HarrodHorticultural

Harrod Horticultural Press Day Take 2

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:26:38 +0000

There's a late season treat for the gardening media and press this week as Harrod Horticultural host their second Press Day of the year following on from the success of the July event, writes company horticulturist and photographer Martin Fiddes.

October 13th is the date with the newly designed and planted Harrod Horticultural Folly Garden the plush venue for the autumnal Press Day, with prominent garden mag editors and writers enjoying a largely home-grown lunch, a tour around the Kitchen Garden and a talk from RHS Hampton Court Edible Garden co-designer Anita Foy.

And that's all in addition to the business part of the day as Harrod Horticultural New Product Designer Alex Rocke and MD Stephanie Harrod unveil some of the new products the company have spent the summer developing, giving the journalists a real sneak preview of what's to come from the mail order gardening outfit in 2012.

With an impressive guest list - Julia Heaton from Amateur Gardening, the RHS The Garden duo of Chris Young and Daren Davis, Garden Answers' Greg Siggs, Jackie Whittaker of Garden News, Paul Wagland and Liz Dobbs (both More From Your Garden) and Garden Media Guild members Jeannie McAndrew and John Negus, along with John's PA Maureen Hunter - and an equally attractive line-up of new products including the tomato growhouse, new versions of the popular Manger Raised Planters, examples of the new Slot and Lock aluminium tubing connectors and braces, prototype arbours and much more, the day promises to be the usual resounding success.

Composters

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:15:31 +0000

Home composting is one of the real growth areas in grow your own gardening, and as a result there's an absolute myriad of composting products on the market - more than enough to baffle any would-be composter!

So which composter should I choose? I can help with that decision up to a point, as I've road-tested quite a few models at our own Kitchen Garden and have knowledge of other versions through my Master Composter activities. But there's one I haven't managed to lay my compost hands on just yet, and that's the wonderfully named Green Johanna.

Dubbed as a 'hot composter' and apparently capable of decomposing usual composting no-no's such as meat, fish and dairy products, the Swedish-made Green Johanna has aroused interest from fellow Master Composters. Just how does it cope with cooked food and bones; are there problems with rodents and how long does it take to produce usable compost are just a few of the questions being aired around the country.

So what I'm really appealing for is for a composter out there with experience of the Green Johanna to tell the rest of us what it's really like? To inform us of any rodent interest; to enlighten us if it does actually digest bones, meat and fish, and to avail us of the quality of compost it produces.

Simply contact me and I'll let the world - ok, anyone who tunes into this blog - know if the Green Johanna deserves a place in the composting Olympics!

Leaf Mould

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:48:46 +0000

There’s no escaping the fact that in the garden, a large part of the autumn is spent clearing up fallen leaves, but there's an upside to all your hard work - leaf mould.

The autumn is a wonderful season to be a gardener. There's a kitchen table-full of fruit and vegetables to harvest, the colours are astounding and the pests and diseases are dying out. It's time to plant winter greens, onions and garlic and your head's full of grandiose schemes and plans for next year.

But there's also the leaves! This subject splits gardeners into two distinct groups - the clear-it-up-as-it-drops-platoon and the-leave-it-to-nature dudes! Collecting fallen leaves keeps the garden looking spotless and also removes potential slug egg-laying sites. The downside? Just as you’ve finished raking one area, the chances are the wind will blow and you’ll need to start again. But don’t see this repetitive work as a chore, because the hard work that goes into collecting these leaves will eventually pay off.

Alternatively, the let 'em rot philosophy follows nature's law to the letter and the fallen leaves will eventually break down where they lay and replenish the soil in a wonderful cycle. But are there other places in the garden more deserving of this natural fertiliser?

Both parties are agreed on one thing. Leaf mould - however and wherever it is made - is beneficial to the garden. Why?

* Easy to make and use
* It's a great alternative to peat
* When used as a mulch it cuts down on watering and water loss
* Can be used on the lawn as a conditioner
* Suitable for adding to potting compost
* And it's free!

Making this valuable mould could not be easier! Just collect up the fallen leaves (all types are suitable), add to a suitable container - a compost bin fits the bill - and water if dry, then leave them for a year or two. There's no quick fix composting aids you can use to speed up the process as it's the action of fungi, as opposed to the composting mainstays of bacteria and micro-organisms, which break down the leaves to form mould. And the fungi like to take things slowly!

Anything else you should know? Chopping or shredding the leaves will help speed up the process slightly (running a mower with grassbox attached over leaves on the lawn is favourite) and it's best to leave some leaves - they provide valuable hiberation sites and bedding for garden animals.

Root Aphid Control

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:52:27 +0000

Aphids are one of the most common garden pests, appearing on leaves and stems of flowers and vegetables in vast quantities - but it's not just the foliage they like to feed on...

The root aphid, as the name suggests, feeds on the roots of various greenhouse, house and outdoor plants - resulting in grow checks and wilting. Thankfully, some species of aphids have alternative host plants and only attack plant roots during one part of their cycle, but there are others - the artichoke tuber aphid, for example - which live on the roots permanently.

Lettuces are specifically at risk and enjoy the distinction of having an aphid species named after them - the lettuce root aphid, which is also a good example of the alternate host syndrome, as the pests overwinter on poplars before migrating to lettuces and sowthistles (the importance of weeding cannot be understated!) in the summer.

Control of the white or light-coloured root aphid follows the same lines as the above-ground pests, when identifying and removing the aphids as early as possible pays dividends. Regular checks of plants will reveal the first intruders, which can be removed by hand, by spraying with a soap/fatty acid based organic pest control spray or by blasting into blivion with a jet of water. Vigilant checking of the roots of brought in pot or plug plants before planting or re-potting can also expose stowaways, which can then be removed in the same fashion.

Tub Trugs

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:42:47 +0000

Versatile is certainly a word which applies to the tub trug, a real gardener's ally.

I'm constantly accompanied around our Kitchen Garden by a large cornflower blue tub trug, just one of sixteen colours (including black) and three sizes that these flexible friends are available in - and they're made from 100% recycled plastic too!

I find a tub trug is my ideal right hand man for most garden tasks. It can be filled with weeds; it's great for harvesting; you can use it as a temporary home for slugs, snails and other pests you might discover whilst down on your hands and knees and it's also ideal for transporting compost around. We've even introduced colour-coded tub trugs to the Kitchen Garden - green for any compostable material collected during the rounds, and bright red for anything you don't want to end up in the heap!

It's not only in the garden that the tub trug is a great help. I know of friends who use one to carry logs, I've seen one helping to take out the washing and the equestrian set swear by them!

Harrod Horticultural stock a large selection of all the colours and sizes available, so if you haven't already got a tub trug in your garden, pick one up today - you'll wonder how you managed without!

Slug and Snail Control

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:43:25 +0000

Slugs and snails consistently feature in the top three of the Royal Horticultural Society's annual Garden Pest List, cementing their position as one of the gardener’s arch-enemies.

The main topic of conversation across allotments and gardens this summer is the atrocious weather; atrocious for us maybe, but slugs and sails are revelling in the damp, warm conditions and their numbers seem to be as high as ever. And if our Kitchen Garden is a typical example, then plants in gardens across the country are suffering at the slimy 'hands' of these voracious molluscs!

Of course, there are multitude of products available to trap, catch and deter both slugs and snails - some organic, some not quite so friendly to the environment and other organisms - but the best control measures all occur naturally.

That's why we were delighted to find this little fellow (right) during a recent photoshoot at the garden. Bufo, as we've named him, is a common toad and a very welcome addition to the Kitchen Garden team. We discovered him in a pile of leaf litter and have since re-housed him in a carefully cracked clay pot, with a far more attractive Toad in the Hole - a real toad abode with style - in the pipeline.

Bufo wouldn't be your first choice dinner date though, as his peculiar tastes include insects, larvae, spiders, slugs and worms. We're hoping that he'll enjoy making inroads on the slug population and possibly bring along some friends for tucker any time he likes!

Of course, we'll continue to apply nematodes, test out other organic slug and snail barriers and traps and diligently pick off the pesky pests at every opportunity, but it's good to know there's a hungry Bufo dining al fresco every night too!

Kitchen Garden to Kitchen Table!

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:02:08 +0000

There’s no denying that I’m at my happiest when I’m digging, planting sowing or harvesting – even weeding - in my kitchen garden but preparing the fruit and vegetables I’ve grown in my kitchen comes a very close second.

Other grow-your-owners will know that the taste of home grown produce - in raw, cooked or preserved form – is eminently superior to supermarket vegetables and is this fact that gets me excited when I’m making chutneys and sauces.

I know that when I serve up a dish garnished with a tangy, tasty, home grown and homemade sauce or place a selection of cheeses, bread and Stephanie’s Kitchen Garden-based chutney in front of friends and relatives, their taste buds are in for a treat – and I’m happy to confess that I’ve had a big hand in introducing the stunning Kilner Jars, jam, preserves and chutney making kit and – my personal favourite – the Rigamonti Passa Pomodori Passata Machine to our range – and an even bigger hand in ‘testing’ them out!

In the same way the apple presses deal with gluts of fruit and windfalls, the passata tomato press will turn excess fruit into a delicious, smooth, rich tomato sauce, removing the skin and seed in the process.

Making my renowned sauces is all well and good, but they’ll be ‘legendary’ for entirely the wrong reasons if I don’t store them properly. That’s why I’m such a big fan of the best jars money can buy – the Kilner Jars! These handsome jars are certainly tried and tested – they’ve been around for over 150 years – and the screw-top lids of the preserve jars feature a rubber seal to keep my chutney, pickles and preserves as fresh as the day I bottled them. The clip top jars are the real deal and you can keep yourself in chutney throughout the winter months with the 3 litre version and storing rice, pasta (back on that sauce again!) and lentils couldn’t be easier.

Yes, the weather is starting to close in and my gardening time is slowly being curtailed but when I’ve got my kitchen activities to fall back on, it somewhat softens the blow!

Rabbits, Pigeons and Weeds - Garden Trouble Comes in Threes!

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:43:20 +0000

Three of the major pest groups likely to cause havoc in any vegetable garden or allotment are animals, birds and weeds - and here at Harrod Horticultural we recently recieved an e-mail from a lady named Alyson in south-east Scotland whose plot is afflicted by this terrible trio!

Alyson is planning to expand her hard-won vegetable plot and is looking for some advice on how to combat this three-pronged attack. Should she go for a fruit cage to cover the whole area, net individual beds or fence off the entire area? Luckily, our experienced horticulturist and photographer Martin Fiddes is on hand to answer these and many other gardening questions - here's his advice...

I think you’ve already identified that the road to tidying your garden forks in two directions, and the first way sees a fruit cage covering the entire area giving you the freedom to work inside with the crops safe from rabbits and birds. This is likely to be the most costly solution and doesn’t solve the weed problem but does offer you a completely protected environment in which to grow, with possibly only any brassicas plants requiring extra netted protection from cabbage white butterflies. If you’d like us to quote for a cage to cover the area, have a measure up, drop us the dimensions and we’ll give you an idea of price.

The second route you could take – and I think this is my slight favourite but don’t let that sway you! – is to install a rabbit proof fence around the perimeter of the area you wish to grow in. This method has the advantage of being much less expensive and a fence made from galvanised rabbit wire (don’t forget to dig it in the ground around 6” and curve it underground in a lip away from the fence to deter rabbits from digging downwards at the fenceline) and wooden posts will look attractive, will act as some kind of windbreak but shouldn’t create a frost pocket or any kind of wind eddy. You could also tap into the valuable resource you have – the weeds – by allowing them to colonise the wire and create a ‘living fence’, providing both a food source and refuge for a large number of beneficial insects and pest predators.

And method this could open up a way to combat the weed encroachment as well! Let them have the fence as described above along with a small margin inside and instead of strimming, use a lawnmower to run around the inside of the perimeter; this should be easier than strimming and cause little or no damage to the fence.

Of course, the crops growing in beds inside this outer fence will still need some kind of protection from the birds but only having to concentrate on one form of attack will allow you pick less expensive covers and nets which don’t necessarily need to be in place all year round, allowing you rotate the netting. Access to the plants will also be easier too, which I’ll come on to...

Back onto a general theme and you might want to consider constructing permanent pathways between the beds. You don’t have to get involved in any civil engineering tasks; clearing the area of weeds, scraping off the top inch or so of turf or soil and laying down some ground cover or mulching fabric covered in a good depth of bark for example (at least 2”) will create a suitable walkway and remove the job of removing encroaching weeds from the calendar, along with neatening the appearance of your plot.

Finally, your suggestion of covering individual beds and although this is a nice idea, each bed would need to be fortified to prevent both rabbit and bird forays. Our anti-bird netting will take care of the latter but rabbits are a cunning lot and you’d probably need to reinforce the bird netting with rabbit wire to stop them nibbling through. This would make removing the cover to gain access for harvesting or weeding almost an all day task, so I’d be inclined to place this particular method at the bottom of the list!

And that’s about it! In summary, I’ve suggested two alternative solutions which you can take away and see which best fit your location and budget. No doubt you’ll have a few further questions which spring to mind and please don’t hesitate to contact me with them; I’ll do my best to provide you with answers and ideas!

Many thanks once again for your enquiry and the best of luck with what sounds like a fascinating project in an idyllic spot!

Flying Ants in the Kitchen Garden

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:44:53 +0000

'Flying Ant Day' isn't eagerly anticipated like an annual event such as a birthday or Christmas - in fact it's probably not anticipated at all, eagerly or otherwise - but to Britain's black ant population, it's of paramount importance.

Winged male and female ants develop from eggs safe in the bowels of their nests and await the day when conditions are perfect for them to take to the air to breed. Usually it's hot and humid when the winged ants emerge which is probably where the old wives tale that ants can sense when a storm is approaching stems from, but what is certain is that the males and fertile queens need to mate mid-air to ensure new ant colonies develop.

As we all know from experience, black ants (Lasius niger) will nest almost anywhere and from a gardening viewpoint, the jury is very much out on their usefulness. Yes, they pollinate fruit, vegetables and flowers and help aerate the soil with the labyrinths of tunnels and chambers which form their nests but they drop down the popularity scale by the way they 'farm' aphids to extract the sugary honeydew the gardener's arch enemy produces. They'll even protect aphid colonies from predators to ensure their favourite tipple remains on tap!

Our 'man about the garden', Harrod Horticultural's photographer and horticulturist Martin Fiddes, was on hand to capture the emergence of several thousand winged ants from a nest (or nests) in the vicinity of our Kitchen Garden greenhouse, with one colony - obviously with excellent taste - choosing to nest in one of our Superior Raised Beds!

Kitchen Gardener Lynn reports that the soil in the bed is exceptionally fine and well aerated after the ants' prologed excavations but doesn't feel the strawberries have been unduly affected. For the record, these ants were recorded swarming in East Anglia on August 2nd!

Hoveton Hall

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:37:53 +0000

It's a meeting of the 'H's' this week as Harrod Horticultural comes to Hoveton Hall with the new Garden Arch range the catalyst for the get together!

Intrepid Harrod Horticultural photographer and horticulturist Martin Fiddes was given the brief to locate a public venue in the area suitable for displaying the new garden arch range as well as being open to visitors so they could examine the structures at close range and literally feel the build quality!

Martin compiled a shortlist and after visiting a number of gardens he sent his dossier of findings to New Product Manager and Arch range developer Alex Rocke who, with the help of designer Lee Desborough, decided that Hoveton Hall was the ultimate setting in which to install and show off the structures in their full glory.

The gardens of the Hoveton Hall - situated just outside the 'Capital of the Broads' at Wroxham near Norwich - are a popular tourist attraction in the area and well worth a visit - and if you're there around the 11th and 12th of August, you might spot the Harrod installation team hard at work assembling and erecting the arches!

We'll keep you up to date on our progress and of course, the images we shoot will appear in both our catalogues and online. We'll also put up a gallery of images on our Facebook page but if you're on holiday on the Broads this summer, we fully recommend you moor up at Wroxham and come and see the arch range for yourself!

Young Gardener of the Year

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:38:42 +0000

The BBC are on the hunt for the country's Young Gardener of the Year - and if you're aged between 16 and 25, up for a challenge and want to show the country just how skilled you are, it could be you!

And although the winner of BBC THREE’s ‘Young Talent of the Year’ show is unlikely to be offered a million pound recording contract, they'll certainly earn the recognition their ability deserves!

Zara Hobson from the BBC explains the format of 'Young Gardener of the Year' and how to enter; "Following the success of the last two years, we’re now on a nationwide hunt for young and talented Gardeners between the ages of 16 and 25, who can be true ambassadors for their trade, are up for a challenge and want to showcase the world their skills."

"The programme is now in it’s third series and previously we’ve unearthed young and talented Butchers, Fishmongers, Plumbers and Chefs, to name but a few. This year we have five brand new categories: Carpenters, Farmers, Gardeners, Tailors and, of course, Bakers."

"We are currently scouring the country to find the best young Gardeners out there. Eventually 100 will be invited to an audition. Here they’ll face a written test on their occupational expertise, and they’ll also be interviewed by an industry experts to ensure they have the knowledge and potential to be BBC Three’s Young Gardener of the Year!"

"Only twenty will then be selected to go forward in the selection process. Here they’ll have to complete a hands on skills test and our judges will then decide which four will go forward to the filming of the show in September. The final four will face challenges based on the skills of their trade. Eventually one will walk away with the title, trophy and the recognition that they are BBC Three’s Young Gardener of the Year."

"Entering the contest couldn't be simpler; to apply, just contact us at the BBC or call 0161 244 3716 - but make sure you get your application in before the closing date of 5th August 2011."

Badger Problems

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:06:23 +0000

Badgers are certainly headline news at present and without getting drawn into the debate on the proposed cull, it's fair to say they can be a major pest in the vegetable garden.

However, there are plenty of techniques the keen gardener can fall back on to foil these much-loved countryside dwellers without resorting to violence and hopefully enjoy the presence of badgers in the garden without suffering extensive plant losses.

Our renowned photographer and horticulturist Martin Fiddes has plenty of gardening experience to draw upon and here's his advice on how to stop badgers from gatecrashing a fruit cage and generally wrecking a garden!

Badgers are renowned for raiding soft fruit despite the presence of a fruit cage but I’ve got a few ideas which may well curtail these nocturnal sorties and allow you to enjoy your cage – and fruit of course - to the full.

The fruit cages we supply as standard are designed to keep out birds predominantly but will of course offer protection from domestic pets, large and small mammals and many other problem species in the garden. However, there always a few creatures – mainly rabbits, squirrels and badgers – who will try and force a way into the cage and there are various methods of cage reinforcement to stop them.

Firstly, you could try attaching the bottom of the netting to some heavy duty wooden battens which are too heavy for the badgers to lift or move. A neat finish can be achieved by using reclaimed railway sleepers or wood of a similar size and weight and if your cage is surrounded by lawn or grass, this method allows easy strimming up to the wood instead of damaging and shredding the netting.

If that idea doesn’t sit well in your garden, you might want to try reinforcing the cage by wrapping a roll of galvanised rabbit wire around the bottom of the cage and dig the wire into the soil to a depth of around 6”. Extend a lip of netting outwards from the cage by around the same distance to stop animals digging directly down by the mesh. As badgers are more powerful diggers, you may want to double these dimensions to try and ensure they don’t get underneath.

If you consider the galvanised wire isn’t up to the job, then the electro-welded chicken wire most certainly will be. Designed to keep foxes out of chicken runs, it’s a beast of a mesh – 0.8mm thick and galvanised – and once sunk into the ground along the perimeter of the cage will put a stop to the badgers gaining entry.

If you’d rather go for a more subtle approach, try our outdoor Pest Stop. The ultrasonic sound waves emitted by the simple to set, battery operated unit will repel all mammals from a rat right through to a deer and should keep your garden clear. An alternative is a motion detected sprinkler which squirts a jet of water at any garden intruder and it’s also worth investigating the possibility of installing a mini electric fence – both should be readily available from home and garden outlets and online.

Finally, you could try giving the badgers what they want and set up a feeding station away from the fruit cage. Badgers often uproot crops and bulbs in particular in the search for moisture so providing them with a clean source of drinking water might be the answer.

You’re probably well aware that badgers are a protected species and that’s why I’ve steered clear of recommending any sprays or chemical deterrents. I’d recommend you contact DEFRA or a body such as the Badger Trust for more detailed information on this subject but hopefully one or more of the solutions I’ve identified above will prove effective.

Garden Arches in Places & Faces Magazine

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:31:14 +0000

Our new Garden Arch range - designed in-house and manufactured in our Suffolk factory - has made the pages of the August edition of glossy East Anglian-based lifestyle magazine Places & Faces.

The arch range - consisting of the Gothic, Ogee and Roman designs - occupies pages 73 to 77 in the magazine and are the focus of a feature on garden arches and architecture plus suitable climbing plants by Darren Mellor of Norwich-based Superior Garden Buildings.

The arches sit well in the high-brow magazine and the images taken by our own Harrod Horticultural photographer and horticulturist Martin Fiddes fit seamlessly into the mix of articles which include interviews with Myleene Klass, Verity Rushworth (Maria in the Sound of Music at Norwich Theatre Royal) and Framlingham born singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

Places & Faces is published by H2 Creative Media and is delivered complimentary door to door to selected homes between Norwich, the Norfolk Broads and down to Southwold. The magazine is also available as a free pick-up in selected outlets but more importantly a subscription service is poised to come on stream very shortly - we'll provide you with details here!

In the meantime, just click on the image (left) to take a virtual flick through the garden arch feature and the whole magazine - the wonders of modern technology!

Edible Garden Award

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:28:32 +0000

As the Royal Horticultural Society's summer calendar of events roadshow rolled straight out of Hampton Court bound for Tatton Park recently, one important award - which you won't find on the list of Show Garden winners - was overlooked.

For the Edible Garden showpiece dispay at Hampton Court, designed by much feted green-fingered duo Jon Wheatley and Anita Foy, was rewarded with the equivalent of an RHS Gold Medal.

But why no standard Gold Medal for the garden, which featured many Harrod Horticultural products including one of our new Garden Arches?

Anita Foy explains; "As the garden was an RHS exhibit, it was not possible to receive an award. However, it was judged to be of gold standard and as such, we received certification from the RHS in lieu of a medal."

If you missed out on taking a leisurely wander through the Edible Garden at Hampton Court and didn't get to see the many contributing Harrod Horticultural products, fear not; many are available to view at various Show Garden locations around the country with our new garden arches likely to come on stream in the very near future too!

Harrod Horticultural Press Day Feedback

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:28:07 +0000

It seems our recent Press Day struck a chord with all the invited guests with Grow Your Own's Teresa Tudge the latest member of the gardening media to give the event the thumbs up!

Teresa - Grow Your Own's Advertising Manager - travelled up to the Harrod Horticultural Kitchen Garden from Essex with the magazine's Deputy Editor Sara Cork and enjoyed both the choice of venue and the selection of potential new Harrod designed and manufactured products on display, with our new Garden Arch range a particular favourite.

Said Teresa; "Thank you for inviting Grow Your Own to your press day. It was a lovely day and my only wish is that I had a much bigger garden to accommodate one of your lovely arches. Keep up the good work and we look forward to seeing your next lot of innovations."

Following the success of the Press Day earlier this month, the second we've hosted, we're seriously considering adding an unprecendented further date to our jammed calendar in October - please contact Victoria Myhill, our Media and New Product Marketing Assistant, for further details.