As the nights are getting longer and we are now in lockdown 2, I've been continuing in the garden with a few jobs during mild, dry autumn days.
One of the key things I wanted to do was to clean up the green house and polytunnel as best as I could. This year I wanted to try fumigation candles. The reason for this is that I don't want either place to become a home for pests that could do some significant damage. Having said that, I didn't want anything that could be a risk for all the plants I do currently keep under glass and in the poly (sulphur candles would be a no in this case). So, after a bit of research I came across garlic fumigation candles. These can be used with plants inside your greenhouse and while there have been mixed reviews online, I thought I've give them a go, so I purchased three - two for the poly and one for my greenhouse. Here's my thoughts on them so far:
Firstly, I called several local garden centres to see if they stocked them. It was a no from everyone (apart from the ones who didn't even answer the phone) so I had to buy them online. They were priced at £8.99 each - a bit pricey but not over expensive, but let's wait and see if they prove to work when it comes to getting rid of pests. They came by post very quickly so I put them to use this weekend, waiting for the late afternoon before lighting them. Caution: I opened the packaging they came in indoors, which left a strong garlic smell in the house for hours, so if you do try these, open the outer packaging in the garden!
To prep the areas I was going to use these candles in, I cleaned and made sure that I followed the manufacturer's instructions of watering my plants that were dry, being careful not to get water on the leaves. I then made sure windows etc were closed and place the candles on the floor on bricks as they would need a heat proof surface (I have a wooden slatted floor in my poly). Lighting them was easy and I've now left them to do their thing overnight. These candles can be used anytime of the year so if they are successful and I find that pests have made their way back in, I may use these again.
Sticking to the garlic theme, I've finally sown my garlic - a bit later than I wanted to but at least they're all in now. We're still using the garlic I grew this year, so it's been a success story. I'm hoping that there will be enough left until the new garlic is harvested next year. This time, I didn't use pots, I simply prepared a small patch of ground where I grow herbs and popped them in, spacing them out so each has room to grow. To prep the bed, I removed all the weeds and the red veined sorrel that's been spreading itself in the herb patch. Garlic doesn't compete very well against anything else that grows around it, so it's important to keep on top of weeding. I'll be keeping any eye on it over the months, hand weeding anything that grows near them.
The garlic is starting to grow. You can get up to 15-20 cloves on each bulb, which is what I'd like to get following this year's success with garlic.
Over the month of November I'll be sowing certain flower varieties for next year and in December I'll be making a start with tomato and other vegetable seeds, all under glass and I'll be testing my new LED lighting to see if that will benefit me starting seeds off earlier than normal.
Following the recent second lockdown, Jim has started visiting the garden again, so I'm pleased to see him back. I wonder if the rest of his flock will follow. The hedgehog box had a big refill of straw to see if we would have a garden hibernator - I won't be checking the box as I don't want to disturb anything that may want to use it over winter. Finally, I'll be cleaning one last birdbox for preparation in the new year. I'm hoping that we'll continue having blue tits but I'd also like to see other bird species use the nest boxes we've provided.
Bright orange pyracantha berries - I've spotted pigeons eating these. They add such a beautiful colour to the garden this time of year. The flowers you can see are from a weigela - a plant that doesn't normally flower this time of year.
One last job in the garden that you would definitely need to to: remember to protect any tender outdoor plants from frosts. We've had two mild frosts so far, so I've placed anything tender under glass, but you can also use protective fleece to wrap any potted plants that are too heavy to move or have nowhere else to go.
Till next time, enjoy the colours of autumn!
