GARDENING: A moment to protect your garden

A STORM passed over us earlier this month. It split the trunk of our laden fig tree straight down the middle as the full foliage caught the storm. It flattened a couple of plants in the garden and brought lots of small branches down too.

It helped me realise that a dying ash tree wasn’t going to recover and it brought a timely reminder of the damage that can be done if a strong wind hits from an unusual direction. There will be more storms and more opportunities for damage in the months ahead, so this is a good time to look at the garden with an eye to protection.

Gather some stout poles to support tall plants – sprouts, kale and broccoli can all suffer if plants are knocked and roots loosened. Use strong string to tie plants to supports and tie in at least two positions on the stem.

Remove dead branches if you can – these can do a lot of damage if they fall where they shouldn’t – and use stakes to brace any vulnerable or leaning bushes and trees against the prevailing wind direction.

And as for the fig tree ... Ben did some nifty work with ratchet straps to realign the split trunk so it fit back together. He then bound strong flexible rope, round and round the trunk, to create a rigid support bandage. Fingers crossed that the tree heals and thrives. The crop of ripening figs are set for a bumper harvest.

Lots to eat and give away

This is peak production time in the garden and you may wonder why you grew so many fruits and vegetables. Do take the time to pick as much as you can.

Make the most of your freezer and put your collection of empty jars to good use. Friends and family are always happy to receive food hampers and if you make more pickles than you can possibly eat, then you can give some away.

Windfall apples don’t store as long as those that have been carefully picked from the tree. They do last a few weeks if they aren’t too badly bruised, but it makes sense to use them for chutneys, jams and sauces before they start to deteriorate.

Tomatoes are coming in by the basketful – freeze bags of whole fruits to use later if you don’t have time to make sauces etc right now.

Spinach can be chopped, blanched and chilled - squeeze into balls to freeze on trays before bagging for winter use. There are lots of recipes out there, so try something new if you have a glut and want to be adventurous.

Use the glut to make pickles, chutneys, jams and sauces. (Photo: Ben Russell)

The battle with blight

We have had so many damp warm days these last few weeks and blight spores thrive in this weather. I prefer not to use chemical sprays so I have to put in some work to keep plants as healthy as possible.

The main thing is to be vigilant and nip off any affected leaves from tomato plants as soon as you see them. Remove any discoloured fruits too and don’t add any diseased material to the compost heap. The longer you can keep blight from spreading throughout a plant, the greater the possibility that healthy fruits will ripen.

My potatoes are already lifted – I grow a second early variety (Charlotte) that makes a great crop before blight really gets active. The crop was smaller than usual this year because tops did succumb, but I cleared the lot in early July before tubers were affected. The potatoes are delicious and should last until Christmas.

Hardy Verbena

I love the tall stems and purple flowers of this plant. Flowers open at a time when some other flowers are finished and they mingle so splendidly with tallwhite Japanese anemones. Flowering can last until late September.

Verbena is easy to grow and it will often seed around the flower bed. You may end up weeding out unwanted little plants, but then after a few years, or a hard winter, you may wonder what has happened to the glorious bed of verbena. One tip is to protect roots from frosts with a thick layer of mulch. The stems die back, but leave them untouched until signs of new growth in spring when you can cut them back to around 15cm.

If you want to be sure of a supply of plants next spring, take cuttings from non- flowering shoots now and grow these on in a frost-free green house. A little bit of rooting powder will help your cuttings to root well.

Lovely purple Verbena. (Photo: Ben Russell).

Pumpkin tip:

Put a piece of board or a slate or tile under each ripening pumpkin. The fruits can rot or discolour where they lie on wet soil – raising them up can help pumpkins to stay healthy and ripen evenly.