Get arty and have a go at our new childrens competitions

On the Gardening With Children website we have just launched two new free Childrens Competitions, with a chance to win some great Wildlife and Gardening Goodies for your home or school.

1.  In the Family Zone and Kids Zone

To help the Bees in your garden why not enter our competition for a chance to win

 

 

A Solitary Bee Hive

 

 

 

A Butterfly/Bee Nectar Feeding Station

 

 

 

and a Guide to Solitary Bees

 

What you need to do

‘Bee’ creative and design a poster with the heading ‘Bee kind to Bees’  or  ‘Bee’ artistic and draw a picture of a Bee in your garden.

Send your drawing to us with an entry form before the closing date of 30^th June 2013 and our favourite will win. Click here for full details and an entry form.

 

2.  In the School Zone

Win a Scarecrow for your school garden.

 

For a chance to win one of our Scarecrow Kits complete with a hand crafted Head why not enter our competition, your Scarecrow will make a fun addition to the school garden; why not dress him in your School Uniform or a local Football Team Kit.

 

What you need to do

Simply draw or paint a picture of a Scarecrow, then give him/her a name and send it to us with an entry form before the closing date of 30th June 2013 and our favourite will win. Click here for full details and an entry form.

 

Congratulations to the winners of our last two competitions

The winner of our March/April School Zone Competition was Ludworth Primary School, Stockport, they have won a Kids Raised Bed Growing Table and the winner of the Family/Kids Zone competition was Lydia Clarkson from Leeds who won a Yeominis Childrens Wheelbarrow and a Haws Watering Can.

Well done to them, we hope they enjoy their fabulous prizes.

 

Gill

Read Full Post »

Could Cucumbers be the next superfood – why not grow your own?

Cucumbers are often only thought of as an ingredient in a salad but there is a lot more to cucumbers than you think.

A Cucumber is classed as a fruit not a vegetable and consists of 95% water, it also contains potassium and vitamins K, C and B5 which help to restore water to your body whilst removing toxins. Cucumbers are beneficial to your eyes and skin and can help fight against different types of cancer, cucumbers contain 15 calories and no saturated fat or cholesterol making them very healthy indeed.

So why not celebrate National Cucumber Day on 12^th May 2013 by sowing some seeds and growing your own:

Sow seeds individually on their edge in small pots 1cm deep in seed compost, place in a propagator and once they have germinated grow them on somewhere cool and light (not in direct sunlight).

When the plants are well established plant into good vegetable compost in large pots or grow bags in the greenhouse or outdoors (check the seed packet) and provide canes, wires or strings to train the plants up. Outdoor Cucumbers ideally need a sunny and sheltered position; these plants will need hardening off before planting out after all danger of frost has passed. Keep plants well watered and feed regularly.

I planted my seeds at the end of April and will be planting them in large pots in my greenhouse towards the end of May.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Don’t miss out – enter our Free Childrens Competitions before the end of April

On the Gardening With Children website we currently have two free Childrens Competitions with some great Childrens Gardening Goodies to win so why not have a go before next weeks closing date on 30th April 2013.

1.  In the Family Zone and Kids Zone

This Month grab your wellies put on a warm coat, get outside, and spot 3 signs of spring for a chance to win

a fantastic Yeominis Childrens Wheelbarrow

and a pair of Childrens Embroidered Gardening Gloves

both are perfect for budding young gardeners.

For full details and how to enter take a look here.

2.  In the School Zone

All you need to do is to find 10 hidden words in our Gardening Wordsearch for a chance to win

a Kids Raised Bed Growing Table

Designed for children they are a perfect height for kids to stand at and around, to sow, grow and harvest their very own vegetables.

 

For full details and how to enter take a look here in the School Zone.

 

Have a look today and get your entries to us as soon as you can before the closing date on 30th April, 2013.

 

Gill

Read Full Post »

Have you ‘spotted’ our NEW COMPETITION?

Why not have a go at our two free Childrens Competitions.

1.  In the Family Zone and Kids Zone

This Easter grab your wellies put on a warm coat, get outside, and spot 3 signs of spring for a chance to win

a fantastic Yeominis Childrens Wheelbarrow

and a pair of Childrens Embroidered Gardening Gloves

both are perfect for budding young gardeners.

For full details and how to enter take a look here.

2.  In the School Zone

All you need to do is to find 10 hidden words in our Gardening Wordsearch for a chance to win

a Kids Raised Bed Growing Table

Designed for children they are a perfect height for kids to stand at and around, to sow, grow and harvest their very own vegetables.

 

For full details and how to enter take a look here in the School Zone.

 

The closing date for both competitions is 30th April, 2013.

 

Gill

Read Full Post »

Get organised for a busy gardening Easter Weekend

Before the growing season gets into full swing get organised, make plans and prepare for a busy Easter Weekend and a productive year ahead in your garden.  

Tools   Check, clean, oil and replace any that are damaged or worn, make sure that you have the right tools for all your jobs this year.

Propagators   These will soon be in full use, test yours early to check it is working properly and give it a good clean, hygiene is very important when sowing seeds. Now is an ideal time to buy one, it will be invaluable throughout the year and in years to come.

Pots, Trays and Compost   Organise your Greenhouse/Potting Shed sort through your pots and trays throw away any broken ones, give the rest a good clean as well as your potting tray, order new Seed Compost and Vegetable Compost, last year’s opened bags may not be suitable for starting off your new seeds and plants.

Watering Cans & Water Butts   Drain and clean out, check the rose on your watering can and replace if necessary, don’t be caught out by the weather invest in a Water Butt, remember the drought we had in Spring 2012.

Store your seeds in a Seed Tin

Seeds   Take stock of your seeds, discard any that are opened and out of date and order more while stocks are still available, store in a suitable Seed Tin to protect them from Mice, Pests and moisture.

Plan   Sit down with a nice cup of tea and draw a plan of your garden/vegetable patch make notes on crops that did/did not do well and where your crops where grown last year, make a new planting plan for this year rotating your crops to get the best results and to avoid problems.

 

Read   Gardening books are invaluable for reference, ideals, hints and tips for your garden/vegetable plots.

Order Early   If you need any gardening products order early whilst products are available to make sure that you have everything you need.

Make your plans and preparations now, Easter is early and it’s the busiest gardening weekend of the year, let’s hope it’s warm and dry.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Grow Spring bulbs to cheer your soul

You may recall a blog that I posted in September 2012 ‘Plant Hyacinth bulbs for a stunning display and wonderful fragrance at Christmas’ with growing instructions for planting indoor prepared Hyacinths.

Newly planted bulbs in September 2012

To follow up this blog I thought I would show you how mine went on.

On the cool windowsill in January 2013

Although they did not quite meet the christmas deadline I was able to place them on the living room windowsill in early January, where they are fully appreciated and will benefit from the cool temperatures by the window which will extend their flowering period. All 3 bulbs were grown in a different container and were all successful, each producing a beautiful flower stem and wonderful fragrance.

Growing indoor bulbs is a great thing to do especially with children, the size of the bulbs make them easy to handle and they’re pretty undestructable - they just want to grow.

Indoor Minnow Narcissi Bulb Pot

Why not grow them in a clear container, children will be able to see their roots forming and growing.

The Crocus Glass Cube

The Tete a Tete Glass Cube

Indoor bulb kits make a unusual and attractive gift, it is still not too late to plant indoor bulbs, why not plant some now, they would make a lovely gift for Mother’s Day on Sunday, 10th March.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Gardening on a Budget?

We have got just the thing…

hot out of our warehouse this Spring is our new range of

Thrifty Raised Beds

At the Recycleworks we have been thinking about how to Grow your Own vegetables and fruit as easily and economically as possible whilst still getting the maximum yield from a wide range of crops, so we have developed a range of budget Raised Beds which will appeal to everyone:

• Families – the family budget is being pinched, now is the time to Grow your Own and reap the benefits
• The first time gardener – perfect starter beds and entry into Grow Your Own
• The accomplished gardener – a great product to extend your growing area
• Schools – affordable and well within the budget
• Community Groups – great for getting people involved in gardening, socialising and working together.

The beds are available in 3 sizes:

1. The Thrifty Classic – 80cm x 80cm
2. The Thrifty Long – 80cm x 105cm
3. The Thrifty Big Square – 105cm x 105cm

with a choice of three heights for each size: 14cm, 28cm, and 42cm and a choice of two colours : Chestnut or Green.

Assembly instructions are supplied with each Raised Bed.

To help you grow the maximum yield and to remove the guesswork if you are new to Grow Your Own each raised bed also comes with a growing/planting guide including ideas and tips on suggested crops, planting, positioning, watering and feeding.

To warm up the soil before planting why not add a Compost Duvet or a Raised Bed Watering Kit to make watering easier and more economical in the long summer months.

Prices start from £15.55 making them very affordable to everyone.

You will surprised at how much you can grow in such a small space – you can’t beat the taste, texture and smell of freshly picked produce.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Grow Carnivorous Plants on your windowsill

Bank Holiday Monday was a washout (again) and there was no possibility of getting out in the garden so we decided on some retail therapy – a visit to a garden centre. When we got there Thomas disappeared into one of the heated greenhouses and found some Carnivorous plants; he was fascinated by them as were some of the other children. We bought a Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea) and a Sundew (Drosera), to add to the Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia) that we already have in the greenhouse at home. 

Venus Fly Trap

The Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea) is perhaps the most well known carnivorous plant, its traps are made from special leaves that are folded in two with spines along the edges. Inside each trap there are three trigger hairs, two of these must be touched in succession for the trap to close catching its insect prey inside. The plant absorbs the nutrients from the insect and after about ten days the trap re-opens. It is not recommended that you make the traps close without an insect inside as this can weaken the plant.

Sundew

The Sundew (Drosera) captures its prey in a totally different way, each of its leaves have lots of little hairs that look like they are covered in dew but this is actually glue, when an insect lands on them it gets stuck and is then absorbed by the plant.

Pitcher Plant

The Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia) has another method of catching its prey. The leaves of the pitcher plant are shaped like a funnel with a hood over the top, the lip of the funnel is slippery, the insect lands on this and falls in, it is trapped inside by backward pointing hairs and cannot get out, then it is absorbed by the plant.

Place Carnivorous Plants in a light position, and keep them well watered with rainwater.

The next day Thomas took his plants to show his grandma and grandad and for them to ‘feed in their conservatory’ as there are a lot of flies in there!

I remember having a Venus Fly Trap when I was about Thomas’s age.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Harvesting onions and delicious greenhouse tomatoes

During our two week holiday a lot of the vegetables in the garden and on the allotment have really come on and are now ready for picking.

Onions drying out

One of the first jobs on the allotment was to lift the onions whilst the weather was dry, you may remember that the allotment was badly flooded in June and my onions have suffered considerably, about 20% have gone rotten and well over half of the remainder are small with very few growing to their full size. With the forecast for more rain I lifted all the onions, filled the wheelbarrow, and brought them back home to dry out in the greenhouse away from any more potential floods. I laid them out on the staging, on newspaper, in full sun removing any outer ‘soft’ layers, I am not too sure about their winter storage potential so we are eating them now and they are fine.

Gardener’s Delight

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are ripening fast, there were only a few ready before we went away but those sunny, warm days seem to have started a chain reaction. They taste wonderful and the smell of the tomato plants takes me right back to my childhood. I have grown three varieties this year, Gardener’s Delight – cherry size, delicious in salads/lunch boxes/picnics, Alicante – medium size, ideal for slicing and cooking, Fantasio – medium to large fleshy fruits, perfect for chutney and soup. We still need lots more sunny weather to ensure that all the tomatoes ripen, as you can see in the photo I have removed most of the lower leaves to expose the tomatoes to the sun and allow the air to circulate around them, some of the lower trusses were sitting on the soil so I have put a seed tray under them to stop them rotting, keep them clean and also away from the slugs. My plants have reached the greenhouse roof so I have pinched out the growing tip (two leaves after the top truss) and any remaining side shoots this will direct the plants energy into developing and ripening the existing fruit. Regular watering is very important to prevent blossom end rot and the fruits splitting, feed regularly with tomato fertilizer.

Gardener’s Delight

If the weather is good this bank holiday weekend, get out in the garden and enjoy.

Gill

Read Full Post »

Gardening with Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are considered the gardeners friend, but we may not be that friendly towards them as our gardens can contain many hidden dangers. Here are some ways that we can reduce these hazards.

Slug Pellets

Many slug pellets contain Metaldehyde (commonly the blue ones but check the ingredients on all slug pellets) and will not only kill the slugs but can also kill the hedgehogs (and birds) if they eat one of these victim slugs. Try alternative natural slug deterrents such as Slug Gone and Copper Slug and Snail Tape that are safe to all wildlife.

Recycled containers

We are all being encouraged to recycle but empty food cans, yoghurt pots, plastic cups etc. are a real danger to inquisitive hedgehogs and small animals which can get stuck in them head first and die of starvation or suffocate, to prevent this squash all cans, and cut up containers before putting them into the bin. Wildlife can also get caught in the plastic rings that hold the cans together and the different sizes of holes in them can trap different types of animals, each circle should be cut up before putting them in the bin. These have been banned in America we hope that our government will ban them too.

Water Features/Ponds

These attract wildlife to our garden but if there is no escape route anything that falls in will be unable to climb out and drown. Hang some plastic coated wire over the side and into the water to make a ladder, half submerge some rocks around the edges or make a gentle slope on at least one side of your pond. Keep ponds topped up, especially in hot weather so that hedgehogs are less likely to topple in. Children’s paddling pools and sand pits are also a danger when filled with rainwater.

Netting

Keep all pea-netting a foot above the ground so the hedgehogs can go under it and will not try to go through it and become stuck.  The same applies to tennis nets, children’s football nets etc.

Bonfires/Compost Bins

Before burning accumulated rubbish in the garden or before emptying or turning your compost bins check that a hedgehog has not made a home in it, the best time to spread the heap is October/November.

Strimming

Take care when mowing long grass with mowers or especially strimmers, when cutting long overgrown areas cut initially to about a foot high and then check for hedgehogs and other wildlife before cutting any lower. 

Provide a safe home for our friends

We should all leave an area of our garden to go wild for nature, and this would be an ideal place to put a hedgehog house these provide a safe haven for hibernating hedgehogs and also for females to have their young. Ideally place the house somewhere quiet against a bank, fence or wall and out of prevailing wind. We have the perfect Hedgehog home at The Recycleworks the Hogitat it is an attractive natural home and safe retreat for hedgehogs which will comfortably nestle into any garden.

• It features a sturdy, rust-proofed steel frame
• A waterproofed roof with an attractive natural finish
• A predator defence tunnel
• Lots of room for a family of hoglets and the mother

 So let’s do all we can to help our adorable prickly friends.

Read Full Post »