Jobs to do in the garden this week.
- Bluebell leaves will have yellowed, so they can be lifted and divided.
- Tomato plants can be moved outside. If growing them as 'cordons' nip out the side shoots
- We have probably now seen the last of the frosts. Summer bedding plants can safely be brought outside from the greenhouse or purchased from the Garden Centre.
- Remove spring bedding plants and lift and store spring flowering bulbs (with the exception of snowdrops).
- Lots of tender plants can be grown outside in containers between May and September as long as the pot is big enough and they get enough water and the occasional feed.
- Tender herbs such as basil can be planted out in the garden now. Protect basil from slugs and snails.
- Plant up hanging baskets. More information available here.
- Buy plants in strips or trays that are compact and sturdy, the compost that they are growing in should be moist. Try to buy plants in bud, with few open blooms.
- Paint shading on the greenhouse glass, or use shading to lessen the scorching effect of the sun and to keep temperatures lower.
- Trim hedges to encourage the branches to thicken up and to keep them neat and tidy.
- Plant tender perennials including pentstemons and salvias.
- Propagate marginal pond plants. Take short cuttings, remove lower leaves and push stems into pots of mud. Keep top of the pots just under the surface of the water.
- Sow hardy annuals in their flowering positions to fill any gaps in the border.
- Check gooseberries for sawfly. Prune this year's growth back to 4-5 leaves (this shouldn't affect fruit as they appear on old wood).
- Pinch out the growing tips of annuals and some perennials to create a stockier plant and to encourage more flowers More information here.
- Spread compost from the compost bin over the borders and vegetable patch. This adds valuable nutrients to the soil and acts as a mulch, to retain moisture and reduce weed growth. The ground should be weed free and the soil moist before adding a layer of compost or mulch.
- Check the ties on climbers, flower stems and standard roses - the tops of plants can get very heavy when in full bloom or when wet.
- Take soft wood cuttings from thyme. Thyme cuttings take easily, so they can be stuck in the soil or in pots. Remember that thyme likes full sun and hates to be grown in the shade.
- Depending on recent weather conditions and daytime temperature, gooseberries should now be ready to be picked.
- Apple and pear trees will shed some fruit, this is known as the 'June drop'. This is quite natural, it's the trees way of restricting the amount of fruit that develop.
- Feed established roses every other week with a rose fertilizer. Deadhead regularly to encourage further flowering. Check for aphids and black spot and treat accordingly.
- Apply a weed and feed to established lawns. Water in with a hose after a few days if it hasn't rained.
- Stake and tie perennials to prevent them being broken by wind and rain. Remove fading delphinium flowers to encourage a second flowering.
- The adult vine weevil, the number one garden pest, will be emerging from the soil as the temperatures rise.
- Protect plants from slugs and snails with slug pellets, course grit or traps. Alternatively try to encourage birds, hedgehogs and frogs to your garden - all prey on slugs and snails. More suggestions to reduce slug and snail damage.
- Cover strawberries and fruit bushes with netting to protect them from birds. Start to feed the plants weekly when the fruit starts to form.
- To reduce the chance of introducing infection when pruning or deadheading, wipe the blades of secateurs, loppers and snips with a rag soaked with a garden disinfectant, such as Jeyes fluid, which can also be used to wipe down garden tables and chairs.
- Regularly water trees and shrubs that were planted last autumn and winter. Their roots won't have had a chance to fully develop yet.
- Cut grass weekly, long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil. It is also harder to cut and may leave yellow patches in the lawn.
- Ensure that soil in hanging baskets and patio planters is kept moist, watering daily in dry weather or where baskets and containers are close to the house and may be in a 'rain shadow'. Removing fading and dead flower heads from plants will encourage new flowers to form and bloom. Feed plants in containers weekly with a liquid fertiliser, particularly if a slow release fertiliser wasn't mixed with the potting compost when planting up the baskets and containers.
- Continually nip out side shoots from upright (cordon) tomato plants. These reduce the amount of food available to fruit baring branches. If growing plants in the greenhouse, nip out the growing tip after the plant has produced 4-5 fruiting trusses, reduce this to 3-4 if growing tomatoes outside. See here for more information : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFBgCBaFSnk&ab_channel=UKGardening
- Tie tomato stems to canes or stakes to prevent the weight of the fruit breaking the plant.
- Lift, divide and replant chives.
- Move houseplants outside for some summer sunshine.
- If you are going away on holiday, prepare your garden a few days before you leave. Water all shrubs well, including roses and climbers, and lay a 50-75mm (2-3in) thick mulch around the base of the stems, to keep the roots cool.
If you are fortunate enough to have a neighbour willing to water your baskets, greenhouse and borders, make the task easier by unravelling and connecting up the hose and leaving filled watering cans in accessible places around the garden.
If you don't want your neighbour to come into your house, whilst you are away, move any houseplants outside so they can be watered, any orchids, cacti or succulents should be fine left indoors without water for a couple of weeks.
If you don't have anyone to check on your plants, put all of your pots (including house plants), containers and hanging baskets (to stop them tipping over, sit them on large, empty flower pots) on the patio or lawn. Put the lawn sprinkler or sled sprinkler bar between them, connect the hose to an outside tap using a water timer (set the timer to come on twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening - 10 to 15 minutes each time should suffice). Test the settings and batteries before you go away.
- Pond fish will eat more in the summer, feed them little and often, once or twice a day. If the food has not been eaten within 15 minutes, remove and dispose of the excess.
- Feed tomato plants fornightly with a liquid fertiliser (this must be diluted in water to prevent burning the plants)
