2021 has been an unpredictable year in many ways, especially in the garden; with late frosts, down pours, droughts, pests, and heat waves. A lot of gardeners have struggled this year, including ourselves. But like many others we’ve made the most of what we have grown. 

To help, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks to help you with the unexpected, and even the expected.

Pests

We have had a larger number of pests this year, especially aphids, slugs, woodlice, rabbits and pigeons. Although great for the eco system not so great for your crops. If you want to eat them yourselves that is. Infestations of woodlice in strawberry beds and whole beds of sweed being completely eaten is not exactly a gardeners dream. 

Aphids and other sap sucking insects

The best way to deter sap sucking insects, such as aphids, greenfly and blackfly from your crop; organically and humanely, is to plant sacrificial plants around plants you want to harvest from.

Examples of sacrificial plants are:

• Nasturtiums,
• Marigolds,
• Herbs such as;
• Basil,
• Parsley.

But we have found that all herbs and flowers can help reduce sap sucking insects from your fruit and vegetables. Try planting pockets of flowers and herbs around your garden, they will attract pollinators and reduce your unwanted pests.

Not only will you help your garden thrive and make it look beautiful, you will also be able to get some stunning cut flowers for your home too! 

Slugs

Slugs can be one of the biggest pests in the garden, they come out at night or in wet weather when you’re not around and they’ll completely destroy a whole bed in one sitting. They’re hungry little things! There are a few methods to help deter slugs without harming them.

Plant slug deterring plants around the edges of your bed. Rosemary and Fennel are good examples of these and they are lovely to eat too, so not a waste of space! 

Slugs like to be under cover, so reducing areas which they can shelter can also help reduce the numbers in your garden. This is a huge disadvantage to brick borders and raised beds, as they create fantastic habitats for slugs. Try using a humane slug trap, to mimic the design of the garden, but a removal source you can take away and empty.

You can also try and mulch around your plants, we have a concoction of coffee grounds, eggs shells, wood ash and garlic powder at the ready in the shed. We put this around almost every plant and it works so well for keeping the little pests off! 

If all else fails, chickens and ducks are a great pet for keeping down the slug population, and you can get some lovely eggs at the same time! If allowed, they provide a definite benefit in many ways such as reduce slugs, eggs production and providing manure for the compost. 

Woodlice

Woodlice are similar creatures to slugs, as in they love love love covered areas, such as raised beds or thick planted areas like strawberry beds. Although not a huge pest they will munch their way through your crop. We have found they especially love strawberries and radishes. They are active mainly at night and they absolutely adore damp areas.

Generally considered extremely beneficial to the garden as they help produce compost, they are not a huge threat. 

Deterring them from your produce is simple really, ensure that you’re not growing in wooden raised beds, keep on top of thinning strawberry beds and ensure the soil doesn’t get too moist from over watering.  

Rabbits and pigeons

These cute fluffy rabbits and wild pigeons are absolutely lovely but they will munch their way through your crops in no time. 

The best way to reduce this is to cover crops that rabbits and pigeons like to eat, with netting for pigeons or chicken wire for rabbits around the outside. They are particularly fond of lettuce, beans, broccoli, swede, carrot tops and any brassicas. Cover them until they’re big enough to withstand a good chew. 

Down pours

Down pours can be the best time after a heat wave to give your plants a much needed soaking. Just remember not to plant any seeds during this time or they will wash away. If you must, cover with a plank of wood to reduce the risk of them running away from you. Put out as many water collecting buckets as you can, as this is the best time to prepare for the droughts.

Drought and heat waves

The most tiring job in the garden is when there’s a drought or heat wave, and you have beds of crops that all still need to drink. We have all experienced this this year, so here’s some tips to make life easier! 

Early morning watering can help massively here, this is best done when it’s still cool to allow the water to run down to the soil without losing too much water to evaporation, but if you can’t get down early morning the next best is in the evening when the sun is set. Avoid watering in the heat of the sun, as it can burn your crop from splash back and you will lose a ton of water due to quick evaporation.

Create little moats around really thirsty crops like courgettes, this will allow the water to pool around the plant, ensuring none is wasted and they get the full benefit. 

You can also bury bottles next to your plant, to water directly to the root, reducing wasted water and allowing your plants to get water exactly where they need it. Focusing on the root zone rather than the leaves as it’s the roots that need the water, not the leaves.

IBCs and water butts are great for collecting water, but can be time consuming waiting for the water to fill the watering can, why not try using a barrel so you can dip your watering can straight into it. This is a huge time saver. 

Mulch everything! Whether you use compost, hay, straw, wood chips, fallen leaves or chopped weeds, mulching will help keep the ground moist and reduce the need for watering as often. 

Late frost

The last frost this year was extremely late, with some parts of the UK still having evenings below zero right up until June. This makes it very difficult to start any seedlings without filling your house with seed trays, unless you have a heated greenhouse of course. There are a few crops you can start before the last frost:

• Parsnips
• Corn,
• Onions,
• Lettuce,
• Carrots,
• Seed potatoes. 

They can then be transplanted once the ground has thawed enough.

But if you can’t wait that long and you don’t have a heated green house you can have a compost heap inside a greenhouse or pollytunnel, which will raise the temperature significantly. Compost heaps that are complete and just finishing off can also be used to grow squash plants in the top.

Or try covering seed trays overnight with sheep’s wool or cardboard to reduce the chance of frost getting to them. Water in the morning rather than evening to reduce risk of water freezing in the seed trays, and try and use water that’s sat outside and warmed up. They will thank you. 

Products we recommend

	Strawberry Stand
	Eco-friendly slug and snail trap