Gardening tips – January 2026

Happy New Year everyone. 2026 is the 25th year that these tips have been written, so I must have repeated myself quite often but then, so do the seasons and all the natural rhythms of the year.

This is the time of year when houseplants are most appreciated. Azaleas, cineraria and cyclamen will all help to cheer things up. Do not over water, and most of these plants like cool conditions.

When your seeds arrive from the supplier keep them in a cool dry place until required. Protect pea seeds in particular because mice love them, and they have already got into our garden shed where they have started on anything that they can reach. Remember paper is no barrier to sharp teeth, and makes lovely nesting material.

Rhubarb can be forced using an upturned bucket or tub. This should be covered with garden fleece to keep off any frost.

When seed potatoes arrive, keep them in a frost-free place and stand the tubers, eye-end uppermost, in shallow boxes. If you can get large egg trays these are ideal for keeping the tubers upright and just separated to prevent any infection spreading.

Don’t forget to clear away stems and roots of green crops like cabbages once they have finished and try to get ahead with winter cultivation whenever the weather gives you a chance. Cloches put out to protect seed beds will allow the soil to dry and allow sowing to be started just a bit earlier than usual.

To get the best onions for the Summer Show (Saturday August 15th 2026, this year – make a note!) apart from starting the first sowings this month, you should give a good dressing of wood ash on the site of the bed that you will use, since they really like potash. The show is the earliest day it can be held on, so an early start is a good idea. This will apply to dahlia growers once the weather gets warmer.

Remember to get your mower and power tools serviced and ready for the spring. Don’t leave it to the last minute when everyone else will be trying to do the same thing.

Keep a check on all trees and shrubs, especially if they have been planted in the previous 12 months, to make sure that their roots are firmly in the soil.  Wind and frost can easily lift them and do a lot of damage if they are not heeled in and kept firm. Finish any pruning of fruit trees.  Give them a winter wash of tar oil to help keep down insect damage in the summer months. Fruiting bushes like currants and gooseberries should also be pruned during their dormant period.

Garden notes for November 2025.

All apple and pear trees should be pruned this month. Try to form the tree into a ‘wine glass’ shape to allow maximum light into the centre.  Remember to long prune tip bearing varieties.  Generally cut back ‘leaders’ by about one-third and prune back side growth.

November is a good month to repair lawns with turves if there is a need. It is also the best month to plant bare root fruiting trees and flowering trees in the garden, such as Japanese cherries, flowering crab apples and so on.  If you are considering planting a new hedge, now is the time to do it.

Much is written about composting, whole books have been devoted to it. Usually they depend on time for the material to rot down satisfactorily, but in most modern gardens there is not enough space for this. Two things to consider. Compost depends on having a good mix of nitrogen (from grass cuttings etc) and carbon (from twigs, stems and ash from fires). Always make certain the heap gets a bit of both. Second, bacteria love granulated fertiliser, the cheapest and best is ‘Growmore’. Sprinkle a bit of this on every two or 3 inches of the heap and you will get a faster decomposition.  Any animal manure that can be left for at least 2 months is also a very good accelerator.

Grass mowers should be kept under cover, and maintained so that they will be in good working order for the spring when the grass starts growing again. Tools, such as spades, forks, shears and so on, should be cleaned and oiled to prevent rusting. It is worth getting shears sharpened as they do become blunted with use during the spring and summer.

If you have a sheltered and well drained plot, now is the time to sow winter broad beans such as Aquadulce. Early broad beans often escape the blackfly attacks on the growth tips of the plant in spring.

Provided the weather is suitable keep digging the ground for good crops next year. Where possible double dig in farm yard manure, or well rotted compost from your own compost bin.

Roots of outdoor chrysthantemums should labelled, lifted and put in a cold frame for the winter.  If a cold frame is not available they can be kept under the shelter of a wall and protected with garden fleece.

November is perfect for planting tulips, as cooler soil reduces the risk of tulip fire – a fungal disease caused by planting too early. Whether filling borders or pots, choose a sunny spot with free-draining soil to ensure a vibrant spring display.

Start garlic and overwintering onions, now’s the time to plant garlic, which needs cold weather to form strong cloves. Use well-drained soil in a sunny spot, avoiding soggy ground. Overwintering onions and shallots can also go in – especially in milder areas or under cloches – to establish before spring.

Garden Notes for October 2025

As we go into the middle of autumn in October, the weather can be very unpredictable.  We might get a ‘St. Luke’s’ summer around the 18th of the month, equally we may get damaging frosts and gales at any time.  So be prepared and start getting in all the tender plants, put the winter chrysthantemums into their quarters.  One thing is for certain, and that is that the days will be drawing in. British Summer Time ends on the last weekend of October (Sunday 26th October) so the plants are gradually going into their winter hibernation.

Autumn is also harvest time for the gardener, although farmers seem to get their harvest in earlier and earlier.  In the garden, all fruit crops should be picked and stored regularly.  With apples and pears the test whether they are ready to pick is to lift the fruit gently with slight pressure on the stalk.  If it comes away easily – it’s ready.  It pays to pick over a tree several times as not all fruit mature at the same time.

Most houseplants will be slowing down their growth.  Water and feed less frequently.  Cacti, in particular, should be kept dry and frost-free during the winter.

Plant out wallflowers, polyanthus, sweet williams, foxgloves and other similar biennials for a good display in the spring.

Once the ground has been cleared it is a good idea to break it up.  If you have heavy clay (as most of us do round here) the best way is to use a spade and to leave it with large clods that will break down over the winter with weathering.  If you break the soil down too much at this time of year, it will just become a ‘pudding’ and you will have to start all over again in the spring.

After the first frosts have browned off the tops of dahlias, cut them down to within 12 cm (9”) of ground level.  Mark the variety with a label, and lift the tubers so that they can be dried under cover and then stored in a frost-free place for the winter.

If you want early sweet peas, now is the time to start them off.  For best result sow one or two seeds in rooting pots as sweet peas have an exceptionally long tap root.  Germinate the seeds in the greenhouse with gentle, consistent warmth.  Once they have emerged sweet peas can be kept outside in a cold frame, only needing protection from the worst frosts by having a cover over them.

With the arrival of cooler weather and damp soil, bare-root planting season begins. This is an ideal time to add deciduous trees, flowering shrubs, or climbers to the garden while giving them time to establish roots before spring growth kicks in.

Do come to the Horticultural Society AGM on which starts at 7pm with a talk on ‘A lifetime with roses’.  It will be in the Capel Parish Hall and roses will be on sale.

Garden Notes for September 2025.

Writing just at the start of the month it is good to have rain at last, hopefully the weather will go back to being predictably normal for the rest of the year.

With the nights drawing in and the temperature cooling, there may well be a danger of moulds appearing in many of the bedding plants, especially begonias.  Dead flowers left to rot act as a centre of infection, so keep deadheading.

Daffodils, but not tulips, should be planted up in September.  Try putting some bulbs in a bed especially for cutting in the spring.  Tulip bulbs should be planted in October or even a bit later depending on the variety.

Complete the planting of strawberries in September; otherwise they will not have enough time to establish themselves to build up strong fruiting crowns for next year.  You can plant them in late autumn or spring but if you want good plants, these later planted ones should not be allowed to fruit in their first season.

When picking apples or pears, don’t wrench them off the branch.  Gently push upwards and twist.  If the fruit is ready for picking it will come away easily, if not – leave it for a couple more days.

Continue disbudding chrysanthemums to leave one bud per stem, otherwise let them go to make a spray of much smaller blooms.  Don’t forget to get them in under some protection before the first frosts start.

Ripen off onions and store them when they are completely dry.  Harvest potatoes and keep them in a light proof bag, under cover.

September is the best time to take cuttings of penstemons.  The cuttings should be taken from young, non-flowering shoots as these will root readily in a sandy soil kept in a frame.

Spring cabbage should be planted out now.  It is important to remember to firm well round each plant after planting.  Lettuce can be planted for later cutting.  Good varieties include ‘All the Year Round’ and ‘Winter Density’.

Keep an eye out for tomato blight, and remove any infected leaves.  Towards the end of the month it will be best to clear away the remaining tomatoes as they will not do much more, and the space in the greenhouse will be needed for autumn and winter flowers.

Garden Notes for August 2025.

August is a busy month for gardeners harvesting crops and cutting flowers to enjoy indoors, apart from getting ready for the Annual Flower Show. This year happens to be the 125th Annual Flower Show for Capel and should be a memorable day for everyone on Saturday 16th August.

It is the time to lift and store Early and 2nd Early potatoes for future use. It is worth taking time and care to lift the crop, and then let them dry in the sun for about an hour or so before putting them into potato sacks. Main crop potatoes take longer to develop and should be left till September for harvesting. You may need to cut their foliage down, if they have been affected by blight. Try to leave the tubers under the soil for at least 3 weeks after cutting their foliage; otherwise the fungal spores of blight could still affect the tubers you want to store because, as they are lifted through the soil, the spores may still be active and ruin you crop when you want to use them.

Laurel is a very useful plant but it is very vigorous and August is the month to keep it neat by trimming your laurel hedge. Some gardeners say that the laurel hedge should be trimmed using secateurs only. This does give a much improved finish, if you have the time.  Using shears is much quicker and does not substantially make much difference. If you can allow your compost more than 2 years to compost, then put your laurel trimmings on to it.

Cut out old raspberry canes that have fruited this year. Cut them down to ground level and retain only six or seven of the strongest new canes on each plant for fruiting next year. Overcrowding of the canes can lead to a higher incidence of disease.

Spring cabbage can be sown in the middle of the month; good varieties are Duncan, Flower of Spring or Wheeler’s Imperial. Onions that are reaching maturity should have their stems bent over and the bulbs partially lifted with a fork to encourage full ripening. Well ripened bulbs are much more likely to keep right through the winter.

Planting up strawberry runners in the later part of August will help provide a good crop next year. If you are buying plants in, make sure that they are certified virus-free stock, as strawberries are very prone to virus disease.

Towards the end of the month, rambler roses that have finished flowering should be pruned. Disentangle the growth from the trellis (use gloves for this!) and cut out all the stems that have carried flowers. It is much easier to do this if you untie all the stems before you start the pruning.  All the new stems made this year should be retained and tied back into place. You will really appreciate all the work you have done when they flower next year.

Do come to the Capel Show that is being held on Saturday 16th August. Staging of your entries begin from 8am and close at 10am. The gate for visitors opens at 12 noon, but the Marquee will not be opened to the public until 2 pm in order to give the Judges time to complete their work. It should be a really good event and exceptional value for money.

Garden Notes for July 2025.

July is a good time to propagate Begonia rex if you have a favourite plant with those wonderful leaves.  Well developed leaves should be slit across the veins and laid on the surface of a mixture of sand, peat and loam in a propagating frame or box with some heat (from soil cables).

A small amount of a general purpose fertiliser sprinkled between onion rows in the second week of July will help to increase the size of the bulbs for harvesting.

Keep up a succession of lettuce and salad onion sowings.  But if you do, make sure that the temperature for the lettuce seed is not over 20 Centigrade – otherwise it will not germinate.  Once germinated, bring the plants into a well lit place, but not direct sunlight, and warmth.

If we have had a reasonable season, towards the end of July wallflowers seedlings, Sweet William and other biennials should be ready for transplanting.  The seedlings should be pricked out 9” apart in rows 9 to 12” apart in good soil with an open situation so that they can make strong plants.

Again towards the end of July you should remove the last of the king fruit on apple trees.  ‘King’ fruit are the ones in the centre of each cluster, they seldom have as good shape as the others.

Keep an eye out for Cabbage White butterfly caterpillar infestations, especially on cabbages, and other members of the brassica family.  Primula auricula are also prone to attack by these pests.

The end of July is the best time to gather herbs of all kinds for drying.  Tie the shoots, or leaves, in small bundles and suspend them head down in a cool airy shed or room.  Keep them out of direct sunlight for preference.

Early in the month dig up and divide dwarf and intermediate bearded irises if they have been undisturbed for 3 or more years.  Tall bearded irises should be treated in a similar way towards the end of the month.

Watch out for the lily beetle.  If you see any sign of damage, and apply an appropriate treatment.  The beetle itself is a rather fetching shade of red, but it is their orange-red larvae that hide beneath the leaves that will do the damage.

The Summer Show is on Saturday 16th August.  Everyone is encouraged to ‘have a go’.  Do try to enter with your exhibit.  It is great fun and well worth the effort.

Garden Notes for June 2025.

As I write, in early May, the usual season is being turned upside down and it is almost like June already, so goodness knows what the climate will be in June.  However, Nature does have a way of balancing everything out – eventually, it may well be that we will have a cold and wet June!  Ultimately we have to put faith in the normality of everything, so keeping a sharp lookout on the weather – here goes.

Frost susceptible, fast growing plants like dahlias, courgettes and so on should be put into their final homes assuming that there is no ground frost forecast.  If it has been very dry, make sure that they have a good drink before and after planting them out.  But don’t water them all the time.  Give the roots time to settle down and then water (if necessary, and allowed) about once a week with a thorough soaking, preferably in the evening or early morning before the sun has got its full power switch on.

Hedges need regular attention now, and should be kept in shape, otherwise they can so easily get away from you making the task so much more difficult.  Grass needs to be mown, but keep the cutter bar on a high level and the lawn will look greener for much longer.  Do not put sprinklers on lawns, even if they do turn a dusty brown, as soon as the rain comes back they will recover with surprising speed.  If you do water the lawn you are wasting a precious resource to no real effect.

In the vegetable plot, make sure potatoes are kept ridged up, otherwise the tubers get exposed and ruined.  Late Savoy cabbage can be sown now – use a variety like ‘Ormskirk’.  Winter cabbage like January King should be planted out now.  Leeks should be planted out using a dibber to make a hole about 6 to 8” deep, and then water it in well.

Continue to make successional sowings of lettuce.  Ones like ‘Tom Thumb’ ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Mini Green’ are fast growing, and the right size for many people.  Webbs Wonderful is superb but rather large.

Early tomatoes should be ripening fast and the fruits should be picked regularly.

Roses are at their best towards the end of the month.  It helps to keep them cut regularly and feed with a potash feed to keep them blooming longer.  If you want to have specimen blooms it is advised to take out the side shoots carefully, as well as the smaller buds, leaving just one strong one at the end of the stem.  Keep an eye out for pests and disease.  Keep mildew at bay by regular spraying.

Suckers that sprout up from the base of damson and plum trees can become troublesome unless dealt with early on, so dig them out and burn the resulting twigs.

As alpine plants finish flowering, trim them back to keep the plants neat and compact.  It will also encourage them to make good growth for next spring.  Any gaps or vacant spots in the rock garden can be planted with summer flowering annuals or bedding plants to maintain the overall colour.  Towards the end of the month cuttings can be taken from the alpine stock to increase the number of plants.  Root the cuttings in a sandy compost.

Garden Notes for May 2025.

The polyanthus plants have done very well this year. I even managed to win first prize with my entry in the Spring Show this year. May is a good month to divide primulas and polyanthus after they have flowered.

Remember that frost is still a threat, so be careful about planting out tender plants, especially in exposed areas of the garden. Better to wait until June.  Sow biennials like Canterbury bells and Sweet William. Fast growing hardy annuals such as calendula, clarkia, cornflower, and nasturtium can also be sown, but do it early in the month.

For a quick tasty crop try sowing radish. The most common variety is ‘French Breakfast’ which is very reliable. For a change try Unwins’ ‘Rapid Red’, or Thompson & Morgan’s ‘Mirabeau’.

In unheated greenhouses or coldframes, now is the time to sow basil, calabrese, summer cauliflower, French and runner beans, kale, lettuces, parsley and sprouting broccoli. Put up supports for runner beans and late peas, but make sure that they will not shade out sun-loving neighbours. Remember to continue to earth up potatoes to protect them from frost and to encourage more tubers. It is also the way to stop the tubers from going green. If they become exposed to sunlight, that’s exactly what they will do.

Sow courgettes and marrow at a minimum temperature of 18ºC. Keep potting-on tomatoes as they outgrow their pots until they are in the final growing spot.

Direct sow beetroot, winter cabbage and maincrop carrots. Climbing beans make for a change. Some varieties that have been reported as doing well include ‘Isabel’, ‘Cobra’ and ‘Fasold’ often supplied by Johnsons Seeds and Mr. Fothergill.

If frost is forecast, protect the flowers of strawberries with fleece.

The Horticultural Society will be having their Plant Sale on Saturday 10th May in the Village Hall. This is an opportunity to replenish those plants that did not survive the winter. There will be vegetable and herb plants on sale.

Doors open at 10 a.m. and plants are sold on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Supplies are limited so a prompt attendance is strongly recommended.

Garden notes for April 2025

By the time you see these notes I hope that we will have got over those hard frosts of February and early March.

I have been raising some chrysanthemum cuttings using a propagator, and some of them have rooted quite well so it reminds me that April is the time to prepare the borders for these rewarding flowers. The ground should be well prepared and then space the plants at about 18” apart,(I can’t do metric, it does not seem right to say 45 cm), and 60 cm or 2’ between rows. They are big plants when fully grown, and how they reward you with bloom after bloom in September and October.

There is a lot to do in the vegetable garden. Lots of people realise now that there is nothing like your own freshly harvested produce. It never is the same as buying it from a shop. The most valuable crops are the salad crops, and you need to be planting out the first lettuce seedlings (probably with some protection like fleece or a cloche). The secret is to keep the succession going and as soon as one sowing has germinated start another small sowing. You don’t need many each time.  It’s amazing how you cannot give lettuces away when your crop has all come at the same time! Carrots should be sown, as well as thinning out parsnips that were sown in March. Thin the seedlings to be at least 9” apart in the rows.

If you are going for the main crop potatoes, then these should be planted out towards the end of April. If you have chitted the seed potatoes, then it is best to reduce the number of sprouts to about three per tuber as this encourages stronger foliage growth.

Prepare your runner bean trenches, preferably with a good mulch of organic material in the bottom of the trench so that the plants can really dig their roots down deep. I find that planting the seed under cover in seed trays is the best way to start them off, but this should not be started until the end of the month, or beginning of May as you do not want them to get too big and start curling around each other before you plant them out.

Before the grass and hedges really get in their stride, make sure your shears are sharp, and your mower is ready for use.

Check indoor plants to see if they need more growing space from becoming root bound. If this is the case carefully knock the whole plant out and repot in a container that is approximately one or two sizes larger than the original.

Do come to the Spring Show on Sunday 6^th April in the Village Hall, and make a note of the famous Plant Sale on Saturday 10^th May starting promptly at 10 a.m., again in the Village Hall. Come early as demand is high and supplies limited!

Garden notes for March 2025

Snowdrops that have stopped blooming should be lifted and divided as soon as possible. Unlike other bulbs they should be multiplied whilst their leaves are still green. It is a good idea to do this at least once every 3 or 4 years as the bulbs may become too closely packed together to give a good show the following year if it is not done.

In order to give the best germination of any seeds that you want to start, make sure that the soil, or seed compost, you use is as warm as possible. So put out cloches over the area in the garden where you intend to start early crops. Do this at least a week or so before sowing in order to warm the ground. Equally, if you are using a seed compost, bring it into a shed or greenhouse before making up the pots or seed trays so that it has been thoroughly warmed through. Most seeds need a soil temperature of at least 10ºC (50ºF), and do better if it is about 15ºC. This is a very general rule of thumb, and there are many differences for different species, but it is true for a lot of the plants we grow.

Watch out for drying winds and sunny days of March and try to get on the garden as soon as possible after that, because it is almost certain that rain will follow and you will not be able to do anything. It is all very well to give this advice for those who are able to follow the weather, but very difficult for the weekend gardener! Our clay is a very fertile medium if you can manage it properly. Over time the addition of humus from garden compost, farmyard manure and so on will help but it is a long term and continuing process.

Towards the middle or end of March, depending on the temperature, you should prune roses. If you want large blooms, prune severely, cutting all strong young growths back to 3 or 4 buds from where growth started last spring. For general garden purposes leave 5 or 6 buds. This allows for re-growth should any late frosts nip off the earliest growth.

Make sure that your garden mowing equipment is serviced and ready for use as the weather improves and the grass starts to get back to growing.

Sweet peas that have been growing in pots should be hardened off for planting out in April.

Dahlia tubers should be started off in gentle heat to get the shoots that will form the plants for growing on.

Easter is early again this year, so the Spring Flower Show will be held on Sunday 6th April in the Village Hall. The 2025 Schedule will be ready soon, so look out for your free copy at Capel News agency and Carters.  Like the plants it will be emerging in March.  Do have a go at one or more of the entries, it’s good fun and you will be warmly welcomed.