HOVE GARDENING CLUB

Issue 10 February 2021BULLETIN

"Love" is more than just a four­letter word. The past eleven months have been challenging for all of us, with social bubbles restricting contact with many of our loved ones. Yet we're still able to smile when reminded of the people, places and things we love, and this Special Valentine's Issue is dedicated to all of these. Family, friends, animals (both domestic and wild), our gardens and the beautiful Sussex countryside are here to cheer us through the dark winter months, with the promise of spring just around the corner.President Chris, Vice President Ann and all the Committee thank you for your continued and valued support of our Club throughout the past year. Stay safe, protect the NHS and keep smiling. Feel the love!

SPECIAL VALENTINE'S ISSUE

FEBRUARY HINTS AND TIPS

• Prune hardy shrubs such as Buddleia davidii and Perovskia, which flower on new wood in summer.

• Cut back old autumn­fruiting raspberry canes to ground level. New canes will begin to grow in spring and fruit later in the year.

• Sow broad beans directly into beds for an early harvest.

• Renovation of deciduous hedges should be completed by the end of the month, before the nesting season begins.

• Sow chillies indoors in seed trays and cover with a layer of potting compost. Make sure the emerging seedlings get plenty of light to prevent them becoming leggy.

• Plant bare­root herbaceous perennials such as Eryngium, Astrantia major, Hemerocallis and paeonies. However, do not plant just yet if the ground is frozen or waterlogged.

PRUNING ENGLISH ROSES

Most bush types of roses may be pruned before the end of February. Cut back all growth from the previous season by 30­50 percent, aiming to create a rounded, open­shaped bush. Remove any dead, dying, damaged or diseased stems that remain, and shorten all strong sideshoots to two or three buds. One or two older main stems can be cut back to their point of origin, to encourage strong, floriferous new growth.

JANUARY PHOTO COMPETITION WINNERS

Your votes have been counted and verified and the winners in each category are:­

A) SLUGS AND SNAILS

1) Lyn Burrows 2) Chris Redknap

B) GATES AND ENTRANCES

C) EDIBLE GARDEN

1) Graham Dwyer 2) Sue Elwick

2) Lyn Burrows 1) Marilyn High

THANK YOU!

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the January Photo Competition. All entries will be published on the website and winners will be sent their Gardening Vouchers.

WE ORCHARDS by Pat Winter

A few years ago, David and Pamela Styles surveyed the expanse of lawn in their garden. ‘We remembered all the fruit we had in our previous garden,’ they say, ‘and decided it was time to change the lawn into an orchard and fruit and vegetable plot.’ Taking his spade and fork, David began to dig.

Meanwhile, he thought: This is a big project, the trees would be there for a long time, so I must get it right from the word go; it needs research. In fact, David covered all the points that Bryn Thomas made in his fascinating Zoom talk on local orchards last October: Which trees will suit my soil and situation? Which varieties would Pamela and I particularly like? Which rootstock will give us fruit we can harvest without a ladder? Which have to be cross­pollinated? Who is a reliable and helpful specialist supplier of fruit trees?

These are the trees he chose. For pollination, his Bramley Seedling cooker needs two other Apple varieties flowering together; David chose the eaters Fiesta and James Grieve. There is a Victoria Plum, a Fairlight Damson, a Greengage, a White Cherry eater grown from a stone and, on the same rootstock, two more Cherry varieties: Morello (cooking) and Stella (eating).

A Pear tree also has two varieties on one rootstock.

The photos show stages in David’s work, but they belie the size of the task, and its scope. ‘It took me 22 months in all,’ he says, ‘including ten days to remove the lawn.I spread 3 tonnes of gravel for drainage and slug and snail protection.’ As well as fruit, and the vegetables he had always grown, his plan catered well for a future when tending the garden would have to be simpler.‘We can have our flowers in containers and move them around for maximum impact,’ he decided.

The trees have thrived and bear fruit over a long season, with the last of the apples picked in December. David’s careful preparation and hard work have reaped many rewards. ‘As well as our produce, Pamela and I have an all­weather garden with wheelchair access and perfect drainage,’ he says. As they look out on to their lovely orchard garden, with beautiful blossom in spring and abundance of fruit all summer, they agree that it was a great day when they decided to say goodbye to the lawn. David generously adds, ‘It was the expert advice from our club talks that finally made us act to transform our garden.’

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Above: August 2017, original lawn on decision day

Right: September 2017, some of the trees planted

Below left: Pamelaon the patio directing operations, with the dual Cherry in a pot

Below right: August 2018, raised beds and gravel have replaced the lawn. Flowers in pots, shrubs on left.

MARION'S QUIZ

1) What do yew, laburnum and mistletoe have in common?2) The Temperate House is the world's largest greenhouse. At which location can it be found?3) This curved grub with a brown head likes to chew on grass roots. What is it called?

UNMISSABLE EVENT ­ TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY

One of our most popular Speakers, Dr Geoffrey Mead will deliver an illustrated Zoom talk to Club Members at 7:30pm on Tuesday 16 February. The subject will be "Southern Agricultural History ­ Muck and Money", which will look at the variation in agricultural practice across our region; the change from one area of geology to another changes the crops and animals that can be raised there. The agricultural changes are not just down to change in rock and soil but are related to the social landscape as well; other change can come about as markets for goods change over time. Using historic and contemporary images, plus maps and historic documents, a picture of our rich agricultural heritage will be shown.Jacky will be hosting the event and will email a link for the talk to all Members on 16 February. Please join us!

MARCH PHOTO COMPETITION CATEGORIES

(A) Flowers that Bloom in the Spring (B) A Green Scene

Please send entries to hgcenquiries@gmail.comClosing date for entries Tuesday 16 February

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POLYTUNNEL OF LOVEby Marilyn High and Graham Dwyer

Last month we introduced Bulletin readers to the field in West Sussex where our new house is being built, describing its transformation from wildflower meadow to bog garden, caused by changing seasons and weather conditions. Back in March 2020 Graham thought it would be a great idea to install a polytunnel suitably close to the house in which to grow vegetables in an environment protected from the hungry mouths of the indigenous roe deer and rabbit populations.

For the bargain price of £180 we purchased a6m x 3m tunnel in kit form and eight treated pine sleepers on which to attach the tunnel's frame.As is often the case with such projects, we chose the windiest day of the year on which to assemble the jigsaw puzzle of steel frame sections, which made fitting its cover quite hilarious. The cover, made from reinforced polypropylene, blew about as if it had a life of its own and really had ambitions of launching itself across the field like a giant kite. By the end of the day however, the polytunnel had been tamed sufficiently well for us to confidently leave it overnight, and the following day was spent anchoring it to its wooden base. Later additions of double doors at one end and internal staging on one side gave us space for

growing tomatoes, chillies and sweet peppers in summer, and Graham also connected a water supply and automatic watering system inside.

Purple sprouting broccoli and kale plants were grown in pots on the staging during the summer months, and later transferred to the tomato bed after the tomatoes had been harvested. The changing seasons had their effect on the polytunnel, too. A hot, dry summer necessitated leaving windows rolled up for maximum ventilation. We left the double doors open, Graham having fitted chicken wire over their framework in order to prevent cabbage white butterflies from laying eggs on the brassica leaves. Autumnal rain persisted into winter, and by January 2021 the polytunnel floor resembled a shallow paddling pool, due to the height of the field's water table. Fortunately the brassicas didn't seem to mind such boggy conditions, and they are still flourishing.

We love our polytunnel and may invest in a few more of them in years to come!

Above: Polytunnel close to new houseRight: Sunset over polytunnelBelow: Assembled frame and base

Left to right:Nearly blown away!Harvest of sweet peppers, chillies and tomatoesBrassicas (note worm casts encouraged by damp conditions)

Bulletin editor: Marilyn High

Please refer to the 2020 Schedulefor details of Committee Members.

WEBSITE : hovegardeningclub.co.uk

1 Lyn Burrows2 Leila Philips

3 Miranda Harding4 Jacky Holt

5 Anne GinningsMany thanks to everyone who participatedAll contributions will appear on the website

SOMETHING YOU LOVE Page 4

MARION'S QUIZ ANSWERS

1) They are poisonous to humans2) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

3) Chafer grubs

FROST

1 Pam Cork2 Jacky Holt3 Lyn Burrows4 Marilyn High

5 Chris Redknap

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