Thyme To Garden -April 2018

[AB Editor]

Hi all, here is your gardening sticky for April - hopefully we are starting to see the last of the bad weather, finally!

Here is the thread from March: https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden/Question1595840.html

[Chipchopper]

The last job that I managed to get done between the showers was prune my Buddleia bush.
I heard that pruning it in April can extend the flowering period, as it flowers on new wood.

[Togo]

Time to kick on in earnest methinks. As ever we have to either rely on the weather or find a way of coping with it. All the stuff I started indoors(spare bedroom) has taken 100%. Broad Beans, Peas, Courgettes, Cucumber, Sweet Peas, Sunflowers, Lobelia, all now almost ready to harden off. I have also done a couple of trays of Nasturtiums. I have put out some first early potatoes(Rocket) and will be putting out the Premier first early later this week. I must now dig out my mini cloche/greenhouse from the garage and get it put back together. This guarantees 2 weeks of gales as soon as it is erected, happy days. We have had a look at the Dahlia tubers and Begonia corms and they all look in good nick, some are even showing new shoots already. Every year we wrap them individually in newspaper and store them away from the wet and frost, either in the attic or the garage. We have about 60 in total and save a fortune when you factor in that you can pay £££s for Dahlia or Begonia mature plants. Looking at the garden it is evident that the Peonies, Poppies, Lupins, Digitalis, and Gladioli have all survived and showing signs of coming on. The Hydrangeas are showing an abundance of new growth and have been treated to an Aluminium Sulphate feed to ensure good colour when they bloom. The hedge, that is looking sorry for itself, has had a feed of fish blood & bone hoed into the earth underneath it and should start to pick up now as I notice that the trees, are this morning, showing new buds ready to come into leaf. Then comes the joy of cleaning and checking the pots and tubs. "She who must be obeyed" comes into her own here. I am sure she breaks or condemns some, just as an excuse to buy some more.

[woofgang]

I'd love to kick on here but the garden is so wet, I can't even step on the place where the grass should be because its so slippery. Fruit trees are budding though and the grape vines are swelling nicely.

[woofgang]

no room. My windowsills are full of indoor stuff

[Malachite]

I'm trying to keep our garden "half manicured/half meadow". When the bluebells pop up on the lawn, I steer around them with the lawnmower. We have a nice colour burst in late spring with bluebells, campion and dandelions peppered around our slightly lumpy lawn, but I like it that way: the indigenous flowers get to stay, including one or two clumps of stingers for the butterly caterpillars to feast on.
At the moment it's in a bit of a state, but when the weather's a bit nicer I'll be out there with the mower and the strimmer.

[Tilly2]

What shall I use to clean and wipe down all my gardening tools when I've used them? I use WD40 at the moment but I'm not really sure it's the right thing.

[Togo]

I use light oil to wipe down the blades of cutting tools Tills. But this link gives some tips.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/projects/cleaning-gardening-tools.htm

[Tilly2]

Thanks for the link, Togo. However, I have no idea how to sharpen things. :-(

What 'light oil do you use?

I'm just talking about getting the soil off and leaving the spade/fork/hoe/rake/ etc. in a decent condition after I've used them.

[Togo]

Cmon Tills... You are a miner's daughter. Get a whet stone and sharpen the edges of shears and blades. Ordinary sewing machine oil wiped onto the metal after a wire brush scrubbing will keep em sharp...........and dangerous. So be careful. Look after your "Jimmy Jewels".

[Tilly2]

Will do,Togo. Thanks.

[Tilly2]

I've been tackling the liverwort in my containers and tubs today .

They all look so much better! Wretched stuff.

[woofgang]

sounds like sour soil and poor drainage Tills.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=412

[Tilly2]

I have typed out a really long answer to you, Woof and then didn't send it!

[Tilly2]

Basically, would a top dressing of bark help to prevent the growth?

[woofgang]

After you have cleared off the liverwort, dig in some gravel into the tubs as deeply as you can to improve drainage and top dress either with gravel or bark....gravel would be better

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Woof. I'll give that a go.

[jourdain2]

I got cracking trying to tidy-up the garden today (now that I don't sink into the mud). The small front border has a couple of euphorbia (not the huge ones - about 18" high) and since it faces North they have been badly bitten by the 'Beast from the East'. All the tops are brown and horrible, but there looks to b.e green growth at the bottom. Does anyone know if I can prune quite harshly or will I kill them? T.I.A.

[Chipchopper]

Euphorbia is a difficult plant to kill, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
More importantly wear protective gloves when handling it, because of the white, POISONOUS sap it exudes.