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AROUND THE CITY
We’ll bring you stories from all across Cardiff over forthcoming issues. Here’s a few stories we thought you may find interesting.
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CITY GARDENS
Credit le Crunch
Many plants are easier to grow than we realise. In these turbulent financial times we can ameliorate that bitter taste of recession with good old fashioned gardening. Many vegetables and flowers will give you great results for minimal effort. Here are a few small and easily digested ideas.
Firstly, produce always tastes better when grown locally, and even better if grown organically with a bit of elbow grease!
Many Lettuce varieties take well from a summer sowing. You can sow seed at three week intervals for a succession of fresh foliage. Loose leaved Lettuce such as ‘Lollo Rossa’ keep growing after picking so are very popular.
Cabbage can be sown in summer with great success. Savoy types can be started in seed trays then transplanted out. Don’t forget to put a card collar around the cabbage to guard against root flies, and water well.
Sunflowers are dead easy to grow. They aren’t too late to sow, though they’ll flower later into the autumn now. For the price of a seed and the size of the future plant, it’s great value for money! Sow in situ, use a bamboo cane, and use soft material to wrap around the stem. Don’t use string, it cuts in! Spark your kids interest with cress on a damp cloth. It inspires a generation, and costs pennies.
Carrots are easy to grow, either in a long pot or moist ground. Sow seed where they will be grown (carrots do not easily transplant). Like Cabbage; root fly needs to be prevented with the barrier method. Watering and weeding are crucial.
Herbs play their part in these ‘challenging thymes’. There are some very easy ones you can lay your hands on to invigorate your taste buds at dinner time! Sage and Oregano both are great for stuffing or flavouring pizzas, and need warm, sunny borders to flourish. Chives perk up a lunchtime sandwich and grow very easily in damp ground. You can buy a basic pot for under £2.
THINGS TO DO IN THE SUMMER GARDEN
■ Water and feed, ideally in the evenings. Watering is especially important for vegetables as they’re putting on so much growth compared to ornamental plants.
■ Deadhead all flowers, especially Roses
■ Pinch out your Tomatoes to put energy in side growth
■ Put out saucers of beer to reduce slug infestation (it works, at least they go with a grin)
■ Spray to minimise insect damage, ideally with a soapy organic spray.
■ Weed (yes it’s hard, so use a hoe)
■ Mound up your Potatoes to encourage more to grow
■ Pinch out growing tips of Broad Beans when in full flower; this will encourage crops and reduce whitefly. Words and images, Clive Sullivan
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