yardz

GROWBAGS DRESSED TO KILL

 
The wonderfully named www.thehungrysnailcompany.com produces the Growbag Glove which is an innovative way to disguise an ugly growbag in the yard.

They are available in a selection of designs and are well constructed to last at least two seasons.

http://www.thehungrysnailcompany.com/moreinfo.html

POTATOES IN CONTAINERS TIPS FOR BETTER RESULTS

 Helen Yemm's column in the Saturday Telegraph had an interesting feature on how to improve yields when growing potatoes in containers. Experts Peter Sea brook and Guy Barter had given her some tips.

1. Potatoes in containers don't really need a great depth of compost. The idea that they need earthing up is based on preventing the tubers going green which shouldn't happen in containers. try rolling down the sides of the container and using less compost depth and just planting the tubers, 6-8" down in the compost.

2. Don't try growing too many tubers in a container - two or three is enough to get a good yield.

3. Concentrate on early varieties for example Swift, Rocket or Vales Emerald. You may even then get two crops in the year.

4. Make sure your container is well drained and has plenty of direct sunlight.

5. Feed with a dilute liquid feed such as Phostrogen every two weeks.

There are plenty of seed potatoes in garden centres and online so if you want early container potatoes, buy now, get them chiitted ready to plant asap.
  

SEEDS FOR URBAN GARDENS

Over the last few years we have seen a wide range of seed collections being offered in garden centres and online. www.thompson-morgan.com are launching for next year a range specifically aimed at container growing and small gardens - The Kew Urban Garden Collection.There will be a range of 16 vegetables and 4 beans & peas selected for their uniqueness and suitability for growing in small spaces.All the varieties are unique in the range. Well worth looking out for.
 

SHELVES VEGETABLE

As regular visitors to my blog will know I am really interested in vertical gardening and the advantages it brings to the small space gardener.

This French System by the designer Germain Bourne is designed for flexible vertical growing. Each shelf is filled with a suitable growing media allowing for vegetable culture from sowing to harvesting. Watering is via a waterfall system with water flowing from the top shelf to the bottom. The system is made from stainless steel and is 3m long and 1.6m high.

It looks very stylish and would look great filled with a selection of grasses for those not into 'grow your own' yet.

STEPS TO BETTER GROWING WITH A LADDER ALLOTMENT

This simple idea from  www.ladderallotments.com allows for a large growing area in a small space.

Up to a 5m of growing space is gaining using the Ladder Allotment which can be attached to walls or fences.This unique design can be attached to sheds walls and fences. It is constructed from pressure treated timber which has been FSC sourced.The Ladder Allotment comes in flat pack form and should take about 30 minutes to assemble.

A new free standing version is also available.

 

http://www.ladderallotments.com/index.html

Prices from £27.99 + £7.00 P&P

ALL YOU NEED TO GET GROWING

There are a wide range of seed kits on the market but this one from www.ugro.co.uk took my eye. At £9.99 per kit it would make a great Christmas present for a keen yard grower or for a novice starter kit.

The "Get Growing" seed kits come complete with everything you need to get your seeds growing. Including packets of seeds, biodegradable pots, plant markers and labelling pencil, compost and full instructions booklet.

You can choose from 'Healthy Vegetables', 'Delicious Herbs' and 'Oriental Vegetables'.

http://www.ugro.co.uk/inc/sdetail/130

LAMB SALAD?

Lambs Lettuce or Corn Salad as it is sometimes known, is a hardy and highly nutricious winter salad crop that has attractive green leaves and a slighly nutty flavour. It is well suited to growing in pots, trays or growbags over winter in a small grow house or cold frame. It can be grown as single plants or 'cut and come again' seedlings. By growing under cover you will get better quality leaves and the plants will be more productive.

There are two forms of Lambs Lettuce, the broad leaved and the dark leaved compact varieties that are more popular in Britain. Why not try Carallo, Elan or the old variety Volhart, with its bright green leaves.

Lambs lettuce is best used in a miwde sala with chicory and radicchio.

HANGING AROUND WITH YOUR MICRO-VEG

Another new GLEE product: The Sprouterpouch from www.hi-gro.co.uk  £2.25

'Grow your own micro-veg in your own kitchen. All you need to do is add water, sprinkle the seeds and leave to grow. Tasty micro-salad in days! Hang on the window using the attachment provided or sit on a windowsill.'

Three options available - white mustard, red cabbage and rocket.

http://www.hi-grow.co.uk/details.php?p=60itle=

 

 

GROWING YOUR OWN LIVING WALL

Further on in my travels this week I found Ball Colgraves Verti-Garden at the Four Oaks Trade Show in Cheshire.

The Verti-Garden allows you to plant your own 'Living wall' using a very simple system.

'Vertical gardening has never been easier with the VertiGarden modular system.
Each VertiGarden panel takes 16 plants and can be planted with young plants and grown on horizontal until plants are established, or plant with Pack or Pot bedding and hang immediately.
Each 0.2 square metre panel has it's own built-in irrigation which can be connected to a drip field irrigation system, or a slow feed header tank.
Additional panels can be hung one under another and the irrigation simply connected between them.
grow one VertiGarden panel in place of a hanging basket, grow two or more for a unique, imaginative display.'

Verti-Garden should be available in some garden centres and I'm sure will become more popular in the future. It will be great for growing a vertical veg garden in restricted places.

FRONT GARDENS GYO

 

There was an interesting piece on last nights BBC 1's Countryfile programme about the 'food up front' organisation that believes in encouraging residents to use what ever space they have in the front of their property to grow food rather than ornamental plants.

'At Food Up Front we believe that urban front gardens, balconies and windowsills are valuable areas of land that can provide a substantial yield of nutritious vegetables, herbs and salads. The use of these valuable spaces in this way would allow the community at large to benefit from food with a high nutritional value, an extremely low cost, as well as increasing the amount of vegetation in the urban environment.'

Their site www.foodupfront.org has a wealth of information as well as explaining their use of 'Street Reps' to help residents in their locality in practical ways.