My white garlic had been in the fridge and sprouting.. Still a few frosts to come next month/spring..... 

---

I don't have a veg garden but I plant all sorts in my border and I like to put pest repellent plants next to plants that are susceptible.  Garlic repels aphids and red spider, so I plant it all around my roses and tomatoes to keep the pests at bay. 

I just wish I knew what to put next to lettuce to repel slugs.   

I always empty my coffee grounds onto the garden as that's reputed to repel slugs and snails but last year we had so many that I resorted to slug pellets for the first time ever.  I really don't like having to do that as we have frogs in the pond, though obviously not enough hungry ones.

---

Ahh, now I've become a bit of a garlic growing guru, due to my own successes and disasters, mainly the latter, so here's what I've learned.

Garlic can be planted at any time from Autumn to Spring, although there are recommendations for different varieties.  Most varieties suitable for our climate do better if planted in Autumn as frosts bring them on and helps build bigger bulbs.

You can plant any garlic bought from shops but most is imported and does better in warmer climates so it's a bit hit and miss, although it's worth trying.  Once you find a variety that does well for you, save some of the bulbs you've harvested for re-planting.  Keep shop bought bulbs in the fridge for a couple of weeks before planting to simulate stratification (frost) to bring them on.

I bought some seed garlic online from the Isle of Wight Garlic Farm and although it's more expensive than supermarket garlic it was well worth it.  The varieties are specifically suited to our climate and they crop very well.  You need only buy it once, as you'll be saving some for re-planting in subsequent years, so it works out to be more cost effective.

Hope that helps!  Good luck!

Thanks for that great post, Caz :)

I've used a tesco's value garlic bulb every year! lol.. I currently have 16 very decent bulbs with loads of cloves :)

---

Thanks for that great post, Caz :)

I've used a tesco's value garlic bulb every year! lol.. I currently have 16 very decent bulbs with loads of cloves :)

Good value indeed! 

Harvesting at the right time is important as well, usually when half the leaves have died back.  Too early and they don't split into cloves, too late and the protective paper skin splits so they don't keep for as long.  If you find bulbs that haven't split into cloves, shove them back into the soil and leave them for another year. 

I sometimes miss harvesting small ones as they're in amongst other plants, so I do have a few that stay in and they produce bigger bulbs.  I tried growing some in pots one year but they didn't do as well as those planted in the border.

---

Iris planted today in a new container.  16 of them 10cm apart and 10 cm depth.. Hope for a good show of blue..

---

I bought a packet of tumbling tomato seeds to share with my sister and daughter as we all grow them in hanging baskets.  I couldn't believe I paid £3 for 8 seeds! 

---

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to gardening and my borders and containers are looking bare and I was wondering if it's safe to buy spring/summer pansies yet for containers? If we have frosts would it kill them off?

 

Also I need advice on some shrubs:-

Q 1: What are the best shrubs that have foliage all year round but also offer some colour/flower at times? My garden is sloped and a lot of clay/chalk in the ground.

This side of the garden gets a lot of sun from 6am till late afternoon but shade in the evening, it would be exposed to cold winds during winter.

 

Q 2: Ideal shrubs that again have foliage all year, this are of the garden has shade most of the day and does remain quite soggy.

 

Basically I just need to pack out my garden for all year round interest. Any advice/recommendations would be much appreciated.

---

Viola is on sale now. Pansies I would leave to May. Hebe can be very showy in winter with purple pink leaves it also flowers.. Heartbreaker is a good one.

 Heuchera  has a good range of winter colour...

---

Lidl have Pansies in Thursday £1.99 a tray of 10.... For Spring planting.

---

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to gardening and my borders and containers are looking bare and I was wondering if it's safe to buy spring/summer pansies yet for containers? If we have frosts would it kill them off?

Also I need advice on some shrubs:-

Q 1: What are the best shrubs that have foliage all year round but also offer some colour/flower at times? My garden is sloped and a lot of clay/chalk in the ground.

This side of the garden gets a lot of sun from 6am till late afternoon but shade in the evening, it would be exposed to cold winds during winter. 

Q 2: Ideal shrubs that again have foliage all year, this are of the garden has shade most of the day and does remain quite soggy.

Basically I just need to pack out my garden for all year round interest. Any advice/recommendations would be much appreciated.

Yes, it's safe to buy pansies now. 

Are you sure your soil is alkaline?  It may not be as chalky as you think and will probably grow most shrubs, especially as it's a sunny spot so it may be worth testing it.  I wouldn't bother to try and change the ph, even if it is alkaline as it will need a lot of work and I think you're always better to go with what you've got.

If your soil is chalky it's likely to be well drained and relatively dry, so you need plants that aren't too thirsty and are lime tolerant, so obviously don't go for acid loving plants such as Rhododendrons.  Your local garden centre is best to advise you on the plants that thrive locally in your type of climate and soil.

As Art said, Hebes can be quite showy, they're evergreen, come in a wide variety of leaf colours and look particularly nice if planted in a drift or a group.  They prefer a sunny position but will grow in shade though they'll be more leggy.  Other evergreens suitable for chalk are Euonymus, Ceonothus and Mahonia, although some evergreens do actually lose some, or all, of their leaves in very cold winters.  

Cornus Alba is also a shrub suited to alkaline soil and although it's deciduous, it's mainly grown for the lovely showy winter stems, so it's worth planting if you have lots of space to fill and it looks striking against evergreens.  Most shrubby herbs are also suited to chalk soil and some are evergreen. Grapevines love chalk and although they're not evergreen, if you have a sunny wall it's worth trying to grow some.

Euonymus is a good one to plant in your shady area and comes in many varieties.  Hostas do well in shade and they like damp alkaline soil, so they will be ideal but they're not evergreen. 

Don't forget to plant a few Christmas trees.    Well, I mean conifers of course.  They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and most will tolerate some shade and chalk.

 

---

Thank you both so much super info 

---

Thank you both so much super info 

Glad you found it useful.  When I met hubby we were both working at a garden centre, I was the hardy stock manager and specialised in trees and shrubs.  It was a long time ago though and I've forgotten more than I've remembered but the basics are still there.  

I'm only a novice when it comes to growing fruit and veg though! 

---

I don't have a veg garden but I plant all sorts in my border and I like to put pest repellent plants next to plants that are susceptible.  Garlic repels aphids and red spider, so I plant it all around my roses and tomatoes to keep the pests at bay. 

I just wish I knew what to put next to lettuce to repel slugs.   

I always empty my coffee grounds onto the garden as that's reputed to repel slugs and snails but last year we had so many that I resorted to slug pellets for the first time ever.  I really don't like having to do that as we have frogs in the pond, though obviously not enough hungry ones.

I was advised to try nematodes in the soil which kill off the slugs - tried it and it made a big difference.

This was the brand I used. 

http://www.slugoff.co.uk/killing-slugs/nematodes

Maybe the frogs can't get near the slugs for the coffee grounds?

 

---

 

I was advised to try nematodes in the soil which kill off the slugs - tried it and it made a big difference.

This was the brand I used. 

http://www.slugoff.co.uk/killing-slugs/nematodes

Maybe the frogs can't get near the slugs for the coffee grounds?

 

For Slugs i recommend copper strips along the border edge. It does work well to be honest.

You can buy proper slug shields in the US but not seen them over here in the UK and prob costs a lot to ship so I suggest a hardware shop and get thin copper reels and make your own...

---

Available on the Ebay.. some with free postage from Hong  Kong.. Would be worth the wait of a  week or TWO.....

---

Skreever.  I thought you were joking about frogs not getting to the slugs because of the coffee grounds but then I looked it up.  Coffee repels frogs!!!  Oh my goodness!   My coffee grounds might be better going into the compost heap! 

Thank you all for your great advice on slug control (and how not to discourage frogs). 

I've heard of nematode control but didn't know anyone who had tried it so if we get another bad year of slugs I'll certainly give it a try.  Also the copper strip is something I've heard of but haven't tried so I'll check on ebay for some. 

I don't mind a few slugs and snails to keep the frogs and hedgehogs happy but last year there was a population explosion and it just got ridiculous.  Maybe it was because the frogs were keeping out of the way of the coffee!  I'm hoping the slug pellets got them down to a manageable level again. 

---

Skreever.  I thought you were joking about frogs not getting to the slugs because of the coffee grounds but then I looked it up.  Coffee repels frogs!!!  Oh my goodness!   My coffee grounds might be better going into the compost heap! 

Thank you all for your great advice on slug control (and how not to discourage frogs). 

I've heard of nematode control but didn't know anyone who had tried it so if we get another bad year of slugs I'll certainly give it a try.  Also the copper strip is something I've heard of but haven't tried so I'll check on ebay for some. 

I don't mind a few slugs and snails to keep the frogs and hedgehogs happy but last year there was a population explosion and it just got ridiculous.  Maybe it was because the frogs were keeping out of the way of the coffee!  I'm hoping the slug pellets got them down to a manageable level again. 

I was given the nematode tip by a local market gardener - they come in packets and look like powder - then you stir them into the watering can and off you go. The big advantage over slug pellets is that little creatures like hedgehogs aren't harmed.  I'd love frogs but can only get spawn locally as the bio-security of the islands would be compromised by bringing it up from Scotland. And not many people have some!

---

I was given the nematode tip by a local market gardener - they come in packets and look like powder - then you stir them into the watering can and off you go. The big advantage over slug pellets is that little creatures like hedgehogs aren't harmed.  I'd love frogs but can only get spawn locally as the bio-security of the islands would be compromised by bringing it up from Scotland. And not many people have some!

Well, I've now dug in the coffee grounds where I last emptied my knock box and just hope I haven't overdosed the frogs on caffeine as it's coming up to spawning time.  I will certainly try the nematodes if we get a lot of slugs this summer. 

I understand about bio security and even on the mainland it's not a good idea to take frog spawn out of the area due to spread of disease and upsetting the balance of nature.  Frogs will visit and spawn in ponds naturally if the environment is right for them.  My son was concerned that his frogs were declining so he took some of my spawn for a couple of years but it made no difference.  Then he found the reason.  He had newts in his pond and newts eat frog spawn, so all we'd been doing was feeding the newts.  Though I think having newts is extra special. 

---

The frogspawn in my small pond hatched last weekend and we now have some very small tadpoles swimming around. Anybody else have tadpoles in their pond yet?

---

No tadpoles and no frogspawn here yet, but thankfully the frogs are gathering in my pond now, so I haven't put all of them off with the coffee grounds.  I've seen four or five today and hopefully there will be a few more over the weekend if the weather stays warm. 

A few years ago there used to be 40 or so of them gathering and spawning but they declined after the bad winter of 2010.  I'm hoping they haven't declined this year due to my coffee habit. 

---