Roehampton Garden Society

Category Archives: News

General news


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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Butterflies Back from the Brink –

Good news for butterfly enthusiasts this week – the black-veined white butterfly, previously described as extinct in Britain for nearly 100 years, has suddenly re-appeared.

First listed as a British species during the reign of King Charles II, they officially became extinct in Britain in 1925. This month they have mysteriously appeared in SE London among their favourite habitat: hawthorn and blackthorn trees.

Butterfly Conservation says that it probably does not signify a spontaneous recovery of an extinct species., but someone has re- introduced them. Read more from the BBC here

Last year the Large Blue butterfly – declared extinct in the UK in 1979, had it’s best summer yet in England as the result of re-introducing caterpillars from Sweden and a conservation project led by the Royal Entomological Society.

Read more from the BBC here

Many thanks to Bill Young


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The Proposal to Change the Name of the RGS

Voting will close immediately after 7th July

A proposal has been made to members at a special meeting last month to change the name of our society to better reflect the modern geographical spread of membership. It became clear at our public exhibition last year to celebrate our Centenary, that many Putney residents simply did not realise that the Roehampton Garden Society also served Putney, indeed that a majority of members lived in Putney, and were deterred from becoming interested in our society.

The proposal to change the name to ‘The Roehampton and Putney Garden Society’ has been put to the membership for a vote.

📚 Read the Proposal statement here 📚 Read the Opposing statement here

Please then cast your vote online. You will have received an email with the correct link.

Once you have voted, the next screen will say ‘One last step to verify your vote’ and there is a box below ‘Type email to verify’. After you have entered your email address, click on the email icon to the right of your email address. You will receive a code by email which you will need to enter in the boxes provided. Once you have done that your vote is completed. 

The final screen is a promotional one from the survey company – just ignore it.

 If you continue to have problems let us know. A paper vote is available on request.

Please remember the deadline for voting is 7th July 2023.


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Wildflower or weed?

As our plots abound with interesting greenery that we definitely did not plant, how can we check up whether some of these arrivals are welcome? A scorched earth strategy of pulling up everything doesn’t always pay dividends. Better a pretty wildflower in an open spot than empty earth ready for another batch of weeds to arrive and more weeding later on. It’s also the case that for every desirable wildflower there is a weed whose leaves are so very similar early on…

So, when it comes to making that decision, for those with a smart phone, help is at hand. Plant identifier apps can work very well – and some are free. Plantnet worked well last week on Site 3 – recommended by Greg’s garden designer daughter. Thank you, Laura!

Let’s see what’s available. You can read about 10 top apps here – the top 3 are featured below.

Pl@ntNet

Labelled as “a citizen science project available as an app”, the database of this app is growing continuously thanks to the contributions of people all around the world.

This app is ideal for identifying wild plants, common houseplants, trees, herbs, vegetables, weeds, etc.

Free to use, no ads, and you can skip the registration screen.
https://identify.plantnet.org/

Seek by iNaturalist

Seek does more than identify plants. It uses the power of image recognition technology to help you identify unknown plants, fungi, and animal species from photos.

For adventurers who like to spend their time exploring nature….

Free to use, no ads, and you can skip the registration screen.

https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app

Google Lens

Not just for plants, Google Lens uses the power of Google Images to enable you to identify objects, plants, text, and more, from a photo.

You can also use the image option on a Google web Search.

Free trial – but paid subscription for this app, and the usual Google requirements.

https://lens.google/

If it’s tree identification that interests you, do find out about the free app from the Woodland Trust here. Identify native and common non-native trees in the UK whatever the season using leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit.

The RHS have also announced their own identifier app this week. RHS Grow adds cultivation hints to identifying plants. Free at present – but do expect a subscription offer later on. Find out more here