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Second, an apology!
For those of you who might be worrying, you DO NOT need to re follow me via Bloglovin, if you are already following me via Google Friend Connect - indeed I would prefer you to follow me on Google Friend Connect as it keeps all of you in one place for me to read. The Bloglovin feed is just a back up plan, just in case Google take yet more widgets away ( as they are going to do with Google Reader) to try to get us to use Google+. instead.
See Veg Plotting's excellent post on this subject for a far more comprehensive discussion of this issue.
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I was interested to read, yesterday and also today, on Twitter about a bit of a spat going on around Monty Don (MontyDon@TheMontyDon) and his excellent advice on a recent GW programme - in which he was reminding us that it was still very chilly and that it was ok to delay sowing seed while the ground was so cold
Somehow, this has been presented in the media as
Yet they quote him in the same article as sayingGarden centres blame Monty Don for mass dumping of spring flowers
Garden centres have blamed Monty Don for keeping customers away and causing millions of spring flowers to be dumped after the BBC presenter told gardeners not to bother planting until the weather breaks.
In a recent episode of Gardener's World, Mr Don urged viewers not to hurry into their gardens.
"There's no great hurry to sow seed, so don't panic. Don't be in a hurry. You don't have to sow anything at all until April," he said.
He said it about sowing seed! NOT planting plants! They are different you know ;-)
Of course the soil is still too cold to sow much (or plant much) - I have only put my spuds in because I have then covered them over with geotextile ( and fleece is on hand if the weather gets any colder)
But lots of shrubs could go in now, in fact I seem to recall Monty Don planting roses on the same programme as he said the above?
All he was doing was giving us some sensible advice. Bedding plants mostly do not like being planted out in freezing conditions.
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On a similar subject, I have been planting my summer flowering bulbs in pots in the polytunnel - it is still too cold to plant them out in the ground so I have been getting them started in pots, at least. I decided to do this after Monty Don (yes, him, again!) suggested starting Onion and Shallot sets in pots as the ground was still a bit too cold to plant then directly.
Seemed like a good idea and also for summer flowering bulbs, as they grow at much the same time of year.
I just have to remember to label them all very very carefully!
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In other news, am really pleased to seeWAITROSE is banning its suppliers from using neonicotinoids on produce destined for the supermarket. The retailer is asking growers of fruit, vegetables and flowers to stop using the pesticides by the end of 2014, due to their alleged effects on pollinators.
Lets see some of the other Supermarkets following them.
There is a list here of those Garden suppliers who have already signed up to a ban - including
- B&Q (321 UK stores)
- Wilkinson (372)
- Homebase (340 in the UK and Ireland)
- Wickes (200+)
- The Garden Centre group (129)
- Dobbies garden centres (32)
- Klondyke garden centres (24)
- Notcutts garden centres (19)
Have a great weekend, all of you :-)
Compostwoman xxx
Perhaps the gardeners were capable of noticing on their own that it was cold, and were staying away regardless of what your expert says.
ReplyDeleteI agree gardeninthecity! All he did was say something which was absolute common sense to anyone lookinh out of their window.
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