One of the first jobs I did when I started at Knights was rotovating. There was an old Howard Gem rotavator, a big orange beast with rotating blades at the front and two big wheels at the back. It seemed huge to me at the time but not impossible to manoeuvre, after all it had a reverse gear and I rode a motorbike. What made the job a real nail-biter though was that I had to rotovate in the greenhouses. In those days, lots of plants were grown on-site for later sale and this included lots of bedding plants, cyclamen for winter and spring sales and chrysanthemums for cut flower. Nowadays most cut flowers are imported but Brian Knight prided himself on the quality of these late-flowering chrysanths for sale in late autumn up till Christmas in the florist shop, ruled by Jean.
The chrysanths were a lot of work. Thousands of cuttings were planted in regimented lines, wooden stakes banged in to hold supporting wire net to keep the stems upright and, when rooted and growing, plants were pinched out to make them branch. When flower buds started to form the buds had to be restricted (disbudding) so that each stem only carried one, perfect flower.
Of course, it was not just customers that liked the chrysanths – they are prone to pests too, from aphids to leaf miner which makes pale, wiggly tunnels in the leaves. Fortunately, these were the days before white rust took hold in the UK. But the pests had to be prevented and the method we used was nicotine shreds. It hardly seems possible now but we used nicotine for pest control. Cans of shredded paper, infused with nicotine were opened and clumps weighed and positioned on the paths of the greenhouse. Starting at the end furthest from the door, each pile was lit and then gently stamped on so it smouldered but did not go up in flames and the greenhouse filled with toxic fumes. It was skilled work because you could not go back to a pile that had not lit – those that did never lived to tell the tale – you had to be quick and careful.
But before all this happened the soil had to be prepared and that meant me with a rotovator. The greenhouses were old, wooden-framed Dutch light house with glass down to the ground and around the edge were water pipes for heating, fed by a coke boiler. I am glad to report that I managed to complete the job without breaking any glass or causing a water leak!
Tips for the week
Herbs
Every cook needs lots of herbs and most are easy to grow. But herbs are very varied and not all need the same conditions. Silvery, shrubby herbs such as thymes, rosemary and sage need full sun and can withstand drought. They should live for many years but will last longer if given an annual haircut about now. Green-leaved herbs such as parsley, mint and fennel will tolerate more shade. Mint can be invasive so is best grown in a pot but must be replanted every spring to keep it healthy and vigorous. Knock it out of the pot now, chop off a section and replant it and discard the rest. Parsley is biennial, meaning it grows one year then runs to seed and dies the next spring. You can’t stop it. So it needs replacing every year, either by seed or with new plants. Some leafy herbs such as chervil, dill and coriander are very short-lived and send up stems of flowers and die quickly. Rather than buy plants, buy seeds and sow a pinch every few weeks to be sure you have a reliable supply.
Roses
It is time to prune roses, if you have not done so already. With the exception of the once-flowering old-fashioned shrub roses, pruning is really quite simple. First, prune out any obviously dead stems. The aim then is to prune back last year’s stems to between two and four buds. You can tell this recent growth because it will be redder, greener or glossier than the older stems. When pruning back, cut to just above a bud to prevent stems dying back. If you cut back hard, to one or two buds, the new growth will be very strong and flowering will be slightly later than with milder pruning. If you prune back to three or four buds the growth will be less strong and flowering will be earlier and the flowers (or flower clusters) will be more profuse but possibly less big. To prevent bushes getting too big and old you can also cut out one or more of the oldest, grey-barked, thick branches to promote new, productive, stems – you will need loppers or a saw for this. Never be afraid to prune – no one ever killed a rose through pruning! And after pruning, remember to give a dressing of rose fertiliser and a mulch to keep down weeds and black spot spores.
Camellias
If you are lucky enough to garden on sandy, acid soil, camellias, along with their cohorts rhododendrons, pieris and azaleas will thrive. But if you have chalky soils you will have to grow camellias in pots of ericaeous (acid) compost. Even though they are a lot of effort they are worth trying because of their beautiful, early flowers and glossy, evergreen leaves. In general, camellias prefer a spot in part sun. An east-facing spot is not suitable because frosted buds, if they thaw rapidly, can brown or drop. A moist soil is important too, especially if they are grown in pots because, if the plants dry out in late summer, as the buds are forming for next spring, they will die and you won’t notice till they drop off in spring. Yellow leaves mean your plant could be in too much sun or needs feeding. Dark green leaves and no flowers could mean it is too shady – or that you bought a cheap plant without a name in a supermarket and it is a seedling! And brown leaves mean you let it dry out far too much several months ago.
If you are lucky enough to have a huge camellia that is out of control, it can be pruned, almost as hard as you like, and this should be done immediately after flowering. To keep young camellias neat and bushy, especially with naturally lanky types such as ‘Donation’ snap off the soft, pale green main new growth shoot when it is 5cm long, just after the flowers have dropped, so the lower shoots are encouraged to grow.