Task of the month

January is the month for planning ahead and reflecting on last year’s exploits. Gardening magazines and catalogues are being studied and plans and dreams are beginning to take shape for the new season. Even in this cold weather, there’s plenty that you can be doing to prepare your garden for a year of healthy growth.

Protect

If the weather is mild, remember to protect tender young shoots foolish enough to think spring has arrived! Cover with a good mulch of Growise Multipurpose or Shamrock Moss Peat.

Plant

This is one of the best times for planting bare root trees which need time to establish new roots before Spring. Add plenty of Growise Enriched Top Soil to give them that excellent start.

Fill some large pots with Growise Multipurpose + John Innes and make a Winter display with cyclamen, primroses, pansies and some Spring bulbs. These will make a welcome sight at your front door and will continue to flower well into spring.

Prepare

If the ground is workable at all (not frozen and not too wet) begin to dig it over to expose the bugs to the birds and the soil to the elements. This will break down quickly so you can then add plenty of Growise Farm Yard Manure for the final digging in Spring.

If you are lucky enough to have a heated greenhouse you can now sow this season’s first seeds in Growise Seed and Cutting Compost. It’s a good idea to buy our Growise Potato Planters, Fruit and Veg Planters and Herb and Salad planters now and they will begin to warm up in the greenhouse for planting.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

February is the month that warms a seasoned gardener’s heart. It is now officially Spring! The increase in both temperatures and daylight hours now makes sheltered sites and greenhouses come alive.

In the greenhouse

On sunny windowsills and heated greenhouses, the sowing of early seeds and tubers in Growise Seed & Cutting compost begins in earnest. Chitted potatoes (potatoes that have been allowed to sprout in a cool, light place) may be planted in our Growise Potato Planters but they will need protection from any lingering frost.

Last Autumn's rooted cuttings will welcome their first season in the Growise John Innes range. Prepare your greenhouse soil by digging in plenty of Growise Farm Yard Manure or Growise Enriched Top Soil.

Outdoors

If conditions allow, try to finish planting bare root fruit trees and roses. They will benefit from a layer of Growise Farm Yard Manure and  Growise Enriched Top Soil underneath them and also mixed in with your garden soil.

Protect early young shoots of herbaceous perrenials with a rich mulch of Shamrock moss peat or any of the Growise Multipurpose range. You may also still divide these plants this month but remember when replanting to incorporate our best in class Growise Range.

For all established trees and shrubs begin to mulch with Shamrock Mini or Medium Chip Bark and start to feed by digging in a light sprinkling of our super Growise Chicken Manure Pellets.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist 

March is the month that rewards the most dedicated gardeners for their earlier efforts in cold wet conditions.

Preparations from last Autumn on heavy soils will have opened them up now to grow your early vegetables. You can add Growise Organic Vegetable Compost in abundance.

Light sandy soils will benefit from Growise Farm Yard Manure to add bulk and organic matter. When the soil is workable, prepare seed beds for this year’s direct-sown crops and fork in a layer of Growise Enriched Top Soil.
Continue successive sowings indoors of tender salads in Shamrock Seed and Potting for transplanting later.

Spring bedding, early perrenials and bulbs are now showing an abundance of flowers. Ericaceous plants like Azalea, Rhododendron, Camellia, and heathers are now in their prime and will welcome a top dressing of Growise Ericaceous Compost.

If you have frost protection in your greenhouse start to fill your pots, tubs and baskets with Growise Tub and Basket compost.
Start early with your Growise Hanging Grow Bag and fill with beautiful petunias, impathiens, lobelia, ivy and foliage plants, and you can even plant your first strawberries in one as well! A must is an early sowing to fill a Growise Planter.

Choose from Growise Fruit and Vegetable or Growise Herb and Salad planters.

By now your local garden centre will be stocked with delicious early salad and vegetable plants which you can plant straight away.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

We are now well and truly into spring and April is what I would call “the exciting month”. There is so much to do in April that sometimes it is difficult to know where to start, however if you stick to the basics outlined below and enjoy the fresh air it will come together quite quickly.

Outdoors

Love your lawn in April and it will be lush and green all season. With a spring tine, rake any moss and debris from the Winter. Top dress any patchy areas with Growise Enriched Topsoil and a good lawn seed. Fill in any hollows and then sprinkle a layer of Growise Organic Chiken Manure to get that lush colour back.

On a fine bright day bring all your houseplants out onto the lawn and give them a good watering, foliage and all. This will revive them no end. Repot where necessary into the next pot size using Growise House and Pot Plant or John Innes No 3.

Soil which you dug in March or earlier will be soft and crumbly by now so get sowing all your vegetables. Incorporate plenty of Growise Farmyard Manure before you start planting. Sow maincrop potatoes, cabbage, kale, radish, beetroots, peas, broad beans, dwarf French beans, lettuce plants, shallots, leeks and, late in April, your carrots. These are just a few but they are my favourites. Plant up containers with Growise Multipurpose and John Innes and fill them with herbs to be placed near your kitchen for quick and easy picking. 

In the greenhouse

Be careful in April as temperatures can rise dramatically and catch you out. Doors and vents will need to be opened fully on sunny days. Damp down floor areas in the morning to keep the humidity up as the dry air will dry out the foliage of your plants. The plants that can go in this month are tomatoes, peppers, chillies, sweetcorn, courgettes, and cucumbers - again just a selection, but definitely my favourites. Be careful though as night frosts are common in April so you will still need that heater.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

If you ask any keen gardener “which is the best month of the year” May would come out on top. Early sown vegetables are on the menu, the days are getting longer and warmer but still with plenty of moisture about. Hard work in previous months will reward you in May and in quieter moments you can begin to look around and enjoy the colour and fragrance of your garden.

Outdoors

Your lawn should be at its best with the work completed in April. Mow now as regularly as you can and reduce the height of the grass with each cut to reach a desired level.

On warm sunny days hoe fresh emerging weeds and they will dry up in hours. Mulch your borders when clean with fresh bark. Try the Growise Superfine Bark specially made for beds and borders. It is excellent around small plants and gives a deep dark   colour in contrast to all your plants. On larger areas use Growise Landscape Bark which will keep weeds down and plenty of moisture locked in around your trees and shrubs.

Frost is common in May so delay planting summer bedding until the latter end of the month. Use the intervening time to purchase and harden off these wonderful plants. In milder coastal areas you can now plant Sweet Peas, Antirrhinum, Sweet William and summer Pansy’s.

This is a great time to fill all your containers and baskets. Use Growise Tub and Basket with its high nutrient content and extra moisture control which will last the full bedding season.

In The Greenhouse

 Space is at a premium this month as salads are filling out and successive sowings continue weekly. As you crop an area dig in Growise Organic Vegetable Compost and a sprinkling of Growise Organic Chicken Manure Pellets.

Vent the house fully on sunny days and dampen down floors to keep the humidity up and if at all possible water in the morning only so as the foliage will dry off and this will help prevent mildew and leaf spots.

Use all the available space to harden off your bedding and filled containers gradually.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

Summer has arrived and gardens are offering up fantastic bounties. Picture and smell lightly steamed new potatoes with butter and salt and freshly picked strawberries with cream. How fresh and good is that and so easy to grow. If you had followed my tips in February you would be harvesting new potatoes from your Growise potato planter and strawberries from your Growise Fruit & Vegetable planter.

Outdoors

June is just brilliant for planting out tender vegetables and flowers. If your garden is small make use of sheltered spots and be sure to plant up planters filled with herbs and salads. Fill our Growise Herb and Salad Planter with mixed salad leaves, coriander, chives, marjoram, oregano, sage and parsley. Fill our Fruit and vegetable planters with peas, broad beans, courgette, tomato, spinach, mixed brassica’s, and strawberries. Even a Growing Growise bag will sustain two big tomato plants outside.

Plant out all your summer bedding this month as the danger of frost is gone. Dig over the ground until it is clean and fresh and sprinkle a layer of Growise Chicken Manure Pellets so the plants will get a good start. Replenish raised beds with a good layer of Growise Top Soil to bring the levels up. Fill a hanging basket with Growise Tub and Basket Compost which is great for holding moisture and rich in nutrients. Use plants like diascia, verbena, petunia, lobelia, bacopa, trailing begonia and ivy leaf trailing geraniums. Why not try a Growise Hanging Growing Bag –just plant it on the flat for two weeks then hang it up!   

If you haven’t done so already apply and renew mulch to protect plants during hot spells and to keep the weeds at bay. Around smaller plants use Growise Superfine Bark and in larger areas Growise Decorative Woodland Bark.

In the Greenhouse

This month it is imperative to put shading up to stop plants getting scorched and to keep the temperature reasonable. Use a green netting which will give the plants a cool fresher feeling. Support your tomatoes as they grow and remove side shoots unless they are the bush or mini type. Your first strawberries will now be ripening so now you should put a layer of straw down to keep them off the ground. Try planting some peppers and aubergines this month as plants are now available.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

July is the month when your garden will reach its peak. All your sowing and planting since early spring with flowers and vegetables will be paying huge dividends. There is still a lot of work to do but early morning, the evenings after work and the weekends are a joy to be in the garden.

Outdoors

I am now picking fresh each morning raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and a lovely miniature mountain alpine strawberry which all go into a mix with natural yoghurt for breakfast. Always pick the darkest colour and plumpest berries and at this time of the year they can ripen over a day. If you have too much berries why not freeze them for later in the year. Most evenings I have a choice of courgettes, tomatoes, broad beans, lettuce, scallions, new potatoes, and no end of a choice of herbs to add to an evening meal. If you are lucky you will have everything you need to prepare a meal otherwise prepare a meal around what you have and see what your friends and family have to share around.

There is still time to sow late crops. Use Growise Seed and cutting compost. Sow radishes, late beetroot, late season peas, spring cabbages and lettuce. Plant out leeks, summer strawberries and winter cabbages. Be sure to top dress all new plantings with Growise Chicken Manure Pellets and incorporate plenty of Growise enriched Top Soil or Growise Farmyard Manure.

Watch out for pests like aphids and caterpillars they can destroy a crop overnight. Pick off the caterpillars as you see them and wash off the aphids quickly and regularly.

In The Greenhouse

You can almost leave the vents open and doors all the time now to avoid temperature fluctuations. Only water in the mornings if at all possible but damping down pathways during hot days will help to reduce the temperature.

Side shoot your tomatoes regularly and feed weekly with a high potash liquid food. As the first truss begins to ripen start to remove the lower branches to leave extra light in.

Move out any plants that are in containers for July and August if you get good warm weather. 

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

August is the traditional holiday period of the summer so make preparations if you are going away. You may well get drought periods this month so take heed from the top tip below to keep your containers and baskets at their best. Take time to enjoy your garden in August but remember it is a great month for sowing autumn and winter crops.

Outdoors

In your vegetable garden you can now sow late season and hardy winter crops. Prepare the ground as in the spring adding in plenty more Growise Farmyard Manure or Growise Enriched Topsoil. As you crop an area it is essential to do this so as to keep the soil rich in organic material. You can also add a fresh sprinkling of Growise Organic Chicken Manure Pellets. Prepare the soil to a fine tilt ready for sowing. You can still sow the following for late summer and Autumn- Rocket, Carrots (Early Nantes a fast growing variety) Turnips, Baby leaf salads, Radish, Spinach and Peas. The secret with these is good autumn weather and early fast maturing varieties. Longer term overwintering crops for spring/early summer harvesting to sow are Japanese onions-sow the seeds now or sets in October, spring cauliflower and winter sprouting broccoli, winter chicory and spring cabbages.

Plant up a container using Growise Tub & Basket with a selection of herbs. A big advantage of this is that tender ones can be put in a sheltered site or moved indoors for winter. Use mixed thymes, basil, rosemary, sage, golden marjoram, feverfew and if it is a big container use a bay leaf as a centrepiece. Place it outside the kitchen for quick convenient picking.

August is the best month to plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and narcissi as they will be well established by spring. Leave planting tulips until October.

Spring bedding will now be available from garden centres. Plant winter pansy and viola, bellis, wallflowers and primrose plants should be available soon. Use plenty of fresh Growise Multipurpose with added John Innes when planting all autumn bedding and bulbs.

In The Greenhouse

The glasshouse will be a quieter place this month. All your early sowings will be harvested and really outdoors is better at this time of year and easier to manage. Your glasshouse is invaluable from February to June and again in September to January for overwintering tender plants.

Any plants like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers will need plenty of water. You will also need to remove lower leaves to leave as much light in to ripen everything and feed weekly with tomato liquid feed.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

September is a wonderful month. It is generally fine bright autumn weather or perhaps even an Indian summer. Either way it is a great month for gardening for cleaning up and planning new areas for next year. It is also known as the “harvest month” and will be full of fresh smells of early apples, combine harvesters in the fields and the first hint of cool autumn air.

Outdoors

This is a great month to tackle a problem lawn or to sow or lay a new one. Scarify and aerate your lawn with a garden fork and a spring tine rake. Then spread a layer of Growise enriched Top soil over the whole area brushing it in lightly to fill the pores. This will add to the drainage and clear out old debris from the past year. If your lawn is bigger than average you may need to hire out equipment for this job. An autumn lawn feed can be applied toward the end of the month also.

New lawns will establish quickly in September and will be in great condition for the first cut early next spring.

Why not make a compost bin in September as you will fill it in no time with all the autumn leaves and pruning’s.

All your perennial plants can now be divided and replanted while the soil is still warm. This will allow them to get established before winter sets in. Lift and divide them while giving them a good clean up and replant in new areas using plenty of Growise Multipurpose to get the new white roots started.

Why not look at the garden shed and give it a good clear out on a fine day. You may find you have more space than you thought and have room for a potting bench with shelves above for pots and sundries. Storage underneath can be used for bags of different compost to be used between now and spring.

Harvest all your fruit as it ripens. Start with all the early varieties and try to store them like apples in boxes like you see in the supermarket. Keep them out of the sun and consider freezing excess soft fruit like autumn raspberries and strawberries.

In The Greenhouse

If you do not have a glasshouse this is a good month to consider one. Prices will be lower and you might even get a sale discount. The choice and style depends on your garden and how deep your pockets are but it may just pay you back by giving you protection for tender plants and getting early crops growing. They are great for overwintering alpines and tender shrubs and plants in pots. You can start to plant up pots with early flowering spring bulbs which are out now in the garden centres. Use Growise Super Enriched Compost for this and add some wallflowers, pansies and violas on top.

Enjoy September in your garden.

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

October is a busy time in the garden. It is the best month to plant trees and shrubs as they will become well established before next season. Bare root plants will start to become available and this will help to keep your costs down. October is the best month to view rich Autumn colours before the leaves begin to fall. Try and get to see this tree “Liquidamber  styraciflua”  or common name “the sweet gum”. It turns the most fantastic shades of orange, red and purple. It is best grown in full sun and then the cool nights in October will bring these striking colours to life.
Plants that produce fruits and berries will also begin to attract birds into the garden and you can now start to set up feeding stations for the Winter.

Outdoors

Rake up fallen leaves regularly while they are dry and add them to the compost heap. Fallen leaves are one of the richest types of compost material.
On good dry days begin to dig over this year's vegetable area, you can now add a layer of Growise Farmyard Manure and Growise Enriched Topsoil which will work its way into the soil over the hard Winter months.
You can also plant out your Spring bedding using spring bulbs underneath a mixture of wallflowers, pansy, cyclamen, bellis and myosotis. These will work well in beds or containers. Add in a light layer of Growise Organic Chicken Manure Pellets to get them established. You can never dig in enough compost for new planting - for larger areas, you'll get good value from the 125 Litre bag of Growise Multipurpose.

October is the best month to plant all types of fruit trees. They will establish quickly and will reward you with a good harvest in the first year. If you wait until the Spring you should remove the first year's crop if possible to allow them to establish. Plant strawberries outdoors in beds or indoors in a Growise Fruit and Vegetable Planter for an early crop. Plant out raspberry canes, black and red currants, gooseberries and a rhubarb root if available. Bare root apple and pear trees will be available now from garden centres as will more unusual berries like boysenberry, tayberry and loganberry.

The secret with all fruit trees is good preparation when planting. They like fertile, well drained soil and grow best in a sunny sheltered position. Be sure to add plenty of garden compost and a good layer of Growise Farmyard Manure under the roots and as a mulch around the base of the plant.
This is also a great month to store this year’s heavy crop of apples. They need a frost-free area with good air circulation. Wrap individually with waxed paper or newspaper so as they are not touching, or try to get those trays you see them displayed on in fruit and vegetable shops.

In the Greenhouse

On a fine bright day move plants outside and thoroughly clean the glasshouse inside and out. Use a mild disinfectant and leave the vents open so as it will dry out. Depending on over-wintering plants or what you have still growing remember to vent on warm bright days but to close them early to retain the heat for the night. You might consider insulating with a bubble wrap if you intend heating over the Winter or just for early sowings in the New Year.

Enjoy October in your garden!

Brendan Howell 

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

November is usually a damp chilly month but it is still a good time to get your garden in order before the Winter really sets in.

Watch out for late autumn foliage colour of Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’. Also known as “The Smoke Bush” which has rich purple foliage all summer and fantastic autumn tints. 

Also look out for the striking white bark of Betula utilis jacquemontii known as “The Himalayan Birch”, this is a striking plant against a dark background with wonderful peeling white paper bark. 

Berries and fruits which stand out in November are Pyracantha golden charmer known as “Firethorn” which is an upright wall plant or thorny hedge with bright golden berries in clusters all winter. Also for big red fruits look out for Malus red jade known as “The Crab Apple Tree” which grows to only three metres with beautiful flowers in spring pink in bud opening fully to white.

Outdoors

This month it is important to check all plants that are staked up or tied back to walls, they need to be secure as November can throw some severe gales at your garden. Prune back any top heavy plants starting with your fruit trees. You can take hardwood cuttings of the prunings of gooseberries and blackcurrants by taking pieces six inches long and inserting them deeply in a trench filled with Growise Seed & Cutting Compost. These will have rooted by March and can be transplanted to a new site or given away to family and friends. 

Continue to dig over heavy clay soils as frost will break this down into a crumbly texture. Leave light sandy soils alone until the Spring but you can cover them with a mulch of Growise Farmyard Manure.

Plant out this season's bare root roses which will be available in the garden centres now. Choose between single large stem Hybrid Tea types which produce large cup flowers or the smaller flowering multi-stemmed Floribunda types. There are dozens of colours to choose from in each type. Roses like rich fertile soil so dig a large hole and fill with plenty of Growise Enriched Top Soil, you need to plant roses deeply to the depth of the knuckle where it was grafted. Sprinkle in a light layer of Growise Organic Chicken Manure Pellets and use these again in Spring and early Summer as roses likes plenty of feeding.

Dig out any remaining root vegetables. You can store these all Winter by lining a cardboard box with newspaper and a layer of Shamrock Peat Moss. Place a row of your vegetables on this taking care that they are not touching and then cover with another layer of Peat Moss and then another layer of vegetables. Continue to the top and store it in a dry, frost-free area.

In the Glasshouse

If you are overwintering frost-tender plants you will need heating from November onwards. A thermostatically controlled electric one is best as you can set it to the desired temperature and forget about it. Consider sealing off a small area if the house is big as this will be expensive to heat but do not forget about ventilation.

Clean your pots and seed trays of old plants and compost and give them a good wash down. This will prevent overwintering diseases like botrytis setting in. This is essential maintenance for sowing new seeds in Spring.

Enjoy November in your garden!

Brendan Howell

Bord na Móna Horticulturist

As cold as a winter garden can be it can still visually give you spectacular scenery to match what inspires you in warmer months. The key to winter colour is planning. Find out the best plants for colour that stands out be that berries, bark, foliage, flowers and form. Be sure to use some when planting new beds or replacing plants in the spring. Look up the following- Hamamelis mollis the ‘Chinese Witch Hazel’ which has fragrant spidery yellow to orange flowers- Cornus alba ‘Siberica’ the ‘Red Barked dogwood’ with has striking red stems against snow and frost or under planted with the silver foliage of Euonymus fortunei ‘Silver queen’. Look out for hollies with foliage of dark green, variegated silver or gold and the berries which have formed. 

Another beautiful winter plant is the ‘Spotted Laurel’ Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata with big bright red berries against mottled green and yellow leaves.

Outdoors

In the Glasshouse