0:00:05 > 0:00:07BIRDSONG
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14Last Saturday we had the equinox where, just for one day, you get
0:00:14 > 0:00:19exactly the same amount of night and day - 12 hours of dark,
0:00:19 > 0:00:2212 hours of light. And I feel it's like a seesaw,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and now it just tips down towards midwinter.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27That's not great for some of us
0:00:27 > 0:00:31but there are plants that don't seem to mind at all.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34For example the canna - this is Canna 'Wyoming' and tithonias -
0:00:34 > 0:00:38and they will go on flowering until they get the first frost.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41If nothing else, we've got that to cheer us up.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46Of course, grasses are also looking fantastic this time of year.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Carol is visiting a garden in Somerset with a superb display.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Rushing sound, lilting movement
0:00:54 > 0:00:58animation - they set the whole place alive.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02And I shall be potting up bowls for Christmas,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05so right in the middle of the winter we can have those flowers indoors.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08I'm also visiting a vegetable grower.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11He's a vegan and almost self-sufficient so his veg
0:01:11 > 0:01:14really have to be good.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I often get asked the right way to prune roses.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31I know there are people who feel that
0:01:31 > 0:01:34if they get it a bit wrong they'll ruin the plant.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36It isn't true, you know.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Roses are tough plants and they can take an awful lot of hacking
0:01:40 > 0:01:42and will come back.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44However, you do want to get the best from them
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and if you prune shrub roses now,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49they will look really good next year.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54It's dead easy, however you do need a highly specialised piece of kit.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And that's a pair of shears.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03You don't really think of shears as being the ideal tool
0:02:03 > 0:02:07for pruning roses but for shrub roses they're perfect for the job.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10I have got a shrub rose here,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13a gallica, but it's finished flowering.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16If you aren't certain whether you've got shrub roses or not,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20you can tell the difference between many of the shrub roses -
0:02:20 > 0:02:23the gallicas, bourbons, albas, centifolias and so on,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25and hybrid teas.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29This is a hybrid tea and it's got big flowers,
0:02:29 > 0:02:30they're still being produced.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34In fact those may well go on being produced right into November
0:02:34 > 0:02:36and they're all made on the end of new growth.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39You've got all these buds at the end of the growth.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44So you wouldn't prune a hybrid tea that's still flowering.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47But a shrub rose tends to flower just once.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52The flowers are a little bit smaller, more petals, the petals
0:02:52 > 0:02:58are smaller and softer, the foliage is a bit smaller, it's less robust
0:02:58 > 0:03:02in many ways but terribly tough as a shrub and tends to have more stems.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Some of them really grow quite big.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07That's another good reason for pruning in autumn
0:03:07 > 0:03:09because if they're too big the wind rocks them
0:03:09 > 0:03:12and the roots can be damaged.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14If I just trim those off now,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18that really needs to be the only pruning that will happen.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20I can come back to it in spring if I want to
0:03:20 > 0:03:23but they respond very well to being treated like a hedge.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41You can see the level that I'm cutting back to.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46I'm not going mad, I'm not trying to reshape it or cut out old wood.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I'm just trimming it back and would say that about a quarter
0:03:49 > 0:03:52of this year's growth is all you need to take off.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Next spring, if there are any dead stems or ones crossing badly,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18I can cut those out, but if there aren't, that's it,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22that won't get pruned again until next September or October.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35I think these grass borders
0:04:35 > 0:04:37are looking really good now.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I only planted them last June.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43So it's only taken a year to get to this stage,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and I tell you, I've done so little to look after them,
0:04:46 > 0:04:47they've done it on their own
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and they've done it magnificently.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54The thing that I really love about grasses is the way
0:04:54 > 0:04:57that they add a textural and sensual element to the garden,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01so you peer through them, and you have the sound
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and the way that they rustle together.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Really nothing else achieves that in quite the same way.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10And of course now is their season.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Overlooking this idyllic scene is this giant Sentinel and aged oak.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It keeps guard over this wonderful meadow.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Rich and diverse, full of the most wondrous grasses.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It twinkles in the morning sun,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and each dew drop is transformed into a miniature rainbow.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44And what gives this meadow its wonderful building softness
0:05:44 > 0:05:47is this myriad of different grasses.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Each one of them so beautiful in itself,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55and together combined to create this glorious scene.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Who could say just how many different species of grass
0:06:07 > 0:06:10make up this wonderful Meadow,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13each one totally different from the next.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14The things like
0:06:14 > 0:06:16this lovely crested dog's-tail,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18very even and symmetrical,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and then these lovely foxtail grasses.
0:06:21 > 0:06:28And this glorious meadow grass that makes these great, wafty waves.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Grasses in their natural habitat,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36in meadows and fields look wonderful.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40But in our gardens too they bring something extra.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43It's not just the lawns we walk about on,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45in their own right
0:06:45 > 0:06:49they make the most beautiful and ornamental additions to our gardens.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04On a sloping site that used to be an old farmyard,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Judy Pearce has planted her garden.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Ornamental grasses used en masse mean that
0:07:10 > 0:07:13this is a space that's wonderful
0:07:13 > 0:07:15through every single season of the year.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21I think these grasses probably are at their very best at the moment.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- Aren't we lucky?- Especially with the sun on them at this time.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26And of course,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28they don't mind the very poor soil.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Did you improve this site at all when you got here?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33We did absolutely nothing.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Out in the wild it's not improved at all.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38I thought, don't let's bother.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Let's plonk them in and hope for the best.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It's obviously paid off, hasn't it?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Yes, I mean these plants are very tough.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48They like it dry,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50they get it hot, hopefully, some summers.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Certainly facing the right way.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Facing the right way,
0:07:54 > 0:07:59- I don't think it would work on a north-facing slope, for example.- No.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04I think they just thrive in the natural elements.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07What gave you the inspiration for creating this, Judy?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Well, it was brought on by many visit driving across Spain.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15In the middle of Spain, on the plains,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18you come across rocks, wonderful grasses.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And amazing flowers.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24All looking after themselves, nobody's touching them.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27- And I thought, "A-ha, this is what I want."- Right.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29But further down the slope
0:08:29 > 0:08:33your grasses have sort of done their own thing, haven't they?
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Oh yes, they've colonised well.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38For example tenuissima
0:08:38 > 0:08:40will prefer it up here,
0:08:40 > 0:08:41and the little carex,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- the bronze carex... - Goes down the hill.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Has actually gone down the hill where it's a bit damper.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50It is plant in the right place.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- If it likes it it'll thrive. - Exactly.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56It was the advent of prairie planting
0:08:56 > 0:09:00that brought grasses as a group of plants to the attention of us,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03the great British gardening public.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06But first of all, we were very wary about how to use them.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10But surely this is how you ought to use them!
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Mixed together with wonderful perennials.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18If you're going for miscanthus, choose something like this.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It's light, it's graceful, it's elegant.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Despite its size, it's got great daintiness.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35On this slope there are grasses small and grasses great,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38none of them bigger than this lovely molinia.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42This is probably one called wind games, windspiel,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and you can quite see why.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48It dances in the wind, it delights in it.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Light's a vitally important factor too.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Just consider how beautiful they are
0:09:54 > 0:09:58when you can see their silhouette against a bright blue sky.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Now if you wanted a short molinia for your garden,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07any cultivar of Molinia caerulia would do brilliantly well.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11But if you want a bit of drama, go for one of these hybrids.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21This is Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster.'
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Karl Foerster was a German nurseryman and plantsman
0:10:25 > 0:10:30who cultivated and selected lots of really robust grasses.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34In common with miscanthus and molinias,
0:10:34 > 0:10:35it'll grow practically anywhere,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38as long as it has enough moisture at its feet.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' epitomises all the qualities
0:10:43 > 0:10:45that grasses can bring to your garden.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Rushing sound, lilting movement, animation.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53They set the whole place alive.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58They remind me so much of the grasses that cover the earth
0:10:58 > 0:11:02in fields and meadows everywhere,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07and they bring that quality, that element of life and the wild
0:11:07 > 0:11:09right into your garden.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24If ever you need flowers, it's in the depths of December.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30And if we plant bulbs now, we can pretty much guarantee
0:11:30 > 0:11:34having colour and fragrance at Christmas time.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Now I've got three different types here, the first are hyacinths.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Now this is one called delft blue.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45That lovely, China-ey blue.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49I love the fragrance, a fragrance that few other plants can match.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Now this is a prepared hyacinth.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55If you're going to buy them, make sure you ask for prepared bulbs,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57otherwise they'll take longer to flower.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And it's quite important that you get on with this,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03cos they take about 12 weeks to flower.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07So actually, that takes us from today right through to Christmas,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09so this is something to do as soon as you can.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15I like using these bulb pans, sometimes called Alpine pans.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18You do need to make sure the drainage is really good,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21so some crocks in the bottom
0:12:21 > 0:12:26and then a compost mix that has got lots of grit added.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28I would say 50% grit, and by the way,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31I'm talking about horticultural grit, which you buy in bags.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Normally with bulbs, you plant them deep,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and I'm always saying "Plant them twice their depth."
0:12:38 > 0:12:41But in this case, you plant them very shallowly.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45In fact, we only want half the bulb below the surface,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48so what I'm going to do is just place those on the surface,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52and you can fit them about half an inch or so apart
0:12:52 > 0:12:53and half an inch away from the edge.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55And then I'll just lightly top that up
0:12:55 > 0:13:00so the shoulders of the bulb are sticking above the soil.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And then grit on the top.
0:13:02 > 0:13:08What the grit does is both keep the compost still
0:13:08 > 0:13:11so when you water it it doesn't splash, and also protects the bulb
0:13:11 > 0:13:17if it gets too wet, cos it'll drain through the grit and keep it away.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Now, to make that flower by Christmas,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23it's got to go to a cool, dark place, and that means really dark.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26And then, as you see the growth appearing
0:13:26 > 0:13:30and a little bit of colour emerging, bring them out into the light,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32into the warmth and they'll grow and flower fast.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34So that's the hyacinths.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Next, I've got paper-white daffodils.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41This may look like any old daffodil bulb,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45but paper-whites really are not like other daffodils
0:13:45 > 0:13:49because they carry with them all the sunshine of the Mediterranean,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53which is where they come from, and an incredible fragrance.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So you're going to have the freshness of spring flowers
0:13:57 > 0:14:00right at the darkest time of year.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02This will flower six weeks from now, so it's a little bit early
0:14:02 > 0:14:05to have it flowering for Christmas,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08so if you do these by the end of October, they'll be fine.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14You can either put them in a pan or you can put them in a larger pot,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16and I've got a lovely old pot here,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20and that will balance the height because daffodils grow quite tall,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23so a little bit of drainage in the bottom.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26They're Mediterranean, so they like really good drainage again.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30And unlike normal daffodils, we don't have to worry about
0:14:30 > 0:14:35burying them deep, but we can just push them in and rather than having
0:14:35 > 0:14:39their shoulders out of the ground, these will be covered but only just.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Job done. See, this is really easy. This is a really easy job.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Finally, I've got an amaryllis.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Now, amaryllis is a plant that is loud and proud.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Has these fabulous trumpets of flower.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57No other plant, certainly in the middle of winter,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01gives such a volume of floral joy.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03But it likes its roots constricted,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06so you could easily grow this whopping great bulb
0:15:06 > 0:15:10in a pot about this size, with about an inch around the outside.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13If I put that in there, again,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I will sit that so it is appearing out of the top.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I don't want to bury it.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Now, the hyacinths need to go in cool dark
0:15:24 > 0:15:26and be brought out as they start to appear.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Paper-whites can go straight onto a window sill.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Keep them moist and they will grow and flower, and just do their thing.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Amaryllis needs some warmth.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39If this is going to flower round about Christmas time,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41it needs a blast of heat now, so a greenhouse,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44a conservatory or an airing cupboard is good.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47It doesn't actually need light at this point, but it does need heat.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52When it starts to grow, then you can bring it into the light.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55So they've all got slightly different regimes, but with any luck
0:15:55 > 0:16:01and a little bit of care, they'll all be flowering by Christmas.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Come on.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07This way, no, no, we're coming here.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Try not to bump into the hedge, old chap.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Now, I've got more bulbs, but this time very much for sowing outside.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18These are Japanese onions,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and I'm going to put them in here next to the leeks.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23I've got a strip of ground.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Japanese onions, you sow in autumn,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30and you harvest them in early summer.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32And that makes them a month or two earlier
0:16:32 > 0:16:35than conventional onion sets, which you put in as soon as you can
0:16:35 > 0:16:38at the beginning of the year and harvest July-August time.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42It just fills the gap between the last of your stored onions
0:16:42 > 0:16:45and the first of your harvested ones.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I'm going to add a little bit of compost
0:16:47 > 0:16:50because I find it just gives the soil a bit of a boost.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52This is not really fertiliser.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55It's much more getting all the organisms in the soil
0:16:55 > 0:16:57working to maximum effect.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Now this is a variety called Electric Red.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10And we put them in the ground just like any other onion set,
0:17:10 > 0:17:15which is to bury them so that their tops are sticking out,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and I use my finger, best planting tool there is,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and just pop them in the ground so that you can just see a little bit
0:17:23 > 0:17:27of onion sticking out, and as with all vegetables, it is worth
0:17:27 > 0:17:30taking trouble to get them equally spaced,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34because it makes hoeing so much easier.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Now, like lots of people,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I've been growing vegetables since I was a child,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40and over the years, we get quite good at it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42But from time to time,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47you come across somebody who really is a cut above everybody else.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57A couple of weeks ago, I went to meet a gardener
0:17:57 > 0:18:00who was formerly a Michelin starred chef.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05And he's absolutely committed to getting the best taste
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and nutrition from his crops.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Richard Sandford is a vegan
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and feeds himself almost entirely from his organic vegetable plot,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16which is about the size of three full-size allotments.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18It's therefore vital to him
0:18:18 > 0:18:20that he grows his crops as well as possible,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and it's clear to see that whatever he's doing,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25he is getting spectacular results.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32Now, I mean, looking around, one's struck by how healthy,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35vigorous and big everything is.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38But then, when you look closer you see it's very precise.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Everything is spaced exactly and accurately.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Perfect example is onions.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48The spacing of the onion determines almost totally,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51apart from the variety, how big it is.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57I want nice big onions to slice and to do in stews and stocks,
0:18:57 > 0:19:02so I space them at a distance that is for that end product.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06I want nice big onions, I want nice big carrots.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Three inches between carrots.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Why do you want big onions, big carrots,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13because the trend is towards baby veg.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15With things like carrots,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18the nutritional value of carrots is not as great when they're young.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24As they mature and they darken in colour and get bigger,
0:19:24 > 0:19:25they take on more vitamin D
0:19:25 > 0:19:27or beta-carotene or whatever it is you're looking for.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31So I would like to try to grow vegetables quickly,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34fast, so you get the sweetness,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38but also get to a size that is more manageable.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41To grow quickly, you've obviously got to have a soil
0:19:41 > 0:19:46- that's got suitable nutrients.- Yes. - What's your approach to your soil?
0:19:46 > 0:19:52- That's most of my life, most of my work.- That's such a lovely phrase.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55For someone to dedicate their life to their soil is a wonderful thing.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Richard's soil is heavy London clay.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04He works hard to lighten its structure
0:20:04 > 0:20:06with large and regular additions of sand, compost,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08manure and leaf mould.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11This is excellent, but conventional practice.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14However, I was intrigued by the way he makes his own potting compost
0:20:14 > 0:20:19by recycling woodchip paths in his garden.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22As soon as the seeds start growing in the paths,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25we know we've got to take them up and sieve them.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28You get three sieves. First of all, you get the big lumps,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30which we put back. Then we sieve it
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and use the mid-sievings to put on the top
0:20:33 > 0:20:36to stop water loss and stuff on the pots.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37And the fine sievings,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42which is this, it is wonderful stuff, I think.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47And that is a big base for our own potting compost.
0:20:47 > 0:20:54- So do you make all your own potting compost?- I would say that we try to.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55I have a lot of trimmings
0:20:55 > 0:20:57from the garden in general
0:20:57 > 0:20:59that I would have to get rid of if I didn't compost them.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03And I know what's in it.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07By keeping an eye on every detail
0:21:07 > 0:21:09of the way that his plants are growing,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Richard is growing some fabulous veg on his plot.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19Looking at your tomatoes here, which I've been eyeing greedily,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23I have to say, I am incredibly impressed.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25They look fantastic.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29But these are relatively small pots, and they're only half full of soil.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33- Yes.- Why's that? - I think they like it like that.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36With tomatoes, there is a kind of texture
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and sheen that you only get on really good tomatoes.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Part of that is due to what we feed them. They get fed every single day.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- Every day?- Every single day, with something.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48How did you arrive at that decision to feed every day?
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Did you start off feeding once a week?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I think about it in the bath at night.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- I think about things like this. - Right!
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Yes, I started off feeding once a week.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02I thought that wasn't good enough, so I started feeding them more often, and now we feed them every day.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- So what are you feeding them on? - I feed them one of three things.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10We use comfrey liquid, nettle liquid or wood ash liquid.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12And I look and I think "These aren't green enough",
0:22:12 > 0:22:13so we give them nettle,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17or "the fruits are starting to ripen", so I want more wood ash.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19And I adjust it as we're going along.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Richard not only grows high quality,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30but also large quantities of vegetables.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32So he's more or less self-sufficient.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38And he preserves as much as possible by bottling, pickling and drying.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40This means that he has a larder
0:22:40 > 0:22:42packed with organic produce from the garden
0:22:42 > 0:22:45to see him through the winter months.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50But at this time of year, there's no shortage of fresh produce.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56All these tomatoes look really impressive,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59but this pair here are incredible!
0:23:00 > 0:23:05So you've got that lovely softness, which is all meat in there.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08If you press your thumb in there, it's ripe, it's full of juice,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10and yet it's firm.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14It's amazing. You know from the feel that the taste will be fantastic.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16To be honest,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18those are the best tomatoes,
0:23:18 > 0:23:23these are the best tomatoes I have ever seen in the UK.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24Very kind of you.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Whatever you're doing is very, very right.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I think the really interesting thing
0:23:41 > 0:23:45about Richard and his approach to gardening
0:23:45 > 0:23:48is not that he's doing anything terribly unusual,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51or even terribly different to most of us.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54But he's paying great attention to detail.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56And the real lesson, I think,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01is that vegetables in particular repay constant attention.
0:24:01 > 0:24:08A little bit often, rather than a lot seldom, is much more effective.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25It's been a mixed year for sweet peas.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27They were pretty late to get going
0:24:27 > 0:24:30because we had such a cold, early summer.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33But they kept flowering right into September. At this rate,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35they'll still be flowering in October.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37This year, I've done a trial
0:24:37 > 0:24:41to see whether it really makes a difference
0:24:41 > 0:24:44what time of year you sow your sweet peas.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48I took the same variety, Monty Don, and sowed some in pots
0:24:48 > 0:24:54in October, some more in pots in March and then some directly in May.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58And I've kept a count of all the flowers that have been picked.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The results have been very interesting.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Now, the end ones, which were sown last October,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10produced 1,320 flowers.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14This middle batch, sown in exactly the same way
0:25:14 > 0:25:17but five months later, in March,
0:25:17 > 0:25:22produced 1,580 flowers.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So appreciably more.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26And the ones that were direct sown
0:25:26 > 0:25:29on the same day as the others were planted out,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31which was early May,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35produced a grand total of 55 flowers.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38So hardly any at all.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41To make it slightly more complicated,
0:25:41 > 0:25:46the autumn-sown ones were way ahead until August.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So as regards getting flowers for early summer,
0:25:49 > 0:25:50they definitely were an advantage.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54But from early August right through to the end of September,
0:25:54 > 0:25:59the spring-sown sweet peas produced many more flowers,
0:25:59 > 0:26:00and easily caught up,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and have overtaken over the last three or four pickings.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08So I think that you've got to look after autumn-sown ones
0:26:08 > 0:26:09and protect them.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13The best course of action is, sow your sweet peas in early spring,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17February, early March, grow them on nice and strong,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19look after them, and then plant them out
0:26:19 > 0:26:21in early May and across the summer.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26That will give you most flowers for your buck.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Now, I shan't be sowing sweet peas this autumn,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32but here are some jobs that you can be doing this weekend.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Green manure is a very useful,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37but rather under-used way
0:26:37 > 0:26:39of improving soil structure and fertility
0:26:39 > 0:26:43and suppressing weeds. I'm using vetches, or tares,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47but Hungarian grazing rye is also very good at this time of year.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Just broadcast or sow the seed in drills, rake it over,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and then it will grow over the winter
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and next spring can be dug into the ground
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and a new crop sown or planted on top of it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01Now, this is only a small job,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03but it's one of the most important of the season,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and that is to keep dead-heading.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's not enough to do it just once a week.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14Try and do it every day if you can, even if it's only for a few minutes.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Cut off the spent flower heads, and new ones will form
0:27:18 > 0:27:20right up until the first frosts.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25By now, grass has had a pretty tough time of it,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27and it needs a bit of TLC.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30The first thing to do is to scratch away with a wire rake
0:27:30 > 0:27:34all the dead thatch and loose growth,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36so you can let light and air in.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Then it needs aerating.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40If you've got a large area, you can hire a machine to do this.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But if it's relatively small, a fork is the best tool to use.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Simply dig it in as far as you can,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49wriggle it about and make holes all over the surface.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52This will let the air in, improve drainage
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and dramatically improve the quality of the grass.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Now, that's pretty much it for this week.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05But before I go,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08just to tell you that the British Trust for Ornithology
0:28:08 > 0:28:15are doing a survey to see which berries our birds like to eat.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16It starts this Sunday,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18and if you and your garden want to be part of that, you can,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and of course gardeners should be,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23because it's really important that we encourage our birds in
0:28:23 > 0:28:27and perhaps plant the right food for them.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31You can get all the details by going to our website.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I'll be back here next week, so I hope to see you then. Bye-bye.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd