All are welcome to our Autumn Show. Find here all you need to know….
Schedule of Classes : Download here
Entry Form : Download here.
How to present entries in the show : Download here.
Autumn Show ’24
Saturday 31st August : St. Margaret’s Church, Putney Park Lane.
Bring exhibits and entries between 9.30am and 12.00pm – staging until 12.30pm
Entry for all at 3pm – Auction of produce at 4.30pm.
Tea and Cakes – Plant Stall
Our 100 plus visitors to our Nation Garden’s Scheme open day were delighted with their allotment walk, commented on the many beautiful things that there were to see – in particular two lovely clematis covered arches, and the tea space by the potting shed! Many of them stopped and asked questions on the plots – some shared this year’s gardening challenges.
Most enjoyed the magnificent array of cakes and tea, with outside service provided by our younger helpers – thanks to you all! Many bought plants from the plant stall.
The event was very well organised by the committee, and our sincere thanks to them and to the many who came to help and participated . A huge effort, but very much rewarded.
More than £1000 was raised for the NGS charities.
View an online photo gallery of the occasion here. Photos by Vivienne Fowler and Bella Stebbings
” Wandsworth is a treasure trove of biodiversity, boasting 24 different habitats from heathlands to the River Thames, supporting an astounding array of approximately 3,149 species. From common garden birds to rare bees and bats, and with 23% of the borough designated as Local Wildlife Sites, Wandsworth’s vision for biodiversity is clear: to recognise, value, conserve, enhance, and wisely use our diverse natural resources”…..
Enable need to map our borough’s wildlife and are asking all RGS members to help. Just pick your area, plot or garden, and tell them what you see by filling in the “On Your Street: What Can You Find in Your Garden?” survey online. You only need to do this once before 25th October – but please do contribute if you can.
More about “On your Street” here
Find the Survey Form here
The Survey asks about specific species that you may have seen in the last 5 years. This includes bats, hedgehogs, starlings, house sparrows, swifts, stag beetles…
if you’re unsure – here are some links to identify the birds and bugs in your garden….
Click here for the full, illustrated report from Show Chair Carol Martinez.
From storms to sunshine at the summer show
The RGS Shows often host surprising exhibits, and this year an entry of watercress piqued my interest.
The peppery leaves of watercress (related to nasturtium, mustard cress, radish and wasabi) cheer up many a summer salad – and it seems you don’t need a pond or stream to grow them successfully. The show entry was presented in a bowl containing gravel/compost, held down by stones, and filled with water.
You can grow from seed or cuttings – indeed some of the organic watercress in the supermarket has the odd root on it. Seeds will be best for the ‘microgreens’ approach – just keep the seed tray very moist- a watering tray topped up is a good idea. All microgreens are full of vitamins and minerals and very good for your health.
Growing watercress in containers is a safer option than growing it in water – commercial growers know how to keep the water fresh and bacteria-free, but this is much harder to do in a garden situation. To prevent any stagnation, make sure to flush the pots through twice a week with fresh water. Mixing charcoal with the compost will also help to keep things fresh.
The key is consistent moisture and not too much sun – but watch out for those snails!
Lots of advice online – but here’s a starter for you
https://www.thompson-morgan.com/how-to-grow-watercress
https://forestry.com/guides/how-to-grow-watercress-comprehensive-guide-from-seed-to-harvest/
In an experiment for the Spinal Injuries Association, who are keen to make gardening easier for those with mobility issues, Bill Young (54A) grew new potatoes (Duke of York) in a series of carboard wine boxes.
This method of growing potatoes within carboard boxes, is common in Australia and some parts of the USA.
Bill writes
It is ideal for wheelchair users, especially in conjunction with raised beds. Just pop the remains of the carboard box off, hey-presto, the new potatoes are in front of you. I lifted the first two plants today Saturday 8th. of June, and was very pleasantly surprised by the results. It was by far the best results I’ve had, nearly 5 lbs. of perfectly formed tubers. This method works, and I can only say – try it!
Method – I folded down the carboard lid, then folded up the bottom, it in effect created a double-walled tube of carboard. Placed the box on top of the soil.
I added three or four inches of soil, then placed two chitting potatoes within the box, then covered with a mixture of compost and soil up to the brim.
I watered them regularly, unfortunately they came under a sustained attack from slugs and snails. My effective remedy was to pick the slugs and snails off the plants, to be fed to the newts within Alberts pond.
The potatoes grew very well, this I believe was due to the insulating properties of the cardboard. It in effect raised the plants off the colder ground. It insulated them from the colder wet soil and also the colder weather of this awful spring.
The result speaks for itself – one excellent crop of new potatoes. It did however make my allotment look rather untidy, that is, until the potato shaw’s softened outlines and then covered the boxes.
The National Gardens scheme is supporting the Spinal Association to provide gardens at all their centres. Our open allotments day will help contribute to this cause. Read more here
Last month, a group of RGS members visited the RHS Lindley Library in Vincent Square. The Library holds world-renowned collections of early printed books, the archives of the RHS, botanical art collections and modern books on the history of horticulture, botanical art and practical gardening. One of our members was delighted to find her own book on their shelves! Thanks to all those who sent in pictures for this article.
The librarians had prepared exhibits for us to see, and presented them in a most interesting way. The first was an archive of the Ruhleben Horticultural Society – set up in an internment camp for British men just outside Berlin during the first world war. The inmates, needing both occupation and food, set up a Horticultural Society and kitchen gardens growing everything from potatoes to exotic fruit and flowers. The society became an associate member of the RHS, who sent them parcels of seeds, and they held two shows per year.
if you are interested in the history of Ruhleben, you can see more here.
Our next treat was to view two very old leather bound herbals. These were encyclopaedias of plants and their (largely) medicinal uses. Most medicines were plant based, and knowledge of how to identify and use them was of great importance.
John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545-1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn. His 1,484-page illustrated Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, was first published in 1597, and the Lindley Library owns a copy. It is the first herbal to include an index of ‘ailments’ – which were quite a contrast to today’s illnesses.
Elizabeth Blackwell’s Herbal, published between 1737 and 1739, shows her beautiful botanical artwork, all in colour. These wonderful botanical prints also show insects that she found on the plants to help with their identification. Elizabeth compiled her Curious Herbal at the instigation of Sir Hans Sloane, as a means of raising money to redeem her husband, Alexander from imprisonment for debt. She rented a house opposite the Chelsea Physic Garden, and used that as her source of plants. See more of her lovely illustrations here.
Do you have time to help nurture the next generation of growers? Brandlehow primary school has a lovely established garden and is looking for an experienced gardener to help run their weekly gardening club from September – their current volunteer retires at the end of this term.
The club takes place one day a week at lunchtime (currently Friday, but can be flexible on this) and lasts an hour. Activities vary week to week but include sowing, growing and harvesting, looking after the fruiting plants (we have apple, pear, cherries, fig, grapes, strawberries and rhubarb), composting and caring for our wildlife features including an amazing pond. Many of our children don’t have access to outdoor space as they live in flats, so this is a real opportunity to make a difference and spend time in a lovely green space.
The current school gardener took over the garden whilst on the allotment waitlist over 20 years ago – she did get a plot! – and would be happy to give a full handover, and there are a number of parents (not experienced gardeners) who are actively involved as helpers.
If you would like to know more, contact info@brandlehow.wandsworth.sch.uk and add ‘FAO Ms Davidson’ and we will be in touch. School address is Brandlehow Road, Putney, SW15 2EA – there is parking on site. A DBS check will be required for this role – the school will carry this out prior to term starting.
The RGS plant sale held last week raised £400 which been donated to the Royal Hospital for Neuro- Disability. Thanks to all those who supported the event, bringing in many lovely plants for sale which sold more quickly that we anticipated!
Special thanks to all those who manned the stalls and so generously donated the plants. And thanks to everyone who sent in the pictures including Mark Sutcliffe and Jackie Savage.
it’s official – never has the store sold so many slug killer pellets! This year has been a bumper one for crop destruction and we are hitting back. Few of us like using slug pellets, but are driven to them by lack of alternatives. So here are some options you may like to try…
Cucumber
Snails particularly seem to love cucumber. Pieces of cucumber placed around your crop will end up looking like the picture here – and the honey trap is complete. Pick them up and dispose kindly…
Thank you Georgina
Bran
A ring of bran (possibly flakes?) around your crop will attract slugs. They eat themselves silly with it, apparently, and lie there while you pick them up. Bran interferes with the mollusc’s digestion and it desiccates and and sometimes dies. This has the advantage that nothing further up the food chain that consumes the slug will be poisoned, but it does need reapplication frequently in wet weather. Again, dispose…..
Thank you Sally
Garlic Wash
Seen on Gardener’s World, this tip from a Hosta Grower at Chelsea – with a complete stand of hole-free hostas! Spray on the leaves of your crop – and make them very undesirable to pests. You may notice a smell of garlic, though…..
Recipe- with thanks to Sienna Hostas
Once again our Summer Show will be held on Site 2. Please have a look at the schedule and make an effort to enter the show. Everyone will have something to enter: flowers, fruits, vegetables or cakes!
DONATIONS OF PLANTS OR PRODUCE FOR OUR POPULAR STALL WOULD BE VERY WELCOME.
Nothing much will grow in the cold of winter – after the brussels sprouts have vanished we are firmly in the ‘hunger gap’. But purple sprouting broccoli is extremely hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as -12°C. It responds to even a slight warmth and produces flowering shoots or ‘sprouts’ from February to April when there’s very little else around. Two or three large plants can feed your family. Well worth while planting some now for next year….
Here’s a summary of how to do it, but the best advice can be found from the RHS here
Sow from April to mid-June for harvesting from January to May. Begin in a 9cm pot. Don’t sow too many – just enough to give you 3 or 4 plants securely.
When about 10 cm tall transplant. If you have the space free this can be their final growing spot. However, these plants will take up a lot of space. If you don’t have the space free until the autumn, you can transplant into a large, tall pot and plant out finally as late as September.
Like other brassicas, purple-sprouting broccoli thrives in a fairly heavy, alkaline soil. Avoid an exposed site, where the wind will buffet the stems and loosen the soil around the roots. Fork the soil over, removing stones and perennial weeds. Add some organic matter to improve moisture retention and texture. You may need to add lime if your soil is acidic. Brassicas dislike loose soil, so firm lightly with your foot.
Harvest each flowering shoot carefully – others should grow to replace them. Cut carefully and your crop will last for weeks.
