On Todays 5 minute Friday we have something a bit different. As usual we are showing you how to do something in the garden that can make a difference. However, today’s episode is also the start of our compost trial.
For some time now we have become aware that growing in the “new” composts can be a bit trickier. This is since the move to Peat Free compost. It is not surprising that this big change in compost would mean all of us have to treat plants differently, so we have decided to do a trial with some of the compost on the market. We have 7 widely available compost and today we are planting Geum plants in them.
This is a great opportunity to show you how to plant Geum plants, as well as starting our trial.
About Geums.
Geums are easy to care for perennial plants, that are well suited to growing in containers. They are a plant that is not too fussy and are easy to grow, making them the ideal candidate for a trial in containers. Geums prefer a well-drained soil and do not like to sit to wet. When it comes to feeding the plant, they are not to fussy, but a slow released feed is ideal, which helps with the growth over the year and supports flowers.
How to plant your Geums
1, the first thing to do is check the plant is ready to be potted up, as you can see in the video, these plants have a lovely healthy root system and are at the perfect stage to pot up.
2, Fill your compost almost all the way to the top of the container. Leave it just shy of the top which will help with watering.
3, To release the plant from the container, gently squeeze the pot and lift the plant out.
4, Make a hole in the compost, slightly bigger than the root ball and gently place the plant into the container. We are looking for the plant to be sitting in the compost at the same height it was, when in the original pot.
5, Fill in any gaps around the root ball and the compost if needed, but do not be tempted to compress the compost.
6, Now, all that is left to do, is label the plant and give it a good water.
About out trial
We are using 7 different brands of compost which are widely available. For each compost we are planting 2 of each colour, of our Geum plants. The reason for this, is that one will be fed with liquid feed and the other one will not. This is particularly important with peat free compost, as one of the biggest challenges with peat free, is that is does not hold nutrients very well, which can present a problem for your plants.
Over the coming weeks and months, we will be planting up many more plants for this trial and will keep you up to date with how things progress.
