Latest News Archives - Forker Garden Products

February – Early signs of spring

Forker Garden Products — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:17:19 +0000

It’s still cold outside but the bulbs are slowly emerging from the ground and the days are getting longer. All the signs that spring is on the way!

This month’s jobs in the garden are mostly getting ready for spring:

Order in your seeds for the year and plan what needs to be sowed over the next few months.
Check on your seed trays and pots and buy in new if needed.
Start chitting early potatoes- egg cartons/boxes are perfect to stand them up in and place in a bright cool place that is frost free.
Build raised beds before the growing season begins. Raised beds allow you to make an early start in the garden, the soil warms up faster and the beds will drain quicker.
Tidy up vegetable plots removing any remaining plant debris.
Feed the birds

Forker Garden Products – Suppliers of Compost, Bark, Peat Free Compost, Topsoil, Bark and other Garden Sundries, based in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. We supply garden centres, growers, landscapers, hardware stores as well as the general public. We provide specialist mixes for growers to their own specification. Our products suit not only flowers & shrubs – but they are also perfect for indoor/outdoor growing of fruit & vegetables! Delivery available throughout Ireland and UK

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March- Spring is on the way!

Forker Garden Products — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 09:58:10 +0000

As winter is ending, we are gradually seeing the first signs of spring. Its time to prepare seed beds, seed sowing, cutting back winter shrubs and general tidying up around the garden.

Top things to be doing this month in the garden are:

🌸 Plant summer flowering bulbs.

🧅 Plant onion sets and early potatoes.

🌱 Protect spring shoots from slugs.

🌲 Feed trees, shrubs and hedges with a slow-release fertilizer.

🌻 Dead head daffodils to encourage them to re-grow next year.

🥕 Top up vegetable planters and raised beds with new compost and soil.

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January – A month of planning for the gardening year ahead

Forker Garden Products — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:28:03 +0000

January might be the middle of winter but as the days lengthen the garden starts to grow. Now is a great time to plan for the coming gardening year and to order seeds and plants.

Summer bulbs, seed potatoes and onion sets are available from the middle of this month. Enjoy the fresh air, on dry sunny days. Use this month for general garden maintenance. Rake leaves and clear up weedy beds ready for mulching in spring.

Also put out food for birds and leave some garden areas uncut, a little longer, to provide shelter for wildlife in your garden.

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DECEMBER – A colder month in the garden

Forker Garden Products — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:48:20 +0000

December brings the last season of the year, Winter!

As we approach the shortest day of the year in December the main jobs in the garden are to lift fallen leaves and check that all trees and outdoor plants are secure during this colder month.

Check your winter protection is securely in place incase of wind and frost.
Check that greenhouse heaters are working.
Insulate outdoor taps.
Prune open-grown apples and pears (but not those trained against walls)
Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbage, sprouts and remaining root crops
Deciduous trees and shrubs can still be planted and transplanted.
Take hardwood cuttings.
Check all stored produce and make sure no mice can get into it.
Reduce watering of houseplants.
Remember to fill bird feeders.

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November – A colder month in the garden

Forker Garden Products — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:05:12 +0000

It’s getting colder and wetter as we move into November. As autumn turns to winter, your main jobs in the garden are mostly about protecting plants from the weather, raking up leaves and planning your garden for next year.

There’s still a few things to sow on a sunny windowsill such as-

Broad Beans
Salad Leaves
Spring Onions
Early Peas
Chillies

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In the Garden this October

Forker Garden Products — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 08:58:02 +0000

Autumn is definitely here, it feels colder and is a lot wetter. It’s a beautiful time of year with the trees changing colour. This brings one of the main jobs of the season, raking up leaves! It might feel pointless with the wind blowing more off but these will make a great compost heap for next years crops.

Other jobs to do this month are:

Separate rhubarb crowns to create new plants.
Cut back perennials that have died down.
Move plants inside.
Plant out spring cabbages.
Harvest apples, pears and grapes.
Prune climbing roses.
Collect seeds from the garden to sow next year.
Trim hedges.
Last chance to cut the lawns on dry days.

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September – The beginning of Autumn

Forker Garden Products — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 08:53:34 +0000

As September brings a new season there are new jobs to do in the garden/greenhouse. There are quite a few varieties of autumn and winter vegetables you can plant now for produce during the colder months – winter and spring cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli, little gem lettuce, chicory and Chinese cabbage are a few options. Our Fruit & Veg compost and our Peat free planter are perfect to grow these in.

Some other jobs we recommend doing this month:

Divide herbaceous perennials.
Pick autumn raspberries.
Collect and sow seed from perennials and hardy annuals.
Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage spoils them.
Net ponds before leaf fall gets underway.
Keep up with watering of new plants, using rain water if possible.
Start a compost heap using fallen leaves, grass cuttings, tea bags eggshells or coffee grinds.
Early Autumn is the ideal time to plant evergreen trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm.

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JULY! – A warmer month in the garden

Forker Garden Products — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 13:48:08 +0000

July brings long, warm days that continue late into the evening. Perfect weather for the garden.

🌞Summer can still have a few bad spells of weather make sure tall plants and climbers are well supported in case of bad weather.

💧Water at dusk to reduce evaporation and use mulch to retain moisture around plants.

🔸Terracotta pots are prone to evaporation so dampen the pot down to keep roots inside cool and damp.

🌺Regularly deadhead bedding and perennial plants to encourage new blooms for as long as possible.

🍃This is probably the last chance to feed your lawn. Make sure in dry spells to regularly water the lawn especially ones that are newly seeded.

🌿With the warmer weather weeds will thieve use a weed killer once a week to keep these down.

🥦Remember to Water vegetables regularly during dry weather.

🐌Check for pests, especially snails they will ruin your crops.

🍅Feed tomatoes, peppers and melons with plant food.

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Summer is here

Forker Garden Products — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:49:58 +0000

After a wet and miserable May i think we can finally say Summer is here!!!

With the days longer and the weather drier there’s plenty to do around the garden:

Keep on top of weeds.

Be water-wise, especially in drought-affected areas.

Harvest lettuce, radish, other salads and early potatoes.

Position summer hanging baskets and containers outside.

Mow lawns at least once a week.

Plant out summer bedding using our Multi-Purpose Compost with John Innes (70 Litres)

Shade greenhouses to keep them cool and prevent scorch.

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April – Spring!

Forker Garden Products — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 13:23:24 +0000

With a new month brings a new season – Spring. While we will see a lot more sunny days still be aware of the drop in temperatures at night bringing ground frost.

This month, there’s plenty to sow and grow in your garden and greenhouse. But here are your main garden jobs this April:

Sow hardy annuals, herbs and wildflower seed outdoors
Sow new lawns or repair bare patches.
Mow lawns on dry days
Keep weeds under control
Prepare beds for the growing season by adding good quality manure
Outdoors – sow seeds for carrots, lettuce, leeks, radish, turnip, and spring onion, shallots and garlic.
Indoors – sow seed for courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and salad leaves.

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