All un-rotted organic material including pine needles, grass clippings, straw, hay,wood bark, shavings and sawdust should be allowed to mature well before being used as mulches, or they may rob the soil of nitrogen as they decompose.

• Cardboard and newspaper Both flattened cardboard and whole opened out newspapers weighted down to keep them in place, will last for one growing season as they rot down quite quickly.

• Compost A (3-5″) layer makes a good mulch, however if the compost is too fine, it may be washed away in the rain.

• Grass clippings A good mulching material but make sure it is well matured, grass clippings can generate alot of heat as they rot down. Which can scorch young plants that are planted near by.

• Hay Well matured hay makes a great mulch, the only disadvantage is that it tends to contain weed seeds.

• Leaf Mould A (4″) layer of rotted down leaves provides a good organic barrier against weeds. When they are added to the ground in the autumn, add lots of organic matter to build up a good soil structure.

• Mulch membranes Geotextiles (water and air can get through) are man made  membranes that can easily be fastened to the ground with wire pegs. Lasting up to15 years when covered with an additional loose mulch. You can not plant through them though and they arethe most expensive option.

• Pine needles A (4-6″) layer this acidic substance provides a good mulch around other acid loving plants.

• Straw Great when well matured for use around vegetables and strawberries as it contains few weed seeds. Use a (6-8″) layer to prevent light reaching the soil.

Edible flowers are the ultimate gardening mix

The easiest way to turn a kitchen garden into a colourful paradise is to grow flowers along with vegetables. Many vegetables have flowers you can eat EG: beans, peas, members of the allium family ( onions, chives and leeks), brassicas, squashes, chicories, salsify, scorzonera, corn salad and many more. Herbs to such as thyme, fennel, lavender and rosemary are a rich source of flavoured blooms. Along with these add a list of edible flowering plants from the common place nasturtium to the exotic yucca and the choice is huge.

Anise hyssop

This erect branching plant boasts lovely,dense spikes of lavender flowers ( occasionally pink or white in colour) in summer up to 15cm (6″) long. Bees love it and the gentle aniseed flavour that comes from the leaves and blooms, hence it is used in cooking, salads and for flavouring drinks.

A hardy self seeding perennial dying down in autumn, it will not survive much below -5C (23F), unless it is protected. In mild climates, sow in situ in autumn, but in cooler areas start the tiny seed off indoors in spring, planting in a sunny place in early summer 45cm (18″) apart. It will flower in its first season. Cut the flower spikes as they fade to encourage a second flush. More on Eat Tasty Edible Flowers

Insulating your greenhouse

If you are heating your greenhouse during the colder months, its a good idea to insulate it to cut down on wasted energy. Affix a layer of transparent plastic to the framework , leaving a gap of around (1 inch) 2.5cm between the material and the glass. The space creates an air pocket which reduces heat loss.

Taping a layer of bubble wrap to the frame work is another good form of insulation, but it will reduce the amount of light which enters the greenhouse, so could lead to weak and leggy plants. Consider just insulating the side which faces prevailing winds, that way you can still protect crops from the chilling weather, but adequate light should still reach them.

Before you put up insulation check that there are not any cracks or broken panes of glass, which would contribute to heat loss. Clean the panels to make sure that the maximum amount of light will enter the greenhouse, then make sure that your heater is working properly. More on Greenhouse Care

Determining your soil type

An important job on any plot is to determine the soil type.Once you have done that you can work out what it needs to stay in good condition and the crops you can grow successfully. Most soils are a mixture of sand, silt and clay, but to determine exactly what type you have, you can find out yourself by picking up a handful of earth.

If it feels loose light and runs easily through your fingers, it is a sandy soil, if it is heavy damp and can be rolled in a ball, it has a high clay content.If it feels like something between those two types, its mostly silt and if it molds into your hand, but crumbles when it is squeezed then it is loam.

Clay soil can initially be hard to deal with, it is heavy sticky and difficult to dig.During the winter months it can become waterlogged, while in the summer it can get hard and dense, excluding air from the soil, which makes it difficult to get water to the roots.

The advantage of this kind of earth is that it is naturally high in nutrients, so once you have made it more workable by digging it over, you should get good results from any crops you grow in it.

Sandy soil is easy to dig over and is made from large particles, so while it is unlikely to become waterlogged.Nutrients will be easily washed away with the rain and in the summer it may dry out.

Silty earth is also free draining and easy to work but it is low in nutrients.As it is made up of fine grains it is easily compacted, both after heavy rain or if you walk on it.If your soil is chalky it is easy to spot due to its white clumps of chalk and flint.It is naturally free draining which means it tends to dry out in summer.

The ideal type to work with is a loamy soil it is well balanced, rich in organic matter and nutrients, crumbly and easy to dig.It retains moisture and will not dry out too much in the hot weather, but it is also well drained so it will not become waterlogged either.It is posible to create this type of soi, by adding organic matter to your plot over a long piriod of time.

Most of your soil is made up of mineral ( rock ) while the remainder is comprised of air, water and organic matter ( humus ).The latter is the most important part the more organic matter the ground contains the better quality it is.

Usually the mineral content determines your soils acidity or alkalinity, which is measured on a PH scale of one to fourteen.Up to six indicates an acidic ground, seven is neutral, while anything above is alkaline.Kits are available from nurseries or garden centers that will give you a basic reading of the PH in your soil.

You can then grow crops which will tollerate that particular level, or work on altering it by digging in organic matter like compost.Most crops do well with a PH reading of around 6.5, while some plants like rhubarb and carrots prefer an acidic soil.So you may need to alter the PH to suit them by adding lime to the soil.

The general rule is that if your plants are growing, flowering, and fruiting well, the levels in your soil are fine.Too high or too low a PH can result in yellow stunted plants which are more prone to pest and disease attack.

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Blueberries are vitamin packed fruits which are very popular in the supermarkets and the trend is catching on in the fruit garden too.

Blueberries are delicious to eat, make an attractive garden plant and are classed as a “superfood”.They contain antioxidants which keep your eyes healthy, have anti ageing benifits and can help protect against cancer.

Whats more apart from the loss of berries to birds the blueburry plant is relatively pest and disease free.

When growing blueberries it is important to remember that they need an acidic soil with a PH between 4.5-5.5 to thrive.If you discover that your soil is naturally alkaline dig a hole where you want the blueberry plant to be situated, and add a mixture of “sulphate of iron” with home made or multi purpose compost.

If you are planting blueberries in the ground dig in some composted bark first, then trim off the tips of the branches and remove flower buds so that the plant establishes strong roots in its first year.Space the blueberry bushes 1.5 metres (5 ft) apart, once you have planted the blueberries sprinkle a handful of “sulphate of iron” around the plants, water in well and add a mulch of leaf mould.

Alternatively you can grow blueberries in containers filled with ericaceous compost. Position the container in a shelterd position in full sun or partial shade to encourage pollinating insects to the vicinity.

Although some varieties are self fertile introducting another type as a pollinating partner will help to increase the yield.So it is worth including as least two blueberry bushes in your garden.Blueberries need to be kept moist throughout the growing season, so water them little and often with rainwater if possible ( its naturally acidic).

Varietities to try “Bluecrop” clusters of white flowers are followed by juicy fruit from late July onwards has a good resistance to drought. “Earliblue” the earliest ripening blueberry produces light blue sweet fruit which hang in medium size clusters from mid July onward.”Sunshine Blue” a dwarfing self fertile variety which is ideal for growing in containers and small gardens.

Here is another great post on planting blueberries called Blueberry season! by Amy Stewart on her blog called Dirt

You may decide you would like a fruit tree in your garden Look at a wide range of Garden Fruit Trees  and Garden Containers Planters and Pots  from MyGardenCenterOnline