Time to sow and soak in the glory of gardens

June is a busy month – a last chance to sow, and don’t neglect weeding and watering

June: month of gardening glory; of happy, heavenly growing. We are a week now into official summer with – hopefully – all threat of frost gone until towards the end of September. Gardeners know this is also the watershed time: a last chance to sow summer beetroot, autumn carrots and chicories. Even winter brassicas.

The good news is that everything can go into ground, including more delicate warm-weather crops, such as sweet corn, squash, courgettes, tomatoes, beans, aubergines, peppers, outdoor cucumbers.

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Time to sow and soak in the glory of gardens

June is a busy month – a last chance to sow, and don’t neglect weeding and watering

June: month of gardening glory; of happy, heavenly growing. We are a week now into official summer with – hopefully – all threat of frost gone until towards the end of September. Gardeners know this is also the watershed time: a last chance to sow summer beetroot, autumn carrots and chicories. Even winter brassicas.

The good news is that everything can go into ground, including more delicate warm-weather crops, such as sweet corn, squash, courgettes, tomatoes, beans, aubergines, peppers, outdoor cucumbers.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

Indoor gardening? Just add flowers

Those of us with no garden can still learn from traditional outdoor techniques

It’s fascinating that in recent years the cultures of indoor and outdoor gardening have evolved along different lines, not just in terms of aesthetics, but in horticultural practice, too. As a new generation gets into gardening, inspired by recreating the indoor paradises on Instagram, many traditions of outdoor gardening are being bypassed – leading to a sort of parallel horticulture. This diversity is all part of the fun, but there are approaches one side can learn from the other – and two big tips indoor growers can pick up from outdoor ones.

One of the biggest trends you see on social media is collections of dozens of plants all in individual pots, shot against the obligatory white industrial wall. I can only imagine this is because indoor plant collections tend to start with a cautious one or two specimens, and quickly spin out of control when the horticultural bug bites. But there are downsides to this. Small pots have a larger surface area to volume ratio, so they dry out far more quickly. This means loads more watering effort, and a far higher risk of plant failure. Then there’s the nightmare of dusting and cleaning in the nooks and crannies between containers and, let’s face it, the cost of all those individual pots can add up.

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* This article was originally published here

Country diary: black garden ants are quick to colonise the compost | Country diary

Marshwood Vale, Dorset: Within hours they were seething over what looked like a heap of beige beans

In only 48 hours, ants took over one of our new compost bins. Lifting the lid to chuck in some wilted celery stumps, I saw them seething over what looked like a heap of nude baked beans.

They weren’t baked beans but pupae, wrapped in beige silk. The larvae of black garden ants (Lasius niger) are one of several ant species that spin cocoons to pupate. It is thought that the casing protects against lethal fungal infections.

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Country diary: black garden ants are quick to colonise the compost | Country diary

Marshwood Vale, Dorset: Within hours they were seething over what looked like a heap of beige beans

In only 48 hours, ants took over one of our new compost bins. Lifting the lid to chuck in some wilted celery stumps, I saw them seething over what looked like a heap of nude baked beans.

They weren’t baked beans but pupae, wrapped in beige silk. The larvae of black garden ants (Lasius niger) are one of several ant species that spin cocoons to pupate. It is thought that the casing protects against lethal fungal infections.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

Country diary: the mason bee builds individual rooms for her eggs

Langstone, Hampshire: This industrious little insect collects mud to partition off cells in the garden box I put up for her

A few weeks ago, my neighbours had cavity wall insulation installed and the resulting drill holes in their gable-end wall were soon being prospected by red mason bees (Osmia bicornis).

People often assume that the common name of these gingery, spring-flying solitary bees refers to a tendency to nest in crumbling mortar, but it’s more likely to derive from their habit of using mud as a mortar-like material to line and partition their brood cells. While females do make use of crevices between old brickwork, they also nest in hollow plant stems and beetle boreholes in dead wood, and will readily occupy manmade bee hotels.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Country diary: the mason bee builds individual rooms for her eggs

Langstone, Hampshire: This industrious little insect collects mud to partition off cells in the garden box I put up for her

A few weeks ago, my neighbours had cavity wall insulation installed and the resulting drill holes in their gable-end wall were soon being prospected by red mason bees (Osmia bicornis).

People often assume that the common name of these gingery, spring-flying solitary bees refers to a tendency to nest in crumbling mortar, but it’s more likely to derive from their habit of using mud as a mortar-like material to line and partition their brood cells. While females do make use of crevices between old brickwork, they also nest in hollow plant stems and beetle boreholes in dead wood, and will readily occupy manmade bee hotels.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here