For the last few months, I've been experimenting with various ways in which to try to control the slug population or at least what they are eating. I have to say that single methods don't often work on their own, so I think it has to be a multi-pronged attack! This is what I have… Continue reading Slug-proofing experiments
Author: esthersym
Welcome to my blog! I decided to do what I interests me and that is plants, so I started home-studying the RHS level 2 theory exams but found very limited free resources online. This blog is going to record the things I have learnt to hopefully help other people trying to study on a budget. These are my notes. I am not a teacher, and there may be mistakes here for which I apologise, but - well, knowledge must be shared to be worth anything.
Slug pub
Ok, so I've always known that there are a lot of slugs and snails in my small, suburban garden. When I first moved to this house, there were 3 tubes of slug pellets left in the shed by the previous occupants, and this should have told me something. Then, I noticed a large hosta which… Continue reading Slug pub
Theory exams June 2020
I was somewhat surprised to learn that the RHS were still expecting the theory exams in June 2020 to go ahead as usual. The information on their website now says: With the disruption to centre-based learning programmes, it is accepted that learners may well not be ready for assessment in June. It is also the… Continue reading Theory exams June 2020
R2114 Houseplants
Similar to the section on the plants grown in protected environments, you will need to be able to discuss factors to consider when growing plants in the home. These could be: temperatures, light levels, humidity, whether people walking past could knock the plant over, how you are going to water the plant and pollution/dust problems.… Continue reading R2114 Houseplants
R2114 Plants grown in a protected environment
Protected environments are used to overwinter plants (eg: Nerium oleander), produce more (eg: Solanum lycopersicum) and for display reasons (eg: Saintpaulia ionantha). The syllabus requires you to be able to discuss the properties and characteristics of the containers you could use in a protected environment. Also, you should be able to talk about why you… Continue reading R2114 Plants grown in a protected environment
R2114 Protected Structures
For this exam paper, you will need to be able to draw and describe a range of protected structures, together with an explanation of why they are used. I'm not going to draw all the structures here - frankly, my attempts at drawing using software packages on a laptop are embarrassing. I believe that for… Continue reading R2114 Protected Structures
R2113 Soft Fruit
This section covers planting and maintenance of soft fruit bushes. The syllabus also says that you will need to talk about freezing capability but I've not seen that in any of the past exam papers. You will need to name cultivars or varieties of each of the fruits listed, early and late types. The ones… Continue reading R2113 Soft Fruit
R2113- growing fruit
Fruits are divided into soft fruit and top fruit. Top fruits are grown in trees, soft fruits are from bushes or shrubs. Top fruit You will need to name one dessert and one cooking variety for apples, pears, plums and cherries. The ones I selected: Apples - "Cox's Orange Pippin" (dessert) and "Bramley's Seedling" (cooking)Pears… Continue reading R2113- growing fruit
R2113 – Growing outdoor vegetables
You can be asked about the growing of certain vegetables outdoors. You will need to provide a named variety for each type of vegetable, how to prepare the soil, how to sow the seeds, any transplanting information, harvesting and storage. And pests and diseases. As with the list of plants in R2111, it is probably… Continue reading R2113 – Growing outdoor vegetables
R2113 – Site selection
Site selection factors These are just the things to consider when deciding where to grow. Soil structure - if the soil structure is poor, it will restrict gas exchange (and therefore respiration) at the roots, and also restrict the uptake of nutrients. You could try to improve the structure, but that could take quite a… Continue reading R2113 – Site selection
Gardening studies 