T FRITH/ACORN PHOTO, ISTOCK, VIRGINIA CUMMINS
Wilting pansies
It’s disappointing when you plant a bed or
row of pansies, only to fi nd that some of the
plants have wilted, leaving sad gaps in your
display. Pansies can be affected by a number
of fungal diseases that cause this problem,
especially if the autumn has been warm and
wet. Before planting replacements, take out
as much as possible of the soil where the
droopy plant was growing and replace it with
fresh soil from another part of the garden.Freeze excess basil
Before the cold kills off your basil
plant, freeze some leaves for later use.
The simplest way is to pluck off the
leaves and spread them out on a sheet
ofbaking paper on a tray. Freeze on the
,thentipthefrozen leaves into plastic bags and seal.
hop up the leaves and freeze in water in an ice-cube. The basil won’t keep its colour but at least you will
have that special fl avour to add to winter dishes.
p
ip
cutdown
& plant
asparagus
Prune off yellow or
brown asparagus
fronds at ground
level. The prunings
can go into the
compost but be sure
to remove any of
the berry-like fruit
to avoid unwanted
seedlings popping up
Ideally, any asparagusplantsthatcarryberriesshould
be taken out altogether, as they’re the ones that produce
inferior shoots during the growing season.
Late autumn is also the beginning of the asparagus
planting season in most areas. You’ll see crowns being
offered by garden centres and online suppliers from now
through the cooler months. Plant asparagus crowns,
which are basically clusters of roots, at the base of a
trench, and gradually fi ll it in with compost-enriched
soil as the shoots grow. In spring, asparagus shoots,
or spears, turn into ferny fronds and the plants continue
growing and producing delicious spears for many years.TOP JOB
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