As this is the first edition of a monthly column about gardening, I thought I would start by introducing myself.
Paul Robson – The Pant Gardener
I am Paul Robson and I live in Pant. I have worked in the horticultural industry for more years than I care to remember (39 to be exact). I started my career at the Welsh College of Horticulture, before spending a year on a small family nursery on the Wirral, after which I returned to college for a further year. I then worked in the propagation department at Bees of Chester, before going to the well-known Pershore College of Horticulture for three years. After leaving college, I worked for Bridgmere Nurseries and then Sealand Nurseries, where I was responsible for producing three gold medal stands at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show. I have also had spells working for Leeds City Council, Pickmere Nurseries, Stapeley Water Gardens and Gordale Nurseries on the Wirral.
A bit closer to home I was involved with the initial setup of both Moreton Park Garden Centre and Mere Park Garden Centre, at Newport near Telford, and in more recent years I have been running my own garden maintenance business.
Gardening tips for February
As I am sat at my computer writing this column the days of gardening seem a long way off, as we are in the middle of storm Gertrude, so I may well have to send you in the direction of some armchair gardening tasks.
February is always a good month to get seed and bulb catalogues ordered and hopefully that will encourage you into early ordering to avoid disappointment on your own preferences. Another good job to get done this month is to give the greenhouse a good clean out and fumigate it ready for the coming season, but this requires an empty greenhouse. If the greenhouse is being used for overwintering plants, it is a good idea to ventilate on suitable days which helps to prevent the spread of botrytis. Another important job to do indoors in February is to start chitting your seed potatoes, which is where the seed potato is placed in a deep tray or egg box and place in a light, cool position, with their eyes facing upwards, to encourage early development of the shoots, which leads to a better yield.
Snowdrops in Pant, Shropshire
As the weather improves towards the end of the month, snowdrops can be lifted and split after flowering, as snowdrops should always be transplanted when they are growing, which is often referred to as transplanting them in the green.
As my allocated space is running out, I will now list a few jobs that may be worth considering this month.
- Check tree stakes and any structures for wind damage
- Start forcing rhubarb
- Start sowing vegetables under cover and prepare ground for planting (weather dependent)
- After flowering, prune winter flowering shrubs such as cornus officinalis (Japanese cornelian cherry)
- Prune hardy evergreen hedges
- Cut back deciduous grasses that weren’t done in the autumn
- Net vegetables that need protecting from hungry birds and rabbits
Well, that will have to do for this month – hoping for some better weather and wishing you all a successful growing season.
Paul