Faversham
The panel of horticultural experts is in Faversham, Kent. Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank answer the questions from local gardeners.
The panel of horticultural experts is in Faversham, Kent. Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank answer the questions from local gardeners.
The panellists advise on getting sweet potatoes started and how to propagate Agapanthus, and they debate whether or not one can grow tomatoes in a hallway. They also attempt to bring a Kaffir Lime back from the brink and help one listener attempt to cure Daffodil blindness.
Also, Bob Flowerdew visits the National Fruit Collection at nearby Brogdale Farm.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.
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Fact Sheet
Q – I struggled to find seeds and tubers for sweet potatoes last year, should I try again this year?
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Bob – Seed is very hard to find.Ìý You can get started slips commercially but they arrive late.Ìý Take a sort you like from the supermarket and force it in the warm.Ìý You can’t plant it like a potato though, it will rot.Ìý Keep them away from slugs.
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Pippa – I grow from slips.Ìý Grow through a sheet of plastic to warm the soil.Ìý
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Anne – I dibble them in modules before putting them in pots
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Q – I have an olive tree in a pot in my walled garden that is bending. What can I do?
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Pippa – Rotate it.Ìý Erect a white or tin foil screen behind it to reflect light
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Anne – I’d grow figs against the wall and put the olive somewhere more open
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Bob – Also put reflective material underneath it to increase light
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Q – How can I propagate Agapanthus?
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Anne – Easily.Ìý Dig out in spring and cut them to divide.Ìý Keep clumps of two or three.
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Bob – Put the clump of bulbs and roots in warm water first to make it easier to divide
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Q – I live in a top floor flat with no outside space. Can I grow tomatoes in my well-lit hallway?
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Bob – You won’t get a bumper crop but give it a go. Spend some money on these new LED lights that are designed for growing. They’re great.Ìý ‘Subarctic Plenty’ is designed for difficult situations so try that variety.
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Anne – Tap the plants when flowering to pollinate.Ìý Try both cordon-trained and bush-trained varieties to see what works best
Eric – Grow them in hanging baskets – ‘Tumbling Tom’ variety
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Q – I have a Clematis ‘Winter Beauty’ (evergreen) which was full of buds until mid-December when two-thirds fell off. What’s happened?
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Pippa – A sudden change in weather eg lack of moisture can have this effect.Ìý
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Anne – There are degrees of hardiness to a plant so beware! ÌýI’d agree with drought over cold as the cause
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Q – I have a Kaffir lime tree.Ìý It’s about a foot (0.3m) tall.Ìý This winter, its second, it lost all its leaves.Ìý What can I do to help it?
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Pippa – Always worthy looking at the roots for pests like Vine Weevil.Ìý Also waterlogged roots.Ìý
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Anne – Stick the whole thing in tepid/warm water and rehydrate it
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Bob – You need an ericaceous mix with a little bit of soil compost.Ìý They don’t like lime in the soil. Get it wetted and then well-drained. Keep it warm and give it a high nitrogen feed.
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Q – In 2014 we planted 150 mixed Daffodil bulbs.Ìý This year they are all flowering late and they are all blind.Ìý Why? And will they always be blind from now on.
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Pippa – Flowering times are loose so don’t worry about that.Ìý Blindness doesn’t need to be permanent but what you need to do is feed them now.Ìý
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Anne – You might not have planted them deep enough so they might have suffered a drought
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Bob – Make sure you deadhead
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Q – What is the romantic plant in your gardens?
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Bob – It has to be the rose
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Pippa – Freesias
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Anne – There’s a Hoya called Hoya kerrii which has a heart-shaped leaf. That’s a good one.
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Broadcasts
- Fri 17 Feb 2017 15:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
- Sun 19 Feb 2017 14:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
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Podcast
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Gardeners' Question Time
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts