Roehampton Garden Society

Author Archives: admin


by

More or Less in the insect world

Our allotment sites have been home to greater numbers of Red Admiral butterflies this year. Such a welcome sight and a little good news. Peacock butterflies didn’t do quite so well, however, and numbers of the Small Tortoishell and Green-veined white slumped. If you’re interested in the full results of the Butterfly Count this year check them out here.

Red Admiral

The other insect species having a startlingly good year in Roehampton is a small brown grasshopper – seen in hundreds by those mowing the paths this summer as they scramble away from the mower. Look out for them hopping on your plot.

Common Field Grasshopper

If anyone is curious about our native grasshoppers there is more to see here


by

Soil Health and Propagation – two interesting courses at Carshalton

Both workshops are led by a RHS qualified and experienced tutor, and as always, there will be lots of information to take home.

Soil Health – for growing great veg
(Saturday 30th September 2023)
Soil Health – Find out More

On the Soil Health workshop, participants will:
– Learn how to test and improve their soil
– Find out how our soils work to store carbon and water
– Learn the secrets of making great compost
– Find out how to make free plant fertilisers and tonics at home

Autumn & Winter Plant Propagation
(Saturday 21st October 2023)
Autumn & Winter Plant Propagation -Find out More

The Plant propagation workshop covers:
– Hardwood cuttings
– Leaf Cuttings
– Root Cuttings
– Air Layering
– Seed sowing including chipping and vernalization
Participants will be able to take home a selection of propagated material.


by

The problem with Charlotte..

A conversation in the Store one Sunday led to Jackie Savage contacting the RHS helpline about a problem with Charlotte Salad Potatoes this year…

Jackie says:

I have a plentiful harvest from the seed potatoes I planted in March but when I cook them I find that they are not the waxy, pale yellow salad potatoes that I love. I clean them and leave the skins on and then boil them for 8 to 10 minutes. The skins fall off but the potato is white and floury. I cannot use them to make potato salad as they do not hold their shape, but they are tasty as mash. I was not the only one to experience this so I wrote to the RHS helpline and received this answer:

This breaking down of the potato is known as sloughing. The exact cause is unclear. Potassium deficiency has been discussed and, as sulphate of potash is fairly cheap and widely available, adding this at 20 g per sq yard would seem be worth trying. It is reported that disintegration decreases with storage and it may be that the potatoes will be better after a few months of storage.
It is said that adding some bicarbonate of soda to the cooking water helps maintain the intercellular bonds and reduces sloughing. It would be interesting to know if microwaving, baking and steaming also led to disintegration.

RHS Helpline

Jackie would be really interested to hear if anyone else has had the same experience and if they have any suggestions or solutions. She says: “Perhaps I should give up on Charlottes and grow a different salad potato? Or add sulphate of potash at the time of planting? I am reluctant to add bicarbonate of soda to the cooking water.”

Have you had a similar experience this year – or have you any advice to offer? Please email your suggestions to rgs.sw15 @gmail.com


by

Corn on the Cob: when to harvest

Each sweetcorn plant should produce one or two cobs. Sweetcorn cobs are ready to harvest when the silky tassels turn brown and the kernels, when pressed with a thumbnail, exude a milky liquid. Give cobs a sharp twist to remove. Pick moments before using, because the sugars start converting to starch the minute you harvest them. Supersweet varieties, however, will stay sweeter for a couple of days.

Advice from Gardener’s World

In a short clip from Gardener’s World, Monty shows how it’s done here


by

Corn on the Cob: a different way to cook it

This method of cooking preserves all the flavour and nutrients as it steams in its own natural covering leaves. Each cob is cooked on its own.

Method:

  1. Remove the very tough outer leaves from the cob leaving the cob totally covered with fresh looking leaves.
  1. Trim the beard and stem.
  1. Place in the microwave and cook for 4 minutes.
  1. Leave to stand for about 6 minutes until it is cool enough to handle. Remove the leaves and beard from the cob being careful not to be scalded by the steam.
  1. Enjoy! And there are NO PANS to WASH UP.

This method was recommended to me from Ana Cors, plot 127B. Thank you Ana – its brilliant.

with thanks to Helen Finch


by

Join our fantastic free trip to Wisley – Oct 11th

Wednesday October 11th 2023 leaving at 9.45 am.

A great day out to enjoy Wisley Garden and the RHS Festival of Flavours

The Roehampton Garden Society is affiliated with the Royal Horticultural Society, so we are able arrange a trip to beautiful Wisley for free for members of the RGS. This year we have decided to make the trip coincide with the annual Wisley Festival of Flavours. There will be an apple identification stand and tours around the World Food Garden as well as exhibitors selling food and drink.

Stalls from Surrey Bees, RHS Fruit Group, Apple ID and Plant Heritage as well as live talks and chef demonstrations. Read about it here

Garden Entry is Free for all RGS members on this trip. We hope to offer transport too. 

Although the trip is free of charge, we will need to obtain tickets in advance, so please let us know if you are able to come by the Friday 29 September and also if you will need a lift or can provide a lift for someone else.

Please reply now to Shan Karwatowska at karwatowski@gmail.com


by

Do Earthworms Chatter?

We’ve heard of Whale sounds – but here’s a new addition to the sounds of Nature.

The University of Warwick is developing a method of finding out how many worms populate our soil by listening to their chatter – well – more a rasping, apparently!

The extract below – from ‘The Week’ magazine explains all…

Earthworms are vital to soil health: they help keep it nutritious, oxygenated and contaminant-free, so it is little wonder that farmers like to make sure their fields are teeming with them. The type of worm matters too. A field will ideally be home to three varieties: surface dwellers, horizontal burrowers and deep burrowers. But finding out how many of each are present isn’t easy: it involves digging up a sample of soil, extracting the worms and sending them to a lab for analysis. A better solution, say scientists at the University of Warwick’s Crop Centre, would be to listen to the sounds under the crops and identify the worms, and their number, by the “rasping and rhythmic scrunching” noises they make. The researchers have received £250,000 of government funding to do just that: they plan to develop a probe which, when put in the soil, would eavesdrop on the subterranean chatter and record it. The idea is that by training AI to analyse this “soundscape”, they will be able to give farmers a breakdown of the wormlife on their land within a few minutes. “Our basic hypothesis [is] that a noisy soil is a healthy soil,” said Andrew Baker, founder of acoustics experts Baker Consultants, which is partnering with the university on the project.


by

Helping Nocturnal Pollinators

Moths as pollinators are often forgotten – we see so little of them, but we can help our pollination rates by planting the right things. Plant both for the adult moths and their caterpillars. You may find the scents of evening from evening primrose and honeysuckle as attractive as the moths….

Read more from the RHS here


by

Harvesting and Cooking

It’s that time of year when some things we grow almost get out of hand. It’s not that a good crop isn’t welcome, but just keeping up with things can be a strain.

Here’s some help to use some of the fast growers on our allotments….

French beans: Many allotments have lovely crisp new green beans just now and they feature in so many good summer recipes from the classic Salad Niçoise, to Lokanta, an unusual Turkish vegetable stew, from Nigel Slater. Long may the season last… Recipe here:

Courgettes: Pick before they become marrow size! An easy light gratin from the Hairy Bikers – Recipe here or share with the neighbours…

All you need to know about Rhubarb… Most sources say don’t pick after July – but my rhubarb keeps going happily through August. Split and move after September. Freezing – store up to 8 months. Find out more here


by

Wetlands and Dragonflies

Dragon fly season begins in late may and runs through until September. The shimmer of wings and colour accompanies many a Summer walk.

If you would like to know more about these fascinating creatures, the British Dragonfly Society and the London Wetlands Centre are about to launch an official Dragonfly Hotspot with 26 species of dragonfly and damselfly to see, including:

    • Hairy Dragonfly, Brachytron pratense
    • Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Erythromma viridulum
    • Willow Emerald Damselfly, Chalcolestes viridis.
    • Norfolk Hawker, Anaciaeschna isosceles
    • Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva

The Dragonfly Hotspot launch is on Sunday 9th July and dragonfly expert Dave Smallshire will run two guided walks.

Times: 11.30 Unveiling the new dragonfly information board, followed by a guided walk with Dave Smallshire.
14:30 Guided walk with Dave Smallshire.
Location: Wildside (West Route)
Price: FREE, included with admission to the centre. No need to book in advance.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

The British Dragonfly Society publishes a regular email bulletin…see more