Grandpa Haxnicks offers advice on Ground Elder

Dear gardeners,

Over winter it is easy to forget about some of those nasty perennial weeds that lurk beneath the soil. One of the most rampant, vigorous and downright stubborn of these is ground elder, also known as gout weed, bishop weed and most appropriately jump about. Left unchecked it will spread from one tiny corner of the garden and invade all useful growing space by spreading its network of underground stems (rhizomes). In an alien like fashion it can regenerate into a new plant from just a tiny fragment of those underground stems.

This weed has driven my friend The Potty gardener...well...completely potty. Living in a rented property where ground elder has been able to take a firm hold she has turned to gardening in pots, but there are other alternatives and as I am often asked for advice on beating the evil weed then I thought that it would be good to share that advice with you.

For a serious invasion of ground elder you will need time, patience and lots of black polythene!

Dig up any cultivated plants in the area and gently tease out any ground elder rhizomes from their roots. Do not put the weeds in the compost!

Replant your plants in pots or clear soil

Dig out the ground elder. You will need to dig to a depth of about 2 foot and be very thorough, making sure that you get out every last scrap of those rampant rhizomes. A second digging over is often required a few weeks later to catch the ones that you missed.

Alternatively you can cover the area with black polythene to starve the ground elder of light for at least a year and possibly two. A few years ago I helped friends clear a large patch of ground about 12ft sqaure. The digging took us a few weeks and because they couldn't bare to stare at black polythene for two years we seeded the area with grass and mowed it regularly which seemed to work very well.

You can, of course turn to a glyphosphate weedkiller, but for a large patch of ground that can be expensive, so I tend to advise that you use it for small areas or to keep on top of any new growth after an initial clearing.

There is one saving grace for this pesky perennial, that it is edible. The young leaves are slightly nutty and can be used in a salad or cooked in butter like spinach. So if you can't beat it, eat it!

Goodbye for now,

Grandpa Haxnicks

Madeleine's Corner: Glorious English Summer

Glorious English Summer – well it is one minute and then not the next. One is never sure whether to water the garden or will the Good Lord do it for you? Just make sure if you can help it that it is neither feast nor famine. Lack of water means that your crops such as spinach and lettuce bolt: so water evenly. Anyhow, Last week there was an awful lot of weeding to be done, if you don’t do it the weeds take all the energy from the soil and your peas turn out more like pinheads, and your carrots will never grow. Which reminds me thin your carrots, I know this seems harsh but it’s worth it. Thin them to 1 every 2” 5cm.

I use Haxnicks Speedhoe for saving energy and time weeding, and Haxnicks Micromesh to protect Carrots from Carrot Fly (especially important when thinning out as the Carrot Fly will no doubt get a whiff off the seedlings that have been removed).

Cover any berries you have with netting, Bamboo Fruit Cages or rig up some Birdscare or old CD’s so that the birds don’t beat you to the crop, once they discover them there won’t be any left for you. Pick and eat Rhubarb, soft fruits, lettuces, broad beans and asparagus, pick some of the small beetroot leaves for a salad. Take the last of your plants to be planted outside and get them in the vegetable patch. Sow another batch of lettuce (if you do this monthly you will get lettuces all year round), rocket and radishes.

Haxnicks release new product Videos

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At the Glee trade show this year, we premièred our new point-of-sale videos, two of which have just popped up on our Haxnicks YouTube channel, with more to follow soon.

Our first two point-of-sale displays, which came out back in September last year, were so popular with customers that we decided to create some more. They're all packed full of fun filled facts on how our innovative and versatile products can help you in your garden.

Our Rootrainers™ and Speedhoe™ videos have been firm favourites with Haxnicks' fans (click on the highlighted text to see them), so here are two more for you to enjoy.

Canetoppers™ - fantastically fun and safe solution for covering your cane ends. The 3 and 8 Teepee toppers are must-haves for using on home-made bamboo frames supporting sweet peas, climbers and beans.

Soft-Tie™ - if you're looking for an easier, more durable and more attractive solution to tying up plants, hoses, wires, canes, and all manner of other items (the list is endless) then here it is!

Related Soft-Tie video from Garden News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I5E0bKLngM

Love to (watch it) grow!

Growing Garlic Easily

Garlic is a rather special plant to us here at Haxnicks, apart from the usefulness in cooking and the fresh smell  in the garden it really is one of the easiest vegetables to grow.

It is recommended that Garlic is grown in a rotation system with carrots, onions, leeks, and probably may other root vegetables, but we find it makes a great space filler between roses and other flowers, Garlic also wards off unwanted pests with it's smell. Container growing is also very worth doing if growing only for the shoots, which give a subtle and yet distinct zest to salads.

Cloves of garlic (Propagation of garlic is not usually done from seed, but rather from partially-grown cloves).

To grow well it needs a cold period of at least two months. It is thus essential to sow from mid-October to allow the roots to develop before the cold weather sets in.

1. Fill the Rowplanter rows three quarters full with a multi-purpose compost
2. Tap the rows on the bench to settle the compost and then place in the holding tray
3. Separate the cloves of garlic (The cloves of garlic can be sown indoors in the Rowplanter by planting each clove upright (the bottom of the clove lowest in the ground) to a depth of 2.5cm deep,10cm apart.
4. Push with the base down so that the top is just below the soil.

Once ready for transplanting, the entire row can be gently slid out into the prepared trench with absolutely no root disturbance.

Once the leaves go yellow brown stop watering the garlic and it can be harvested 2 to 3 weeks later and it should then be left to cure for 3 weeks.

Once the bulbs are thoroughly dried store them in a cool, ventilated place away from sun.

Tip: You can use pretty much any Garlic cloves from any shop... just break apart the cloves and each clove will produce it's own plant.

Growing Leeks - The Haxnicks Way

The leek is an unique vegetable which belongs to the allium family and is also a relative of the onion.

Leeks are often overlooked as vegetables and yet they are the most undemanding and one of the most rewarding vegetables that you can plant. The plants are exceptionally easy to raise and are relatively pest free as well as not minding cold conditions.

The leek is usually grown in the cooler part of the year and prefers a lightly limed soil. Leeks are usually grown alongside carrots, onions, garlic, parsnips and other root crops, but rotation is important and where possible leeks and onions should not be grown on the same patch for at least three years.

The leek grows slowly and steadily over a relatively long period of time (4 to 6 months) and so the sooner the seeds are sown the larger the leeks will grow. In gardens leeks are usually transplanted from seed beds when they reach a length of 15 – 17cm and are as thick as a pencil (about 3 months of growth).

1. Fill a Slim (Rannoch) Rootrainer Tray with good quality peat free compost
2. Sow the seeds thinly into each cell in at the earliest mid-February/March (about 4 to six seeds in each cell)
3. Cover the tray with the clear propagating lid
4. Leave to germinate in a warm but not too warm place
5. Remove lid once plants have emerged and use as a drip tray under the tray and grow on in good light

Once the plants are ready, plant out into a deep, rich well composted and moist soil.

Make 15cm deep holes with a garden stake and place the seedling into the hole. Don’t close the hole with soil but rather water the plant, which will close the hole with the right amount of soil.

As the leeks mature mound up the soil to keep the shanks blanched white.

Watering of the young plants is vital until they are well established and weeding is just as essential.

Leeks are harvested by first loosening the plant with a fork pushed vertically downwards several inches from the row and then they can be pulled out with no damage and not too much soil disturbance.

We like to end on a Tip and so why not use our Speedhoe to keep those weeds down. Speedhoe is a well recognised easy and chemical free way to keep vegetable patches free of weeds.

Amateur Gardening review for Speedhoe

Julia Heaton tries out the Haxnicks Speedhoe... 

Click on the article to enlarge it, and by the way, the "short-skirted, wellie-wearing model" is actually the MD's sister...

"Haxnicks Promotional Videos" introduces the SpeedHoe

Haxnicks is proud to introduce a revelation in Hoeing technology. The Haxnicks SpeedHoe has several innovative design features, allowing it to outperform all other hoes on the market.



Made to the highest specifications, using stainless steel and quality hardwood, SpeedHoe will be your best friend in the fight against weeds for years to come.

The Amazing SpeedHoe™

The amazing SpeedHoe™, the latest innovation from plant protection specialists, Haxnicks, is the gardener’s new best friend in the fight against weeds. It has a unique multi-blade design and angled head that produces a powerful cutting and chopping action with the minimum of effort.

The SpeedHoe’s angled head has sharp blades on the front, rear and sides, creating a powerful, strong cutting action beneath the earth’s surface in whichever direction it is pushed away or pulled back. There’s no need to turn the blade when using it and the compact head makes it efficient and easy to manoeuvre between plants of all sizes, keeping them safe from accidental damage.

The SpeedHoe’s long handle gives a much greater reach and is positioned at an angle ergonomically designed for maximum working comfort, reducing the need for bending and thus minimizing potential aches and strains. Large areas of weed or heavy, lumpy soil can be worked over quickly and with little effort, helping create the best possible growing conditions for plants in beds and borders.

To see the SpeedHoe in action, a short informative video can be viewed on YouTube, or search for: SpeedHoe.

Haxnicks SpeedHoe™ (RRP £24.99) is available from all good garden centres from February 2009. For stockists or more information, call Haxnicks on 0845 241 1555 or click here.