gel that you put in containers and hanging baskets to improve water retention, this has kept the plants in perfect condition throughout its journey from the nursery, to the store and now is allowing me to let them look after themselves until I can pot them on.

HEBE HEARTBREAKER

 

I'm not generally mad about multicoloured evergreens but Hebe Heartbreaker is a stunner. Its a magnificient small evergreen shrub with striking cream edged green foliage with pink tips from spring to autumn, turning an overall vivid pink in autumn. It flowers are small with purple spikes but the foliage is the main reason for growing. Hebe Heartbreaker is great for containers growing only 60cm high with also a spread of about 60cm.

CRAZY COLDFRAMES

 

Coldframes are generally not the most picturesque garden item and especially not the type of thing you would want in a small yard. Many are made from aluminium with glass or polycarbonate, all very functional but not very stylish.

These coldframes from www.lichfieldplanters.com are chunky and bold with great over sized handles and hinges. They are made from solid Scandinavian pine or Cedar. Prices start from £259.00 for the double frame and £159.00 for the single.

Coldframes are perfect for growing more tender veg in the summer such as melons and for growing salads over winter.

http://www.lichfieldplanters.com/Cold-Frame

WATER BOTTLES FOR THIRSTY PLANTS

 

I saw this 'water bottle' water butt at B&Q last weekend. At present most water Butts are of a very traditional design that arn't very stylish. A few years ago at a garden trade show I saw standard water butts in bright primary colours. They were a great talking point but I don't think they were put into production.

PLANTING IN DRUMS

 

These Drum Planters from www.urbisdesign.co.uk show how really good design in such a simple object as a planter can make so much difference in the look of a small area. I know they are top of the range but it is well worth the investment. Check out Urbis Design, it will make you look at plant containers in a new way.