Happy New Year to you All!! January and February are good months to be buying and planting spring bulbs. It was only a few years ago that if you wanted daffodils, crocus and tulips in your garden then you had to plant ‘dry’ bulbs in the autumn. Now there is the ability to plant spring fl owering bulbs ‘in the green’.

This has been a common practise for some years with snowdrops and bluebells which can be notoriously diffi cult to establish from dry bulbs; these always seem to do better when pot full of growing plants are planted. If you have forgotten to plant the bulbs in the autumn but still want to see a splash of colour, daffodils, crocus and tulips are all available as pot grown subjects - the biggest selection will be in the ’dwarf’ categories as these suit being grown and presented in a pot better than the tall varieties.

Although the garden does not seem to want much looking after at this time of year thereare a few jobs that can be done to try and make life easier in the future. Many of the fruit trees in the garden are great over-wintering places for bugs such as red spider mites and aphids. The gnarled and cracked bark provides lots of small places to hide, which is why you often see small birds pecking away at the trees in the winter as they look for food.

January is a good time to clear fruit trees, and also roses, by spraying with a winter wash. These need to be applied when there is no foliage on the trees and will help to prevent early infestations of these pests in the spring. Some of you may know a product called Tar Oil which did the same job, this is now on the ‘banned’ pesticide list and is not available. Disinfectants are also used at this time of year to clear out pests and diseases in greenhouses. This is especially important in wooden greenhouses where there are more ‘nooks and crannies’ for bugs to hide in.

Diseases and fungi can also be cleaned up using this disinfectant.So what to get growing this month? Seed potatoes are the obvious starter, they can be grown in the ground or in a potato barrel or bag on the patio. Earlies can be planted out after chitting and maincrops should be on the chitting tray ready to plant out in March. We have about 20 varieties available now, so there really is a great choice.

If you are fortunate enough to have either a greenhouse or poly tunnel, then some  vegetables can be sown inside to produce an early crop. These include lettuce, radish and spring onions; be mindful of the space though as, at this early stage, these crops will need to grow right through to harvesting inside

As we are now covering two months with each issue of Village Connect, I am fairly confi dent in saying that before the next issue is out we will have completed our refurbishments to our toilet block in the Garden Centre. At last, I hear you all cry! I am the fi rst to admit that our ‘facilities’ have let us down badly in recent years, so we have completely stripped out and refurbished the ‘White Bungalow’ and will have Ladies, Gents, Disabled and Staff facilities all accessed by a covered walkway. What would my Grandparents and Dad have thought in 1959 when they moved into the bungalow if someone had told them that their front room was going to be the staff room and the kitchen was going to be the ladies loo!

BOSWORTH’S Nurseries & Garden Centre
01536 722635
Only minutes from J10 off the A14 and midway between Kettering and Wellingborough

OPEN: Mon-Sat: 9am - 6pm
Sun: 10am - 5pm • Disabled Access

All Credit Cards Accepted

NOT JUST A GARDEN CENTRE

Bosworths Garden Centre

Bosworths Garden Centre

Bosworths Garden Centre