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Beechgrove Garden - Season 48 - Episode 11 Eng Sub
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00:14Hello and welcome to Beechgrove Garden.
00:17On our plot just outside Aberdeen, we are getting productive.
00:23Coming up, George is planting runner and dwarf beans.
00:28I'm trying out a tasty tuber in the vertical garden.
00:31Will the tatties planted for George's birthday be ready?
00:35And a host of information about moving hostas.
00:43Gosh, it's started to rain, so I've come down into the fruit house to get some shelter,
00:47but also to do some work on the vine.
00:50Now, if you've got a vine and you've been away on holiday,
00:53what will possibly have happened is that it will really have grown in your absence
00:57and you've got to get in there and try and control it.
01:00And that way, I thin out the foliage.
01:02It puts the energy into the bunches of grapes.
01:05They get bigger.
01:06So the best thing to think about is how many bunches of grapes do you want, really?
01:11So you can thin out the shoots, only get one bunch of grapes per spur,
01:16and then find a bunch of grapes.
01:18See, there's a bunch of grapes there.
01:19That's the embryonic one.
01:21That will form into a big bunch later.
01:23And I go one, two leaves beyond it, and then I snip that off.
01:28Now, some books will tell you two leaves.
01:30Some will tell you one leaf.
01:32You know, life's too short to bother counting sometimes.
01:35So that's it.
01:36And here's one here.
01:36So I carry on all the way along with this.
01:40And then later on, what I can do is I can come along and thin the grapes that are in
01:44each bunch.
01:45There's a rod at the back which needs to be done.
01:48So plenty to do.
01:51Now, if you were watching, the last time I was up at Beatsgrove,
01:54I took a number of cuttings of the fig and we put them into containers.
02:00One went into this little container here.
02:02This is just a lemonade bottle which has some compost in the bottom and a cutting into it.
02:07And then we put other ones into here.
02:09And what I said when I did this was it's now a race between life and death.
02:15These cuttings have got to root before they dry out.
02:19So I'm going to take the top off and let's see what they're like.
02:22Okay.
02:23Now these look splendid, don't they?
02:25They look absolutely fantastic.
02:27But I doubt if they're rooted.
02:29And indeed I tried one earlier and had a look at it.
02:33And look at that.
02:33There's not a root to be seen.
02:35So why has it got foliage on it and no root?
02:39Well, the reason is that when I put this top on,
02:43the water is evaporating from the compost,
02:46filling that air space with moist air,
02:49and the cuttings are absorbing that and thinking,
02:51well, this is okay, I don't need any roots.
02:53So if I open this vent at the top,
02:57that will then give them a bit of a shock
03:00and they will think then that it's about time that we started producing roots.
03:04Anyway, that's new ones.
03:06These are the ones we're going to grow as a standard plant later on.
03:09Let's look at the old fig which is over here.
03:12Now we've got a number of figs forming already.
03:14These are the ones which were just the pea-sized figs
03:18on the young shoots last year.
03:21So what I want to do is to encourage these shoots,
03:24which you've got these figs on,
03:26to grow straight up here and right up the roof
03:29so that we get a long season,
03:33a long number of years actually,
03:35of growth until it gets to the top of the wire.
03:38And then we can cut it off and we can start again.
03:42So we've got to think about encouraging these young shoots that are at the bottom.
03:47Now that one I think I would keep,
03:49but all I'm going to do is just take my finger and thumb
03:52and rub out these small ones which are there.
03:56So we'll go along the shoot like that,
03:58keeping that one.
04:00We'll keep another one which is in there
04:02and we'll just rub out that fella which is there.
04:06We want to thin it out
04:08and make sure that we put all the growth into these shoots
04:11which are going up over
04:13and make sure you keep them on the proper side of the wire or the supports.
04:17There's nothing more annoying than it getting up the back
04:20and being an absolute nuisance.
04:22So we're thinning it out.
04:24We're trying to manage it
04:25so that it looks as though it belongs to somebody.
04:27And I always feel that that is the case.
04:29If you've got something which is properly managed,
04:32it's not that the plant knows what it's got to do,
04:34but it means that you're quite a bit in control.
04:37And that's very important.
04:50So I am back up in the vertical garden,
04:54showing you another plant that I'm adding into this space.
04:57So just as a reminder, I'm challenging myself to grow no more than 50cm off the wall
05:03all the way round in this space up here.
05:06And that's really just to showcase how we can grow vertically
05:10and make best use of any walls or spaces that we've got.
05:14So you might remember I popped in the Asian pear Shinseki a few weeks ago
05:19and it's doing really nicely now that it's starting to take that fan shape.
05:23But this is my new showcase piece that I'm really excited about.
05:28So this is Apios Americana, commonly known as the potato bean,
05:34for a really good reason and it's so exciting.
05:38So you can see that it's a climber, so it produces these bean-like flowers
05:42that have this kind of purpley-brown, really unusual colour to them
05:46that will eventually put beans on that are edible.
05:50The leaves are also edible, the stems are edible.
05:53It's also a perennial, so it will produce year after year.
05:57But when you go deeper into the plant, this is where it gets really exciting
06:02because it also produces tubers that have a nutty, sweet potato-like flavour.
06:09So let's see if we can see any of these tubers before we get it in the ground.
06:16Like that. Let's have a look. Let's have a look.
06:19We can see some tubers forming.
06:23So these will eventually grow much bigger.
06:26We can harvest them kind of piecemeal where you can take one at a time,
06:30eat them as you like, and I just think this is really exciting.
06:35Not only that, it also fixes nitrogen, as if it couldn't get any better.
06:40So just pop that in like that.
06:43And what I'm going to do is just train it up against the fence.
06:46And to do that, just like with the Shinseki pair, I'm going to use the Velcro.
06:50But there's one other thing that I want to show you that's just over here.
06:57So you might remember last year, I was using these purpose-built planters.
07:01And I loved them so much, I wanted to bring them back again,
07:05because they're perfect for a vertical space.
07:07Just as a reminder, they have this self-watering system with a reservoir in the bottom.
07:11So you can fill from the top, it'll go all the way down,
07:15and you just keep topping it up when your levels tell you that you need to.
07:18Which you can see, we do need to fill ours up.
07:20But what I really wanted to show you were these strawberries here.
07:24These are a variety called Summer Breeze.
07:26They come in a mix of different colours.
07:28But what's so unusual is just how vibrantly rosy cherry pink these are.
07:34Which are really unusual for strawberries, because they're usually white.
07:38But the other thing that's really exciting to see just now,
07:41is the formation of the fruit.
07:44Which is actually not a real fruit, it's called an accessory fruit.
07:48So you can see here, it looks like it's covered in these little seeds.
07:52They're the actual fruit, they're called achines.
07:55And it's actually the receptacle of the flower that swells up into the flesh that we eat and enjoy all
08:01summer long.
08:02Which is really cool, that you can actually see them at the moment.
08:05Because eventually, they'll all kind of merge together and you don't see them as easily.
08:08And I'm just really hoping that we get some really nice juicy fruits all summer long.
08:27I've come down to the main veg plot.
08:29And what I'm going to grow up these wigwams here are some runner beans.
08:34Now runner beans are the ones which we have to give support to.
08:38Because it is windy up here and otherwise they'd be all over the place.
08:41So, these are two different varieties we've got this year.
08:45The one at the back which is called Scarlet Emperor.
08:48And that is a traditional variety.
08:50One with, as the name suggests, scarlet flowers.
08:53And it has pods which can get up to about 30 centimetres.
08:56You can get them up to about a foot long.
08:58And this other variety, which I'm going to plant in this one, is one called Moonlight.
09:02This has white flowers, so we've got a decorative feature within the veg plot.
09:07These have all been suitably hardened off.
09:09And you can see the root system on those are just ready to go.
09:13Plant them on the inside of the structure.
09:15So that when they start to grow, you can grab onto that cane and go up.
09:21Now, there's always a conversation about what sort of twister is it?
09:25Does it go clockwise? Does it go anti-clockwise?
09:27Well, I don't really worry because it will make up its own mind.
09:30So I'm not going to twist it when I plant it.
09:32I'm just going to leave it and it will find its own level.
09:35Now, these are a kind of long-term crop really.
09:40We're planting them now.
09:41This is June and it's now going to be frost free and we hope that they'll survive.
09:47And what we're expecting is to get a crop from those in August, September and right through to the beginning
09:55of October.
09:56And if we keep pulling them and picking them, then they'll crop for much longer.
10:02Now, it's not just broad beans and runner beans.
10:06We've also got French beans and these are dwarf beans.
10:09I'm going over there.
10:15Now, you might be on a very windy site and runner beans will just be no good at all.
10:21They'll get tattered to bits by the wind.
10:23So a good alternative is to have French beans.
10:27So these are the dwarf beans.
10:28So sown under cover in the early spring, we can then plant them out as the warm weather approaches.
10:34And once they're frost free.
10:36So once again, these plants have been hardened off.
10:38Look at the roots.
10:39They're really ready to go.
10:41So these are going in here.
10:42And the distance apart, well, it's up to you.
10:46But I would put them just not quite a trowel's length, sort of that length apart.
10:51So from there to there.
10:52And that is going to give them enough room to develop.
10:54Now these will grow up to about a foot, foot and a half, so 300 millimetres tall.
11:01And then they will produce their crop of beans.
11:03And as long as you keep cropping them, they will continue to produce beans for quite a long time.
11:12So there we are.
11:12That's the beans planted.
11:14And you know, French beans are fantastic for children.
11:16They love French beans, which is quite strange.
11:18And you can what?
11:19You can steam them.
11:20You can stir fry them.
11:21You can boil them.
11:22And you can even freeze them down to be used in the winter.
11:26So they're a great crop.
11:27And it's a good way of getting youngsters to eat green vegetables, which is always difficult.
11:36Now you're off to visit Colin Crosby in his garden down in the Fisher, where he's involved with some summer
11:42jobs and perhaps splitting some hostas.
11:50Now here are three groups of pulmonareas.
11:53Common name, the lungworms.
11:55And if you look at them, you can see the lovely silver speckled foliage.
12:00And a range of different flowers, blues, purples, even to the pinks coming through.
12:06And they never quite stop flowering.
12:09But if I was to leave them like this, in the summer, they would start to look untidy.
12:14These old leaves get covered in mildew.
12:17But there's a way that we can freshen them up and have them looking really good throughout the summer.
12:22It can look cruel, but it's not.
12:25You gather up all the foliage and the leaves, and almost to about ground level, just snip it off.
12:33This looks quite, quite ferocious.
12:38But I will guarantee, in ten days' time, the new leaves will be coming through.
12:44And throughout the summer, it will look fresh.
12:47And it's such a wonderful value of a plant.
12:50So let's keep going, and we'll get this group all tidied up.
13:08This is one of my shrub beds in the garden.
13:11There's a wide range of plants growing in it, but there's also hostas.
13:14And I love hostas, because hostas grow really well here in my garden.
13:20And this is one of my favourite varieties.
13:22It's called Cali Colossus.
13:24Not because it has big leaves, but it has big flower spikes, about six foot tall.
13:30White flowers with a slight scent.
13:32But I'm going to do something rather unconventional.
13:36I'm actually going to divide it at this time of year, because I've got a part of the garden that
13:41needs more plants.
13:42And if I look at it, there's actually a natural division through the plant.
13:47I've got a sharp spade, and I'm going to start cutting down into it,
13:53and levering it backwards and forwards, trying not to damage the part of the plant that I'm leaving behind,
13:59and working my way through.
14:02And now what I need to do is get another spade.
14:05This is a spade I love, because with my stony soil, that really helps to dig things up.
14:13And I'm going to dig from the front of this clump, and then I'm going to try and lever the
14:18clump out of the flower bed.
14:21So here goes, already hitting stones.
14:25It's always the way.
14:27Ah, but that's better.
14:29And you can see how I lever it.
14:31And then working round, trying to get as many roots as I possibly can.
14:42And that clump is almost ready.
14:46Oh, it's almost dividing as I take it out.
14:49Oh, and have a look at that.
14:51What a great root system it's got.
14:53And I wonder how many plants I will get from this big clump of horses.
15:14This part of the garden has changed completely.
15:18It's where I had the ash trees that had the ash dieback, and they had to be removed.
15:23Causing devastation.
15:25But actually, they have given me an opportunity to redevelop this part of the garden.
15:31So I have colour and interest all through the year.
15:36Now here's the horse that I lifted earlier.
15:39I mentioned I like to try and get five, three or five.
15:42I like odd numbers in a clump.
15:45But when I look at this here, I reckon I might only get four.
15:51But that doesn't more.
15:52Four for the price of one.
15:54Great value in gardening and plants for free.
15:57So I'll try and get it divided.
15:59And then I can get it planted.
16:07There we are.
16:08And I'm going to cut through again.
16:15So there's four nice sized plants.
16:20And let's get it planted.
16:25And the stone's coming through.
16:28Good exercise for me.
16:31And that's the first plant going in and bringing the soil round about it.
16:39So that's it planted.
16:41It's really important to give it a good soap.
16:44Anything that you plant in the garden at this time of year.
16:47Even if you've had rain, it needs a good soap to water it in.
16:51Because if you look at the foliage, there's a lot of foliage.
16:55I've caused root damage.
16:56And if I didn't water it, it's likely to wilt.
16:59So a good soap, really, really important.
17:03It's really exciting as I go forward developing this part of the garden.
17:09And by the end of the summer, rather than just looking like an empty bed,
17:14there'll be a lot to interest.
17:16But you always have to remember, a garden is an unfinished painting.
17:21So I'm looking forward to adding lots of brush strokes of interest
17:25in this new part of the garden which has been made for me.
17:43So, George, at the start of the series,
17:46Brian and Carol planted some very special tatties.
17:49First earlies that were kept indoors to see if we could force them on
17:53to be ready for your birthday, which is today.
17:55Yeah, well, 35 again.
17:57Maybe the second time round or the third time, I don't know.
17:59I'm not saying.
18:01Now, this is jeopardy, isn't it?
18:03It is.
18:03We don't know what's at the bottom of it.
18:05We have no idea.
18:05No idea.
18:06Shall we go for it?
18:07We should.
18:08Irrespective.
18:08Here we go.
18:09Just a minute.
18:10Right.
18:11Up and down.
18:14Tip.
18:16Now.
18:17Well.
18:17See how dry the bag is at the bottom.
18:20Oh!
18:21Oh, no.
18:24Well.
18:24Tatties for dinner.
18:25Look at that.
18:26Haven't they done well?
18:27Eh?
18:28There's a surprise.
18:29Well, it's not a surprise.
18:31They're supposed to be qualified horticulturists, aren't they?
18:33Absolutely.
18:34They're good gardeners.
18:34They've done well.
18:35There you are.
18:36Look at that.
18:37I'm going to go and look out the butter and salt.
18:39These will be for tea tonight.
18:40Good.
18:41Good.
18:42Oh, fantastic.
18:43Well done.
18:51Well, Ruth, I know it's my birthday.
18:53Have you brought me lots of presents here?
18:55I have.
18:56A few gadgets to show you.
18:58Right.
18:58And what are they for?
18:59Well, the idea behind them is really just to enhance our growing.
19:03It's not essential, but it's always just fun with a bit of technology.
19:06OK.
19:07So what have we got?
19:07You take me through them.
19:08OK.
19:08So first of all, we have this one over here.
19:11So this is a heat mat.
19:12Mm-hmm.
19:12So these are perfect for starting your seeds off earlier in the season.
19:15Right.
19:16But at this time of year, especially up in the northeast,
19:18can be great for popping your chillies on.
19:20Uh-huh.
19:21Because if we have warm roots...
19:23Yeah.
19:24...we have warm feet and we have happy plants.
19:26Right.
19:26Now, do the roots function better at particular temperatures?
19:29Well, it depends on what you're growing.
19:30Right.
19:31Um, but if you're growing, you know, your hot climate plants like chillies,
19:35then, yeah, 25 degrees would be ideal.
19:38So how does it work?
19:39Convince me that I should get one.
19:40OK.
19:41OK.
19:41So you could just plug in your mat directly into power.
19:45So you do need power for this one.
19:46OK.
19:47But if you're like me and can be a little bit either forgetful
19:51or maybe a bit lazy, I've brought a second gizmo.
19:55Oh, right, OK.
19:56So this is just a thermostat.
19:57Right.
19:58So what we do is we just go ahead and plug that in there
20:00and you would just set this to the temperature that you want it to be at.
20:04Now, how do I know what the right temperature is for what I'm growing?
20:08So you're going to have to do some research.
20:09OK.
20:10So for something like chillies, you might be talking like 25 degrees,
20:13for example.
20:14But some things might be higher.
20:17Yeah.
20:18Or slightly lower.
20:19Now, how do I know that it's reached 25?
20:22Well, you have something in your hand.
20:25So we have to stick this.
20:27So this is the probe that's attached to the thermostat.
20:31Right.
20:32And it's all about the roots.
20:34We need warm feet, OK?
20:36OK.
20:36So what we would do is just pop that underneath one of your pots.
20:39OK.
20:40And it will then detect the temperature and tell this whether or not it should be on or off.
20:45Now, the second one, which looks a little bit dangerous, tell me about that. What's that about?
20:51So this is a three-in-one metre.
20:54So it'll tell you three different things.
20:56It'll tell you how bright it is.
20:57So it's got a little light sensor.
20:59All right.
20:59Into the sunshine?
21:00Yes.
21:00So how bright it is.
21:02It'll also tell you the pH.
21:03And it will also tell you how wet your compost is.
21:07Right.
21:07And what we would do with this is put it in a pot.
21:09OK.
21:10So we can just pop that straight in there like that.
21:12Right.
21:13And as we move the little toggle, the dial starts to move based on...
21:19Whether it's too hot, too dry, too cold.
21:21Exactly.
21:21Right, OK.
21:22So it will tell you if you put it to pH.
21:25So this is currently sitting at about between six and seven, which is...
21:29OK.
21:30Well, that's good, because what is it? Seven is neutral, isn't it?
21:32Yes.
21:32Yeah.
21:33And we want ever so slightly acidic.
21:35Right.
21:36So slightly into the six for most plants, unless they're specialists.
21:39I mean, so it's not just a question of pushing things into the soil, is it?
21:42Or planting things in the soil, it's all...
21:44There's a bit of technology here and science.
21:46Yeah.
21:47Which is important.
21:48And you could use this out in the garden as well.
21:50It doesn't have to be in pots.
21:52So the only thing I'd say is if you're using this between pots, particularly for pH,
21:57just give it a wee wash between pots.
22:00OK.
22:00Right.
22:00And that way you get the proper reading.
22:02You're not contaminating what you're doing.
22:04Exactly.
22:05Exactly.
22:06And your little blue thing, blue and white thing here, what's this?
22:10So this is an electrical conductivity pen.
22:12OK.
22:13EC pen.
22:14Right.
22:14And basically once we switch it on, we make up a nutrient solution.
22:19Uh-huh.
22:19So we're making up our liquid feed.
22:21I've got my watering can and I've put the tomato feed in it.
22:24I've maybe added a wee bit extra.
22:25Uh-huh.
22:26So you can just pop that in.
22:28Uh-huh.
22:28And what it'll do is tell you how strong or weak the solution is.
22:33And does that matter?
22:35Does it not mean that if I have a right strong solution that things are going to grow faster?
22:39No.
22:40Oh.
22:40Not always.
22:41Because you...
22:42You could be burning the roots.
22:44So like putting far too much salt in your bolognese.
22:48Oh, right.
22:49OK.
22:49Too much sugar in your tea and it just off, right.
22:51Exactly.
22:52But it's also important for between different plants as well.
22:56Uh-huh.
22:56So if you've got something like lettuce, you'd want a reading of about 1.2, 1.4.
23:00Which is low.
23:01Yeah.
23:01Which is compared to tomatoes, which 2.5 to 3.5.
23:06Ah, right.
23:06OK.
23:06So yes, lower.
23:07Whereas these are very heavy feeders, so we'll need more.
23:11So it's just to kind of help guide how strong your solution is and whether or not you need
23:16to add a wee bit more or maybe dilute it with water.
23:18Now, if you were to recommend any one which you think would be most helpful to me, what
23:26would you recommend?
23:27I think as a starter, I would say the probe over here, your three-in-one probe.
23:31Right.
23:32It can tell you a lot.
23:32Yeah.
23:33And it's multifunctional.
23:34You can use it in pots, you can use it out in the garden.
23:36Right.
23:36And the second one, possibly the heat mat?
23:39I would definitely say the heat mat next.
23:40It's, again, quite versatile.
23:42Mm-hmm.
23:42And then the EC Pen is maybe one which, if you like gizmos, it's another one to buy.
23:47It is, exactly.
23:48But it can be helpful if you are a bit heavy handed with your fertilizer.
23:53I think you're picking on me.
24:05Isn't that a wonderful contrast?
24:07You cast these white flowers against the dark, purpley foliage of the Fisocarpus diablo,
24:12the devil.
24:13And it's a really dark plant.
24:14And that is just a fantastic way in which we can use plants, growing one up through the
24:19other.
24:20Earlier on, Brian was planting an apple and wanting to get the space.
24:26There was a clematis in the way, and so we rescued it.
24:29And this is it here.
24:30It's a variety called autofroible.
24:33And I have to warn you, this was lifted back in April.
24:36So the root system on this is not going to be terribly well established in this pot.
24:41But what I'm going to do is I'm going to plant it at the bottom of this giant Fisocarpus.
24:48The reason?
24:49Well, that's where clematis grow.
24:50They grow in the wild in woodlands, and they scramble up through other plants.
24:55The roots, therefore, are shaded.
24:57Now you think of what you're told to do by the books and other folks, is that when you
25:02plant a clematis out in the open, maybe against a wall, put a big slab over the root system,
25:08or plant up with ground cover so that the roots are always shaded.
25:12So that's what we've got here.
25:13We're going to have roots which are shaded, and we're going to have a support for the clematis
25:17to climb up.
25:19Right, I'm going to knock this out of the pot.
25:22See, the root system is not exactly the most exciting for you.
25:28But that's it going in there.
25:30And I'm going to put it slightly deeper than it was before, because that way we get shoots
25:36coming from below ground level, and that helps the plant to recover from clematis wilt,
25:43which is sometimes a thing that affects clematis when you plant them newly.
25:48The other thing is, because the soil is so dry at the moment, I'm going to water this in immediately.
25:53I'm going to put some water in the hole, so that it's got a good drink, and the roots don't
25:59get dried out at all.
26:02So that's it.
26:03Done that there.
26:04And then it's just a simple case of filling in.
26:07But if you look in here, see, there's young shoots.
26:10And these are the ones which will eventually come out and scramble up the bush.
26:15Well, what are you going to do about the pruning, George?
26:17This is a group two one, and you'll love to keep pruning.
26:20No, I'm not going to prune it.
26:22That one that's growing up through there has never been pruned.
26:25It just does its own thing.
26:26And this one, I hope, will just do its own thing.
26:29So filling that in, we've got some leaf mould into this hole to make sure that the whole thing is
26:37feeling that it's in a woodland setting.
26:40And it will take nutrition from that.
26:44Always make sure that these things are well firmed in.
26:47Make a dish around the top and fill it up with water.
26:52And that way, that water will sink down into the root system.
26:57It will settle the soil round about the roots, and it will give the plant an ideal start.
27:05What I think might happen here is that the foliage that's on here already possibly will wilt back.
27:11But the young shoots at the base will grow, and they will make, what, two, three foot of growth this
27:16year before we get into autumn.
27:18So there we are. I'll finish this off.
27:20But isn't that good?
27:21From going with two plants in the one space, we've now got three plants in the one space.
27:28Now that's cheap and easy and very inventive gardening.
27:46Well, Ruth, look at these lupins. Isn't that just fantastic? The flowers are superb.
27:51Beautiful, but I'm really enjoying the water that's gathering on the leaves.
27:55It's majestic and synonymous of spring.
27:57Well, it just shows it's been a wet day, that's all.
28:01Anyway, that's about it from us, isn't it?
28:03It certainly is, but Brian and Lizzie will be here at Beechgrove next week.
28:07Brian will be looking at ways to make your garden more accessible.
28:10And Lizzie will be planting out half-hardy annuals, because now that we're well into June,
28:15the risk of frost here in the north-east of Scotland is pretty well gone.
28:19And there will also be a visit to Callum's Allotment in Leaven.
28:23Remember, you can catch the whole series so far on iPlayer.
28:25But from the theatre of us, it's bye for now.
28:28Bye!
28:28Bye!
28:29Bye!
28:30Bye!
28:32Bye!
28:54Bye!
28:55Bye!
28:57Bye!
28:57Bye!
28:58Bye!
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