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Hadleigh Gardens Personal Thoughts As I write this the main thought for most gardeners (and farmers) is the absence of significant rain. I am already having to do some watering mainly of vegetable and fruit crops, but also of some shallow rooted plants like Phlox. A lot of perennial plants are growing slowly because of the lack of water. If you do water remember that a good soak once a week is much better than 7 daily sprinkles. The sprinkle will evaporate quickly, and attract roots to the surface where they will suffer more. The other topic that concerns me at the moment is potting compost. For several years I have tried to minimise my use of peat, and have tried to use peat free composts. This year when I needed some potting compost I went to Partridges, Buyright, and Bypass Nurseries, and none of them had a peat free compost on sale, so I had to go back to a standard peat based product. Subsequently I found that Bypass Nurseries are now offering one, which I am trying. The peat free products do vary depending on what they are made from, and often need different amounts of watering. I would like to get used to a product and then use it year after year, but what I find is that each year the products on offer are different. It is government policy to totally phase out peat in composts by 2030, and there are active discussions at the moment about intermediate targets with the possibility that peat in composts will be phased out for amateurs earlier than professionals. My largest use for potting compost is in the 12" pots that I use for tomatoes, and for this purpose I make my own from garden soil, compost from my compost heaps and sharp sand. Open Gardens in June Sun 5 Columbine Hall Sun 5 Barton Mere Sun 5 The Wallow Tues 7 Tudor Roost Wed 8 Tudor Roost Sat 11 Spencers Sun 12 Hessett House Sun 12 Woodwards Sat 18 Spencers Sun 19 428 Norwich Road Sun 19 Chippins Sun 19 Smallwood House & Farmhouse Sun 19 The Priory Tue 21 Tudor Roost Weds 22 Tudor Roost Sat 25 Larks Hill Sun 26 3 Gardens Sun 26 Valley Farm Barn
Stowupland Great Barton Great Barton Fingringhoe Fingringhoe Great Yeldham Beyton Coddenham Great Yeldham Ipswich Bradfield Essex Bradfield St George Stoke by Nayland Fingringhoe Fingringhoe Tuddenham St Martin Pakenham Combs Ford
Weather Records In April 2.4 mm (0.09") of rain fell at Kersey which is the lowest monthly rainfall since I started getting figures from Kate in 1997. It makes the 3 month running figure 53.8 mm (2.1") which is a near record low for the same period. It is only beaten by a figure of 52.9 mm in October 2003. So far May is dry so this figure will probably be beaten next month. In April the maximum temperature was 26 Cel (79F), and the minimum was 3 Cel (37F). So April was very warm with no frosts. In my garden the ground temperature in mid April is 13 Cel (55 F) which is slightly warmer than average.
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Hints As you walk around your garden watch out for problems, and catch them before they get out of hand. I do use various sprays some times, but not very often. A lot of pests can be disposed of by hand or foot, with less effort than it takes to get the insecticide. Slugs seem to love to drown themselves in beer. I personally find the fungus diseases more difficult than the other pests, and this is where I do tend to spray. For example with black spot on roses one can pick off the odd leaf and burn it, but if there are a lot the only answers are to spray, or to stop growing the plant. Tomatoes are quite widely grown, but beginners often get confused about how they should be managed. There are two types "indeterminate" and "determinate". These terms describe the way in which they grow. In