Hello my Dear Gardening Friends,

What a disappointing summer this is. Already we are heading toward fall.

I finished working at the Garden Centre, what a climax it became: At the start of the season we battled freezing rain, frost, the two hottest days that we have had so far this summer, followed by hail and the last two days floods.

I wish to extend sympathy and condolences to all of you poor souls who have lost so very much this past week; I drove along Sherbrooke Street, East City and several other flooded areas and I was appalled to see all those fridges, stoves, washing machines, dryers, freezers and furniture out by the side of the road waiting to be picked up. I did see clean-up trucks from Barrie, Toronto and Quebec. Thanks to everyone who has and, is still, helping to clean up this mess.

My own peas and beans have rotted yet again and today I have planted a third crop. I phoned Noah to see if we can get some help with Ark building but he hasn’t responded yet!!!

Gardens: We will all have lots of mildewy plants after all this rain; be patient and try to get some air amongst your plants. Maybe even take your fans into the garden!!!!

We also have on-going chores to do in the garden and one of them is deadheading. If you remove dead flowers regularly, and prevent them from forming seeds, you will encourage sideshoots, and thus more flowers. When you trim the spent flowers use either a really good pair of garden scissors or sharp pruners. Deadheading will improve the appearance of the plant and prolong the flowering season, because new flower buds are encouraged to form and give you even more flowers.

I have talked to you about container gardening before, but I haven’t mentioned that you can actually grow edible things in them. The containers need a depth of about 12 inches, more if you are growing root crops. You must allow 61/2 litres of compost per plant for a reasonable return for your efforts. Small plants such as herbs, radishes, and spring (green) onions can be planted amongst larger ones and save a great deal of space. Underplant tomatoes, for instance, with lettuce.

Some plants are easier to grow in containers than others. It is best to avoid cauliflower, sweet corn, celery, peas, parsnips and turnips. Among the easiest are many kinds of lettuce, runner beans (they look wonderful climbing up the side of your patio), radishes, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, Swiss chard, potatoes (yes they do very well in containers), eggplant and peppers, including chillies. Just make sure that they are placed in the sunshine.

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are amongst the easiest to grow. If you are short of space, train cucumbers and tomatoes to grow up strings against a sunny wall, or make yourself a small trellis for them to climb up. Remember that you can move pots at will: into the sunshine, out of the wind, etc!!!

Feed and water all your container vegetables regularly, keeping a constant look out for pests and diseases. With only a small crop to worry about, weeding is not a problem since you can usually remove any and all pests as soon as you see them.

Containers are prone to drying out, and watering is of prime importance: most vegetables are composed of 90 per cent water, and so will suffer very quickly in drought conditions. To keep all types of vegetables and fruits growing well, the water supply must be adequate and regular, however, this summer keep your eye on the containers, making sure that the plants are not rotting due to too much rain water. I drained mine this morning and was amazed as to how much water had collected in such a short time.

It is well worth devoting a couple of window boxes to various herbs: parsley, thymes, basil, chervil, chives and the one that I am allergic to, coriander. Larger pots can be planted with rosemary and bay (you can train these two plants into attractive topiaries: bring them inside in good time, before the first frost and you will have a wonderful decoration all winter). Make several sowings of the same vegetable, a week or two apart; not only will you extend the length of the season, over which you will keep harvesting, but you are also creating an insurance policy against pests and disease damage, since at least some of these crops will escape attack.

I have been asked how to plant a strawberry pot. Because strawberries are low growing perennials, the fruits lie on the ground as they ripen, making them a tasty snack for slugs and snails. They also collect dirt. As an alternative to growing them in soil, think about planting strawberries in pots, tubs, hanging baskets, even on a wall or fence. Try a series of small and medium sized containers anchored to a wall. This will provide a cascade of plants at several different levels, taking up almost no room at all. As your fruits develop they stay clean and out of the reach of pests. They are easy to pick because they hang down clear of the leaves. If the plants are kept well-fed and well-watered, you can keep them going for a long time. Remember, the plants must be planted in the garden (unless you have a cool basement) before the frost comes. The plants will have babies; if you remove and pot up these small plants, you will have a continuous supply of new plants to replace the old ones.

Now for the strawberry pot, sorry I got sidetracked:

1. Start by soaking your pot in water for at least 24 hours, then start filling the pot with compost (soil mix) to the height of the first pocket.
2. Knock the plants out of their containers and push the root- balls through the holes into the planting pocket. If necessary, break off some of the root ball so that you can get it through the hole.
3. Add more potting compost (soil mix) and repeat with the next row of planting holes. Unless the pot is very large do not try to pack too many plants into the top. A single well grown plant looks and grows much better.

Keep your eye on the watering here for clay pots dry out very quickly. The reason for soaking the clay pot first is that if you plant into a dry clay pot it will draw all the moisture into itself, and your plants will die of thirst. Once planted it is very difficult to water sufficiently to wet the clay.

You may plant herbs, and chicken and hens in these pretty containers, but they must all go into the ground for the winter. Pots are especially useful for growing mints and any other herb, (pronounced with the aitch please; we are all well educated) such as oregano, tansy, and sweet woodruff. A bucket can be plunged into the ground and woodruff planted there - it is a pretty herb, with whorls of star - shaped white flowers. Wonderfully aromatic, it is a perfect plant for window boxes, or in pots that you place where you like to sit. Woodruff is is an attractive ground cover; it is also a herb that is used as a calmative; it was thought to be beneficial to the heart and liver A medicinal tea can be made by placing 2 teaspoons of the dried herb in a cup of almost boiling water and allowing to stand for about 5 minutes. Good for soothing your stomach. Fresh leaves were often placed on wounds to help the healing process.

Being a Master Gardener is a joy and one full of surprises. The other day I was called about some orphaned gold fish. Seemingly someone had sold their home and the new owners discovered that they had inherited a pond in the garden. A very small pond. Swimming around in it were three rather large gold fish – and did I know anyone who would like these beautiful things? I promptly agreed to take them; they are now very happily ensconced in my somewhat larger pond (not much larger but considerably deeper). Hopefully the raccoon will not find them tonight. There are lots of rocks for them to hide under. We never know what will happen next do we?

Another question that I was asked this week - How do I plant pots to place in my pond?

1. Make sure that the pond is half filled with water, several days before you introduce any new plants. cThis way the sediment will settle and the temperature will stabilize. Fill the container - clay drainage or chimney pipes work well, or special perforated baskets.
2. Next, top up the container with water saturated compost (potting mix). Position the plant, pressing it firmly into the earth, so that once in the water it will not float away. It is a good idea to use a layer of stones or pebbles on the surface of the compost. This will prevent particles of soil from floating to the surface of the water.
3. It is important to ensure that the plants are at their correct depth in the pond. If they are too deep, they will die due to the lack of oxygen. House bricks can be used to build ledges and so lift them up, to keep the plants growing at their ideal depth. The bricks should be soaked in water for several days to wash out any chemical residues before you place them in the pond.
4. Once the bricks are in place, position the containers on top of them. I hope that you will have some little fishes swimming around. The smallest water feature can have several small goldfish to keep down the mosquito larvae.

Hats, gardening gloves, raincoats and wellies, sunscreen, yes you still need it and bug repellent. Remember: Arrid extra dry deodorant kills poison ivy, stops the itch at once and dries up the rash.

Lovingly, Beryl