Monkton Elm News, Events and Tips Blog

We’re hosting a free event dedicated to spuds from February 17th until 23rd (2014) and it will include advice from representatives from Unwins and expert gardeners. There will also be free craft activities for children and a treasure hunt.

We’re inviting children to enter a potato modeling competition this month (February, 2014). We’re asking them to create a potato model and submit a diary of the process before March 1st (2014) for our Spudtacular Models competition.

We’re still looking for entries from worthy causes that would like to receive between 50 and 100 free young trees, known as whips, this year.

Our Plant Advisor Will Michieli has recently (January, 2014) been named a ‘Westland Rising Star’ in a national competition.

Have you got a rowing or small sailing boat you no longer use? We would like to plant up a rowing boat and display it on our pond and are asking boat owners to come forward and help out.

Join us for our next Pondside Knit Club session on Wednesday, February 12th from 2pm until 4pm.

Potato Chitting Thinking of growing potatoes this year? Why not try a new variety? There are lots of taster packs to choose from. When you buy potatoes remember to keep them cool and frost free at home until you’re ready to chit them. Chit them, lay the potatoes out on old egg trays or crumpled newspaper on top of a box and don’t forget somewhere light and frost free.

With spring rapidly approaching it's time to think about some wonderful colour for your garden for the months ahead. For February we have chosen three traditional favourites. 

It’s always nice to have a variety of plants indoors over winter to brighten up your surroundings, but they need to be properly cared for in order to survive.

If you fancy doing a bit of gardening but don’t want to go all out, then why not try growing some simple microgreens.

Potted bulbs Add a splash of colour to your garden this spring with our super selection of potted bulbs bursting with flower buds all ready to plant now. They’re ideal for both containers and beds and even on windowsills indoors.

The British have been drinking tea for more than 350 years, but tea in other countries predates this by more than four millennia.

We’re encouraging keen bird watchers to contribute to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) Big Garden Birdwatch campaign.

Build a bed for acid lovers Check out our plant area for a great selection of rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers and camellias. Don’t worry if you don’t have the right soil to grow these acid lovers – simply buy some ericaceous compost and pop them into a large container or make raised beds for them.

Our staff members are some of the hardest working people we know, but everyone deserves time off! Many people from the team enjoy spending their days off outside in the fresh air, going on long walks, so we decided to put together our top three garden walks.

Post-Christmas check up Keep your houseplants in tip-top condition and they’ll continue to give you a colourful display for ages. All plants will need watering as and when needed but make sure you don’t overdo it. Flowering houseplants should be dead-headed regularly and given a weekly to fortnightly feed with a flowering houseplant fertiliser. Foliage plants need regular hand misting or standing on a saucer of damp pebbles or Hortag to maintain humidity around the leaves.

What varieties can I grow? There are very few varieties that won’t reward with a moderate crop. Westcountry soil is varied and frequently on the acidic side, but what if you have light or heavy soil?