Fruit Cages | Garden Netting | William James & Co | Do Follow

Things to do in the garden this month – January

2012-02-02T02:39:00.001-08:00

January is dark, cold and miserable – so why not cheer yourself up with some new tools and get in those seed catalogues ready for spring. Here are some ideas for some jobs you can get on with.

Harvest your winter vegetables
There’s not a lot you can plant at this time of year, but you can still harvest much of your winter vegetables. Leeks, parsnips and swedes will be at their best this time of year – if you have extra, why not make some soup? Cabbage and swiss chard should also still be producing good fresh growth – just make sure you cover them with garden netting to protect them from the birds!

Be prepared for high winds
January can often bring gales, so make sure everything on your plot is safely stored away. Also, make sure you check your fruit cage and replace any worn netting or ties to prevent damage. It’s a good idea to check any stakes, fences and sections of trellis as high winds can quickly push them over – damaging your plants.

or even snow!
In winter replacing the small mesh top net on your fruit cage with our larger mesh G19 netting can help avoid any potential damage caused by a heavy build-up of snow on the cage roof.

Prune trees and shrubs
If you can find yourself a dry day, now is the time to prune your trees and shrubs. Make sure you use a sharp pruning saw and good secateurs to get a clean cut as this will help avoid disease. The only exception is stone fruit trees (cherry, plum, damson etc) – you’ll need to summer prune those.

Clean out pots and trays
If you take a look in most potting sheds at this time of year, you’ll see piles of abandoned pots and seed trays. This time of year is a great opportunity to get them cleaned up and put away neatly – plus, washing them will stop help any diseases from last year spreading. Any pots or trays which are damaged should be replaced.

Turn over compost
Give your compost a turn to help it rot down quicker – a turnable or tumbling compost bin will make this task a lot easier! Any well rotted compost or leaf mould can be used in a thick layer on your borders to act as a mulch.

Things to do in the garden this month – December

2012-01-05T08:46:00.001-08:00

It might look pretty bleak out there, but there are plenty of jobs you can be doing to get ready for Christmas – and get yourself a good head start for next year!

Plant out your garlic
You can just use cloves from your kitchen, but you’ll get a better result if you buy screened, disease free ones from a garden centre. The saying goes ‘Plant on the shortest day and harvest on the longest’ but provided you get them in while there is a frost you should be ok (garlic needs a frost to start it growing). Plant them out about a hand’s span apart with the pointy end upwards – make a hole with your finger and drop them in so the top is just below the surface, then cover with soil. If you live somewhere with a very cold climate you will want to cover them with some garden fleece until the worst is over.

Harvest ready for Christmas dinner
Be sure to pick all your winter vegetables ready for the big day. Parsnip, carrots, leeks, cabbage, kale and of course brussels sprouts will be at their best this time of the year. Make sure you cover your cabbages and kale with some garden netting as the pigeons will be hungry and peck them to bits!

Prune your soft fruit
Pick a dry day with a bit of a breeze for best results and make sure you have a good sharp pair of secateurs. Cut autumn fruiting raspberries right back to ground level for maximum growth next year. Now is the time to prune gooseberries and currant bushes – make sure you burn any infected cuttings to stop disease from spreading.

Lift and divide rhubarb
If your rhubarb crowns have been in place for more than 2 or 3 years, they will probably benefit from being split up. Dig up the crown and use a good sharp spade to divide off sections which have a healthy looking bud on them – it looks severe, but you will end up with more healthier plants as a result (if you don’t need extra, why not give them to another keen grower).

You can also put a pot over one of your rhubarb crowns to start forcing them at this time of year.

Dig over bare earth
When it’s not too wet, dig over patches of bare ground and pull out any weeds. The frost will them break down the soil even further to give you a nice fine bed ready for next year. Be sure to clear up any leaves and dead plants as well and stick them in your composter.

Things To Do In The Garden This Month

2011-12-07T02:11:00.000-08:00

There’s a lot less to do this time of year in the garden – which is a good job with the days being so short! You can still give yourself a head start for next year by getting on with some of these jobs though…
Clear Up The Leaves
Not only will they block up your drains, fallen leaves will also block the light to patches of grass and can smother smaller plants. Use a garden rake to collect them up and either stick them in your composter or use 4 stakes with garden netting round the edge to create a separate heap to start making your own leaf mold. It’s a great soil conditioner and mulch but takes around a year to break down to a useable state
Cover Those Tender Plants
Make sure you move those potted tender perennials into a cool greenhouse to protect them against the winter weather. Also ensure that you add a layer of mulch or leaf mold to tender plants that are staying outside to protect them. Any exotic plants can be wrapped with garden fleece to protect them.
Take Hardwood Cuttings
As soon as the last of the leaves are gone, it’s the time to take your hardwood cuttings. Use a sharp pair of secateurs and cut below one bud and above another to get a piece of wood a similar size and thickness to a pencil. Then just push it half its length into some compost and it will be ready to pot next summer.
Clean And Sharpen Your Tools
Clean all the mud and sap off your garden tools and give any moving parts a drop of oil. If anything looks worn out or damaged, why not treat yourself to some new garden tools?
Check Stakes And Frames
Autumn and Winter are windy months, so check any stakes, trellis, frames and fruit or vegetable cages to make sure they are still in good condition. Replace anything that is broken or looks weakened.
Clear And Prune Roses
Make sure you clear up the leaves from any roses, especially if they look diseased or have fungus – don’t put them in your composter, bin or burn them! Also prune back any tall roses to avoid them being damaged by the wind.

Snow worries

2010-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

In winter, replacing the small mesh top net on your fruit cage with our larger 100mm netting can help avoid any potential damage caused by a heavy build-up of snow on the cage roof.

Tips for patio and container gardening.

2010-01-13T02:23:00.000-08:00

If you’re not lucky enough to have a large garden or allotment to grow fruit and veg, don’t despair, you can easily convert your patio into growing space with some planters or pots.

First, get organised
Space will be at a premium on your patio, so first of all have a clear up and get rid of any rubbish or broken/unusable pots and containers. Light will also hugely important so cut back any wayward trees or shrubs to let the maximum amount of light in.

Make your own compost
Crops in planters will need plenty of food so get yourself a compact composter to make sure you have a ready supply for them. You can use most household kitchen scraps, but if you are planting potatoes it’s best to keep potato peelings out to avoid disease spreading. You might also want to consider a wormery to produce liquid plant food.

Get a water butt.
Container plants will also need regular watering so a water butt is a worthwhile investment. You can also help to prevent water loss by lining pots with plastic and mulching to keep moisture in.

Plan your planting
It’s important to plan your planting to get the most out of a small space. Work out where the sunny spots are and where the shade falls and plant accordingly. Herbs and leafy veg (lettuce, spinach and chard) will tolerate full shade whereas tomatoes and peppers will demand full sun to have any success.

Support your plants.
If you are growing climbers (runner beans or squashes) why not use a handy wall or fence to support them as they grow. Just make sure they are firmly attached as they can be damaged if blown down by the wind.

Planter ideas.
You can get a wide range of easy to use fruit and veg planters for a small garden – some are even stackable to increase your growing space.

Growing fruit and veg in a raised bed

2010-01-13T02:18:00.000-08:00

A raised bed is a quick and easy way to add growing space to your garden, even if you are short of room. It can be especially helpful at reducing the aches and pains produced by bending or kneeling to weed or pick produce.

Raised beds have many advantages over traditional beds – you can easily control the mix of soil to suit what you are growing and improve drainage. Raising the bed by just 20cm can greatly improve its drainage.

Because you don’t have to step onto a raised bed to weed or pick produce, it greatly reduces soil compaction meaning you have to do less digging! This also means you can grow more plants in less space as you can get round them much more easily.

Maintenance is also greatly reduced as you can easily reach weeds and pests – it is also easy to cover the bed with a weed suppressing membrane. Watering is made easier as you can irrigate where it is needed and less is wasted through evaporation.

It’s important to plan your crops carefully to get the most from a raised bed garden. Get some paper and pencils and draw a sketch of your layout noting pathways and areas of strong sun and shade. Write a list of the plants you want to include and fill these in on your plan.

Once you’ve got your raised beds it’s important to get a good blend of soil. You can use about 25% soil from your garden, them blend it with good quality compost (if you have your own composter, this will work fine) and add in some sand to help with drainage.

Make sure you take steps to discourage pests from your raised beds. Bird netting will help protect your crops and a slug trap will take care of slugs and snails.

The Ten Easiest To Grow Vegetables

2009-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you're a beginner at growing your own vegetables these are the ideal way to get quality home-grown produce with absolute the minimum of effort.

1. Courgettes
Sow these in the spring and you'll be eating them for most of the summer and autumn. The more you pick them, the more they'll grow, and if you slice them up you can freeze any you have left over.

2. Garlic
You can plant cloves brought from a supermarket but proper bulbs from a nursery or garden centre will grow better. Plant the cloves just below the surface of the soil about 10cm apart in autumn and they should be ready around mid august time.

3. Carrots
The best varieties to grow are Early Nantes in summer and Autumn Kings in winter. Make sure you dig your ground over properly to get long carrots, but don't use fertiliser or you will get 'fanging' (extra bits growing off the sides). Because of the warm, wet summers we now get a lot of carrot root fly - you can get around this by growing them under insect proof netting (I also use this method on leeks because of leek moth)

4. Potatoes
These are one of the few vegetables that are easier to grow in your garden rather than an allotment because of the risk of potato blight. It's still possible on an allotment but it pays to buy a blight resistant variety and grow them under plastic. Potatoes will grow really easily in a raised bed or in a potato planter on your patio.

5. Runner Beans
Plant your beans from May onwards (or when the risk of frost is past) about 15cm apart and as soon as you have some growth, give them a stick to climb up. Once you see small red flowers, you can water them to get the beans to set. Make sure you keep picking these as the more you pick, the more you'll get! Try to find a 'stringless' variety to make them less hassle to cook.

6. Radish
These grow well in raised beds or patio planters - make sure the soil is well dug and add some bone meal. Plant summer varieties in mid-April and autumn ones from July. You can use a bell cloche to start planting earlier.

7. Onions
It's easiest to grow these from onion sets and put some bird netting over them to stop them from pulling them up. You can grow winter onions (plant in October/November) which will be ready in early summer and plant standard ones in March which should be ready in September/October. Bend the tops over a few weeks before you harvest them.

8. Lettuce
You can grow lettuce most of the year provided you protect it against the cold - a small polytunnel or bell cloche is fine for this. Make sure you keep the slugs and snails away as they will destroy your plants, a beer trap or copper slug bands means you don't have to use pellets which can kill birds.

9. Spinach Beet
Be sure to buy spinach beet seed rather than just spinach seed, it's far easier to grow and tastes just as good. Just sow some in the spring and you'll have spinach until the frost gets it in the winter.

10. Leeks
You can sow these in an outdoor seedbed in March/April and transplant them when they are about the thickness of a pencil, or purchase a tray of them from a nursery or garden centre. Plant them in holes about 20cm deep and filled up with water - water them regularly until they get going. Cover them with insect mesh to prevent leek moth (you can plant them next to your carrots and cover them both with an insect mesh tunnel)

Prepare your garden for winter

2009-10-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

It might be difficult to get motivated for some gardening during the dark, cold days but a little time spent now will make things a lot easier come spring. So get your boots on and follow these handy hints to see your garden through the winter.

Have a good clear up
It might sound obvious, but it pays to clear up any fallen leaves or fruit and dead or diseased plants now. Leaves will choke small plants and lawns and harbour pests so get them into your compost bin along with any dead plants. Get rid of any diseased plants or leaves to stop it spreading to next year’s growth.

Evaluate and reorganise your planting
Now that plants are starting to die back, have a good look at which ones are flourishing and which are struggling or in the wrong place. Autumn is the perfect time to move any struggling plants to a better spot or split any which are getting too large. You’ll then be able to see any gaps that need new plants and get them in early so they establish well. Make sure you mark any plants that die back, but won’t be moved, with a garden cane, so you don’t dig them up by accident!

Protect tender plants with fleece
Small tender plants can be protected with a layer of garden fleece to stop them being damaged by the frost and trees can be protected by wrapping with fleece and filling gaps with straw. Individual larger plants can also be protected by using fleece jackets which can be bought in various shapes and sizes. Fleece allows light and moisture to get through to the plants while still protecting from adverse weather conditions. You can also use fleece to protect your containers as earthenware can easily be cracked by the frost.

More delicate plants may benefit from the extra protection of a bell cloche as this will also protect against falling debris dislodged by high winds. Bell cloches can also be used to warm the soil in preparation for next year’s planting.

Water and mulch your plants
Thirsty plants like trees and large shrubs can often struggle to get enough water, especially during a dry cold winter, so give them a long drink before the ground becomes frozen and then put down a thick layer of mulch to keep the moisture in.

Look after your tools
Before packing your tools away in the shed, make sure you clean all the mud off them, oil any moving parts and sharpen your shears and secateurs. You’ll be glad of your effort in the spring when they are ready to go, rather than rusty and stuck!
Also, don’t forget to drain the water from your hose and watering can to stop them freezing and splitting.

Get started with making your own compost

2009-10-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

It’s easy to produce your own free garden compost, so why not save yourself some cash and help save the environment by following a few easy tips.

It is estimated that around 40% of what we put in our refuse bins could be turned into compost – add to this the amount of green waste we take to the tip or burn on bonfires and you’ve already got a rich source of ‘fuel’ for producing compost.

Choosing the right compost bin
You’ll need to think about how big a compost bin you’ll need before you start. A 200-300 litre bin should be fine for a small to medium sized garden – try to find one which allows the compost to be mixed up as it will encourage it to break down more quickly. The ‘tumbler’ style compost bins are a good investment or there is now a spherical bin available (known as a composphere) which can be rolled to wherever you need it.

If you have a large garden or smallholding I’d suggest having several large bins in an area where they can be easily tipped out. Fill up your first bin and leave it while you fill up the second – once this is full, the compost in the first one should have broken down to the point where it is useable. Once you have used it, tip your second bin out and shovel the contents into the first bin – this will break it up and introduce air to help it break down. Then start filling the second bin and repeat the process. If you need more bins you can just add them to this system.

What should you put in a compost bin?
You can put any kitchen vegetable scraps, egg shells, grass cuttings, dead bedding plants or flowers, trimmings from shrubs, newspaper or other types of uncoated paper (shredded credit card bills etc), used compost, tea bags, coffee grounds, sawdust and wood shavings, straw bedding from vegetarian pets, wood ash from fires and barbeques and fallen leaves.

The smaller you break up green waste, the quicker it breaks down – if you have a garden chipper this will help, or you can just use a shovel to break it up. It is possible to chop up cuttings etc by putting the on the lawn and running your lawnmower over them but be extremely careful!

What can’t I compost?
Avoid putting in cooked food of any type or any meat, fish or dairy products – they won’t break down and will attract rats! Also avoid any dog or cat mess or disposable nappies (common sense really). I’d also avoid putting weeds into your composter (take them to the tip or burn them instead) and any wood, woody growth or stumps as they take forever to break down and just get in the way!

If you are planning to use this compost on or near potatoes, I would also keep out potato peelings to cut down on the chances of getting the dreaded potato blight!

How long will it take?
You can have a useable compost in 3-6 months (sometimes less) but the longer you leave it the better it will be. Check it regularly and try to mix it up – it may have pieces of stick and egg shell visible but once it is dark brown and ‘earthy’ smelling is ready to use.

William James Autumn Sale – Save up to 30% off garden tools and equipment – limited stock!

2009-09-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

William James are currently offering an amazing 30% off top quality Bulldog Garden Tools and 10% off a huge range of Grow Bed Kits, Water Butts and Compost Caddies.

You'll have to be quick though as these are limited stock and will be selling out fast! So head over to our website, please note this is an online offer only.

Top 10 Pest Control Tips

2009-07-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

There's nothing more annoying than finding that the birds have pecked your prize-winning fruit to pieces or that your cabbages are being munched by an army of caterpillars! Make sure it's just you that gets to eat your fruit and vegetables with our top 10 pest control tips:

1. Protect your soft fruit with a Fruit Cage.
We make all of our Fruit Cages in our Dorset factory and produce a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which can be dismantled and easily stored. They can be used in conjunction with our anti-bird or butterfly netting.

2. Keep the butterflies off your cabbages.
Butterfly netting will help keep your cabbages caterpillar free without using any nasty chemicals. Just make sure you peg it down around the sides to keep them out and stop it blowing away!

3. Stop rabbits in their tracks.
Our galvanised rabbit wire netting can be used on its own or as an addition to a fruit or vegetable cage. Make sure that you fold the bottom 15cm outwards to stop them digging under and keep any grass or nearby shrubs cut back, as they like to work under cover!

4. Keep insects at bay.
Protect your vulnerable vegetables from attack by covering them with insect mesh netting. It allows water in and keeps the temperature up, creating a microclimate perfect for vegetable growing! Also available as a handy insect mesh tunnel.

5. Keep things neat and tidy.
Slugs and snails love to hide in weeds and long grass so keep them under control with Weed Control Fabric. Especially useful around fruit bushes which hate having their roots disturbed by weeding.

6. Trap slugs and snails.
Slugs and snails are the gardener’s worst enemy and if you don’t want to use slug pellets then a slug trap is the answer. Using beer as bait, a slug trap is environmentally friendly and highly effective.

7. Secure your water butt.
Make sure your water butt has a tight fitting lid to stop insects getting in to lay their eggs. You can also add a few drops of vegetable oil to the water to stop insects from landing.

8. Get plants started early.
Your plant will be able to resist pests much better if they get a good start so protect them against the frost with Garden Fleece. Also available as a handy Fleece Tunnel.

9. Protect tender plants and seedlings with a bell cloche.
Keep your seedling plants protected from birds and other pests with a bell cloche. It will also keep them protected from the frost so you can get started early – you can even use them for warming the ground before sowing seeds!

10. Encourage useful predators.
Avoid killing useful insects and birds by stopping using chemical pesticides and slug pellets. Chickens love to eat slugs and snails and if you’re thinking of getting some, our Fruit Cages can be easily converted into Poultry Cages to house them!

About William James & Co

2009-07-23T02:02:00.000-07:00

Since 1954 William James has designed and manufactured quality Fruit Cages, Garden Netting and accessories that have proved invaluable to both the amateur gardener and the professional grower.
All our fruit and vegetable cages are manufactured at our Dorset factory.
Commitment to our customers remains our prime focus offering you the highest quality, competitive prices and rapid delivery.