Up next in 10
More bulbs planted, new fruit trees arriving and another productive day at the allotment!Join Gardening with Ben for a catch-up from my Sheffield plot as we finish off another batch of bulb planting and continue the autumn clear-up.Following our big tulip-planting session, I share the latest progress and look ahead to the spring display we’re working towards.There’s also an exciting delivery: new bare-root fruit trees! I chat about their arrival, plans for where they’ll go and looking after them before planting. It’s another step in developing the plot and growing something to enjoy in the years ahead.Alongside the planting and deliveries, we’ve been weeding, doing some burning and tidying up. These smaller jobs all help move the allotment forward as we head towards winter.Whether you’re finishing your bulbs, planning fruit planting or tackling a neglected corner, come along for a friendly gardening conversation.Have you received any bare-root fruit trees this autumn? And have you finished planting your spring bulbs?Follow Gardening with Ben for seasonal advice and tales from days spent at the plot. Please leave a rating and share the podcast with a gardening friend.More gardening tips and inspiration:
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey, let's grow. Grab your [music]
0:03
gloves. It's time to grow. Seeds and
0:07
flowers. Watch [music] them go from the
0:10
garden to the man again.
0:13
[music]
0:14
Gardening with Ben. Hey, let's go
0:18
with Ben.
0:22
Hey up everybody and welcome back to
0:24
Gardening with Ben for another episode
0:27
today. I hope that you're all well and I
0:30
hope that everybody's week is going
0:32
absolutely fantastic and the cold
0:35
weather is upon us. It's coming. It's
0:38
going to be a cold one coming up and
0:40
possibly first frost as well. So, anyone
0:43
that's got tender plants in, be very
0:45
careful because the frost might get
0:47
them. So, get moving them pretty fast or
0:49
protecting them with fleece because it
0:52
is starting to turn a lot colder now. So
0:55
yeah, just be careful and protect those
0:58
young plants out there. So today we have
1:03
been at the a lotment again. We've had
1:05
our second day there. This is my weekend
1:07
Tuesday and Wednesdays down at the
1:09
aotment as a work weekend. So our
1:12
weekend is Tuesday and Wednesdays. So we
1:14
had another busy day down at the plot
1:17
today. Now obviously I planted 500
1:20
tulips yesterday. Absolutely.
1:22
Phenomenal. absolutely outrageous.
1:25
[laughter]
1:26
But we got them all planted and I went
1:29
with the mindset today to go to the a
1:31
lotment in thinking I'm going to carry
1:34
on that bulb planting. We're going to
1:35
get them done. We're going to get them
1:36
all planted. Basically, as I' as and
1:39
when I've got my bulbs, I've just been
1:41
putting them in a bag and kept putting
1:43
them in a bag and putting them in a bag.
1:45
And then when I came to do my tulips, I
1:47
found that I'd just been putting loads
1:48
in there.
1:50
>> [gasps]
1:50
>> We needed to plant them all and get them
1:52
all in uh before it does get too cold
1:55
and the ground gets too hard. So yeah,
1:57
we have been busy planting more bulbs
1:59
again. Today we have planted 30 higher
2:03
synths which I can't wait for. They're
2:05
my favorite spring bulb out of the lot.
2:08
Them and tulips because obviously they
2:11
are fragrant and they'll look absolutely
2:15
gorgeous as well. So, I've planted 30
2:19
high sims. We planted some white ones,
2:21
some blue ones, and some red ones as
2:23
well. So, I'm really looking forward to
2:26
them popping up and smelling the scent
2:28
on them. I planted them near my entrance
2:30
to my plot. So, that as soon as I walk
2:32
onto my plot, I should be able to smell
2:34
them and they should hopefully bring a
2:37
lot of fragrance to the entrance of my
2:39
plot, which I'm looking forward to
2:41
seeing how well they come on. And most
2:43
of the higher sims have got shoots on
2:45
them as well. So that's a good sign that
2:47
they're all good healthy bulbs as you
2:50
could get them from like a pick a mix.
2:52
You could choose which bulbs you wanted.
2:54
So I chose all the best ones when I
2:57
collecting them. So I'm looking forward
2:59
to them growing and hopefully getting
3:01
some great fragrance from it. See if the
3:03
squirrel leaves them alone. Fingers
3:05
crossed it does. But yeah, we're looking
3:08
forward to them. And what else did I
3:10
plant? We planted a load more tulips. I
3:13
found some more tulips. So, we planted
3:15
them. Uh, we planted them in some
3:17
different beds to where we planted the
3:19
other ones. Uh, so they all look pretty
3:21
nice. We found some tartes and a lot of
3:25
daffodil bulbs. So, we got all them in
3:27
as well, which is good because obviously
3:29
daffodils come up before the tulips, so
3:32
they'll bring some color before the
3:34
tulips arrive. We also planted some
3:38
aliiums which are absolutely fantastic
3:41
for the bees. Bees absolutely love them
3:44
and they're late flowering. They flower
3:46
like towards after the tulips so they're
3:49
a bit later so it'll keep that spring
3:50
color going which is absolutely amazing.
3:53
We planted a load of crocuses. Uh
3:56
obviously crocuses one of the first
3:59
flowering bulbs out of the lot of them.
4:02
So that'll be good. uh they'll be
4:04
flowering first before anything else and
4:07
we planted about 60 of those I think it
4:09
were. So yeah, we planted a lot of them
4:11
and best thing about crocuses is that
4:13
they multiply pretty easily. So if you
4:16
plant some you'll get absolutely
4:17
hundreds in years to come. So I'm
4:19
looking forward to more and more
4:21
crocuses coming. Uh what else did we
4:23
plan? We
4:26
I think that's kind of it. But it seemed
4:29
to last forever. We started at like nine
4:31
o'clock and I didn't finish till like
4:33
half 11. Planted them all. Took
4:35
absolutely forever. And we're finally
4:37
getting to the end of planting all my
4:39
bulbs now. I bet you're thinking, "Thank
4:40
God we won't have to listen to another
4:42
podcast episode talking about bulbs."
4:45
[clears throat] I'll try not to talk
4:46
much about bulbs anymore. But yeah, it
4:49
it is one of my favorite seasons of
4:51
springtime. Seeing the blooms come up
4:54
after a dull winter and getting some
4:57
nice color in the garden, nice
4:59
fragrance, and seeing the bees buzzing
5:01
round, enjoying all the spring bulbs. I
5:03
do love it and that's why I plant so
5:05
many and it brings so much joy as well
5:08
when I walk on the plot and I see all
5:10
the flowers out. It certainly does. So,
5:12
if you've got an a lotment, do plant
5:13
some spring bulbs because it does bring
5:15
you joy and the bees will thank you as
5:18
well for it. So they're definitely one
5:21
thing to have on the a lotment when
5:24
growing down there. Like not many people
5:27
tend to grow flowers if they're growing
5:28
vegetables on the a lotments, but
5:29
flowers do add a lot of color to where
5:32
there's a lot of green and it does
5:34
brighten it up and make it look a lot
5:36
more attractive as well. What else did
5:39
we do? We got some bare root fruit trees
5:42
as well today, which you might think,
5:45
well, he's got a lot of fruit trees
5:47
already. Why does he need more? Well, we
5:50
got sent them, so we'll accept them.
5:52
[laughter]
5:53
But yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to
5:55
these. Uh, we got a Braburn apple tree.
5:59
We got a conference pair tree. We got my
6:04
favorite plum tree of all time, a
6:06
Victoria plum tree. Obviously, I've got
6:08
a couple of those already, but what
6:10
another one won't hurt because they're
6:12
absolutely delicious. I love Victoria
6:14
plums. Absolutely gorgeous. Best plum
6:17
out there. If you're looking at getting
6:18
a plum tree, get a Victoria plum tree.
6:20
And it's a self-pollinator as well, so
6:23
it doesn't need another plum tree to
6:24
pollinate it to create the plums on it.
6:27
So you that's the best one to go for.
6:30
And we also got a stellar cherry tree.
6:34
Now, I've not got a cherry tree on my
6:35
lotment. I had one when I first got the
6:37
plot. That was one of the first fruit
6:39
trees I got, but it didn't seem to do
6:42
much, so I chopped it down. And I regret
6:44
it, to be honest, because I do love
6:46
cherries. And yes, the birds can get
6:48
them and yes, they'll take a lot of
6:50
them, but they are absolutely delicious.
6:54
So, I'm looking forward to growing this
6:55
cherry tree. We're going to put these
6:57
fruit trees right at the top of my plot
6:58
where I don't do much growing up at the
7:00
top as it's pretty shady up there. So,
7:03
there's not much um sunlight, so can't
7:07
grow much up there. So, I might just
7:10
stick them up there and see how well
7:11
they go. If they don't do very well,
7:13
they don't do very well. But, it's worth
7:15
a try. And you never know, we might get
7:17
some great fruit on them and hopefully
7:19
some delicious cherries off them. I'm
7:21
looking forward to them. They will be
7:23
nice. And yeah, we did some burning as
7:26
well today. I always love a bonfire
7:29
whenever it's getting cold. Uh I do like
7:32
to have a bonfire down there. And
7:34
obviously it's getting rid of all the
7:36
cardboard while I get all my packages in
7:38
and obviously burning any old plants
7:41
that not compostable. Uh, so yeah, it's
7:45
always nice to have a bonfire down
7:46
there. Obviously, I don't burn anything
7:48
you shouldn't burn. It's all uh legit
7:51
stuff what you can burn. So, it's always
7:54
nice to try one. And we're not allowed
7:57
bonfires from
8:00
Well, we're only allowed bonfires from
8:02
October through to March, I think it is.
8:04
So, I try and make use of it and try and
8:06
do have a little fire every time when
8:08
I'm down at the plot. And my parents
8:10
said to me the other week, they went,
8:11
"What do you want for Christmas?" And I
8:13
went, "I want a burning bin." I'd got an
8:16
old uh dust bin, the old metal type
8:19
variety, and it was getting uh rusty. It
8:23
had fall it were falling apart. There a
8:24
big hole in the side of it. So, I
8:26
thought, I'm going to get a new burning
8:28
bin. And they went out and got me one.
8:30
So, I'm absolutely amazed with it. And I
8:32
can get a lot of stuff hopefully burnt
8:34
over the winter and get rid of some of
8:36
the stuff what we can burn down there.
8:38
And it's always nice to see a bonfire
8:40
and smell it. I love the smell of a
8:42
bonfire down at the a lotment. So yeah,
8:44
we have had some burning. What else have
8:47
we done? We've done a bit of weeding.
8:49
We've managed to clear a couple more
8:51
beds. So we've been cracking on with
8:52
that. Starting to clear all the beds
8:54
down. And as everything's starting to
8:56
die back now, and it's all starting to
8:59
look a bit not very nice to put it
9:02
gently, uh it's all starting to look a
9:05
bit of a mess. So, we're starting to
9:06
clear all the beds, getting them all
9:08
weeded, getting all the bind weed roots
9:10
out. Yes, they will grow back again
9:12
probably, but we'll keep digging them up
9:14
while we can, while there's nothing
9:15
growing in them. So, yeah, I'm looking
9:17
forward to that. Uh, we've also
9:21
obviously watered his onions, we've
9:23
watered his garlic, what's inside in the
9:24
poly tunnel, and we've just had a
9:28
general good tidy up, and we've been
9:30
really busy down there. So, I'm happy
9:33
with how things are coming along down at
9:34
the a lotment. It's all coming together
9:36
well and things are going well. And
9:39
obviously we're still not having no
9:41
rain. The rain's not coming. It It's
9:43
baffling, isn't it, that we've not had
9:45
hardly any rain whatsoever this year. Um
9:48
it's still not raining now, now that
9:50
we're even into autumn winter. Uh we're
9:53
still waiting for that rain to come. So
9:56
yeah, hopefully we do get some rain cuz
9:58
we do need to fill them reservoirs up,
10:00
but it's not looking very good, is it?
10:01
at the moment. But yeah, hopefully we
10:03
get things sorted.
10:06
So, next time when I'm down at the plot
10:08
next week, we will be continuing with
10:11
weeding my beds, getting all those
10:13
cleared. Probably have another bonfire
10:15
and start possibly tidying up another
10:18
area, possibly around my rhubarb. Uh we
10:21
need to start tidying all that area up.
10:23
And
10:25
the reason why we need to do that is
10:26
because I've got my other fruit trees
10:28
where they are. So once we've cleared
10:30
all that area, I'm waiting for the fruit
10:32
trees to drop the leaves so then I can
10:34
prune all them back. And at the moment
10:36
it's just a mass of brambles. The
10:38
brambles seem to love it in that area.
10:41
So we need to chop all those back so
10:43
that we can get in there. So yeah, we're
10:44
going to clear around the rhubarb area
10:46
and possibly get ready for pruning.
10:49
There's no point pruning them when all
10:50
the fruit uh leaves are on because
10:53
obviously it makes it a mess and it's
10:54
harder to uh clear away.
10:58
And the reason why I like to let them
11:00
drop the leaves is because then you can
11:02
see what you're working with. You can
11:03
see where the branches are. You can see
11:05
what's crossing. You can see what's
11:07
pointing downwards. You can see where
11:09
they need to have some space in between
11:11
the branches. But yeah, I usually wait
11:13
until it's dropped all the leaves before
11:15
I start pruning my fruit trees. So
11:17
hopefully another busy weekend next
11:19
weekend. Uh next week, well, Tuesday,
11:22
Wednesday, I call it my weekend.
11:24
Hopefully a busy time down there. And
11:27
I'm glad that everybody's enjoying all
11:29
the videos what I'm posting on Facebook
11:31
at the moment. I'm sharing lots and lots
11:32
of videos. Every single day there's a
11:34
new video on Facebook. So if you're not
11:36
following us on Facebook, do drop us a
11:38
follow. It's called Gardening with Ben
11:40
and you'll get to see all my videos of
11:41
what we get up to and sharing all my
11:43
tips and advice. And yeah, I think
11:46
that's about it for this episode today.
11:48
So I'm happy with how well today's gone
11:50
on. And hopefully next time we'll have a
11:53
great time as well. So, make sure you
11:55
come back for tomorrow's podcast where
11:57
we'll be back to our tips and advice.
11:59
So, until next time everyone, remember,
12:01
keep smiling, keep shining, and keep
12:03
gardening with Ben. Everyone,
12:06
>> another [music] day, another seed.
12:10
A little sunshine is all we need.
12:12
[music] Keep smiling,
12:15
keep shining. Until then, keeping
12:18
gardening [music] with
12:21
See you tomorrow.
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