All good things must..........and do

How quickly the days have raced away,in just six months moving from Chilli to very,very chilly and Christmas knocking at the door.

It has been an amazing Autumn, with the best colour in years, but it all is forgotten with the cutting swipe of an east wind and the arrival of Christmas trees and Poinsettias.

We hold back to the last with our celebrations,trading only in the festive perishables (avoiding the tinsel and trinkets trade).All the signs are good for a lively run in. Particularly pleasing is the early interest in flowers for Christmas. We have taken quite a few early telephone orders too and will be delivering into the darkness on Christmas Eve I suspect.

The Heat Is On

Want some spice in your life? Then head across to our shop for our much anticipated Chilli Fiesta. Starting next weekend (22nd May) we will be selling a host of different chilli plants. We will have over 30 varieties ranging from mild to the hottest chilli in the world! As well as chillies we'll also be selling spicy sauces, jams and chilli chocolate. And our hombres will be laden with chilli related information. Ole!

What A Wash Out!

So, it looks like May is threatening to deliver the April showers! The weather is hardly cause for gardening inspiration but don't let that stop you from tackling a few jobs.

Now is the time to plant up hanging baskets. Once planted, leave in the greenhouse so they can develop and fill out, before hanging out at the end of the month.

Talking of greenhouses, you can also plant your tomato plants, courgettes, and cucumbers into beds or growbags under glass. Be careful with cucumber plants though. If they are overly wet and get chilled they will rot off at the base. It's best to water away from the plant and to do so sparingly.

Our advice on a cold weekend like this is to get settled in the greenhouse and set to it! Or pay us a visit. It'll get you out if the house.

Our next post will be on ideas for your hanging baskets.

Jobs For April

With the lovely warm weather there is now no excuse for getting out in the garden and tackling a few jobs. Here are some things that can be done this month.

• Feed rose bushes using Toprose plant food.
• Plant out onion sets. Push them into the ground so the top is just poking through the soil, leaving about 6 inches between the sets.
• Sow salad crops, like Rocket, Salad Bowl Lettuce or mixed leaf. Sow successional plantings so that there is a continued supply throughout the summer.
• Weed paths and drives. As the weather warms up, and the April showers kick in, weeds can appear as if from nowhere overnight. As soon as they start to grow use a weedkiller like Weedol or Roundup to get on top of the problem. Or remove them by hand, which can be quite therapeutic.
• Continue to earth up your potatoes. By pulling earth up over the emerging shoots you will help to increase your yield. So it's worth doing.
• Protect apple and plum trees against maggots by using Codling Moth Traps. One trap hanging in a tree will treat several. The traps contain a pheromone which entices the moth, they then become stuck to the sticky insert.
• Sow new lawns from seed. As the weather warms up, and the soil is still damp, it creates the perfect environment for sowing or patching up a lawn. Sow seed at a rate of 35 - 50 grams per square metre. If the weather remains dry then water regularly, and continue to do so until the lawn is established.
• Feed existing lawns using Feed, Weed and Mosskill to ensure a strong lawn throughout the growing season.

Easter Traditions

Happy Easter!

While the kids, and big kids alike, tuck into their chocolate Easter eggs the gardener knows that Easter marks the start of the season proper. And today, being Good Friday, is the day that seed potatoes are traditionally planted. So if you haven't got yours planted yet, or haven't even thought about it yet, then it's not too late!

We still have a few seed spuds left, mostly main crops, but among these varieties there are some superb choices. A few of our favourites include Juliette (a delicious, buttery late salad), Opera (a main crop with excellent blight resistance) and Romano (a red bred from Desiree with the same all round uses but with none of the scab associated with its parent.)

So, a bit of planning now can result in an excellent crop later and a great deal of satisfaction.

Open As Usual

We are open every day throughout the Easter weekend, including Easter Sunday. Our opening times are 9am to 5pm at the weekend and 9am to 5.30pm during the week. We look forward to welcoming you this Easter.

Production Line

It may still be early in the year, and the weather may still be wintry, but all that doesn't stop the production on the nursery.

Its full steam ahead as the nursery staff, under the guidance of Nursery Manager Steve, prepare for a busy season to come. Seeds are being pricked out, plugs potted on and baskets planted.

And as Easter weekend approaches a few varieties of bedding will be available for sale in the shop, along with the first of our home grown tomato plants. But if you are buying any of these don't forget that they will need protecting from the cold weather, as winter leaves us with a sting in its tail.

Spring Has Sprung!

At last spring is finally in the air and we are finally back with our Blog!

Check in regularly for all the latest from Dundry Nurseries here. We will be telling you all about new stock, plant availability, seasonal offers and top tips for each month.

We'll be back soon with more, so watch this space!

Chicken Manure

Pelleted chicken manure is a great way to add some nurtients to your garden. They are clean and easy to handle and can be used all round the garden, particularly in the veg plot. At the moment we have 7.5kg tubs with 50% extra free for just £6.99.

A Rose By Any Other Name

These flowers are a gorgeous addition to the garden in spring.

They are Rose Petal Primroses and are in stock priced at 90p each. Add a splash of long awaited colour to your garden today.

One Potato, Two Potato, We've Got More!

At last we can report that our long awaited delivery of potatoes from Scotland has finally arrived! We now have 30 of our most popular varieties back in stock. If you've placed an order then we will be in touch with you over the next few days and your request will have been reserved. For more details of stock give us a ring or check out our Potato List by following our website link in the side bar.

Potatoes Arrive!

Well some of them! We've had a delivery from our supplier, based in Devon, of the following varieties of seed potatoes -

Noisette
Rosabelle
Shannon
Vitelotte
Markies

We are still awaiting potatoes from Scotland!

We've phoned them this afternoon and are told (weather permitting!) that we may expect them next week. Fingers crossed....

Snow Sorry For The Delay

Caroline is keeping a watch on the weather!

The recent cold weather has delayed our expected delivery of seed potatoes. We are awaiting the arrival of a couple of tonnes of some of the most popular varieties that sold out at our Potato Weekend. Varieties due in include Charlotte, Kestrel, Romano and the Sarpo breeds - Axona and Mira. As the potatoes come down from Scotland they won't be dispatched until the wintry conditions ease, so once it becomes milder they'll be on their way South!

Keep an eye on our blog for updates.

Know Your Onions

Its the time to sow onion sets for over wintering. We have Senshyu Yellow (a Japanese onion) and Electric (a red variety), both are suitable for planting now. The idea behind over wintering onions is to stop them bolting (running to seed) in the spring. They harvest from May onwards and are best stored on a strimg in a cool, dark place - like a shed or garage.

Also now is the time for sowing shallots - and we have those too!