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Jill was on the Gardeners Question Time panel at the Peldon May festival, the event was well supported with a good crowd and a mixed bag of questions, such as:

Q. How do you cope with Essex clay, what can you do to improve it?
A. Clay soils can be easily damaged and cultivation needs to be carried out at the right time, don’t work it when it’s wet as the structure can be weakened and easily compacted. Drainage is the key problem and can be improved by adding stone and grit. An application of lime (calcium carbonate) will also improve the crumb structure but will make your soil more alkaline so check your pH first (the best pH for plants is 6.5). Carry out cultivations in early winter so that any frosts break down the clods, also adding plenty of organic matter at this time will give the worms and other soil organisms time to work it in before next spring – letting nature work for you!

Q. Some of the leaves on my Camellia have started to turn brown, what could be causing it and what should I do?
A. Check the pH of your soil or compost, Camellias are acid loving plants and need a pH less than 7.0, if it’s too alkaline you can add ericaceous compost or sequestered iron. Don’t plant or position Camellias facing east – in frosty weather the morning sunshine can damage their buds.

Q. My asparagus haven’t come up what am I doing wrong?
A. Asparagus need good drainage and lots of fertiliser, dig a wide trench about 30cm (1ft) wide and 15cm (6in) deep line it with manure and a sandy loam, cover the asparagus crowns with about 7.5cm (3in) of sandy loam and keep topping up trench as plants grow. Spears should not be cut until the second spring, after which the ferny foliage should be left on until it turns yellow in autumn. Don’t over harvest the spears, leave some to grow for future crops.

   The event was covered by BBC Essex  

Does your garden need a new lease of life?  perhaps including a ‘grow your own’ area that looks good and provides you and your family with seasonal salad crops and vegetables – we design and build vegetable gardens of all sizes so we’d love to hear from you!