Poores of Acton Ltd
2/4 Colville Road, Acton, London W3 8BL
Open Mon-Sat 7.30am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm
Tel: (020) 8992 1177 Fax: (020) 8993 9946
E-mail: [email protected]
PLANTCARE AND GARDEN PEST CONTROL
Heated propagators get seedlings off to a flying start. Paraffin heated propagators can be used in the potting shed or allotment without running in an electrical supply. Electric propagators such as the pair shown here include thermostatic control to maintain the ideal growing temperature at all times.
Pots for propagation come in sizes from 2″ to 12″ singly and in bulk quantities for economic pricing. With saucers to match, these are just as useful around the home as in the potting shed.
PROPAGATION
Good propagation techniques help plant seedlings get off to a good start. Propagators, cold frames, peat pots, protective fleece, covered seed trays, even bubble wrap for insulation all give your plants a boost at that all-important early stage.
FLEECE, MESH AND NETTING
Fleeces and mesh provide several different forms of protection for your plants. Young transplants and overwintered shrubs can be protected from frosts and cold winds, heavy duty woven mesh can be pegged over the soil to supress weeds and warm up the soil for early spring planting, while barrier fleece and nets can be spread over vulnerable plants to deter pests.
A simple layer of lightweight garden fleece will offer tender plants protection from up to 6 degrees of frost, enough for all but the coldest spring night around London. It’s washable and re-useable, too.
There are specialist composts for a great many different plant species and for special situations such as ponds, and they’re available in handy packs and economy sacks.
SOIL AND SOIL CONDITIONERS
Seeds, cuttings and all plants benefit from growing in the appropriate soil, and there are many types to choose from. The two most popular types are the John Innes mixes, which are formulated for seeds through to small plants ready to be planted out, and general-purpose composts – frequently peat-based. There are many specific mixes, for instance for cacti, for trees and for ericaceous (lime-hating) plants. In the potting shed, products such as perlite and vermiculite aid drainage and aeration.
Composted bark is frequently used to loosen heavy clay soil (or build up light sandy soil). Bark chips, which are available in a variety of grades, provide an attractive moisture-retaining mulch and also make good protective surfaces. Gravel, too, provides an effective protective surface for soil. Horticultural sand and grit provide good drainage in potting composts, and have been washed to remove traces of minerals that might otherwise upset the balance in the soil.
Lime counteracts excessive acidity, ammonium sulphate balances alkalinity, epsom salts provides the magnesium which counteracts yellowing leaves – there are many conditioners to help hard-worked soil return to productivity.
For garden renovations, let us supply good quality topsoil direct to your home.
PLANT FOOD
Compost mixes such as horse manure compost provide food and act as soil improvers, adding humus to the soil – a great benefit in sandy or clay soils.
There are many proprietary balanced feeds, some general purpose (such as growmore) and some formulated for specific plants (such as tomato or rose food). And there are even special plant foods for hanging bakets, so you don’t have to keep taking the baskets down to feed the plants.
Gardeners who know what their plants require can buy the particular food they want – bonemeal, dried blood, chicken manure and many more are available.
Slow release, quick release, specialist feeds, liquid foliar feeds, pelleted food, food to encourage flowering, or growth, or both – there’s a plant food for every situation.
Plant supports can be used to good effect in hundreds of situations. Here, a simple support holds up the stem of a potted sunflower.
GROWING UP
Plant rings and ties, canes, pea and bean nets, clematis nets, trellis, tree stakes, arches, training wire, flower supports and topiary shapes all help keep your plants growing where you want them.
If you want to achieve that deep border with a big choice of colour and shape, you’ll need supports ranging from traditional canes and ties to some clever wire shapes designed to show flowers off at their best.
The Scarecrow uses a battery-operated sensor to detect unwanted visitors, and releases a powerful jet of water up to 30ft with immediate results against cats, dogs, herons, foxes, rabbits, and squirrels.
PEST CONTROL
Control pests in the garden, in ponds, in the greenhouse, the allotment and the home with our broad range of deterrents, barriers and pesticides. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice, or choose one of the “gardening expert” books packed with advice for all situations.
Barriers work by preventing the pests reaching their target, often trapping them in the process. Grease bands, sticky traps and insect glues catch climbing and flying insects. Fine mesh raised as a barrier around crops will stop many low-flying insects, such as cabbage root fly, while strawberry mats provide a surface that deters slugs and snails and cabbage collars prevent larvae breeding in the soil immediately below the plants.
Deterrents and decoys are useful where you don’t want to hurt the “pest”. Pepper dust and proprietary chemicals are found unpleasant by cats and dogs. Bird scarers, squirrel and mole deterrents and heron decoys deal with non-domestic visitors.
There are many specific insecticides that deal effectively with individual groups of pests: ants, slugs and snails, whitefly, blackfly and greenfly, red spider mite and vine weevil are just a few of the pests common to our gardens.
Fungicides deal with problems like powdery mildew, rose black spot and many common plant ailments.
PLANTCARE AND GARDEN PEST CONTROL