Merry Christmas

On Christmas Day my true love gave to me a retractable hose, new secateurs and a bottle of Gin. And who needs a partridge in their pear tree? Not me!

He’d watched me fighting with the normal hose I use to water the plants in our entertainment area and had the brainwave. Present sorted!

Hoses are an indispensable part of the garden tool kit but all too often aren’t cared for properly. There are so many different types of hose and ways to store them, but often they just get left in a pile on the lawn or spread out ready to be tripped on. I’m guilty of this as much as the next person.

If hoses aren’t stored properly they start to deteriorate and form those extremely annoying kinks that always happen much father down from the nozzle causing you to have to find a spot to put the nozzle to keep the dirt out and hopefully keep watering when it’s unkinked , then walk back to unkink it, then walk back to keep watering…ugh! You know what I mean.

Anyway, this new hose,with its little house to store the hose in with a flick of the wrist when you’ve finished watering, will hopefully reduce that annoyance for me. If all goes to plan…

One question I’m often asked is ‘when is the best time to water?’. Generally it is best to water when the sun is either low down in the east or the west (morning or evening), not high up in the sky (midday). My preference is to water in the morning for two reasons, a) it gives the plants time to dry off which reduces the risk of fungal infections, and b) snails are less likely to hang around as the day goes on than they are to hang around at night. And we all know snails love damp soil and plants to galavant about on.

Watering in the heat of the day increases the risk of sun damage to plants as well. Generally speaking it’s also best to avoid watering the leaves of plants on a sunny day; keeping the water down on the soil is preferable.

We’re having a bit of a heatwave at the moment, expecting a top of 38C today. I’ve moved some of my potted plants (to be planted after summer) into a shaded area to keep them out of the harsh direct sunlight. Having them close to the house makes me remember to water them too.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday period, celebrating life in whichever way you can.

Til next time!