Merry Haxmas

We would like to wish everyone one of our customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We've had a momentous year and 2011, our 15th year in business will go down as one of our busiest ever.

If you're in the snow, sun, rain or cloud we hope you enjoy the holiday period and have a wonderful time with your families or without (if you prefer!).

As a gift to those of you that aren't able to buy your products from your local garden centres, we have decided to run a special January Sale on the website from the 26th December.

December gardening jobs

Blog post by Madeleine

The garden has not been very inviting over the last few weeks. It just seems to be tidying up jobs that need to be done and as there is no rush for this, they tend to get put off.

Things that really do need your attention are the hoses that need to be put away. Cover any pot that you have which are not frost proof with jute material, or fleece, this will stop them from cracking.  Lifting them off the ground with blocks of wood or special ceramic feet are also good ideas. A lot of these pots are made for the Mediterranean not England! Also cover any plants such as palms/fragile lavenders with fleece jackets that are made for this job.

Now very importantly, decide what you want for Christmas and let a few hints get dropped – a new pair of gloves – some cloches – a pair of secateurs. Look at the seed catalogues and decide what you want to grow next year. This is indoor gardening and all needs to be done, so why not when it is cold and wet outside. Some seeds such as tomatoes and peppers need to be sown as soon as January so watch out.

If you would like to see our christmas gift ideas, click here

LAST DAY FOR GUARANTEED WEB DELIVERIES IS 16TH DECEMBER

What to do with used compost from your Patio Planters

Blog post by Robbie

Patio Planters that were once filled with beautiful flowering peas, towering tomatoes and luscious lettuces, are now completely bare - so, what now?

You can use your 'spent' compost again, but it will be fairly deficient in nutrients and if the plants you grew had any pest or disease related problems you may find these come back and effect the next lot.

It is usually best to use multipurpose compost from the garden centre to ensure your plants are getting the best possible start.

What to do with 'old' compost:

• Use as a Mulch* for trees and bushes
• Top-dressing for raised beds and borders

Or alternatively:

• Add to compost heap
• Offer to members of your local allotment

Be careful if you've added any stones or gravel to the bottom of your planters - you may want to try and separate that from the rest of the compost before using it for another purpose.  If your crops were unaffected by disease or pests then you could just leave the gravel mix in the bottom for next time.  

If you would like any further information or have your own comments, please feel free to add them below...


* Mulch is 'garden jargon' for adding a protective layer over soil.  Doing this helps to retain moisture, provide nutrients and suppress weed growth or weed seed germination.

Pippa's New Products!

She is one of the UK's most loved gardening experts, solving the nations gardening problems every week on BBC Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time, writing articles and blogs for Gardener's World, whilst also running a fantastic web site that has just been updated with a brand new shop section.

www.pippagreenwood.com/products 

The items included for sale on her web site are all essential items, hand picked by Pippa.

So if you're curious to know which Haxnicks products meet her seal of approval, click on the link/picture and take a look!

How to make Mulled Pears

Excerpt from 'Plot to Pot' by Madeleine Cardozo

To Bottle or not to bottle...
It is all very well enjoying the fruits of the garden during the summer months, but of course you can enjoy them in the winter as well by storing them, this is a great last minute pudding, all you have to do is to take out of the cupboard and serve it either warm or cold.  Mulled pears are delicious with vanilla ice cream, cream or crème fraîche.

Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooling time: 40 minutes | Serves: 8

Ingredients:

4lbs (1.8kg) firm pears

1 orange

1 lemon

2 cinnamon sticks

12 cloves

5cm (2") piece of fresh root ginger

11 oz (300g) granulated sugar

1 bottle of fruity red wine

- top this up with water if necessary

Directions:
v Preparation:

 Ø  Peel the pears, but keep their stalks.

 Ø  Peel the rinds of the lemon and orange using a potato peeler.

v To Bottle:       

 Ø  Stuff as many pears as you can into your storage bottles.

 Ø  Divide the spices and rinds between the bottles.

 Ø  Put the sugar and wine into a pan and heat up on a low heat until all the sugar has been dissolved.  Then boil for 5 minutes.

 Ø  Pour the wine syrup completely covering the pears.

 Ø  Secure the lids.

 Ø  Put into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 100˚C/200˚F/gas mark 3

 Ø  Take the jars out, watch out because they are extremely hot.

 Ø  When they are cool check that the seal on the jars has worked.  You can do this by gently trying to open the jar, if it is not possible they are sealed.

v Not to Bottle:

 Ø  Put all the pears into a pan, add the spices sugar and wine.

 Ø  Put a lid on.

 Ø  Simmer the pears for approximately 20 minutes.

 Ø  When the pears are cooked, you can either serve them hot or let them cool.

'Plot to Pot' is out now - available online and in garden centres and bookshops (check with our stockists first).

Click to find out more

5 Easy Ways to protect your plants from frost

Post by Robbie
Although you can never completely eradicate the threat of frost damage to the plants in your garden, you can at least use these helpful tips as a guide to prepare for the worst:

1. Group plants together Choose a location at the top of the garden facing north, west or south. Plants in containers may be grouped together so that You can easily create a microclimate for your plants which allow them to provide shelter for each other and make it easier for you to cover and water them in one go.



2. Cover plants in Fleece Make sure you cover plants in fleece or hessian/jute.  This will protect them from frost and allow light and moisture to filter through.  If you want to make it even easier, you can use fleece jackets such as the one in the picture, which just pull over the top and fasten at the bottom.  Note:  Pots (especially terracotta ones) can suffer from frost damage so make sure you cover these in the same way.


3.  Move tender plants to the greenhouse or indoors if you have the space.  You can also overwinter (gardening jargon for plant hibernation) by covering them with a cold frame, plant house or a polythene grower system cover.


4.  Use mother nature!  It sounds crazy, but in fact snow can help to insulate your plants, especially from cold drying winds.  Make sure you still clear snow from tree branches and conservatory/greenhouse roofs, though, as snow can become heavy and cause damage. Use mulch (old leaves, home made compost) and straw to provide natural cover for tree roots, especially evergreens in pots and with roots above the surface of the soil.


5. Keep plants watered In the winter plants lose moisture in the cold, dry air so make sure you water them if they need it and this will improve their natural defense against the harsh effects of winter weather.  Too much water (rainwater included) is  a bad thing though - you don't want the ground around the roots to freeze.

We are well known for being experts in plant protection - so why not drop us a line or comment in the box below if you have any questions, would like more details or even if you have your own tried and tested tips for protecting your plants from cold weather.

What to do with your pumpkin seeds

Post by Madeleine Cardozo

I am really hoping that you didn’t just throw away all those wonderful pumpkins seeds.

I keep about 50 of them, placed in a saucer to dry out on the windowsill ready for sowing in April next year.

With the rest you can bake them and eat them as a nutritious snack:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1. Separate the seeds from the flesh of the pumpkin but don’t wash. 
2. Place them onto a baking tray
3. Pour a little olive oil over them and then sprinkle with salt 
4. Mix them about. 
5.  Put them into the oven (375°F, gas mark 5, 190°C) for about 20 minutes until they are golden brown.  You can keep them for months but they will tend to lose their flavour after 6 weeks.

Haxfact!: Pumpkin seeds are a super food full of iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium and are also a source of protein and omega 3.


Storing Apples
If you want to store apples, you need to store them directly from the tree. The apples need to be handled very carefully, each one wrapped in newspaper and then place in a dark cool place such as a shed, cellar or garage. They need to go somewhere where they will not be disturbed until you need them. Alternatively you can peel, core and slice them, then put them in the freezer ready for that wonderful French apple tart that you are dying to make.

Other things to do in the garden this week:
If you would like onions for the summer you had better get your skates on and plant out the sets now.
You can still sow winter lettuces under cloches, when these have come up plant them out in the greenhouse or under poly tunnels, my rocket is doing amazingly well.

The next post will be about protecting your garden from frost and winter weather - subscribe to the blog to be notified as soon as it has been posted!