1 SOW SEEDS ON TIME!
I am so often caught out by this: buying seed packets, putting them to one side, getting immersed in work-related projects and forgetting to sow until I have no hope of seeing them flower or crop. So this year I will mark up in my diary when I need to sow each plant. And stick to it. Honest.
2 FEED THE SOIL
If you feed your soil, you strengthen your plants. If you strengthen your plants they will grow more robustly, more resilient to pests and diseases. giving you better crops, and borders full of lush foliage and flowers.
A great way to feed the soil is with homemade compost, so if you don’t have one, start a compost heap in a discreet corner of the garden. Mix household food scraps with woody prunings, scrunched up cardboard packaging and grass cuttings. (Avoid meat-based scraps or you’ll attract rats.) Try and mix ingredients so that there is some air space in the heap. Add dry material if it’s soggy, water if it’s too dry. Leave until well-rotted down, and then use in planting holes and as mulch on the surface of the soil.
3 PRUNE EARLY
Another time-critical one - this year I will finish pruning back shrubs and trees before they start into growth. This will enable me to see the structure of the plant, and the prunings are lighter and less bulky. Exceptions to this are trees which are susceptible to silver-leaf disease including cherries, apricots, greengages, plums and laurels. These need pruning in summer while they are in growth.
4 FEED THE BIRDS
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av EDP Norfolk.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av EDP Norfolk.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Top 10 Gardening Resolutions For 2020
As gardeners I reckon we are luckier than most at this time of year. New Year’s resolutions are so often about things you ought to do but don’t really want to, but with gardening it’s about improving or expanding around one of the joys in life. Here are my top 10 resolutions for the next gardening year
WHEN EAST MEETS EAST
Artist Nial Adams has always drawn inspiration from the ever-changing drama and wild beauty of his surroundings – but he never dreamed of swapping Norfolk’s landscapes for China
Let the games begin
Around 500 people are heading to Hunstanton to defeat dragons, defend the world and enjoy dice-throwing, card-wielding heroics
IN OTHER NEWS
Start the New Year with 12 ‘who knew?’s from Norfolk communities starting with New
What is our purpose?
Is what we are doing relevant for the 21st century so that our children become the contributors they need to be? A basic question, but a key one to confront
DIAL T FOR TOM
It’s a welcome return to Norwich Theatre Royal for Tom Chambers
The art of noise
Anthony takes a slight diversion this month with a look at music as an art form
86 THINGS TO DO IN NORFOLK IN 2020!
It looks like 2020 is already shaping up to be a bumper year of great events in Norfolk for everyone to enjoy
Three kings' healthy gifts
A staple of Christmas, the story of gold, frankincense and myrrh goes beyond the Nativity
WHAT A Lady!
Royal revelations, astonishing anecdotes, enduring friendship and devastating loss - Lady Anne Glenconner’s memoir is an extraordinary book which will make you laugh, gasp and cry