Generally

It’s that time of year again when the “In Bloom” entries come rolling in, the judges are ready for July but we need your help!  My guest on Sunday Best was Cllr Jim Shrubb, Chairman of Billericay in Bloom. Jim came in to tell us all about the different categories ( 13) that residents in Billericay can enter including some great ones for children. What a character Jim is and if he can’t get more entries in no one can!  Jim as well as being a Councillor is also a Toast Master, a Town Crier and a Ward Beadle for the City of London! Jim is no stranger to gardening (apart from his surname!) as his grandfather was head gardener to Lord Rosebury and Jim has also won a few trophies for his onions!

Entry forms can be found in most garden centers in Billericay and also from the Town Council and Phoenix FM studios.  p.s. Can I be the judge for the “Best Public House”?

Normally at this time of the year I would be advising you to lower the blades on your mower but as you heard from Ailsa from Green Thumb that in very dry weather we should not cut grass close!

• Spray roses showing signs of diseases such as blackspot, rust or powdery mildew
• Top up water levels in pools and remove water weeds with a net
• Hoe borders on hot sunny days to remove developing weed seedlings
• Continue watering anything newly planted until it has established

In the Flower Garden

• Use secateurs to remove suckers growing from the stems of standard roses
• Tie tall border plants like delphiniums to their supports
• Finish planting out dahlias, cannas and summer bedding
• You can now cut back dead and dying foliage on spring bulbs
• Deadhead camellias and rhododendrons after flowering
• Train clematis shoots to their supports
• Feed acid-loving plants with a special liquid fertiliser containing iron, such as sequestrene
• Finish dividing hardy primulas once they have finished flowering
• Prune early summer-flowering shrubs like philadelphus and deutzia once the flowers are over
• Sow seeds now: wallflowers, sweet Williams, Canterbury bells and forget-me-nots

In the Fruit and Vegetable

• Finish planting out vegetable crops, including tomatoes, beans, courgettes and sweetcorn
• Use netting to protect developing and ripening fruits from birds
• Tie in new shoots on blackberries, raspberries, loganberries and other cane fruits
• Water gooseberries and strawberries to encourage fruits to swell
• Plant cold-stored strawberry runners from mail-order fruit specialists for crops in just 60 days
• Thin out emerging raspberry canes if they’re too congested, leaving new canes about 15cm apart
• Use soapy sprays at the first signs of greenfly and blackfly
• Thin out congested fruits on apples and plums – the remaining fruits will grow far larger if competition is reduced
• Sow seeds now: lettuce, rocket, spinach, beetroot, dwarf French beans, runner beans, radish, carrots, calabrese, mini-cauliflowers, spinach, chicory, endive, kohl rabi, peas, spinach beet, swede and turnips

In the Greenhouse

• Increase greenhouse shading if temperatures inside are getting very hot
• Take cuttings from houseplants such as weeping figs and Christmas cacti
• Damp down the greenhouse floor every morning
• Water pots and growing bags daily if needed
• Place potted tagetes or plant basil near greenhouse tomatoes to deter whitefly
• Set up a ‘watering bench’ using capillary matting to look after pot plants
• Sow seeds of Christmas cherry (solanum) to grow as winter pot plants
• Hang yellow sticky traps in the greenhouse to help control whitefly
• Thin out heavy crops of peaches and nectarines, leaving remaining fruits about 10cm apart
• Repot any houseplants that are pot bound

Have a great gardening week and see you next Sunday here on PhoenixFM 10am to 12 noon. Or join me on my blog at www.babicz.com for more gardening information.

Andrew