Last week I have mostly been potting for the new display and watering in glasshouses. Mornings usually starts with damping, watering, ventilation and temperature checking.

– Hanna –

Some work that I did last week.

– Hanna –

Yesterday I was making room for a new display in a glasshouse. I did this because the temperature is getting too hot for the salads. First I moved salads to one glasshouse and I kept new salads because they will be  looking nice longer.

 
I harvested some of the plants to the visitors centre. I throw the rest of the salads to compost and cleaned the pots. Then I raked and weeded the surface and washed the shelves.

– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –

I was planting in the walls yesterday. It’s not common even in England. First I removed old soil out of the horizontal pipes. Then I put new compost in, the same that we use for potting. Then I did normal planting which was hard because the angle.

– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –

This week went quickly as usual. Lots of working.

Hanna has been working with Shaun, the kitchen gardener. Mostly planting lettuce and onion. Sowing carrot, beetroot and lettuce. Supporting peas and beans with string and hazel branches. Keeping tidiness in vegetable display in a glasshouse. Taking bad leafs off and taking pots out if they are already flowering.

Tinja has been working with Anne and planting lilium etc. weeding. thinning side-shoots and tying in cucumbers. Cut some branches. Making support cages for herbaceous.

Janita has been helping Laura, glasshouse gardener. Replanting orchids, planting Gesneriads rhizome (they looked a bit like worms) potting fuchsia and begonias. Checked succulent plants of mealy bug and aphid. Moving strawberries to a different glasshouse.

– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –

Yesterday we were pruning Salix alba vitallina ‘Britzensis’ trees and copping Hydrangea. We also were pollarding Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’.

Cutting Salix was interesting and new to us. We cut all last years’ growth off. They may look a bit weird now but it maintains the shape of the tree and it doesn’t grown too big. It was traditional way of cutting so that the sheeps wouldn’t eat the branches.

Salix alba vitallina ‘Britzensis’ is producing haze of striking red winter shoots. It usually is coppiced every 2nd or 3rd year. Here they do it every year.

– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –

Our first week went well. We worked from Monday to Thursday because we had a course of how to grow cut flowers on Saturday so Friday was free.

Hanna

– Planting and replanting
– Weeding
– Pot washing
– Burned old hay on field
– Raking
– Removing planted plants
– Cutting apple and pear trees

Tinja

– Checking temperature at glass houses
– Taking plant cuttings
– Pot washing
– Removing bad leafs
– Cutting apple and pear trees
– Planting plants

Janita
– Cutting apple and pear trees
– Planting salads
– Sowing seeds
– Pricking out basil
– Putting support canes for cucumber
– Cutting Gooseberry

– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –