 Aphids can be a huge pain to gardeners, especially during the Summer months. A little good weather and your rose and other plants will soon become the next best meal for aphids. The insects could be blackfly but more often than not they will be greenfly overrunning your flowers or rather stems and buds. They literally suck the life out of plants such as roses so prompt action is vital.
These days many people try to steer clear of damaging insecticides and pesticides. Those products can do more harm than good. Encouraging ladybirds in your garden will help beat or even stave off an aphid attack. These little insects will chomp their way through the aphids. However, more often than not the greenfly will outnumber ladybugs almost a million to one, or so it seems. One safe, and quick way to remove greenfly is using a mild solution of washing up liquid. Just a small drop of the liquid added to water in a spray container could do the trick. Shake the solution before spraying so that it is nice and foamy before spraying directly on to any greenfly infestations. Simply spray with water to remove, after a couple of minutes or leave and hose off when you water your garden. Alternatively you can wear gloves and squash these little garden pests but it is a messy job. Once again spray with water to remove any residue. A regular spray with the mild soapy solution should keep your plants greenfly free all summer. Gardeners will always tell you that prevention is better than cure. Just be careful that any anti-greenfly sprays you purchase are eco-friendly too. If you find that a soapy spray is not working well for you try planting garlic and plant close to roses to deter aphids. You can even make a garlic spray to clear greenfly away. “A spray made from as little as a 6-8% concentration kills greenfly, it also keeps beetles and snails off other plants. It keeps greenfly off roses if planted near the bushes" Try the environmentally friendly alternatives before buying expensive and damaging products. If all else fails go back to the squashing greenfly between finger and thumb technique. It takes a little time but hurts nothing but the aphid population. Perhaps more importantly it is free,
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In tough economic times growing a selection of fruit and vegetables can be cost effective. It can also be easy and fun. You will need
It's easy when you know how Growing your own vegetables has become more popular again, lately. With most people feeling the economic pinch many are looking at ways to save some money. Growing your own potatoes will give you a tastier potato than the shop bought variety, save you some money and is suitable for the smallest of gardens or yards. Like so many things though preparation is the key to yielding a good crop. A little time and effort spent initially will go a long way. Once your potatoes are established they will need the minimum effort on your part. Fresh new potatoes straight from the earth can be easily achieved and are well worth the effort. Where to plant Deciding on the best place to plant your potatoes will depend upon various considerations such as:
Potatoes need to have some shoots showing before they are planted. The practice of encouraging shoots to sprout is called chitting.
Planting in the garden Plant the potatoes in dug trenches that are up to 13 centimetres deep. The exact depth will depend upon the variety of potato. Check the packaging of the potatoes for any specific advice. The space needed between each potato will again depend upon the variety. Once the trenches are dug and prepared with some fertiliser:
Your crop should take about 3 or 4 months to grow and become ready for lifting. A lot will depend on the time of year. For early crop potatoes lifting can take place early in the season. In fact as soon as the shoots showing above the ground are green and in flower. For later crops you can leave the potatoes in the ground, even if the top growth looks well past its best. A couple of weeks before you are going to lift the crop, cut the top growth off at the ground. Doing so helps the potato skin to toughen up. This should make the potatoes less prone to damage as you lift them and extend their shelf life. Tips and advice
 It may be hard to believe in the UK as you are getting drenched in the latest downpour of rain but we are often only a matter of weeks away from severe drought.
Managing water stocks is becoming ever more important in the 21st Century. Global warming and climate change means unusual weather patterns. These changes can result in excessively heavy rainfalls in summer and a lack of valuable water during the winter months. The need to conserve water has never been greater. If you are building a new home consider installing a full rainwater harvesting system. Even if your home was constructed many years ago you can still make some adaptations. One of the best ways to conserve rainwater is to harvest it. Harvesting rainwater can help you manage garden water supplies efficiently. This can mean that you have a plentiful supply of rainwater throughout the seasons and the year. Rainwater will not be suitable for drinking water but can be used, for example, to water your garden, clean windows and wash paths. How to harvest rainwater In order to harvest the rainwater which regularly flows away from your roof you will need at least one water butt or barrel. Depending upon the size of your home more than one rain water butt may be appropriate. Most people decide to extend their water harvesting and incorporate a garden watering system which runs from the water butt. What you will need
Rainwater barrels and butts The rainwater barrel or butt can be as simple as you want. In order to minimise costs many people utilise something appropriate which they already own. Making your own water butt can save you money but make sure that it also fulfils its purpose. If you decide to buy a purpose made water butt or barrel check out the alternatives on line. You may want to install a few small versions or just one large water butt. Ask your local council if they are running any environment friendly schemes which enable you to purchase a water butt from them cheaply or even get one for free. Installing a water butt Installing your water butt will be fairly easy but consider:
General advice  Did you know that Radishes are classed as one of the super-foods? This small peppery tasting salad vegetable is often maligned and under used but it should be eaten liberally when in season.
What can be most health giving though are the roots and the leaves of these small plants. These are almost always discarded when you prepare radishes for eating by top, tail and washing them. The leaves of the plant though contain more Vitamin-C, protein and calcium than their roots. Radishes contain Vitamin-C, zinc, B-complex vitamins and phosphorus. In fact you can find a wide range of uses and health benefits detailed here. Apart from eating radishes, they may become part of your beauty regime. What we love about radishes though is their distinctive taste added to the fact that they are quick and easy to grow. You will not need a huge garden or plot of land. If you monitor the radishes growth and plant new seeds at regular intervals you will have a bountiful crop. Here is one of our earlier articles regarding growing radishes from seed: Well let's get started. First let's make sure we all know what radishes are. They are those small round red. pink or white, slightly peppery tasting salad vegetables. Good radishes are firm and crunchy to bite into. As with most vegetables radishes have quite a few different varieties. What all radishes have in common though is that they are all quick and easy to grow. You do not need a large garden as they can be grown from seed in trugs, troughs, planters and the like. Convinced? The seeds You can buy a packet of radish seeds fairly cheaply from garden centres or supermarkets. As a rough amount a packet of seeds containing 500 seeds will cost you about 40p. We opted for a packet of seeds from Asda for £1 that contained lettuce, spring onion and two different varieties of radish seeds. Containers You can grow vegetables such as radishes even if you do not have a garden, They do not require a massive amount of space. Plastic round trugs which retail from between £2 to £8 are perfect for the job in hand. Remember to drill a couple of drainage holes in the bottom though before planting. Compost Radishes grow so easily that a basic multi-purpose compost will be fine. Buy a huge bag as it works out cheaper. Best location Radishes will thrive in a sunny spot. Summer in the UK can be a hit and miss affair so choose an area that has the most sunlight. Ensure though that they will not get too much sun on a daily basis. Radishes might like sun but they do not want to get too hot. Planting Ideally plant in rows at a depth of around 1/2 an inch. Cover with soil or compost. Aim to leave a space between each seed. Some radish seeds are a fair size and this is easy to do with these seeds. Helpful advice
Take care not to disturb ant surrounding radishes that are not yet ready to harvest. Gently put your hand around the radish under the soil or compost. You will be able to assess if the radish is large and mature. If it is gently pull up. Snap the top leaves and bottom root of for washing and eating. Throw the discarded leaves and roots into your composter. Overall As radishes are so easy and quick to grow they are perfect for beginners and children to grow. So? What are you waiting for? Grow radish from seed Grow lettuce from seed |
