HOW TO RUN A NURSERY...WEEK 50/52

TAKING KZbinS ADVICE, THIS IS A RE-RUN AND RETITLE OF THE ORIGINAL SERIES THAT WAS FILMED OVER THE INITIAL COVID YEAR.
A gardeners world; Nursery, gardens, propagation, plants galore and all the growing tips that go with them. A unique weekly documentary series filmed throughout 2020. A must for gardeners worldwide.
Informative, irreverent, funny and totally without comparison. After a lifetime in horticulture, Malcolm Hockham and his young team answer The Royal Horticultural Societies 2019 article that the industry is in crisis. Not here it isn't!.....Malcolms final full year on the nursery shows you why.
It's been a wet one this week, the 50th of the series despite the ongoing disruption and challenges the year has laid upon our doorsteps. Who can say what 2021 will bring....I shall personally feel a year older and no f***ing wiser whatsoever.
Good health to all and I hope you will stay with us for the final two episodes of this nursery year.
Very best wishes to all....Malcolm

[@wictorsson]

I cant really belive this soon will come to an end......Please one more year....

[@grahamskilling2147]

Thanks for a years worth of entertainment - a marathon!

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Your very welcome Graham....we're not quite done yet. Best wishes....Malcolm

[@badbooks476]

Malcolm, you have the knack of always finding interesting content, great series despite the crazy year. Amanda, lovely poem and hopefully the cat pee had long since evaporated. Thomas, great observations of what’s going on with the plants, and superb impression of an Asthmatic Pit Pony.

[@amandahodgson9637]

Could have been worse, Mark, could have been worse 😂😂😂

[@jameswswann]

52 minutes in the pissing December rain? Thank you for an amazing year Malcolm. Can't wait to see what you do next.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Nor can I James (is it James?)......I just don't know fully what it is yet, and where we will be taken with this virus stuff. It's certainly been the weirdest, and annoyingly buggered up my original plans for this series....which has been disappointing, we've had to adapt it as we went along i'm afraid. but thank you for your kind comment. ...Best wishes....Malcolm

[@jameswswann]

@@plantsmanscorner128 it is James. For me, the essence of this series has been your plant knowledge and your irreverent humour (obviously) but also your whole staff and how they work together. I hope that if we do get to see more of Sunniside, you can find a way to include Thomas, Liz, John and Clara. In a way, covid did bugger up the series at the most crucial time of year but on the other hand, you've documented a very weird and hopefully unique year. The plants still shone through!

[@dc0145a]

Another lovely video. I love the 'walk about' through the garden. As I write, we are getting quite a storm here in NH - 12+ inches of snow and still coming down. This video is a welcome respite. Thank you Malcolm for sharing your nursery with us all.

[@Tom-rc7oy]

Always look forwards to your videos, thanks!

[@mckenzie3440]

Thank you for posting. Perhaps, the “kids” could carry on filming at Egglestone weekly and we could enjoy a monthly visit to Sunniside to see progress in the forthcoming transformation? Only saying 😁 . I suppose that might sound a bit selfish. Love the series and the variety of content. Kind regards.

[@chrisgardner7116]

Well Malcom you and your team have brought smiles and laughs through a difficult year, always wonderful snippets of information to be had, like who knew that Thomas, the sage of all things sheep was also a fount of knowledge on Ferrets! Well done one and all.

[@lenaolivetti9366]

Thank you all for a better Monday 😊😊😊

[@dennistaft7868]

Malcolm, I found out about your series about 14weeks in I think, but I started watching from the beginning and have really enjoyed it. I'm very thankful for the names of the plants printed on the screen so I can research the ones I like. I know the series is coming to an end but I hope you continue to put up vids. I really look forward to them.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I’ve not firmed up any plans as yet Dennis. I hope to do something but I’m a bit tired at the moment. My working life is coming to an end and to be honest coronavirus has not enabled me to do the series I originally planned....that has been a big disappointment but we’ve muddled through. I had wanted more of the youngsters who are just starting out rather than a grumpy old goat at the end of his career.....I don’t have a full year left to rectify that. I’m also finding the work physically challenging. I will look at it and decide in a few weeks after a short rest. I’m glad you’ve found them useful. Take care Dennis, and very best wishes....Malcolm

[@bencollyer2296]

You’ve got to carry on next year with the series. I’ll miss my Monday nursery eps

[@vickijohnson4668]

Thank you so much Malcom, I live in South Australia, a very dry place. So nice to see the rain in England. I am sure you grow wiser year by year. Best wishes to you and all the nursery staff. Love and seasons greetings.

[@texasanglophile2297]

hey Malcolm, if possible as the others have stated, if possible carry on as this year was total crap, but y'all help us get through it. So no matter what you do, just remember you did help us make it in 2020.

[@digsowgrow]

Wow - WEEK 50 ! what an achievement and very welcome this bizarre year to forget. Much appreciated Malcolm. All the best Guy

[@carolehughes3896]

Thanks for a very interesting year, I've enjoyed watching and learning new things from you and will miss everyone , it's been a breath of fresh air in these strange times, I will look forwad to visiting in the new year 🌺

[@marshmenne8657]

Malcolm thanks for a years worth of entertainment, it’s been the best part of 2020. Also a quick thanks for going back and showing the delphinium from July’s crown cuttings, I was unsure of what the next step until this week. May your holidays be safe and merry.

[@charlotteelsmore7935]

I'm still laughing at the final scene......maidens taken through the back door.... hilarious 😂Thanks so much for all your efforts in making these wonderful vlogs, it's very much appreciated. Lots of great content again. Amanda, you are so funny. Lovely poem and photos of the beautiful Hellebores

[@raymondcutler8795]

Thank you all again keep safe

[@mariapascualy2598]

So glad the vid is up so I can enjoy it with my first cup of coffee.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I'd like to enjoy a cup of coffee also Maria....It's more likely to be a whiskey mac tonight though! Best wishes....Malcolm

[@mariapascualy2598]

@@plantsmanscorner128 I enjoyed seeing the winter work--poly bags and pruning. Learned a lot. Thank you all so much.

[@richardfleming6473]

A great informative show this week. Bonny type of vagrant to be found in Teesdale I must say. Look forward to seeing you all hopefully next month.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Thank you Richard.....Yeah, she was just found hanging around the sheep...must be after helping Thomas with lambing. Best wishes....Malcolm

[@patgentry7268]

Great episode! I found the nice Acer Palmatum Kirohigi (?) near me...might make a good Christmas present! ...and the Ode of Hellebores: Brilliant. Wonderful photography and music and poetry, too. Of course, Malcolm and the dogs were the main course in this feast...oh, precious in these last weeks of 2020. Best wishes to you all at Eggleston Hall Gardens.

[@helenwilliamson7099]

That was really hilarious, loved the poem must look out for her poems, take care everyone, another great vlogx😊❤👍🎄

[@amandahodgson9637]

Glad you liked the poem...don’t sniff books!! 🎄💕💐xxx

[@helenwilliamson7099]

@@amandahodgson9637 😁💖

[@browpetj]

Great info! Pepper's such a good dog really. She never complains and is always active lol :)

[@TheDj4088]

Very nice poem and being dull and heavy I'm going to have to get some of those Hellebore :-) I can't believe we're almost to the end of the year, you've all been great!

[@laurenb6451]

Malcolm, I too am feeling sad, anticipating the end of this great series. Please take a rest and then come back and enlighten us some more. You have lots more to say, I am sure of it. I want to know, how do you decide whether to use round or square pots for all the small things? My first cat (who was very mean and lived to be over 18) peed on my Latin textbook but I continued to use it, and yes it smelled. He also peed on the jacket of any boyfriend who visited LOL. And he bit my brother and everybody else too! They knew he was crazy, they shouldn’t’ve been touching him. But I loved him anyway.

[@shaneintheshade]

Malcolm, I'm sure you are now editing a video for this week as I type this on a Sunday. I wanted to let you know that I enjoy your videos but my landscape business hasn't afforded me the opportunity to watch many this year. I do look forward to setting down in Jan and Feb watching where I had left off in early March. I remember you had said this may be your last year before retirement, I hope you carry on. 2020 is such a bad note to leave on. You seem as the sort that wouldn't know what do do with yourself if you do retire anyhow.... Anyhow, thank you for the effort sir and I hope everyone there has a Merry Christmas. God bless you all

[@hasmukhpatel7972]

Thanks

[@andrewpenwright2266]

thanks for giving us a laugh,...don't sniff old books and keep your guard up on your back door

[@amandahodgson9637]

Good advice 😂😂😂😂

[@hasmukhpatel7972]

Lovely

[@bfrommars]

2 weeks and you have done it!!!

[@indiagkv2003]

Gardan is great. Stay connected thanks.

[@Barbara-ty8dj]

I look forward to Mondays with great anticipation. Your series will be sorely missed. It’s been loads of fun watching the kids getting on. Thank you for the massive info on propagation. I hate saying good bye. “Landed with your arm in the butter!” Love it.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I've not gone yet Barbara......

[@Barbara-ty8dj]

@@plantsmanscorner128 what was the piece of Spanish music tucked in at the end?

[@Barbara-ty8dj]

Ha ha, just learned the proper term, “ land with your bum in the butter”! Even better. Ha ha!

[@amandahodgson9637]

I keep hoping to find someone else that uses this expression as I have no idea where I got it from!😂😂😂💐🌸

[@felisarahn8524]

I am so sad this series is coming to an end. Will of course watch it again as I do with you earlier videos. I hope we will get more videos in 2021 both from Eggleston Hall as well as your new adventure of whipping Sunnyside into shape. May you and your family have a healthy, happy and prosperous 2021! P.S. Love the cryptomeria. I only which is was fully hardy in the Chicago area!

[@eileentarrant9220]

Malcom Im’e feeling quite melancholy about these videos ending ,Please find a way of carrying on in some way when you retire , I know what you mean about not knowing the date ,I’ve been retired eighteen yrs and I hardly know what day it is (except mondays ☝️) I had a voucher for the shop and when I got the stuff they wouldn’t take the voucher cos it ran out the day before 😡 Amanda your a hoot ,your way of speaking about Malcom make me howl

[@amandahodgson9637]

If only you knew how we suffer, Eileen! 😂😂😂🌸💐🎄

[@stampinghippo7157]

Hello again, Malcolm! Your videos are getting better and better every week! Thank you for so many teaching lessons in horticulture this year I´ve learned a lot. When I stumbled across your vlogs by accident in January , after a few minutes I knew I had to stay because I found the garden boss of my life. Besides all the glamorous garden shows on tv there is a real life in horticulture and one can feel your passion for plants in your videos. That got me. I told hubby to get me some bareroot DA roses for Christmas - unfortunately (for us germans), most of them are out of stock. Covid hit all of us hard. May I ask you, why you did not cut the branches back to the stem of the plum directly now? Would it do any harm to the plant? And what is the reason that the trees do better in the polybags? You can tell, you raised some horticultural interest in a lousy gardener. I´m deeply grateful for that. Stay safe, best wishes, Hanni.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I do not know why they grow better Hanni....I wish I did.....many would disagree, but from a commercial point of view i can pot up 3-4 plants in a rigid pot in the same time it takes to do one in a polybag....we also don't use fancy plastic labels, which are hard to keep in a polybag. We use our own stick on labels with our own information. we can then be brutally honest about a plant....if, as in the case of Houttynia, it smells like a ferrets arse we will put that....which begs the question "How do we know?".....well Thomas told me!.....As for the plums. Really, we would prune plums later on in april/may...some do it even later. I personally prefer to do them now and in summer to tidy up....I find reducing the feathers (small thin branches) doesn't cause and infections like canker or silver leaf....I like to keep a few to leaf up to help strengthen the stem but i don't want them using energy for extension growth on those lower branches so I cut them back a bit then reduce them fully later to create a clean trunk. All nurserymen have their own methods and little quirks, this is one of many I have developed. Some I have changed when people have shown me a better way...the thing is Hanni, we never stop learning, there are no lousy gardeners, just inexperienced, and we never ever stop learning. One lifetime is not enough to know everything....i've had one almost and don't feel I've even scratched the surface. I may do some regular updates on this series.....and potting bare root roses would be one of them. Take care, very best wishes, and thank you for your kind comments...Malcolm

[@stampinghippo7157]

@@plantsmanscorner128 As we are about the same age I can relate to you that a lifetime is not enough to know everything! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions in-depth! Best wishes! Hanni.

[@guinessparis1]

Another interesting video Malcolm, i,am going through from week 1 again ( some may say i,am sad? ) its amazing what you forget, and sometimes the second viewing is better than the 1st. My concern and i won't be alone in this, what is going to happen in 2021 to the videos , is Thomas taking over ? or hopefully are you carrying on with a slight twist( what the twist will be i don't no) that will be your choice, will it be just sunny side ? or both nurseries, what ever it will be interesting

[@mikesmith-yj3ih]

I always wondered why after calling one dog Pepper why another one was not called Salt or even the third called Vinegar ? 🤔😊

[@cew9837]

Is it only mulligatawny soup that does it?? Bet the potting shed can be a bit of a fetid swamp at times! Great to see you guys are battling through ... hoping that somehow next year can help us all turn a corner. 2020 best left as soon as possible say I. Keep safe all.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

My sentiments entirely Claire....though it has been unusual at times i'd like boring normality back. Though I do feel we face much bigger problems than Covid on the horizon.....not insurmountable though if we start living with nature rather than exploiting it......Irish stew (too much lamb and swede) is worse than the soup. Best wishes to you....Malcolm

[@BionicRasta]

The advice i read is that plums (unlike apples) should not be pruned when dormant as the tree cannot heal the wound, so it leaves it vulnerable to disease like canker or silver leaf getting in.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Yes you are quite right Natty, that is the received wisdom. It is also the advice I give to people that ask me about pruning.....please see the answer I gave Harvey Fenell below. One of the problems we have with all prunus species, especially plums in their early years is rabbits.....if I don’t reduce the feathers low down I can’t apply a rabbit guard, and as you will see from the barthelemey footage where their maples are ‘ringed’ that happens to us all the time.....we lost hundreds of trees a year or two back. We just cannot keep them all out. If they ring the tree bark the problem is far greater as for diseases than if I nip back a few lower branches. It is a compromise I have to make. After this year we prune them much later in the season, and I would urge everyone to do so. As they are not for general sale for a year or two any infection would be noticed. But you and Harvey make a very valid point and I should maybe have explained this in the video......I was dealing with young nursery stock and that’s can be a bit different from dealing with a point of sale or mature plant. But you are right in your point. Best wishes.....Malcolm

[@tracyshock3940]

I don't know why I didn't realise, but I'm gutted you're not making another series after this year. 😣 why are your staff furloughed Malcolm? We're in Tier 3 here in lancashire, but our garden centres are still open 🤔

[@plantsmanscorner128]

We’re in tier 3 also Tracy. I have some staff furloughed. We are a nursery, not a garden centre so we don’t sell other items for income, solely plants. While we are also a botanical collection/garden they are not allowed to be visited, we are miles out in the countryside 18 miles from nearest major town, people are discouraged from travelling, also we are heavily reliant on the associated cafe for winter visitors, most of who travel a long way, and that is closed. Also, we make our money in summer to get through winter, the uncertainty of further lockdowns after Christmas and into spring means we need to try and preserve cash for that eventuality.....we start earning income in snowdrop season soon after Christmas and if we are locked down then it is a huge problem. If I use all our cash and were locked down I will be forced into making redundancies. It is the uncertainty that’s the killer for us. It doesn’t matter for me, but I want to preserve what few jobs there are in our rural economy. Best wishes....Malcolm

[@harveyfennell6251]

Only two to go, well done for keeping it up! Just a query on pruning your plums re silverleaf, I assume it’s not an issue for nursery stock ?

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I have never found pruning plum maidens a problem with silver leaf. Strictly speaking you prune later on with plums, we only reduce some of the small laterals on maiden trees. We do not touch our mature stock or our garden trees till April/May, but it is impractical for us to wait till later as we need them to branch out and form a head as early as possible. Some growers do it differently, but I’ve yet to have a problem with any prunus. I think if we had any sign of infection on the nursery or in the gardens I would adapt my method, but we haven’t as yet. But it’s well observed and I’m glad you pointed it out Harvey as Its worth people knowing.....I might do an update before I retire at the end of September on the plums...Thank you.....Best wishes....Malcolm

[@harveyfennell6251]

@@plantsmanscorner128 thanks I was just curious, as having been caught out while winter pruning apple trees for a customer and getting half way through a tree to find a shrivelled plum hanging on a branch, it got silverleaf and died but they didn’t tell me it was there and they were all a tangled mess of neglect. Always a pleasure to watch, best wishes Harveythegardener48

[@navigatorsnursery]

Hi All, Amanda, we loved the flamenco style guitar music which played alongside your beautiful helebore pics. Who was that please ? ps. you have one of the prettiest voices around. Love from Lisa and Neville (from Australia mate)

[@ourfloridagarden4191]

Pepper!

[@alanbstard4]

Where did you get that hat Where did you get that tile Isn't it a nobby one And just the proper style I should like to have one Just the same as that Wherever I go they'd shout "Hello" Where did you get that hat

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Fuck me....That is truly poetic genius Alan! ......best wishes, Malcolm

[@alanbstard4]

@@plantsmanscorner128 sadly the genius is not of my making as you clearly realise. Wonderful chapeau at the beginning

[@plantsmanscorner128]

I had to look up what a chapeau is Alan.....just in case it was something rude. I shall always call it that now. 🎩

[@mikesmith-yj3ih]

There we have it, at 19:01 minutes in on your vlog we won't have time to show us (you said)? so you have to go on next year 2021 if the camera is to heavy for you. Pass it on to someone else ( Thomas) he looks like he has feelings for us fans, that nice girl could help him to see if his bulbs are hard or soft and then she can say what to do in either case 🤔

[@BionicRasta]

If you buy a bare root tree & put them in a pot (unlike pot grown) do you still have to plant them by spring at the latest while dormant? or is it possible to keep them in their pots to develop root growth & plant them later on?

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Yes you can keep them in pots....we do with thousands. My advice though if you do this is to plant later than earlier. If the plant starts developing young roots in spring, these will be damaged as you take it out the pot....it would be far better to allow the rootball to bind itself. The victorians used to plunge plants like this....plant pot and all, then later in the year dig it up, remove the plant and stick it back in the hole.....I like this method, any roots through the pot holes can often be pulled through or if too large pruned off....no different than the fashionable air pots today......but often people buy plants or dig them up while in the process of moving home. So there’s often little option. One of the saddest things in life is when somebody takes over a garden that’s been lovingly developed and just chops it all down or changes it....it is quite natural to do so, we all have different like and tastes.....but it is a sadness I’ve seen repeated quite literally thousands of times over the years.....it’s not a criticism it’s just a fact of life. Best wishes....Malcolm

[@BionicRasta]

@@plantsmanscorner128 Another piece of advice & a mistake many of us novice gardeners make (but worth mentioning) is when planting a tree we should not add any compost or nutrients like blood fish & bone mixed into soil of the hole. Our instinct is to do this thinking it will help the tree grow, but if we do then the roots will not grow out into the surrounding soil & will stay where the nutrients are, thus stunting the development of the tree. I learned the hard way. But is this also true of adding mycrorizial fungi? As far as i know it helps develop root growth by acting as part of a symbiotic relationship in providing increased water & nutrient absorption capabilities, while the plant provides the fungus with carbohydrates formed from photosynthesis. So its not in itself a nutrient but an enhancement, kinda like body builders who use steroids. Thats the science bit that probably flies over most of our heads. Very interesting though.

[@plantsmanscorner128]

@@BionicRasta I’ve always told people not to add nutrition.....it was an old practice to put muck and bonemeal in planting holes. It is another received wisdom that we do. If the soils poor and they’re available molehills are excellent, as is a p,anting mat...an old bin liner or similar placed around the tree and held in place with manure or Barry...poke a few holes in with a fork and leave it. Stops weed growth and surface evaporation. As for the m.fungus.....no harm if you want to, and may help. But the addition of good leafmold will do much the same thing. Best wishes...Malcolm

[@raymurray6822]

How do you stand on compost?

[@plantsmanscorner128]

Potting or garden compost Ray?

[@cew9837]

On one leg?

[@plantsmanscorner128]

If you mean garden compost then I think it’s great stuff....not as easy to get right in the making as some say.....but it’s very useful. I prefer leafmold personally, but that’s likely just me being lazy Ray......Best wishes....Malcolm

[@raymurray6822]

The same as manure?

[@plantsmanscorner128]

My old head gardener used to insist there was nothing like A “good barrow of shit”.....as such he’d have me on “shitcart” most mornings for a couple of hours. Compost making was too much “f***ing about apparently, so all vegetative matter was thrown on a big heap and attracted rats. I think it’s a great idea, especially with some of the manure/straw problems with Aminopyralids of recent years. Best wishes...Malcolm

[@raymurray6822]

I remember a line from Crossroads where Benny asks Miss Diane for more manure.The boss on overhearing this said cant you get him to call it fertilizer?Miss D iane replied its taken me ten years to get him to call it manure!