WEEVILS IN THE VINES
When we were potting on our young grapevine plants just before Christmas we found a few vine weevil larvae among their roots.
Until we started to use the new Nemasys L biological control late last summer this problem used to be much worse. With the original Nemasys it was not uncommon to find 10-20 grubs in a pot., but the new form works at a cooler temperature and is more effective.
The vines were originally propagated as hardwood cuttings taken in the autumn two years and overwintered in a cold frame.
WINTER PROTECTION FOR POTTED FRUIT
We brought the potted fruit in from the display garden.
They are over-wintered in an unheated polytunnel to protect them from the winter weather. It’s not the cold that causes problems, but rather the winter wet; the pots can get waterlogged and standard plastic pots rarely have sufficient holes in the base to give good drainage under our conditions, even with extra holes punched in them.
STORING GARLIC
Garlic grows well at Rosemoor but it’s not always easy to get the bulbs to ripen properly. We normally have to lift the crop early because of a fungus disease called rust which attacks the foliage in June. By lifting the bulbs and drying them off indoors we can prevent further damage. Also ripening them indoors improves their keeping quality, especially in a wet summer.
Garlic is divided into two distinct groups; the “soft necks” (Allium sativum)
and the “hard necks”, (Allium ophioscorodon). Fig.10. The hard necks will produce a flower, a rocambole or ‘flowerhead’ of tiny bulbils, in June. This can be removed to produce larger bulbs or kept and the small bulbils used for flavouring. If left the stored garlic bulb will have a stiff, hard stem emerging from the centre. The soft necks rarely produce a flower, unless they are stressed.
STORING SHALLOTS
Traditionally shallots were planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest day. But at Rosemoor we do not plant until the ground is suitable, normally in mid-February. It’s just too wet to plant in December. I prefer shallots to onions; they are a lot less trouble to grow, have better flavour and are conveniently “meal” sized for the kitchen.
Also, it’s perfectly possible to save the best bulbs as “seed” for planting next year. We save the cultivar ‘Longor’ each year because it always does well for us at Rosemoor. It produces a long oval shaped bulb which is easy to cut up, with no wastage.
PRUNING VINES
We have started pruning our mature grapevines back to one bud.
If possible it’s a good idea to get the pruning done as early as you can. If pruning is left too late in the winter it can cause the vines to ‘bleed’ as the new sap rises.
Vines have rather brittle stem that can tear if not pruned properly, so it is important to keep your secateurs sharp. I give mine a quick sharpen after every hour of pruning using a small sharpening steel.
INVASIVE SAMBUCUS
We dug out our dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulis) last week. This plant has a reputation for being invasive in certain soils - ours was planted about two years ago and was starting to take over one of our beds. It produces very strong, spreading roots just under the surface - so it had to go. We’ve had a similar problem in the past with Rubus spectabilis ‘Olympic Double’ - take care if you’ve got one!
PRUNING BLACKCURRANT
Another job best done before Christmas, as you can damage the buds if you leave it any later. Not much new growth has been produced this year from the base; it’s important to get a continual supply of new growth as this provides the basis for future years’ crops. The poor production this year may have been caused by too much older wood left in last year, which would crowd out the new growths. Alternatively the plants may need a nitrogen feed in the spring as blackcurrants are gross feeders.
RENOVATING REDCURRANTS
We are currently trying to renovate some 13-year-old redcurrant bushes in our fruit cage, that had been allowed to get rather leggy, with few fruiting spurs on the lower branches.
It’s not always easy to renovate older soft fruit – better to prune little and often. Also, redcurrants tend to have a hollow stem which means that the pruning cut into older wood is liable to rot.
COVERING THE PEACHES
We have covered the fan-trained peaches this week with plastic screens.
This is done mainly to keep them dry, so that when the young leaves emerge in the spring they will not become infected with Peach Leaf Curl. This is a fungal disease that over-winters on the dormant buds and emerges in the spring as the temperature rises and the leaves become wet. The covers also provide frost protection for the early blossom.
Garry Preston, Fruit and Veg Gardener