Get garden tips from Colin Evans

By Colin Evans
BBC Berkshire

Conference pears will keep for weeks if put in cool dark place

I have now harvested the Conference pears from the tree in my garden and have put some away for storage.

I have developed a technique which I reckon is the best - I place five fruits in a freezer bag.

I make sure some holes are pinpricked into the plastic bag to allow moisture to escape.

These, placed in a cool dry dark place will keep the pears fresh for a few weeks at least.

The leaves on the maple trees at the bottom of my garden are falling. They make a carpet of purple over the lawn so I am either raking these off the grass or using the grass box on the mower to pick them up.

The compost heap is the best place for fallen leaves and will break down into compost by the summer, which means that the compost can be used to form a mulch over the borders.

This keeps in the valuable moisture should the weather conditions be dry.

Conditions permitting it is enough to go out into the garden and just clear up the debris left over from this season's gardening and trim back any unhealthy growth on the trees and shrubs.

Although there is a mild spell at present, keep an eye on the weather forecasts as it will not be long before we have the first early winter frosts.

Plant of the Week

Pennisetum villosum 'cream falls' produces eye catching, brilliant white fluffy rabbit tail spikes in abundance from bushy, clump forming deciduous plants.

This ornamental grass is very early flowering, growing 45 - 50 cm (18" - 20") tall and will look stunning when planted as a feature in borders or large containers.

This fantastic grass grown from seed sown from February to April germinates very fast compared to many other grasses.

Topical Tips

Prepare for shrub planting in November by getting the soil ready now.

The weather conditions are just right, although, the ground could do with a little more moisture, but you can do this with the aid of the hose pipe.

Dig over borders and remove all weeds and other debris and dig in good quantities of sharp sand. Most shrubs fail because off water logging and poor drainage so make sure you get that sharp sand into the border.

Humus or well broken down compost should be dug just under the soil surface making sure some is left over to act as a mulch when when planting takes place.

If you have not already done so, get tulips planted as soon as you can.

These spring flowering bulbs will establish much quicker with the summer heat still in the soil.

Tulips should be planted as soon as possible

If planting is left until later then the early frosts will have cooled the soil down which makes tulips more difficult to establish.

Planting in a few weeks will mean that flowers will be a bit later in the spring so don't panic if you can't get the job done now.

If you want to add colour to a cool greenhouse during the winter then try planting freesias into small pots.

Clay pots work better in my opinion because they keep the compost cool and allow moisture to escape at the sides preventing damage to the corms due to over watering.

Top off each pot with fine grit, water and just a little feed and the corms should soon show signs of life.

Happy gardening!

Email Colin with your gardening question here

Listen again to Colin Evans' tips on Rory McAllister's Sunday afternoon show