BOLTING ONIONS

Why have my onions bolted? H.B. Carn

It's to do with cold temperatures at a critical period in their growth. We've had a few cold wet days over the past month, which may have upset their cycle. Chances are they are the red variety; these are very prone to it.

Horticultural.

DRAINPIPE PLANTING

I saw on a gardening programme that plants can be started in the greenhouse using a long drainpipe/guttering then sliding then into a trench in the garden. Does this work? Cheers Ray by e-mail

It’s an old Geoff Hamilton trick, especially useful for peas... which can then be slid off into a prepared trench the same shape as the guttering, with minimal root disturbance. It sounds easy but there has been a lot of trial and error in the method. Use a pipe about two feet long and don’t put holes in it. The roots go into the holes and stop the soil being slid out. You can use the method with most plants and flowers. If you get the roots quite well developed there shouldn’t be any bother as it comes out in one piece like a grass sod.

Horticultural.

STRAW BERRIES

The warm weather has given a great boost to the veggie plot. There has been a rush on questions about the garden too. Let’s get straight down to it!


Should I put straw under my strawberries to stop them rotting? Will it blow away in the wind? BT by e-mail

I was in an allotment recently and someone had put each of their strawberries into their own jar. This was to give them their own mini greenhouse I think or maybe it was the first steps to making jam!

The time to put straw under the strawberries is when the fruit has formed. As long as it is round the entire plant. Straw is like unravelled knitting, it not only holds itself together, but the leaves and fruit also pin it down. So unless you are in a really windy spot, it should stay put. A friend of mine grew the fruit very successfully in old tyres filled with soil. With two plants per tyre we could make a use of all of the old ones littering the peninsula.

Horticultural.

STRAWBERRIES

NEW STRAWBERRIES

New strawberry plants can be planted between now and early September, 15-18in apart, with a 12 inches between the rows. Plant them in soil, which has been really well enriched with manure or old compost. I saw a very pleasing display recently where the strawberry plants were planted into a copper water cylinder with holes cut in the sides. The plants were growing well and showed no signs of slug damage. This will be down to the fact that slugs do not like copper and also because the cylinder was raised up on bricks to clear it from the ground.

Horticultural.

LATE SUMMER IN THE FRUIT GARDEN

The summer sunshine was ideal for fruit growing. Some fruit was knocked back a bit because of the lack of water. The content of fruit is mainly water so if they are deprived of this then problems arise. I saw indications of erratic watering recently on some apple and pear trees. The fruit had been dry for a while then when the sudden rains came the fruit expanded and the skins split. It isn’t just apples and pears that are affected by this. Tomatoes are very sensitive to irregular watering and their skins split very easily. After a very short space of time bacteria sets in and the fruit becomeq inedible. The secret is to keep a constant supply of water to the fruit trees and bushes even if they have been established for a few years


FRUIT CARE

Water:

Water fruit trees and bushes in dry weather. Large established trees shouldn’t need any extra water – but fruit on a very dwarfing rootstock, and trained fruit, particularly when trained against a wall, may well do. If your fruit tree is not already mulched after watering lay a thick mulch of organic matter around it. This will help retain moisture and suppress weeds.

Containers: Don’t forget that container grown fruit relies on you for nearly all of its water supply. Water daily, even when it rains, as rain can bounce off leaves rather than soaking the soil. If you are going to be away for a few days, move containers into the shade, if practical, to reduce water loss.

Peaches: If you are lucky enough to grow wall-trained peaches and nectarines in the conservatory, prune them immediately they have fruited. Cut out the shoots that have borne fruit, and any dead wood. Tie in replacement shoots.

Reduce fungal diseases: Prune plum and damson trees after fruiting. Cut out any material that is dead or diseased. Pruning plums at the correct time of year will minimise the risk of infection by fungal diseases. Vigorous growth in the summer reduces the chances of spores of this disease gaining entry through pruning cuts

Blackberries: Continue training new canes of blackberries. Watch out for thorns! Train the young shoots to wires against a fence or wall in one direction and the older fruiting canes in the opposite direction. Tie in with twine. This method makes picking and pruning simple.

Blackcurrants: Prune blackcurrants any time between now and late winter. Remove up to one third of the bush each year, cutting out the darkest, oldest wood in favour of young growth, which will bear most fruit next year. Start with low growing shoots to prevent next year's fruit from dragging on the ground. Overall, aim to maintain an upright shape and open habit in the centre.

Apples and pears: Harvest early apples and pears. A reliable way of telling if a fruit is ripe or not is to cup the fruit in your hand and twist it gently. If it is ripe the fruit will fall into your hand. If not leave on the tree to ripen further. Early crops of apples and pears do not store for long so are best enjoyed not long after picking.

Raspberries: Continue pruning summer fruiting raspberries. Cut out the canes that have borne fruit this summer and tie in the canes that have grown this year. Any new canes that are weak should be cut out, rather than tied in, as it is unlikely that they will bear much fruit.

Trained fruit: Prune trained fruit trees now. Cordon apple and pear trees need to have side growths from the main stem cut back to 8cm. The shoots that were cut in the same way last year will have produced side shoots. Prune these back to 2.5cm. Summer pruning encourages fruit bearing spurs for next year. Prune esplaier and fan-trained trees in the same way.

Finish off: Finish off summer pruning of cordon and fan trained gooseberries and redcurrants.

Horticultural.

NURSERIES

One of the joys at this time of year is getting out and about to the garden centres and nurseries to see what goodies are available. I must confess I am not a great customer when it comes to parting with money for plants. Like a lot of gardeners I tend to rummage about in the reject pile or opt to grow things from cuttings or seed. The thought of forking out loads of euro for something you could grow yourself seems a bit daft. Much the same way that say, an accountant would ask someone else to do their books for them. Or a plumber would get someone in to fix their pipes. You know what I mean. Occasionally though we do need to buy plants in bulk if we need them straight away or there is a planting job that needs more mature plants, or like me you are without a greenhouse. This is where nurseries come in handy. The plants are generally of a very high standard and you can get them in bulk, which is ideal for large planting schemes. Of course nurseries are great as well if you just need a specimen plant or some bedding plants to start off the summer pots. I was down at Mac’s Landscaping Nursery in Ballymagan on the Illies road the other day and that is just what John, the proprietor is stocking. He has a vast range of high quality, hardy shrubs and some young annuals for sale. He is also starting to make up containers and filling baskets with colour too. Just up from the Big House pub, John has put in a lot of time and energy to create a very accessible retail outlet. He has also just had delivery of great quality perennials in pots for us to choose from. Pop down there to see his stock, you won’t be disappointed. John is a busy man landscaping the far reaches of Donegal so if you want to catch him in phone 0863907072.

Horticultural.