Midwest Radio Gardening Show

With spring finally in the air this weeks programme focused on growing vegetables and plants of all varieties. Paraic advised about rhubarb and the Timberley Earley variety together with planting shamrock in pots and from seeds. Hints and tips included sowing carrotts and how to prevent forking and how to tackle dandelions in lawns and pathways. Sunflowers, Gold Crest trees and greenhouse planting were also topics covered on this weeks programme.

Apple trees, Daffodils, potatoes and begonias were all featured on the programme this week. Paraic gave advice on growth and care of Wisteria, Fushia, dwarf pampas grass and lupins. He also provided some tips for greening of lawns and discussed a variety of spring and summer outdoor plants with plenty of colourful options for listeners.

With the planting season well underway this week's topics included the planting of window boxes and baskets, propagating Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) and varieties of tomatoe that are easy to grow. Paraic also answered queries on how to prevent pests damaging yourng vegetables, tackling thistles in lawns, transplanting blueberry plants from pots and the care of Aloe Vera plants.

This week Paraic advised on flowering plants that are good to attract bees and suggested good varietes of flowers and plants for conservatories. He also gave tips on patching bare areas in lawns following moss removal and the best approach to feeding daffodils. Other topics included the pollination of triploids such as Bramley Apple Trees, the sowing of spinach and suggestions for those wishing to give a tree as a present.

The programme focused on the current slow growing conditions created by the cold weather spell. Paraic discussed how to grow sweet potatoes, aubretia and gave advice on sowing sweet peas, lupins and flowers for shady areas. He also described how the old "hot bed" system worked and gave extensive information on the growing of rhubarb including best soil conidtions and best practice to optmise rhubarb harvest.

Topics covered this week included the preparation of raised beds, pruning older apple trees, protecting young plants from very cold weather and the ongoing treatment of moss on lawns. Paraic also gave advice on growing in plastic tunnels, good hedges to plant for security and the care of peach trees in greenhouses.

On this week's programme Paraic discussed how to plant baby bedding plants, the right time to prune holly, the planting of horseradish and how to tackle the problem of briars and rushes. He also gave suggestions for good floury potatoes and colourful dahlia varieties while the planting of Goji berries and the problem of algae in ponds were also topics covered this week.

Padraic Horkan joins Deirdre Kelly with all the best gardening advice once again on Saturday morning.

On the final programme of the current series Paraic discussed tidying up the garden for the Autumn and the best method for creating a compost heap. He also gave advice on moving trees and shrubs at this time of year and focused on lawn care for the winter months. Other topics covered included suggestions for trees for exposed seaside areas, bulbs that can be planted now in for Christmas, the control of Nostuk and the pruning of plum trees and other fruits that contain a stone in the middle.

Items featured on this week's programme included suitable shrubs for transplanting window boxes, options for early Spring flowering bulbs, pruing of apple trees and growing of blueberries. Paraic advised on the sowing and maintenance of Hornbeam and Sea Buckthorn hedging and answered listeners questions on exchanging rosebeds for heather beds and pruning Weeping Willow.

This week Paraic gave advice on the care of raspberry bushes and discussed a variety of trees, roses and flowers from both seeds & cuttings. Flowering and berry bearing hedging was featured together with suitable broad leaved trees for medium and large gardens. Other topics included ripening tomatoes, growing grapes in greenhouses, controlling the spread of bamboo and the effective control of horse/mare's tail weeds.

On the programme this week Paraic discussed the different apple varieties that are now ready for harvesting and how to prune trees for the winter, he gave advice on scutch grass and garden drainage and dealth with a selection of questions on both wild and cultivated rhubarb. Other topics covered included the care and maintenance of bamboo, swiss cheese plants and curtailing the spread of Montbretia

On this week's programme Paraic discussed how to move mature trees such as Liquid Amber and Wedding Cake Trees. He gave advice on the treatment of problems in lawns and how to deal with grass growing through shrubs and flower borders. Paraic also gave tips on planting bulbs in pots, how to sow lavender and answered a wide variety of listeners questions.

The Gardening Programme is back for the Autumn season and this week features tips on tidying up the garden for winter. Paraic answered listeners questions on storing pruning and replanting hedging, the merits of slow and fast growing hedging were explored and Paraic aslo advised on how to grow cuttings of various plants. Harvesting and storing of potatoes and rhubarb was also discussed together with advice on moss on both lawns and tarmac.

This week Paraic outlined the best procedure for Summer pruning of apple trees in order to promote growth and he discussed sowing Purple Sprouting Broccoli.  With weather conditions favouring the spread of blight Paraic advised on preventative treatments both traditional and organic.  Other topics covered included climbing plants, dahlias and begonias, onions that have gone to seed and how to deal with a wasps nest close to a house.

On this week's gardening programme Paraic outlined a variety of plants that would be good for planting now. He also gave tips on trimming box hedges, and advised on how to remove moss from both hard surfaces and lawns. He discussed trimming laurel hedges, care of tomatoe plants now in growth and how to get the best from window boxes and hanging baskets.

This week Paraic suggested trees with good leaf colour for large gardens and flowers that would provide colour in July. He outlined how to grow sweet potatoes, peas, beans, swiss chard and wisteria and gave tips for growing grapevines in greenhouses. The care of Shefflera (Umbrella Plant) and Qunce was also discussed and listeners heard about the Clew Bay Garden Trail.

Paraic tackled the problem of Strawberry Weavils this week along with some other garden pests, including rabbits and slugs. Advice was given on how to take and cultivate hollyhock, delphinium and foxglove cuttings and gave tips on the care of roses. The programme also featured topics on turnips, horses tail and tomatoe varieties for haning baskets.

With weather conditions ideal for the spread of blight at the moment Paraic gave lots of advice on how to prepare to combat blight in both potatoes and tomatoes, and he also advised on how to treat mildew on roses. The problem of Japanese Knot Weed and its eradication was also featured and Paraic gave tips on feeding tomatoes and growing cucumbers.

This week's programme featured information on growing Sunflowers from seed, how to eradicate daisies in lawns and the treatment of wire worm in carrots and potatoes. Pauric also discusssed the growing of blue and pink hydrangeas and talked about the care of japanese and oranmetal maples.