Jobs in the garden this week..

27th September 2011

Horky’s Weekly Gardening Tips

1. Sow green manure seed into your vegetable garden now, Green manure will grow during the winter and spring season and can be simply dug into the soil in April where it will add much needed natural nutrition

2. Broad bean seeds can be sown now indoors for planting out into the vegetable garden in mid October. Broad beans sown now will reward you with an early bumper crop of broad beans next summer Click here to see our Vegetable Seeds

3. You still have time to sow vegetable pea seed into the vegetable garden, choose Meteor variety for a quality great tasting pea in early summer Click here to see our Vegetable Seeds

4. Garlic, Hardy spring onions, lettuce and cabbage plants and Japanese onions can still be planted over the next three weeks in your vegetable garden for great fresh pickings in early summer next year

5. Blueberries can be planted any time during September; they are easy to grow, ideal in pots and patio planters and will bear fruit next summer Click here to see our Fruit Plants

6. Plant Fritillaries, Winter aconites, snowdrop and bluebell bulbs now out of doors where you want them to flower next spring. Remember bulbs are easy to grow, very free flowering and will flower this and every spring Click here to see our Flowering Bulbs

7. Kill lawn moss now with an application of Sulphate of iron applied to the entire lawn area. Apply through a spreader or watering can evenly onto the effected lawn area. Sulphate of Iron can be applied in wet weather Click here to see our Sulphate of Iron

8. Start a compost heap in your garden. Add grass clippings, fallen leaves, un cooked household waste, light plant prunings. Remember to add some organic activator to each layer in the compost heap and turn the entire compost heap twice over the winter period.

9. Plant the stunning Virginia creeper now onto house walls and garages. Virginia creeper grows quickly, self clings to concrete and wooded structures and produces amazing colour from autumn to early winter

10. Plant some shallot onions now out of doors for great tasting fresh shallots in April or may next year.

Visit Horkans lifestyle & Garden centre this weekend and enjoy family lunch in the Bayleaf restaurant which opens every Sunday from 12 to 6pm

Horky's Weekly Gardening Tips

Horky’s Weekly Gardening Tips

September 2, 2011

1. Pak Choi or Chinese cabbage can be planted this week for use as a tasty vegetable in October and November. Pak Choi is easy to grow and ideal as a vegetable in stir fry’s or as a green vegetable. Plant it now.
2. Duke of York Christmas potatoes are now ready for planting – Simply plant five potato tubers into a potato planter using Supergrow compost and place in a sunny location out of doors or in a tunnel or greenhouse. By the end of November you potatoes are ready to harvest and store until Christmas.
3. Sweet Pea plants can be sown from seed in early September – Soak the seeds of sweet pea in tepid water over night and sow the following day into Supergrow compost indoors. The plants will be ready to plant out in early November
4. Autumn and winter flowering Cyclamen can be planted now in patio planters and containers for a strong show of colour for the next couple of months.
5. Early September is a good time to tidy up Graves by removing summering bedding that is past its best and replanting with Autumn and winter colour. I recommend you plant Winter flowering pansies and violas, Cyclamen, Winter flowering heathers and the free flowering Polyanthus
6. Savoy cabbage plants can be planted now out of doors in the vegetable garden. Plant a dozen plants to ensure regular cutting from Later winter onwards.
7. Geraniums can be propagated from cuttings taken now from existing plants in your patio planters. Select six inch green stemmed cuttings, remove any flowers and all but two leaves at the tips. Leave to dry for one full day and then insert the cuttings into rooting powder and then into a gritty compost mix. Cover with a polythene bag and place indoors on your window sill until rooted
8. Virginia creeper is the beautiful red foliage climber you see at the moment covering house walls. Early September is the ideal time to plant Virginia creeper to cover bare and unsightly walls. Space the plants 1 metre apart and use Supergrow compost when planting.
9. Dead and damaged hedges should be removed this month and dumped. September is a great time to replant with new hedging plants. Look for the Hardy Laurel hedging to replant with and remember to use Supergrow compost when planting to ensure strong root growth.
10. September is a wonderful time to start a garden compost heap in your garden. Fallen leaves, grass clippings, shredded newspaper, soft weeds and clippings, egg shells, tea bags, coffee granules are just some of the suitable materials to add to your own compost heap. Remember to add a compost activator to help get the helpful bacteria going. Start now and you can look forward to super rich compost in early spring.

Join Paraic Horkan this Saturday morning on the Gardening programme on Midwest radio from 9am to 10am for Ask about autumn gardening.

Horky's Weekly Gardening Tips! 24th August 2011

Jobs in the garden this week..

 

24th August 2011

1. Plant winter and spring flowering bulbs in your garden and planted containers now, Dwarf tulips, dwarf Narcissus and daffodils, crocus and winter aconites can be planted now for strong colour this coming winter and spring Click here to see our Spring flowering Bulbs

2. Autumn and winter flowering Heathers can be planted now, Heathers will flower from early autumn, through winter right up until late spring and are ideal for containers and flower borders. Remember to plant in groups of three or fives Click here to see our Heathers

3. Kill lawn moss now by applying a dressing of Sulphate of Iron lightly but evenly over the grass area. Lawn moss is spreading in your lawn now Click here to see our Sulphate of Iron

4. Plant some autumn and winter cabbage plants now – I recommend you plant some Hispi cabbage and some Savoy cabbage plants for lots of pickings from autumn through winter. Plant a small quantity on a regular basis.

5. Remember to protect your potato crop from late blight. A dressing of Promoxamil applied now will help to protect your potatoes from autumn blight

6. Continue to plant lettuce plants – Look for Butterhead, iceberg and little gem varieties which are ideal for planting now to reward you with great pickings this autumn and winter.

7. Add instant colour to your pots and borders now by planting some free flowering Cyclamen. Cyclamen Mini are now available in a wide selection of colours and are ideal for long – lasting colour in all areas of the garden Click here to see our Cyclamen Mini

8. Late August is the ideal time to plant both flowering and foliage climbers. The beautiful red foliaged Virginia creeper can be planted now to cover shed and house walls. It’s fast growing; self clings and produces a stunning show of red foliage in autumn. Plant clematis, Pyracanthea and climbing hydrangea now Click here to see our Climbing Plants

9. Plant fruit trees and bushes in your garden now, Apple, Pear, cherries, blackcurrants, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries can be planted over the next couple of weeks and will reward you with fruit next summer Click here to see our Fruit

For beautiful autumn foliage colour plant the lovely Cotinus Royal Purple. This stunning plant produces purple foliage from early spring until late autumn at which time the foliage changes to shades of vivid orange and red. Wonderful easy to grow shrub for any garden Click here to see our Cotinus Royal Purple

Horky's Weekly Gardening Tips! 17th August 2011

Jobs in the garden this week..

17th August 2011

1. Control green moss and lichen on patio and driveway areas now by treating the entire area with Patio Magic. Simply Mix the Patio magic treatment in water and apply to the effected areas. Moss and lichen will disappear within days.

2. Spring flowering bulbs including Tulips, Crocus, daffodils, narcissus and snowdrops are now ready for planting in borders and containers. Plant a selection of spring flowering bulbs in clusters of five or seven for the best effect Click here to see our spring flowering bulbs

3. Add instant colour to your pots and borders now by planting some free flowering Cyclamen. Cyclamen are now available in a wide selection of colours and are ideal for long – lasting colour in all areas of the garden Click here to see our Cyclamen

4. When planting Cyclamen I recommend you use Supergrow compost which will add much needed nutrition to the soil ensuring stronger plants and larger blooms Click here to see our compost

5. New Potatoes for Christmas – It’s easy, Plant a selection of the special Christmas seed potatoes into potato pots or tubs in Supergrow compost. Allow the potatoes to grow as normal and harvest a bumper crop of new potatoes just in time for the Christmas dinner. Look for varieties including Maris Piper, red duke of York, and Charlotte Click here to see our Potatoes to harvest for Christmas

6. Treat your lawn to a dressing of autumn lawn fertiliser now. Autumn lawn fertiliser will green your lawn without forcing growth and at the same time kill of lawn moss. Simply apply to the entire lawn now to enjoy a moss free rich green lawn this Autumn Click here to see our Lawncare

7. Winter hardy Japanese onions sets can be planted into the vegetable garden now. Japanese Onion sets are easy to grow, frost hardy and will grow throughout the winter providing you with lots of great pickings next spring.

8. Take cuttings from your favourite plants including Geraniums, Fuchsias, Hydrangeas, dog woods and garden shrubs in general. Remember to dip the base of your cuttings into hormone rooting powder and put into gritty compost Click here to see our Hormone rooting powder

9. Prune back the long shoots on apple and pear trees now, Use a sharp pruning tool and prune the long branches back by two thirds of this year’s growth. This will help to encourage fruiting buds for next year Click here for our pruning tools

     10.Start feeding your garden song birds now, Wild bird food and wild bird peanuts are a welcome source  of protein and energy for your garden birds and help to build up valuable fat reserves in birds before the onslaught of winter Click here to see our Bird Food

Hedging and Tree Promotional Weekend in Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre!

Join us for our Hedging and Tree Promotional Weekend in Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre!

Date:

Friday 9th, Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September

Time:

Normal Trading Hours Click here for trading hours

Locations:

Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre, Turlough-Castlebar,  Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre Westport, Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre Sligo, Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre Galway

Event Details:

We will be offering special discounts and bulk offers for all Hardy hedging plants including Copper and green beech, hardy laurel, Portuguese laurel and conifers.

Our Team of qualified horticulturists will be available to advise customers on the best hedging and trees to select for your Garden!

Fuchsia Bloom!

Fuchsia Bloom!

July is the time for Fuchsia Colour in the garden, Fuchsia planted in hanging baskets and patio planters early in the spring are beginning to flower and add welcome colour to the garden. Fuchsia starts flowering in early July and will remain in flower right up until the hard frosts in early October . Because they flower on new growth regular feeding with one liquid fertiliser will enhance the blooms and help to encourage lots of flowers all summer long Click here to see our One Liquid Plant Food

 

Many of the Wild Fuchsia’s including Fuchsia Magellanica were hammered back during the cold winter weather but in many cases new growth is appearing from the base and where this new growth is present you should cut back the dead and damaged stems to the strong new growth.

Feeding with the granular Super grow fertiliser will encourage the plants to grow strongly over the next two months.

For colour in baskets and containers look for the double flowering varieties which produce larger and more colourful blooms.

Remember now is a great time to plant both the hardy and double flowering Fuchsias in your garden for some instant summer colour

Jobs in the garden this week..

27th June 2011

1. New Potatoes for Christmas, yes it possible, In mid July the Christmas seed potatoes will be available for planting into raised beds or Potato pots for a crop of new potatoes for Christmas. Simply Pot up five or six of these special tubers in Super grow compost in a potato bag and place in a greenhouse or tunnel to grow on for great tasting early potatoes this December. The new Christmas potato tubers will be ready to plant in a couple of weeks.

                                                  

2. Protect existing potato crops from potato blight by treating your plants to a spray of Promoxamil blight treatment. Promoxamil is a systemic blight treatment suitable for both potatoes and tomatoes and protects against blight by working from within the plant. Apply a treatment of promoxamil every two to three weeks Click here to see our Promoxamil blight treatment

3. July is the time to thin Apple and Pear clusters on your fruit trees. Select the smallest fruit lets and remove leaving about three strong fruit lets to develop. This helps to ensure the remaining fruits form to full size tasty fruits. Remember to feed all fruiting plants now with Vitax Q4 for excellent fruit this summer Click here to see our Vitax Q4

4. Plant summer flowering roses now for some instant colour, Roses have just come into flower and will reward you with lots of colour and scent until early Autumn. Many varieties are suitable for planting both into flower borders and also in patio planters.
5. Click here to see our Roses
6. Cut back Lupins and Delphiniums blooms once the flowers are faded, cut back the stems to new growth at the base. Plant a selection of late summer flowering Perennials including Chrysanthemums, Penstemons, Arum lilies and michaelmas daises for colour to early winter

6. Plant a selection of salad and vegetable plants now to help provide plenty of fresh greens from August until early winter. Cabbage, cauliflower, Sprouts, kale and lettuce can still be planted Click here to see our Vegetable plants

7. Trailing petunias are one of the best summer flowering basket and patio plants you can plant this summer. Hot pink and Barney purple are two of the best varieties and will flower from now until early winter. They are ideal for creating a strong vivid display of colour. Take my advice and plant 3 trailing petunias in your baskets or window boxes for a stunning show of colour Click here to see our Petunias

8. Its time to split summer flowering Iris, Simply dig up the clump, split the existing clump of Iris with a sharp spade and replant into new locations in your garden.

9. Potash is important for all fruiting plants – Apply a dressing of Sulphate of potash to all fruiting plantings now, simply apply a handful of potash to the soil around the fruiting plants. Potash is beneficial to apples, pears, Plum, cherries, blackcurrants and gooseberries Click here to see our Sulphate of Potash

10. July is the time to propagate your own plants from cuttings and seed, Geraniums, Hydrangeas, sedums and fuchsia can be propagated now from stem cuttings taken from this year’s young growth, simply dip into rooting powder and place in a gritty compost Click here to see our Rooting Powder

11. July is an excellent month to plant flowering and foliage climbers; I recommend summer flowering clematis, scented honeysuckle, flowering hydrangeas and the lovely free flowering wisteria. Remember to add organic compost to the planting hole when planting Click here to see our Climbing Plants

Join us for Sunday carvery lunch at the bay leaf restaurant, families welcome. Afterwards take a stroll through the Edinburgh woollen mills centre at Horkans lifestyle & Garden centre – we open 7 days – every Sunday from 12 to 6pm.

Play catch up in your garden!

May and June have been two difficult months in the garden this season but now is a good time to take stock and prepare the garden for mid and late summer colour,the trick to keeping the garden looking good and full of colour is too look after the existing plants you have and add in some “colour fillers” to gaps in the existing flower borders and patio planters.

Garden plants will benefit from some liquid feeding with one general purpose liquid feed, one is ideal for flowering and foliage plants and will encourage both vigour and the production of both flowers and fruit on many of your garden plants Click here to see our One Liquid Plant Feed. Regular watering will also be important this and next month in particular on larger flowering plants like Hydrangeas, clematis and roses Click here to see our Flowering Plants

Remember mid summer is also the ideal time to sow new plants from seed, its an easy and very effective method of raising new plants to add colour and interest for autumn, winter and spring. I recommend you sow wallflowers, scented Brompton stock, sweet William and winter flowering pansies, simply sow out of doors in seed trays and transplant the young plants in august to their flowering position Click here to see our Flower Seeds

Jobs in the garden this week..

20th June 2011

1. End of June is a great time to sow a new lawn, I recommend green velvet lawn seed mix for a quality hard wearing lawn that looks great but stands up to some wear and tear. Take my advice and add some Scott’s sportsmaster pre seeding fertiliser to the soil before sowing the green velvet seed. Lawn seed sown now will germinate in less than two weeks Click here to see our Lawncare

2. Blue hydrangeas are now available for planting and will reward you with lots of colour from now until early winter. Click here to see our Hydrangeas Blue hydrangeas are ideal for both shrub borders and patio planters, remember to water them well and feed weekly with one liquid feed Click here to see our One Liquid Plant food

3. If you have sweet peas flowering in your garden, then lucky you, remember to cut the flowers each week, this will help to promote new flowers all summer long. Feed your sweet peas with a dressing of one liquid feed each week Click here to see our One Liquid Plant Feed

4. Early July is the ideal month to sow shamrock seed, its easy to grow and can be sown out of doors in seed trays or directly into the soil. Shamrock seed sown now will provide you with lots of rich green shamrock for March 17^th. Shamrock can also be grown in pots or window boxes Click here to see our Shamrock Seed

5. variegated popular is showing super colour this summer, the large pink, white and green leaves are produced all summer and now is the ideal time to plant a young variegated popular in your garden. Remember to prune the stems hard back in winter for a strong show of colour next summer. V. poplars are easy to grow and suit all soil types.

6. There is still some time to plant tomato and pepper plants for lots of great pickings this summer. Look for strong mature plants and place in a warm sunny sheltered location Click here to see our Tomato and Pepper Plants. Remember to feed weekly with one liquid feed and you can look forward to great tasting home grown fruit this summer Click here to see our One Liquid Plant Food

7. Trailing petunias are one of the best summer flowering basket and patio plants you can plant this summer. Hot pink and Barney purple are two of the best varieties and will flower from now until early winter. They are ideal for creating a strong vivid display of colour. Take my advice and plant 3 trailing petunias in your baskets or window boxes for a stunning show of colour Click here to see our Trailing Petunias

8. There is still plenty of time to sow garden herbs and vegetables from seed, soil tempetures are ideal at present for fast germination and quick growth. Sow herbs like chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary and lavender directly out of doors in seed trays or directly into the garden soil. Veg plants including cauliflower, cabbage, leeks and lettuce can be sown now Click here to see our Herb and Vegetable Seeds

9. Potash is important for all fruiting plants – Apply a dressing of Sulphate of potash to all fruiting plantings now, simply apply a handful of potash to the soil around the fruiting plants. Potash is beneficial to apples, pears, Plum, cherries, blackcurrants and gooseberries Click here to see our Sulphate of Potash

10.  Blight protection is still important on tomatoes and potatoes apply a dressing of Promoximil blight treatment to potato crops and tomato plants every two weeks throughout July for maximum protection Click here to see our Proxanil Potato Blight Treatment

11. July is an excellent month to plant flowering and foliage climbers; I recommend summer flowering clematis, scented honeysuckle, flowering hydrangeas and the lovely free flowering wisteria. Remember to add organic compost to the planting hole when planting Click here to see our Climbers

Join us for Sunday carvery lunch at the bay leaf restaurant, families welcome. Afterwards take a stroll through the Edinburgh woollen mills centre at Horkans lifestyle & Garden centre – we open 7 days – every Sunday from 12 to 6pm.