Marsh Marigold - Excellent Marginal Plant for Smaller Ponds

The Marsh Marigold (Caltha) is a hardy herbaceous perennial suitable for growing in marshy ground, around pool margins or in shallow water. It is an easy to grow marginal plant which is non invasive and therefore suitable for the smaller pond. It grows in water up to 6 inches deep and produces an abundance of lovely yellow/white flowers in April/May. If you remove the dead flowers as soon as they have faded, it will often produce a second flush of flowers in the autumn.
The variety I grow as a marginal plant in my pond is Caltha palustris which is native to Britain and Europe. It has flowered early this year due to the unusually warm March weather. It grows to about 12-15 inches in height with a spread of around 12 inches, and if grown in water as a marginal plant will require a container of at least 6 inches in depth.
The plants can be propagated by lifting and dividing the roots in May or June after flowering has finished.

Planting New Potatoes

The last of the winter veg has now been harvested and the veg patch has been dug over ready for the new season's planting. Today I planted the first of this year's vegetables - new potatoes. In previous years I have grown mainly Arran Pilot, a first early potato which stores well. This year I have decided to plant fewer potatoes but of different varieties, so today I planted Swift, a first early ideal for salads, which should be ready for harvesting in early summer. I also planted Pixie, a heavy cropping second early, which should be ready to harvest in mid summer.
New potatoes should be planted about 4 inches deep and about 9 inches apart in rows which are set 24 inches apart. The potatoes should be chitted (allowed to sprout) in a light cool frost free place prior to planting. This will get them off to a good start when you plant them and hopefully increase the crop. When the shoots are about an inch long they are ready for planting. Carefully plant with the shoots facing upwards.
Once your potato plants have grown to a height of about 8 inches you need to start earthing them up by erecting a ridge of soil around them. This has a dual purpose. It gives the potatoes more room to grow and prevents the light from reaching them and turning them green which makes them inedible.
Continue to earth up as the plants grow. When you think the potatoes are ready to harvest remove some soil from around a plant by hand and check the size of the potatoes. If they are ready use a garden fork to lift them, taking care to push the fork in well back from the plant to avoid spearing the potatoes. When the tops of the plants have turned yellow and started to wilt it is best to lift any remaining potatoes for storage. Lay them on top of the soil for about an hour then place in bags (hessian sacks or brown paper sacks are ideal) and store them in a cool frost free place.