0:00:14 > 0:00:15Oy.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20That's a tall one. Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23I'm actually cutting back the foxgloves.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Foxgloves are biannuals, they've done their stuff,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29so, in theory, that's it, they're over,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and the seeds will create new plants
0:00:32 > 0:00:37that will germinate this autumn and either flower next year, or, if
0:00:37 > 0:00:39it's a slow year, even the year after that.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42But they can behave as perennials, short-lived ones.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46So if you cut them back, if you see signs of growth at the base,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50there is a chance that they will flower again next spring.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54And so it's a good idea at this time of year to create spaces,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56take stock, cut back where necessary,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58and then start to look around.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Look at other gardens, look at pictures.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Make lists, then plants can be bought,
0:01:03 > 0:01:08planted in winter, and next year this area should be full of colour
0:01:08 > 0:01:11that will sustain right through into autumn.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Come on, Nelly.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25This week, Frances Tophill continues her vegetable trials
0:01:25 > 0:01:29at RHS Rosemoor - and the news is mixed.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Now, you may want to sit down, because
0:01:33 > 0:01:35I'm afraid I have some bad news.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37All of our tomatoes have got blight.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41And we join Alan Power, at Hestercombe,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45that great Edwardian garden in Somerset,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48to discover the missing plant
0:01:48 > 0:01:52that finally completes the restoration jigsaw.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54It's just a real privilege, really.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56It's why you choose to work in a historic garden.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00The planting, the history is all such a big part of it.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09And I shall be harvesting late summer veg,
0:02:09 > 0:02:14and also preparing the vegetable garden for next spring and summer.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And after last summer's disaster with my grapes,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19what with wasps and blackbirds,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23this year I have taken steps to foil them.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24Haven't we, Nige? Yeah.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42It is time to prune the summer fruiting raspberries.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Of course, raspberries come in two types.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46You have the summer fruiting and autumn fruiting,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and the big difference is that summer fruiting ones,
0:02:48 > 0:02:54which are here, produce their fruit on last year's canes,
0:02:54 > 0:02:59whereas autumn fruiting ones, which are in the next row over there,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01produce their fruit on this year's canes.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And the net effect of that in terms of pruning means that you
0:03:05 > 0:03:08have to carefully prune out the old canes from summer
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and leave the new ones.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12And here, for example, is a new cane.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15It hasn't borne any fruit this year but will next year,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18whereas autumn fruiting ones, you can simply cut the whole lot
0:03:18 > 0:03:21flush with the ground round about Christmas time
0:03:21 > 0:03:23and let it start all over again.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Now, I like pruning raspberries,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27because there is an element of skill involved.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And when you're done, you take this rather sad,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33tangled mess and it looks really good.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37First thing to do is to cut off
0:03:37 > 0:03:41all the ties that held last year's canes.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44And you can see in the tangle of growth,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47there are wires in there supporting it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49So if we cut those free...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52There we go. Come on...
0:03:54 > 0:03:59Of course the sad truth is, I realise I need glasses for this.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03This is the first time I have needed glasses to prune raspberries,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05and I don't know if that's a sad thing or
0:04:05 > 0:04:08a joyous new experience, but it's reality.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28Well, that's last year's canes cut free.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32So now I need to remove them and they all need to go
0:04:32 > 0:04:33and come off at ground level.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36And if you're not quite sure which is last year's cane
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and which is this one,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40the best guide, particularly at this time of year, is colour.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45This is one of last year's canes, and you can see it's brown,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and they will all be this distinct brown colour,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53whereas the new canes, like this one, are still green.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59And if you do the job this month, or certainly over the next four weeks,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03that's the best and easiest way to differentiate between the shoots.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06If you leave it into October or November, they all look a bit
0:05:06 > 0:05:09brown and it can be a little bit confusing.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12So it is a job to do, I think, before the end of September.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14So, I'm going to remove all these.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21That can come out there.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26That's an old one.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Now, what you're left with is everything that
0:05:39 > 0:05:42could potentially bear fruit next year.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44But at this point you want to be selective,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48because you don't want more than four or five canes per plant.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51You want lots of energy, so you want to, A,
0:05:51 > 0:05:52select the best plants and, B,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56remove any that are inappropriate or tangled or broken.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59The first thing to do is take any of the outside edge,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04so those can come off, and those along there, and there.
0:06:05 > 0:06:11And if I just go round this side here and thin these off -
0:06:11 > 0:06:14so that can come off there, and that -
0:06:14 > 0:06:16what you're left with are potential candidates.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Let's start tying those in.
0:06:18 > 0:06:24And the system I use is to weave a long piece of twine,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26so what you do, is you go around like that.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Around, over and then on.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Now, the next one, that is going to go over,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35so this one's coming on this side.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I'm making sure that these are spaced out fairly evenly.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41And now I'll just tie the bottom layer in,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45so it is really fixed and firm.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53That's a beginning. And it gives you an idea of what they will
0:06:53 > 0:06:55look like when I've finished.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01So just a simple, single row of clear leaved spaced canes,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04not more than five or six per plant. And that's it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07They are then set up till next summer.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10You don't have to do anything else at all to them
0:07:10 > 0:07:13except from giving them mulch next spring.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Raspberries are something that always take me back to my childhood,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20because one of my jobs as a small child was to go and pick a
0:07:20 > 0:07:23bowl of raspberries from the fruit cage, and I know that
0:07:23 > 0:07:28that fruit cage had been there since the garden was made in the 1880s.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32And so probably my grandfather, who was brought up there,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35picked the same fruit, from the same canes.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And a garden that is contemporary with that
0:07:37 > 0:07:40is Hestercombe in Somerset. It is one of my favourite gardens.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43The garden has been beautifully restored.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47But there was one plant that, tantalisingly,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49they couldn't find anywhere,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and Alan Power has been down to find out more
0:07:53 > 0:07:55about this elusive Gladioli.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Hestercombe House is one of the best places in the country to
0:08:02 > 0:08:04see the great teamwork between
0:08:04 > 0:08:08garden designer Edwin Lutyens and plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Her clever use of colour and texture here
0:08:10 > 0:08:13shows exactly why she became so celebrated.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The Edwardian garden was laid out in 1905 to Lutyen's design.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24He give Jekyll the drawings and an idea of the soil and location,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26and she came up with the planting plan.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And thanks to Jekyll's planting list,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32which is still here at Hestercombe,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35the garden team have been able to pretty accurately recreate
0:08:35 > 0:08:37the original design.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40But, frustratingly, there has always been one plant missing.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46I'm meeting the head gardener, Claire Greenslade.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52So, Claire, all of these plants, these are plants that Jekyll planned
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and recommended for the beds and borders at Hestercombe?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Yeah, we're lucky enough to have found all the original
0:08:57 > 0:09:00planting plans, because we think Jekyll did it all remotely,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02so we don't think she ever actually visited here.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Did you have to do a lot of research
0:09:04 > 0:09:06to try and discover what Jekyll used here?
0:09:06 > 0:09:10We are really lucky in that the Portman family that lived here
0:09:10 > 0:09:14had a great photo collection that they have given to us.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16- It's so useful, isn't it? - It's great.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So, quite often I am with the archivist
0:09:18 > 0:09:20with a magnifying glass going, "What do you think that is?
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Do you think that's blocks or do you think that's Dianthus?"
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And it pops into your head at night, thinking,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- "Actually, it could be..." - Yeah!- "..X, Y or Z, couldn't it?"
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It's always the way, isn't it? It is always the middle of the night.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Did you face many other challenges as you were, so to speak,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35plant hunting for the beds here?
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Yeah, we had these two difficulties in that there are two types
0:09:39 > 0:09:43of Gladioli like that Gertrude Jekyll had mentioned in her plans,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46brenchleyensis and chaldzyi,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49that just as far as we were concerned just simply didn't exist,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51we couldn't find them anywhere.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54We presumed they had just got out of cultivation for whatever reason,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58maybe weren't good propagators or just weren't fashionable,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03- and so we spent a lot of time trying to grow alternatives.- Yeah.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06So we would look at a black-and-white photo and
0:10:06 > 0:10:09a written description and then we'd grow as many, you know,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13red Gladiolis with a white throat as we could and try and compare them.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Wow. In essence, you're painting a picture from the past and
0:10:16 > 0:10:18you're adding colour to it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23- Yeah.- And how close are you to getting your treasured Gladioli
0:10:23 > 0:10:25back into the garden again?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Well, quite recently we have discovered that
0:10:27 > 0:10:29brenchleyensis still survives.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- Really?- Yeah.- And when was that discovered?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33A few years ago,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35a Jekyll expert, Michael Tooley,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38was visiting the Isle of Man and giving a talk
0:10:38 > 0:10:41there about Jekyll, and he mentioned Gladioli brenchleyensis.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45And after his talks, someone in the audience came up to him and said,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47"Well, I think I've got that in my garden.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48How exciting. He must have nearly
0:10:48 > 0:10:50fallen off his stool when he heard that.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53So he went and had a look and got experts to verify that
0:10:53 > 0:10:56it was the correct one, and we have managed to work with some
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Gladioli growers and the National Trust Plant Conservation Centre
0:11:00 > 0:11:03to try and get this corm going again
0:11:03 > 0:11:06so that we can actually have a stack of them.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07That is amazing, isn't it?
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And that's not a process that happens overnight, is it?
0:11:10 > 0:11:14No, it takes ages, because Gladiolis will produce cormlets,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16like tiny little corms, and to get one of those to
0:11:16 > 0:11:19a flowering stage will take five or six years.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23We have our first ten corms that we have reproduced, and they are
0:11:23 > 0:11:25in pots and they are safe in the greenhouse.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27So, I need 800, we've got ten.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- So, you have ten.- Yeah! It's a start. We'll get there.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34It's going to be a slow process but it's quite nice to be
0:11:34 > 0:11:37conserving something that might have otherwise just, you know,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40if that guy's house had been sold and someone didn't like Gladiolis
0:11:40 > 0:11:42and they had dug them out and got rid of them...
0:11:42 > 0:11:44It is quite a moment in history,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47completing Jekyll's colours in your garden.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Yeah, and hopefully conserving this plant
0:11:49 > 0:11:52that might otherwise have been lost.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53So can we go and have a look at it?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56- Yeah, sure, they're up in the greenhouse.- Brilliant, thanks.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Wow, how exciting.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11These were planted round about the beginning of May.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I've just got them in a really loose compost, because I was
0:12:14 > 0:12:18terrified of them rotting or getting eaten by mice.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22How special, it is a really, really significant moment.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24You are, presumably, quite anxious now
0:12:24 > 0:12:26that all of this work that's gone in,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28that these flowers are going to come out
0:12:28 > 0:12:30and they're going to be exactly what you want.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Imagine if they came out yellow!
0:12:32 > 0:12:37I can just see a hint of red, so we are going in the right direction.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40How on earth are you going to get from these ten to the 800 you need?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43- It is a long way to go, isn't it? - It is, isn't it?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47We don't really have enough room or enough staff to carry out
0:12:47 > 0:12:49that kind of mass scale propagation.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53So, we would love to start projects with our members and things
0:12:53 > 0:12:55like that and get them growing them
0:12:55 > 0:12:57and make sure we don't lose the species again.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01You must be delighted, excited and a nervous wreck all at the same time.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Yeah. Desperate to share it, desperate for it to flower.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06It's just a real privilege, really.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09It's kind of like why you choose to work in a historic garden as well,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13it's... The planting, the history, is all such a big part of it.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15This is your stamp on Hestercombe,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18- isn't it? Getting this plant back. - I guess so, yeah.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23In history, it will be mentioned in a diary and in an archive -
0:13:23 > 0:13:24"Oh, yeah, Claire did that."
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- It is something to be proud of, isn't it?- It is, yeah, it really is.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35A few days after I visited Hestercombe,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Jekyll's lost brenchleyensis bloomed
0:13:37 > 0:13:39in the garden for the first time in decades.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41What a beauty.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Well, I don't need much of an excuse to go back to Hestercombe,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00but I would love to see that Gladioli like growing in the garden.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Now, one thing I didn't see
0:14:02 > 0:14:04on my last trip to Hestercombe was any veg.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09And veg is something that I always feel every garden should have
0:14:09 > 0:14:12something of, if it possibly can.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14In fact, I have enlarged the vegetable garden
0:14:14 > 0:14:16here at Longmeadow this spring, and it has done well.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The cabbages have been good -
0:14:19 > 0:14:22they are looking a bit ravaged now, but that is to be expected.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25These are summer cabbage, and the pigeons and
0:14:25 > 0:14:28the slugs have had a good feast of them just as have we.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32So, I will take this here before the nasties can get it.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36That's still really good.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Next to it I've got growing Savoys, which of course are winter cabbage,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and these won't get harvested till the New Year
0:14:44 > 0:14:46or even into next spring.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50And that's true also of the purple sprouting broccoli that I've got
0:14:50 > 0:14:52and you can see that I've under-planted it
0:14:52 > 0:14:53with two types of lettuce.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I've got green and red oakleaf lettuce
0:14:56 > 0:14:59which will grow perfectly well alongside
0:14:59 > 0:15:03the purple sprouting broccoli, and then as autumn comes and it goes,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05the broccoli can take over the whole space.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Again, that won't be harvested until next April, even.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11In this part of the garden, the old vegetable garden,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14I suppose you could call it, things have been going fine.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18One of my favourite brassicas is this, this is cavolo nero.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21You can eat it in summer, winter, spring and autumn,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and it'll grow quite happily for about 10 months,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and you just pick the leaves as they develop, and it will grow on up,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and by the end of the season it's right up here.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Its great characteristic is that you can cook it for as long as you like
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and it doesn't spoil.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39It's fabulous as a vegetable in its own right,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43it's great in soups, in stews, it makes a wonderful pasta sauce.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It really is fantastic to eat, and on top of that,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50if that wasn't reason enough to grow it, it's really good for you too.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Now, I grow vegetables because I like the taste,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57and I don't try and experiment too much outside things
0:15:57 > 0:16:01that I know myself and my family are going to enjoy,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05but Frances Tophill has been part of some experiments and trials
0:16:05 > 0:16:08that the RHS have been doing at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire
0:16:08 > 0:16:10and Rosemoor in Devon,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14comparing the two different locations with same varieties.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19We join her in Devon, as she looks at this year's corn on the cob.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Well, the cucumbers, beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes
0:16:32 > 0:16:34have been growing all summer long
0:16:34 > 0:16:36and these sweetcorn look pretty impressive.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39The small ones, that were tiny before, Mirai Picnic,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42have now overtaken the others, but all of the sweetcorn
0:16:42 > 0:16:45are showing signs that some of the crops are ready to be harvested.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49You can tell initially from this brown rather than white hair
0:16:49 > 0:16:52coming out of the top, but really, to make absolutely sure,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57if we peel back to reveal some of the corns
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and just squeeze that...
0:17:01 > 0:17:04If it comes out clear, then you know it's not quite ready,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07and if it comes out a milky colour, then you know it is ready,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and that one's actually still a little bit clear
0:17:09 > 0:17:11so I'm not going to harvest it just yet.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14But...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16when we do find some that are...
0:17:21 > 0:17:22That one looks good.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31It's much more yellow.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Yeah, that one's good.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Now to pick these, take it with all the leaves still on,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42the sheaf, and just twist.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44This comes off easy-peasy...
0:17:48 > 0:17:51..into the basket.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Hopefully one of many, that is.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56There's not much to do at this time of year with the sweetcorn,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58but remember that they are shallow-rooted
0:17:58 > 0:18:03so they'll need lots of water and take extra care when you're hoeing.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Up in Yorkshire, at RHS Harlow Carr, they're mirroring our trials.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13They are keeping a record of all of their veg,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and they're going to bring the results down in a month's time
0:18:17 > 0:18:20with some crops so we can compare them for yield and for taste.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23Although we are harvesting,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26our cucumber plants still need a bit of attention.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Remove any dead leaves and any rotting fruit to prevent
0:18:29 > 0:18:31the build-up of diseases.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Keep watering and feeding regularly with a high potash feed,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and most importantly, keep harvesting.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38If you pick the bigger fruits,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41it gives the small ones a chance to grow.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47These climbing French beans are romping away.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51This one is violet-podded, and although it looks very vigorous,
0:18:51 > 0:18:52and there are some flowers,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56I can hardly see any pods at all.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58A few here,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03but certainly much too small to harvest so I'll leave them for now.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08The Cobra, on the other hand, which is this one,
0:19:08 > 0:19:13an old garden favourite, a very popular variety, has loads of pods.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16The only thing you really have to do is to keep picking and picking
0:19:16 > 0:19:19because the more you pick, the more beans will grow.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Up at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33they are very much the same as us down here in Devon.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37We've all been harvesting for about two weeks and, as here,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40the violet-podded are a bit behind the other two varieties,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45so funnily enough, beans don't seem to mind the North or South divide.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Interesting.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51All through the harvest, we're going to be keeping track
0:19:51 > 0:19:54and recording meticulously everything we pick,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56so we are weighing the beans and the tomatoes
0:19:56 > 0:20:00and counting the cucumbers and the sweetcorns.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Now, you may want to sit down because I'm afraid I have
0:20:05 > 0:20:07some bad news.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11All of our tomatoes have got blight! The dreaded blight!
0:20:11 > 0:20:15This is an airborne pathogen which affects the leaves and the stems
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and you can see it instantly when you get it because you'll see
0:20:18 > 0:20:22these leaves begin to go and the stems will turn brown.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24In bad cases, you'll see like this,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28the fruits will also turn brown or black.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Now, once these leaves have died, the spores will be released
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and then they'll blow across to your neighbours' gardens
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and neighbouring allotments, so these have to go.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Which means I won't be able to harvest them for tasting
0:20:40 > 0:20:41later on in the season,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44so instead, I'm going to taste them all now
0:20:44 > 0:20:48and just hope that Harlow Carr's haven't got blight.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52If you haven't got blight, now is the time to keep regularly watering.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Irregular watering can cause the fruits to split as they swell
0:20:56 > 0:20:57and then contract.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01You don't have to worry when you're eating things that have got blight -
0:21:01 > 0:21:03it doesn't affect humans, it just affects the plants,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05so they're perfectly safe.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I'll harvest all of these and then get rid of what's left.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09So...
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Tumbling Tom Yellow.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It's quite sharp, very flavoursome.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22This is Hundreds and Thousands, very small.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Much sweeter. And finally this is Tumbler.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Interesting, really different texture, much softer texture,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41but I think actually the best one is probably the Hundreds and Thousands.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Even though it's small, it's really, really flavoursome.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Hopefully you've been growing along with us, and we'd love to know
0:21:47 > 0:21:49how you've been getting on,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52so please put any pictures you can on our Facebook page.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Blight is a real problem for outdoor tomatoes,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05that's why I don't grow them outside here at Longmeadow.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08I did last year, and sure enough they got blight.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11This year, in the greenhouse, not a touch of it.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15The glass is usually protection enough to stop the spores
0:22:15 > 0:22:16getting on to the plants.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Certainly no problems with the beetroot.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Sorry, Nige, didn't mean to bash you on the nose. Sorry, old chap.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26I like beetroot in lots of different ways,
0:22:26 > 0:22:31but not just for eating as a veg.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32They make fantastic juicing,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and if you get a larger one like that,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38or even a bit woody later on in the season, don't ditch them -
0:22:38 > 0:22:40they're still really good for juicing.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Fennel has had a mixed time of it in the last week or two.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54It was really dry and it didn't get watered, and it's bolted.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Now, what you're looking for is one like that.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01That is a nice head,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03you can see it's good fleshy overlapping leaves.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05That will be delicious,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08either eaten raw as part of a salad
0:23:08 > 0:23:11or cooked - lightly poached in a little bit of white wine
0:23:11 > 0:23:12is absolutely lovely.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17But when they get like that, there's no way back.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23That isn't going to ever develop a nice base that you want to eat
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and so really the thing to do is to cut your losses,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29accept that it hasn't worked - and these very often do bolt
0:23:29 > 0:23:33if they're too dry, too cold, too hot, or too wet -
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and use the ground for something else.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Growing fennel may not be something that you indulge in,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43but you've got a bank holiday weekend coming up, so extra time
0:23:43 > 0:23:47to do extra jobs in the garden, and here are some of them.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53If you've got a spare patch of ground in your veg plot,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56fill it with the seeds of a fast-growing salad crop
0:23:56 > 0:24:00which you can harvest in autumn.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01I'm sowing rocket,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04where I've pulled up fennel that have bolted.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08I'm broadcasting it so I don't need to worry about sowing it in rows.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Rake the seeds in, and make sure they don't dry out,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14so water them at least once a week.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Now is the time to prepare strawberries for next year.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Clear away any mulch that you put down...
0:24:29 > 0:24:33..weed them and then cut away all this year's foliage.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35This will let light and air in
0:24:35 > 0:24:38so that new foliage can grow before winter.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43If you've taken cuttings in midsummer,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46as I did with these penstemons in July,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49now is the time to pot them on.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Carefully separate the cuttings,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54making sure you get plenty of root on each plant.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Pot them up individually with a good free-draining compost...
0:25:00 > 0:25:02..water them well,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05and put them somewhere protected where they can spend the winter.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Come on...
0:25:20 > 0:25:24It was this time last year when my grapes that I had grown
0:25:24 > 0:25:28so carefully, and was so proud of,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32were brutally ravished by, first of all, blackbirds,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37and then, when they had taken all they could eat,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40by a swarm of hungry wasps.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41Hardly a single grape was left.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46This year, so far, I've kept both at bay
0:25:46 > 0:25:50by virtue of partly this screen, and inside...
0:25:53 > 0:25:57If you were a wasp, you would come in here,
0:25:57 > 0:25:58have a look at this
0:25:58 > 0:26:03and stop dead in your tracks and back away gingerly,
0:26:03 > 0:26:04because to a wasp,
0:26:04 > 0:26:09this looks exactly like a colossal, great wasps' nest.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Probably inhabited by colossal, great wasps,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15certainly bigger and fiercer and nastier than you,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17which means you stay away,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19you're on someone else's territory.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23So far, it's worked, but it may be that the wasp season
0:26:23 > 0:26:25hasn't really kicked in.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29That's the theory. You just hang it up and it keeps wasps away.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Now, you can see that the grapes have not yet been touched
0:26:33 > 0:26:36by birds or wasps. They are ripening really nicely.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41And in terms of thinning, the other day I was sent this.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I wasn't quite sure if it was for clipping nasal hair
0:26:45 > 0:26:48or thinning grapes, but I'm assuming it's the latter.
0:26:48 > 0:26:55You get in there like that and you just cut off a grape or two,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58giving the others that are left the chance to swell.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02We want them to be big and juicy, not small and juicy,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and I think they're going to be ready to eat very soon indeed.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08What ARE beginning to be ready to eat are these chillies.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13It's a good idea as chillies ripen to harvest them.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Just cut them off with a decent stem,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19and when they're ready like that,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22they're delicious eaten fresh rather than dried.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24They're fruity as well as hot.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28And you only get the best flavour when they fully ripen.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Tomatoes are doing fine, these are a big beefsteak variety.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35You can see that I can clip these,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38there's one at the back there that's a whopper.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43These are a variety called Brandywine,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47and the smaller but deeply fruited one
0:27:47 > 0:27:50is Costoluto Fiorentino.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Really, really good, delicious beefsteak tomatoes, both of them.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58And good flavour this year, much better than last year.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01At the moment, peppers, grapes, tomatoes,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06untouched by the hideous hordes of either wasp or blackbird.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Well, it's this time of the programme when we say goodbye.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30That's it for today.
0:28:30 > 0:28:36But I'll be back here at Longmeadow for a whole hour next week.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39So join me then. Bye-bye.