It seems that growing mushrooms at home and in the vegetable patch gathered interest during lockdown. The RHS plans its first fungi display at Chelsea.
Now you can see them growing in the kitchen garden at Kew….nine different mushrooms in seven growing mediums! Their short course ‘Grow your own mushrooms’ will run in February.
Kew’s Fungarium holds over 1.25 million dried specimens. Find out more about the fungarium in this video
FInd out about the course here
A special event at the St. Margarets Christmas Fayre will help you to make a splendid wreath.
The cost is £35 to include all materials. Please book ahead here
Have you noticed how the memorial fountain in Roehampton village has been looking lovely of late? The original drinking troughs and basins have been put to new use.
A group of local people and businesses have made trough gardens out of the old water basins. Ongoing maintenance is done by volunteers Vicky Pigott and Val Jones (details below), with water provided by Hungerford Motors, the garage opposite – but they need more help to keep the plants thriving and would love Roehampton Garden Society members – close neighbours – to be involved.
About an hour a month is enough. Interested to join this go-ahead group?
Please contact: Vicky Pigott, chair SW15 Women’s Network at vicky.marie.pigott@gmail.com or Val Jones, Putney (and Roehampton) Society – jones.val@gmail.com if you can help.
They promise becoming a Fountain Friend will be a pleasure, not a chore! Read more about their project here.
Just a litte colour can make all the difference. Not all houseplants are expensive – watch the supermarkets and garden centres for a bargain. Cyclamens will last a long time inside as well as out….
You’ll want to keep them flowering as long as possible – so here’s some advice to read on choosing and caring for your houseplants.
Caring for houseplants – (RHS) All about houseplants -(RHS) The ultimate guide to houseplants -(Plantcare for beginners)
Congratulations to our friends the Putney Community Gardeners, who have been nominated for a Wandsworth Civic Award. They Say
“We’ve been nominated for a Wandsworth Council Civic Award! Whoop Whoop! Many thanks to everyone who put us forward for this! It’s thanks to all the wonderful neighbors, local residents and regular volunteers, gardeners and growers who keep on loving and caring for the gardens! We’ll be visited by a team of film makers on the afternoon of Monday the 24th of October to make a short film about PCG to screen at the award ceremony.”
Connect with them at https://www.facebook.com/PutneyCommunityGardens/
Putney Community Gardens are delighted to invite you to its very first “Welcoming Winter Fair“, on Saturday November 12th, 4pm to 6pm at Boyd Court, with a lantern procession around the gardens from 6:15pm to 7pm.
Could you help with the fair?
We are looking for a FEW VOLUNTEERS TO HELP ON THE DAY AND AT THE LANTERN WORKSHOP THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT. Please get in touch with Marjorie at info@putneycommunitygardens.org for more details and mention ‘Winter Fair’ in the subject.
If you’re interested in MAKING HANDMADE PRODUCTS TO SELL AT THE FAIR please also contact Marjorie as above. We are welcoming products made from your gardens or foraging such as jams, products from creative crafts and hobbies such as knitted goodies, wooden decorations, etc… As long as you made those products yourself and are willing to sell them at a reasonable price.
We are holding our Harvest Festival next Sunday 9th October. Our Service is at 10am followed by a BBQ lunch and we would like to extend an invitation to everyone at Roehampton Garden Society to join us.
We are holding a plant sale on the day, our parishioners are bringing plants to sell or to donate, and we wondered if any of your members have any vegetables that they would like to sell or give to us to display at our Harvest Service?
It would be nice to have a plant sale and a vegetable sale outside church or in, depending on the weather. All proceeds on the day are going to Glass Door Homeless Charity and we are collecting food etc for our Local Food Bank. Please read the wish list for the food bank opposite:
Members who wish to contribute plants, vegetables, fruit or other goods to this sale – please use the collection boxes in the Potting Shed on Site 3 and in the Tea Hut (behind the store) on site 2. Your produce or donations will be taken to St. Margarets.
You will all know that our Autumn Show was cancelled this year to respect the mourning period for the Queen. Many members had prepared plants for sale at the show, so there was a mini plant sale at the store and lovely display of seasonal produce on the following day. Our chair, Helen Finch, writes a full report here:
Both onions and garlic do well if planted in the autumn. You may get a good early crop, which can then free up space for summer vegetables. The chances of garlic maturing well can increase, too. Autumn planted garlic is recommended as it requires a cold period when growing.
Growing Tips for ONIONS.
Plant now – before mid October for a long growing season. Push the onion set into the soil so the tip is just below the surface about 10cm (6”) apart. You may need to cover the ground with a net if birds start pulling them out thinking they are worms! Lift and hang as for garlic.
STORE NEWS: for planting this Autumn we have chosen the tried and tested popular varieties of Sensyu Yellow and Red Winter. Plant now – before mid October.
Growing Tips for GARLIC
Hard-neck peels more easily than soft-neck but has fewer cloves but soft-neck stores better. (Grocery stores sell soft-neck.)
Avoid planting in freshly manured soil. Plant cloves 15cm (6”) apart and cover by at least 2.5cm (1”) of soil. Garlic responds to 3 handfuls of Sulphate of Potash per metre length of row, worked into the ground in the month after it emerges. Keep watered from April and harvest as soon as the plants bend over. Lift and hang (or place in trays) in a warm dry place for 7-10 days.
Elephant garlic is not really garlic, more of a leek, excellent warm mild garlic flavour popular with cooks. Plant at least 2.5cm (1”) deep and 20cm (12”) apart.
STORE NEWS: This year we have chosen 2 new varieties of garlic to sell in our store. Caulk White is a hard-neck variety and Mersley White a soft-neck. We are still waiting for a delivery of garlic. There is a delay at the suppliers, possibly due to the hot summer. We will let you know as soon as the garlic arrives.
Barelaas or are a Nepalese delicacy – useful in a stir fry – and growing very well on plot 68!
Barelaa (Balsam Apple) – बरेला
Barelaa is a late summer vegetable measuring between 1 to 2 inches long, slightly curved at one end with soft and delicate texture. The pale green juicy fruit looks somewhat like a pointed gourd (parwar or parvar). The vegetable is picked and cooked when it is young and tender. The mature overripe ones have numerous black rough seeds, which should be removed before cooking. Since this vegetable is very delicate, it cooks quickly.
with thanks to the Taste of Nepal blogspot… website here
It’s very green to reuse wooden pallets where we can, and you’ll find many examples on our allotments. Our wonderful fences and raised beds will be familiar to all. Now we have a lovely children’s bench and table on plot 65b…
For anyone interested in trying their hand at pallet furniture – this website will give you some more ideas..
Ecolocal run a wonderful range of courses on just the things horticultural that you might want to know or get better at. Based at ‘The Lodge’, a victorian walled garden in Carshalton, their courses are led by their RHS accredited tutor and help raise funds for community gardening projects benefiting people with learning difficulties and mental health problems.
See all their courses here
Accessible by train, bus or car, EcoLocal is at:
The Lodge
Honeywood Walk
Carshalton
Surrey SM5 3NX
Tel: 020 8404 1522
