John Stoa answers your gardening queries
Our gardening guru John Stoa answers your queries.
Q. I love to grow plants that benefit my health and heard that black fruits come top. Which are the best ones?
Black fruits are very high in antioxidants and vitamin C. The quantity in each varies, with chokeberries (Aronia Viking) at the highest level, then blackcurrants (with Big Ben a favourite), but saskatoons and blueberries as well as brambles are all very tasty and full of health-giving attributes.
Q. The roses in my garden seem to be suffering from mildew. How do I control it?
The dry spring has encouraged many diseases, including the rose diseases mildew, rust and blackspot. Roses in the open are less prone than those in sheltered areas or on walls where good air circulation may be lacking. I recommend always checking out resistance of varieties before you buy. Remove badly infected leaves and shoots then use one of the many sprays on the market. Remember you may need to spray two to three times.
Q. I have some space spare after using up my early lettuce and other salads. Is it too late to grow some more for use later?
Depending on timing, you could get a quick crop of peas using Kelvedon Wonder, and fast-growing salads include lettuce, radish, rocket, spring onions and mizuna. Consider winter hardy spring onions, rocket and lettuce Vaila, spring cabbage and cauliflower which will grow over the winter in a sheltered spot for harvesting in late winter and spring.
Q. There has been a buzz on our allotments about growing huge pumpkins. What is the secret?
Growing giant pumpkins is not just fun, but a great way to get kids involved in gardening. Choose a variety known to grow big fruit, such as Hundredweight. They are gross feeders so ground must be very fertile with plenty of compost. Then, as they grow, they need watering and regular feeding. Only allow one fruit per plant and cut back sideshoots which want to grow at the expense of fruiting. Harvest at the end of October.
Q. I have two low-growing plants that have started to flower, but as yet there is no sign of leaves. Is this normal?
Cyclamen hederifolium and nerine bowdenii flower in midsummer before leaves appear. The cyclamen leaves follow the flowers before going dormant. Nerine leaves grow in spring then die down so the flowers appear in a solid drift.
Q. My strawberries are ready for picking, but
I am told they need to be mulched with straw and netted, and the slugs need controlling. What should I do?
It is hard to beat the taste of a fresh-picked strawberry early in the season, but you need to work for your pleasures. Rain splashing on the fruit is prevented by a straw mulch along the rows, slugs are best controlled with pellets and birds kept at bay with netting. However, strawberries are also a favourite with mice which eat the small seeds on the surface, so trapping for them may be necessary.
John Stoa will answer your gardening queries on this page where possible but regrets he cannot send personal replies. Please do not send SAES with your letters.