by Sonia Mermagen | May 2, 2017 | Flowers, Gardening Posts, Summer gardening, Tools and Equipment
With the launch of the new Oxford Hanley range of pots on our website, we thought we’d share our 6 secrets to successful container gardening with you.
Pots and planters are often a great choice for those who perhaps haven’t got a large garden, or for gardeners who like to keep their plants closer to home where they can enjoy them, on a patio or decking area.
Gardening in pots has lots of benefits – no real digging is required; large containers mean less bending and kneeling and they add mobility to your floral displays – but there are a few pitfalls that can make things tricky.
Here are 6 secrets to getting the best out of your pots and planters.
The first secret to container gardening is to make sure that you use fresh soil or compost in your pots and planters. If you’re planting up one of last year’s containers, just have a think about how long you’ve been growing plants in it because after a year or so of use, the soil or compost will be pretty much depleted of the nutrients that are essential to keeping your plants strong and healthy. Try our incredicompost® which has been independently trialled and verified as the best overall compost for sowing seeds and raising young plants. We also won silver in the 2016 Grow Your Own magazine’s annual Great British Growing Awards in the category Most Effective Composting Product for our incredicompost® – so you can be sure it’s the best start for your plants!
- The next secret is to make sure that the pots and containers that you’re using are clean inside. What might look like harmless traces of last year’s soil could harbour harmful diseases and pests that could adversely affect your plants’ health. You can wash out your pots with a mild dishwashing detergent – but not one containing bleach or any herbal essences – and then let them air dry. Have a look at our wide range of pots and planters – from the contemporary style of the Oxford Hanley range to the more traditional Wenlock planters or the elegant Bee Hive Planters – we’ve got a huge choice to offer you.
Be sure to choose a pot or planter that will be big enough for your plants once they reach maturity. All too often we pot up plants in containers that will be outgrown in no time at all which creates problems for the roots and the plant becomes pot-bound. You’ll notice that we offer a number of pot ranges which include pots of various sizes – Oxford Hanley and our Antique planters both have a number of sizes to choose from, so you should be able to find the right size container for each plant.
- Talking of plants getting pot bound brings us on to our 4th point: if you’re potting on a plant or relocating a plant that you’d prefer in another site, it may well be verging on pot bound if it isn’t already. If this is the case, be sure to ‘prune’ back the root system before planting it up again. To prune the roots, think of them like the branches of any plant and simply thin them out. This will give your plant the best chance when it comes to settling into its new location. Use our handy snips to gently trim the roots before repotting.
Once you’ve planted your chosen plants into pots, planters or containers, you’ll need to fill them up with loose soil or compost. People often think that once the plant is in the container that the soil should then be really pressed down firmly around the plant stem. In fact, it’s better to leave the soil or compost quite ‘loose’ and then to water gently, but thoroughly, just until the water drains from the bottom of the container. This helps the soil to bed in nicely around the roots whilst leaving the top soil loose enough to not constrict the growth of your plant.
Allowing for good air circulation and drainage is key to success in container gardening. We recommend perching your pots and other containers on bricks or blocks and not to use trays or saucers unless you are going to be away for a few days. Unless you’re going away for the weekend, it’s best not to leave your plants standing in water – plants will ‘suffocate’ if they stand in water for too long. The ideal solution is to invest in some self-watering patio pots.
These are just perfect for gardeners who sometimes like to get away for the weekend, but who want to keep their plants watered. They’re also a great idea for lazy or forgetful gardeners who don’t always water their plants as much as they should! They have a nifty wick which delivers just the water that the plant needs from the built-in reservoir.
So there you have it! Some top tips for container gardening success this summer. We’d love to see how you get on, so why not send us a photo of your favourite colourful container? Send your pictures to greatpics@thompson-morgan.com or post them on our Facebook page – use #shareyourgarden. We look forward to seeing your gardening endeavours! Don’t forget! If we use one of your photos in our catalogue or on our website, you’ll be rewarded with Thompson & Morgan vouchers!
Look here for more information and advice on growing plants in containers.
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
by Sonia Mermagen | Apr 12, 2017 | Gardening Posts, T&M's Giant Pumpkin, Vegetables
In February, we launched April 12 as National Pumpkin Sowing Day and now that day is upon us! We hope that you’ve got your seeds at the ready – if you haven’t, there’s still time to get some – so you can get them planted and on their way.
As sponsors of the UK’s giant pumpkin growing competition each autumn at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth’s annual event in Southampton, we decided to designate a specific National Pumpkin Sowing Day in response to the many queries that we receive around the time of the giant pumpkin weigh-in. We thought it would be a great incentive for people wanting to try their hand at growing a record-breaker or for those simply wanting to grow a modest pumpkin for carving at Halloween.
Our commercial director, Paul Hansord, who himself sows a couple of pumpkins each year, said: “We decided to set April 12th as National Pumpkin Sowing Day 2017 and encourage people to get their seeds ready to sow on this date. We’ll show them how to sow and grow their pumpkin with useful tips and informative videos and hope someone out there might grow a pumpkin to rival last year’s winner”.
The heaviest pumpkin at last year’s giant pumpkin event weighed in at 2,252.3lb and was grown by Ian and Stuart Paton who have broken the UK record an incredible 7 times. The majority of entries to the 2016 official weigh-in at the Southampton pumpkin event were grown from seeds that came from giant pumpkins grown by the Patons. Seeds from the Paton twins’ 2016 record-breaking giant pumpkin are still available from T&M if customers want to invest in some excellent giant pumpkin genes. Go to Pumpkin ‘Paton Twins Giant’ to purchase.
RHS Hyde Hall’s Matt Oliver won the award in 2016 for the largest outdoor-grown pumpkin with a seed purchased for £1,250 by Thompson & Morgan. His pumpkin weighed in at an astounding 1,333.8lb (95 stone or 605kg) and the seeds from this aptly named ‘Matt’s Monster’ can also be purchased from Thompson & Morgan. Matt had the crazy idea of hollowing out his pumpkin, along with some other giant pumpkins, and rowing them across the RHS Hyde Hall lake in November last year. Watch the Madcap Giant Pumpkin Rowing Race by clicking the image below
Giant pumpkin race
Whether you want try to grow a whopper or simply a modest-sized pumpkin to carve at Halloween, we are urging people to sow their seeds today. We’ll be posting tips and updates on social media over the coming months, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep in touch with us, as well as with other budding pumpkin growers, using #growapumpkin
Did you know? Pumpkin seeds are best sown on their sides
Our how to plant pumpkin seeds video guide can be found here
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
by Sonia Mermagen | Apr 5, 2017 | Gardening Posts, T&M's Giant Pumpkin, Vegetables
Next Wednesday, April 12th, is National Pumpkin Sowing Day and we are urging the British public to get involved. Whether you’re a gardener or not, it’s easy to pop a pumpkin seed into a pot of compost and watch it grow.
We launched a specific seed sowing day in response to the many pumpkin-related queries we receive in October when pumpkins are in shops in the lead up to Halloween.
“We sponsor the UK’s giant pumpkin growing competition each autumn and we always get so many enquiries at the weigh-in, asking how to grow pumpkins at home”, said Paul Hansord, our commercial director and himself a keen pumpkin grower.
“So we’ve decided to set a date and once people have sown their seeds, we’ll support them with growing tips and advice – whether they’re aiming to grow a giant record-breaking pumpkin or a good-sized one for carving at Halloween.”
You’ll remember that we made the news in 2016 when we paid £1,250 for a single pumpkin seed. Its pedigree was proven when RHS Hyde Hall’s Matt Oliver won the award for the largest outdoor-grown pumpkin from this very seed and now the seeds from his appropriately-named, ‘Matt’s Monster’ can be purchased from T&M at a cost of £7.99 for 3 seeds.
For those wishing to grow a more modest-sized pumpkin other pumpkin seeds are available from T&M, such as ‘Jack Of All Trades’, for carving at Halloween or for those who simply have a penchant for pumpkin pie or a hearty pumpkin soup.
We will be supporting pumpkin growers after they have sown their seeds with information on how to grow giant pumpkins and on growing regular pumpkins for Halloween on our website, as well as with timely posts on social media.
Useful links:
www.thompson-morgan.com/how-to-grow-pumpkins
www.thompson-morgan.com/giantpumpkins
Head to our pumpkin and squash hub page for all things sowing, growing and caring for these fun and nutritious vegetables, big or small.
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
by Sonia Mermagen | Mar 30, 2017 | Gardening Posts
Thompson & Morgan sweeps the board at the Grow Your Own Great British Growing Awards for the third year in a row
This week we’re celebrating our success in the Grow Your Own magazine’s annual Great British Growing Awards. We’re so proud to have won gold in five categories – Best Fruit and Veg Seed Range, Best Plug Plant Range, Best Online Retailer, Most Innovative Growing Product for our revolutionary TomTato® plant and Best One-Stop Shop for Gardening. We were also awarded silver for our award-winning incredicompost® in the category Most Effective Composting Product.
Clare Dixey, Thompson & Morgan’s marketing services manager commented:
“We’re thrilled to have been voted the winner in five categories of the 2016 Great British Growing Awards. We’re particularly proud to have won Best Online Retailer. Knowing that we’re up against some very serious competition in the horticultural online marketplace, this really means a lot.”
The well-known and well-respected gardening magazine invited its readers and online visitors to vote for their favourite gardening companies. Over 12,000 people voted.
The Great British Growing Awards are nominated and voted on by the British gardening public, which makes these awards all the more impressive. Thompson & Morgan prides itself on its wide product range and high levels of customer satisfaction. The fact that the nation’s army of gardeners voted us Best Online Retailer over big players in the market, such as Amazon, is highly commendable.
Paul Hansord, Thompson & Morgan’s commercial director said: “To be so highly rated by the great British gardening public is a true testament to all the hard work and effort that the people at T&M put in to ensure that our products and service are the best in the business”.
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
by Sonia Mermagen | Mar 22, 2017 | Gardening News, Gardening Posts
Always striving to provide gardeners with the very best customer experience, Thompson & Morgan is now able to offer its customers a new interactive element to its catalogues. Working in conjunction with Layar, a global leader in augmented reality and interactive print, T&M’s products are coming alive in the pages of its plant catalogues this spring.
Easy to use and extremely user-friendly, Layar is the world’s most popular platform for augmented reality. The company aims to ‘bridge the gap between the print and digital worlds’ – meaning that their technology can make printed images ‘come alive’ on the screens of our smart phones and tablets.
Since launching the Layar facility in January of this year, Thompson & Morgan has noticed that an increasing number of its customers are using Layar to view pages in its spring catalogues and are enjoying the new interactive digital experience.
Once customers have downloaded the Layar app onto their smart phone or tablet, they can scan the pages in the T&M catalogue which display the Layar logo. The scanned page then comes to life! Users can tap their device’s screen to view ‘how to’ videos and photo galleries; to buy products; to contact Thompson & Morgan and to share content on social media.
If it all sounds a bit sci-fi and techy and like something from a film starring Tom Cruise, then go to www.thompson-morgan.com/layar for more information and tips on how to get the most out of this fantastic technology.
Thompson & Morgan’s marketing services manager, Clare Dixey said ‘We’re really excited to be offering an augmented reality experience to our customers. T&M is keen to stay abreast of developments in technology which can provide our customers with an enhanced experience. We’re aware that not all of our customers will use the facility, but we’re noticing a good number of customers are enjoying the added content and ease of browsing and ordering’.
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
