Don’t wait for the first frost

To protect plants and trees from frost damage, they need to be covered. So when the weather forecast is for overnight frost, it is advisable to be prepared. Haxnicks’ Easy Fleece Jackets are ideal for potted patio plants as you can easily pull them over the plants and draw the bottom together using the integral drawstring which closes off the air flow giving the plant its own microclimate. With a choice of 3 sizes the Easy Fleece Jackets are ideal for both large and small plants as well as for hanging baskets.

Made from high quality 35gsm polypropylene fleece material, the jackets will protect your plants but also allow light and moisture to filter through to provide a healthy growing environment and the soft material does not cause harm to buds or leaves.

Once the threat of frost is past, simply remove the Fleece Jackets, fold them and store them until the next time you hear the words “.....and tonight there will be an overnight frost”!

Haxnicks presents trophy at Garden Retail Awards

Haxnicks sponsored the Retail Outlet Under £3m Turnover Award at the Garden Retail Awards 2012 which was won by Sidmouth Garden Centre, who received their trophy from Smart Solar’s sales director Paul Knott. The Garden Retail Awards were held on Wednesday 7th November at London's Grosvenor House in Park Lane.

Last year was very strong for Sidmouth Garden Centre, but with the weather making things harder in 2012, this year the focus has been on service and margins through reducing expenditure without affecting service.

Smart Solar, which has recently acquired the distribution rights for Haxnicks ‘Love to grow’ product range was keen to support the Garden Retail Awards to demonstrate its commitment to the garden centre industry. 

Paul commented, “It was an honour to present the Haxnicks Retail Outlet Under £3m Turnover Award to Sidmouth Garden Centre in front of 350 industry guests. Haxnicks and Smart Solar both enjoy leading roles in this industry and it was great to share the evening with so many colleagues and friends.” 

Spring clean in November!

By Jo Sensecall

November is “spring clean” time the garden! With nothing to plant, you should clear any remains of crops for composting and fork over bare ground. Store away hoses, pots and canes and have a general tidy up.

Cover any pots 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 is also good idea.

Use our Easy Fleece Jackets to cover any fragile container plants and to protect them from early or late frosts. These Easy Fleece Jackets are ideal for overwintering plants in containers or hanging baskets and have an integral drawstring for easy and practical use.

4 easy ways to grow more during a wet summer

Post by Robbie Cumming

Here in the UK we love our unpredictable weather.
We love barbecueing indoors, picnicking on ground sheets and going to the office in our wellies.


But our plants haven't loved the lower than normal temperatures and lack of sunlight, so we aren't able to enjoy the produce of our vegetable gardens as much as our dear friend Mr Slug (another matter entirely).


But the question is - can we do anything about it?

The good news is - YES!

And being experts in plant protection (even if we say so ourselves) we have a pretty good idea of exactly which products will help you make the most of a poor summer.

Here are just 4 ways that you can make a world of difference in your garden NOW:

Bell Cloches
The main picture (above) shows my little garden - nothing is growing especially well, apart from the weeds, a self seeded Ash tree, and the herbs growing under my Victorian Bell Cloche.  The vents are opened during rainy days and closed at night.  The only downside to this method is that you must remember to lift the cloche right off your plants on hot sunny days.  Otherwise they'll cook before you've even decided what recipe to use them in!

Tunnel Cloches
These do three wonderful things to your veg plot:
1) Protect your plants from weather
2) Protect your plants from pests
3) Increase and maintain higher air temperature

We sell Easy Tunnels - they're quick, easy and fairly inexpensive with lots of deals on at the moment in most garden centres.  But you can also make your own - go for it!  Make sure you use Haxnicks plant protection fabrics, bamboo hoops and ground pegs if you want something that will last you more than just one season.

If you've spent all your money on seeds and slug pellets though, there are other options.  You can use an old sheet of polythene draped over a few pieces of blue tubing secured with tent pegs which is fine if you don't care too much for how it looks.

Please note, it is really important to think about ventilation on sunny days.  Humidity can become a problem, leading to mildew and various diseases.  Scorching (if we get enough sun) is a problem too, and if you don't allow pollinating insects at your flowers, of course you won't get any fruit.

If you use a tunnel cloche you will ensure that your normal growing season is extended - that means you'll be able to harvest earlier and later in the year than anyone else.

Micromesh Fabric
Using mesh in the garden in summer is pretty standard nowadays - and essential if you want to keep the bugs off your edible crops.
But it also makes the perfect shelter - from sun, wind and rain - letting in the right amounts of light, air and moisture.
You can either buy Enviromesh or Micromesh depending on how fine a gauge you need.  Buy Micromesh if you want to guarantee protection from whitefly and other aphids.

Micromesh Products include Micromesh Pre Pack Fabric, Micromesh Pest and Wind Barrier, Micromesh Giant Easy Tunnel, Micromesh Raised Bed cover and Grower System (see below) Pest Protection Cover.



Greenhouse
If you are lucky enough to own one of these, you will probable be using it more often than usual due to the cooler weather.
Keep as many tender, non-indigenous fruit and vegetables (eg Tomatoes, Peppers and Beans) under glass. These plants need as much warmth and sunlight as they can get.
If you are planning to grow climbing veg in your greenhouse because of the weather, then you might want to think about using a patio planter which you can move outside on sunny days.
You might want to use a special planter dolly to help you though.  Planters can get pretty heavy with all the soil, canes and fruit (fingers crossed!)

If you don't have the space or simply can't afford a greenhouse, there are loads of lower cost options, including:

• Conservatories, Porches or Windowsills
• Cold Frames
• Planthouses
• Growhouses or our Grower System

If you have any questions about any of the methods or products featured in this blog post then please let us know using the comments section below.  You can also call us, email and write to us - or why not see if your nearest Haxnicks stockist can help?

We'll cover slugs in the next blog - there are many ways to defeat them, stay tuned to the Haxblog for more top tips...

How to protect carrots from carrot fly

If you have yet to experience that awful sinking feeling of lifting carrot after carrot riddled with dark crevices, tunnelled out by the dreaded carrot fly larvae, then consider yourself lucky. But for those of you that have, fear not! Haxnicks have been fighting various garden pests for over 15 years, and have picked up a few tricks along the way...

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com

But first... some facts about carrot fly:

• Carrot fly also affects other vegetables in the parsley family, such as Parsnip, Celery and Celeriac
• They are attracted to the smell of bruised foliage
• The larvae that damage the roots can continue to feed through the autumn into winter, moving between plants
• The adult carrot fly is approximately 8mm long

How can you tell if your carrots are infected? - Check for reddening of the foliage and stunted growth

So now we know a little bit about the pest itself, we can look at some of the ways which we can protect our crops from infestations:

1. Make sure to avoid using previously infested ground. Carrot fly larvae are capable of surviving through the winter, so avoid re-sowing any vegetable from the Parsley family (see above)
2. Avoid sowing during the main egg-laying periods, which are (for most parts of the UK): mid-April to the end of May & Mid-July to the end of August
3. Sow disease and pest resistant varieties such as Fly Away F1 and Resistafly F1, available from garden centres and online seed suppliers.
4. Erect a fine-mesh barrier at the time of sowing – at least 70cm high. Check out our Micromesh Pest & Wind Barrier for an example
5. Sow thinly so as to avoid ‘thinning out’, releasing the smell of bruised foliage
6. Thin out or harvest on a dry evening with no wind – or use scissors so that no bruising of foliage occurs
7. Try companion planting - growing varieties of pungent Rosemary, Sage or Marigold as a deterrent/’smokescreen’
8. Grow your carrots in planters taller than 70cm - for example ‘Veg Trugs’ or Carrot Patio Planters
9. Lift main carrot crops by Winter, especially if any are infected – don’t leave them in the ground to serve as food for overwintering larvae.

Thinning out tip: Use scissors to avoid bruising the foliage (and releasing the carrot-fly attracting scent)

To find out more about carrot fly, why not take a look at this entry on Wikipedia or this in depth factsheet from Garden Organic.
Click here for some Hax-tips on sowing carrots...

Have you any experience of carrot fly damage? What do you think went wrong? Please let us know your thoughts using the comments section below.

What to add/what not to add to your Compost heap

It’s easy to make your own compost with the right mixture of organic kitchen and garden waste.

When composting on a small scale it is essential to get the right mix of ‘greens’ (waste with a high nitrogen content) and ‘browns’ (high in carbon and useful to create air pockets). Add them in thin alternate layers and shred waste for easier composting, smaller pieces = faster decomposition.

Do add:

GREENS
Tea bags/coffee grounds
Grass Cuttings
Organic kitchen waste (eg vegetable peelings)
Old flowers
Annual weeds

BROWNS
Twigs and shredded prunings
Small strips of cardboard
Scrunched up paper
Eggshells
Straw or hay
Dry leaves
Sawdust

Don’t add:
Meat
Fat
Cooked food
Dairy products
Animal droppings
Diseased plants
Perennial weeds (in particular roots & seeds)

Compost makes a great soil conditioner, excellent mulch for borders (adds nutrients and suppresses weeds) and can even be used as potting compost if you put it through a sieve before use.

Find out more about home composting from our friends at WRAP: click here for their web site

Watch Rabbie as he tries his hand at composting - click here for the video!

Empty the Greenhouse!

Post by Madeleine Cardozo

It’s all very exciting, everything has started growing like mad – including the weeds!
So really you could be spending a lot of time outside enjoying the garden, weeding the flower beds and planting out all sorts of exciting things.
You shouldn’t need to water your vegetable patch unless we have a heat wave. Do not overwater.

Jobs for the garden this week

1. Start to take most things out of the greenhouse as it will get too hot in there. Plants like tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, peppers, chilli’s and aubergines can all stay in there as they love the heat. Don’t forget to water well.


2. Plant out all kinds of beans, sweet peas, peas, courgettes, tomatoes, lettuces.... Make sure that you harden off the plants before actually planting them. When planted water well straight away. Some plants will benefit from still keeping the tunnels on such as tomatoes and strawberries.


3. Pinch out extra stems from tomatoes, pinch out broad bean tips.


4. Weed any beds that are getting out of control, try to keep on top of the weed situation. Don’t let your vegetables have to compete for energy from the ground.  If you keep using the hoe you will save yourself heaps of work later.


5. Sow another batch of salads. If you are doing 2nd batches of beans or peas sow these too. Sow carrots too...


6. Harvest asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, and salads.


7. Get ready to protect any flowers on your soft fruit - more on this coming soon.

Tools/accessories to get out of your gardening shed this week:

Time to swap poly for mesh

Giant Micromesh Easy Tunnel For keepings bugs off and providing shade

Micromesh Pest & Wind Barrier Put this up as soon as you've sown your carrots

Net Easy Tunnel keep crops from being pecked at.  Shading conserves moisture so you don't have to keep watering too.