AFC Wimbledon
Peter Gibbs and the panel are pitch side at AFC Wimbledon. Joining Peter to answer questions from the stands are Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson.
Peter Gibbs and the panel are pitch side at AFC Wimbledon. Joining Peter to answer questions from the stands are Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson.
They discuss non-flowering Lavenders, an out-of-sorts Hydrangea and what to do with an unruly Eucalyptus. They also give tips on how best to deter cats from using your garden as a latrine.
And the panellists venture onto the hallowed turf to discuss ways in which you can keep your lawn as immaculate as a professional football pitch.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4.
Last on
More episodes
Fact Sheet
Q – I have noticed small, green, tomato-like fruits growing on my potato plants.Ìý What are they and what should I do?
Ìý
Bunny – They are related so sometimes you do see this.Ìý I would pick them off so the plants are not wasting energy.
Ìý
Pippa – These can sometimes be poisonous so do get them off if there are children around
Ìý
Matthew – All these plants are related to Deadly Nightshade so do bear that in mind…
Ìý
Q – I have a lavender bush that has new growth every year but does not flower.Ìý Why?
Ìý
Bunny – If you cut them in late-spring you can remove the flowers before they flower.Ìý Best time to prune is in mid-August.Ìý Cut it back to just beyond the old growth and then that will encourage it.Ìý They need a hot summer baking and sharp drainage. You need to get them in the sun for longer.
Ìý
Matthew – Lavender needs 6-8 hours of sunshine in a day
Ìý
Q – I have an old Hydrangea that is suffering from a fungus.Ìý What is it and what should I do?
Ìý
Pippa – I think this is Hydrangea Scale
Ìý
Bunny – You can get a glue-like organic spray to treat the plant fortnightly
Ìý
Pippa – On the stems get an old toothbrush and scrub them off with soapy water
Ìý
Q – I have a 40ft (12m) Eucalyptus tree that is sucking the life out of the rest of the garden.Ìý Can I take it out or cut it back?
Ìý
Matthew – You would need to seek permission from your local authority.Ìý
Ìý
Q – How can I prevent the neighbourhood cats from using my garden as a latrine?
Ìý
Bunny – If you provide them with a perfect sandy box in a sunny, sheltered spot the idea is that that will distract them.Ìý Also put brambles over areas of bed that you want to protect.
Ìý
Matthew – Cats don’t like citrus very much
Ìý
Pippa – Widely-available decongestant put onto used tea bags in the flowerbed can really work.
Ìý
Q – I have three courgette plants that took off very well, but now one of them is failing; why?
Ìý
Pippa – Look at the stem because there could be damage around the base.Ìý
Ìý
Q – I am trying to create a garden in Guinea with a touch of England in it.Ìý It is a tropical climate and by the sea.Ìý What can you recommend?
Ìý
Matthew – Canna indica would grow well.Ìý Melianthus major.Ìý
Ìý
Bunny – Box is very English and could work well.Ìý Plumbago.Ìý Dahlias.Ìý
Ìý
Q – With semi-desert conditions becoming increasingly prevalent in the south of England what vegetables can you recommend for an allotment?
Ìý
Bunny – Onions.Ìý Brassicas (apart from cauliflowers).Ìý Potatoes if you get good compost into your soil.Ìý Leafy crops.Ìý Roots crops.Ìý Celeriac on a raised bed would work.
Ìý
Matthew – Sea kale.Ìý
Ìý
Q – What can I plant in our west-facing garden that will replicate the AFC Wimbledon colours of blue and yellow?Ìý
Ìý
Bunny – Yellow repeat-flowering rose: ‘Graham Thomas’.Ìý Blue: Campanula lactiflora persicifolia.
Ìý
Pippa – Daffodils and blue Hyacinths.Ìý A Ceanothus on a wall would be fantastic blue.Ìý Then a Fremontodendron.Ìý
Ìý
Matthew – Salvia ‘Blauhugel’ with Ranunculus acrisÌý ‘Flore Pleno’ (Meadow Buttercup)
Broadcasts
- Fri 28 Jul 2017 15:00³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4 FM
- Sun 30 Jul 2017 14:00³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4 FM
Six of GQT’s naughtiest gardening innuendos
When Gardeners' Question Time got mucky.
Podcast
-
Gardeners' Question Time
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts