Edgworth & District Horticultural Society

 

ALL MEETINGS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

 

WE WILL BE BACK IN BUSINESS AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE TO DO SO

 

Since the first e-mail newsletter was sent to you a whole season of gardening has passed by and we are already thinking of Autumn. 

I notice the first autumn tints in the trees around my house and bulbs have appeared in the garden centres and even some Christmas items are starting
to appear in shops.  It will soon be time to put our gardens to bed for the winter and there are lots of jobs to do now if only the rain would stop!

If you want to get a head start next year why not sow some hardy annual seeds now, they may need some protection with fleece or a cold frame if the winter weather is very cold or wet but it is worth taking a chance.  Suitable hardy annuals recommended by RHS are:-

     Ammi Majus             Larkspur         Quaking grass         Flax             Calendula        Love in a Mist   Cornflower    Honesty & some Poppies

 Autumn Lawn care

Scarifying (raking) Regular raking of thatch means water and fertilizer can do their work. 
It is a good work-out if you vigourously rake the lawn with a spring tine rake or you can use a mower attachment if that suits you better. 
This needs to be done carefully as turf is damaged if scarified too deeply. 
Do not scarify in Spring, the lawn might not recover in summertime.
 

Aerating (spiking)   This should be done every 2 – 3 years. 
This allows better movement of air and water at the roots making the lawn more resistant to drought/waterlogging.
Small areas can be spiked with a garden fork, spacing holes 10-15cm (4-6in) apart and deep.
On clay or waterlogged soils use a hollow-tine aerator every three to four years. This extracts plugs of soil from the lawn.
Hand held and motorized hollow tiners are available.
After hollow-tining, sweep up the plugs and then rake a top-dressing (see below) into the holes to improve air and moisture penetration. 
 

  Top-dressing  This is a mixture of loam, sand and well rotted organic manure. This will encourage greater rooting and thickening of turf.
The top-dressing mix is three parts sandy loam, six parts sharp sand and one part compost, leaf mould or manure (by volume).
Apply 2-3kg per sq m (4.4-6.6lb per 10 sq ft), working the dressing in well with the back of a rake. 
 

*******************        

 

Speaking of manure, did you know that it has been scientifically proven that horse manure protects you from coronavirus.

Take the fresh horse manure and rub it onto your hands, it has the following actions:

I swear it works !!!
 

Irene Spencer
 

****************
 

Spending the Legacy
Granting awards for interesting schemes
 

So far works to be financed from the Legacy have been concentrated in Edgworth and Chapeltown but we want to involve other areas within the former Turton UDC area so a subgroup has been set up to promote more interest in and from the wider Community.  An initial budget of £1000 has been allocated to projects which benefit horticulture in the wider community. Applications have been invited from anyone who has an idea for such a scheme and needs some cash, up to £500, to help implement it in the hope that we can encourage 2 or 3 schemes. If successful the scheme will be extended next year.

Many of you will already be aware of the initiative from the advert published in the August/September free issue of Who's Local. Posters promoting the Awards are also being displayed around the area.

If you have an idea yourself, why not apply? Applications are required by 31st October, 2020 with decisions by 18th November, 2020 and works to be completed by 31st May 2021. 

Full details are on the EHS website.  www.edgworth-horticultural-society.co.uk  

David Spencer
 

*******************
   

 Photos of three of the planters brightening up Edgworth, The photos were taken by Pat Whalley who has heard many complimentary comments from local people.

 

          bbb  

 
Hello again – yet another 2 meetings cancelled due to the uncertain times we live in!

 For many years I have considered including in our Programme of Speakers, someone who would tell us about the growing of grapes and the resulting bottles of wine.

It was very fortunate that an article in The Daily Telegraph featured the increasingly popular production of British wines towards the end of 2019.  

The Mounsey family at Velfrey in Pembrokeshire were sheep farmers from Shropshire and decided to take up the challenge and turned one of their fields which overlooked the coast, into a vineyard and in April 2015 planted 3,500 vines which had come from Shropshire.  They were helped by a German company and were delighted with the resulting harvest which should produce 1,400 bottles of wine. The conditions proved excellent and the harvest for 2020 is expected to top that of 2019. 

Ryan was to have come and told us about this family venture which would have been very interesting.  However, all is not lost and he hopes to come to us in 2021 – by which time we can hope for some samples!!!  

We should have been welcoming Kate Brophy, this month - the rose expert at Fryer’s Roses in Knutsford.  Kate has been at Fryer’s since 1993 and has a wealth of knowledge to share.  

In 1966, Gary, the third generation of the Fryer family decided to concentrate on rose breeding, with the first rose being called “Cheshire Life” which was followed with many more.  They have been very successful over the years and won many “Rose of the Year” Awards. 

Following in the Fryer tradition (although not a member of the family) Kate is also a “hands on” speaker and tells me she was looking forward to coming to Edgworth.  The good news is however, that she will be coming to us hopefully, in September next year, when we can look forward to her very interesting talk.
 

Pat Whalley

*******************

 Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle’s history dates back to the eleventh century. It is the ancestral home of the Duke of Rutland, where the family have lived in an unbroken line for almost a thousand years.  Crowning a hill, the Castle’s turrets and towers rise over the Vale of Belvoir like an illustration in a romantic fairy-tale. The name Belvoir – meaning ‘beautiful view’ in French, and pronounced today as ‘beaver’ – dates back to Norman times.  Capability Brown had a hand in the landscape design … and apparently the castle has been used in the popular Netflix series ‘The Crown’.

There were no grand marquees or long queues come to that when we visited the impressive Belvoir Castle near Grantham at the weekend.  Suitably the castle stands a top of a hill and sits in impressive woodland, gardens and lakes … a perfect setting for this year’s more modest flower show (held annually). The weather was warm and sunny and there were plant stalls, small plot garden competitions, talks and demonstrations all held in the open air with a musical backdrop … in other words for us gardeners who have missed the great British tradition of the summer flower show this year …… a perfect day!

After a suitably socially distanced wander around the show field with a cuppa and little retail therapy in the shape of giving a plant a new home, we sat in the sun and listened to David Domoney (ITVs Love your garden) with tips on how to attract pollinators and wildlife to your patch, Jonathan Mosley (florist) with lovely informative demonstrations with an autumn theme and a panel of local garden experts all hosted by Martin Fish.  EHS members may recall Martin and his wife Jill visited EHS a few years ago (no prizes for those who can remember the year) and gave us an informative talk (with cake and chutney!) on vegetable and fruit growing and presented their book a practical guide ‘Gardening on the Menu’.  I can recommend the recipes! Martin now has a facebook page ‘pots and trowels’ and did a great job on the day!

Here are a few tips to pass on from a lovely afternoon in the sun:

• Make a bug / bee hotel in a terracotta pot or old wooden wine box.  Fill with pine cones / bunches bamboo cane / dried leaves.  Cut canes into short lengths and drill through centres for few inches and tie together.

• Glue together pines cones and hang on shrubs etc

• When planting bulbs in the autumn to ensure good contact with the soil screw down into the ground – helps to avoid any gaps between bulb and earth to prevent bulb rotting in wet ground. 

• The trouble with squirrels and spring bulbs?  Grate soap and mix with top dressing of compost to deter the furry critters.

• Everlasting perennial sweet peas – cheap and easy to grow from seed (although no perfume) good for growing through those less interesting shrubs in the summer months.   Also makes great trailing cut foliage.

• Hydrangeas – the old fashioned variety.  Cut now for bold display for the house.  October is also good time for picking and drying.  Cut and placed in tall vase with an inch of water they will slowly dry out to papery faded autumn colour. 

We didn’t get time to visit the castle and estate but will definitely plan to return in the future.  Happy autumn gardening!  If you check out their website using this link there are some lovely photos and full details of opening times etc.    https://www.belvoircastle.com/castle-opening-times/ 

Angela Swallow

  *******************

Jean’s New Garden Up-date

   

Most of the plants are annuals grown from seed with some ‘plug’ plants, because I may need to spray the mare’s tail again.

   

 I’m looking forward to the Spring to see what survives.

Jean Turner

  *******************

Has anyone else noticed how tatty and scruffy the streets are this year?  Main roads and suburban roads are all the same.  The gutters are full of weeds, against the walls the backs of pavements have tall weeds, the cracks round the paving stones are a mess.  The area looks totally neglected.  I know the Councils no longer aim to keep the roadsides pristine but there must be something that can be done.  Many of you will already be keeping the bit in front of your own house weed-free and it would be good if this encourages others to do the same.  Care should be taken though to avoid any accidents to yourself or others.  Don’t leave tools lying on the pavement (not even for a short time) for someone to trip over, or extend your tidying to the kerb edge where you could be hit by an oncoming vehicle which, as well as injuring you, could lead to claims being made against you if you cause an accident.

   Sue Brohi  

    *******************

Finally, it is the intention to continue with these newsletters until we can safely meet again.   The committee would be delighted to receive any article which would be of interest to others to include in a future newsletter.  Topics so far have been very mixed as you know, anything from gardening subjects, visits, puzzles to bits and pieces.  It is good to keep in touch with different members so please try to send something. 

If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails please let me know.

Keep safe and well,  Irene