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
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:
This method was recommended to me from Ana Cors, plot 127B. Thank you Ana – its brilliant.
with thanks to Helen Finch
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
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.
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
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
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:
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.
The British Dragonfly Society publishes a regular email bulletin…see more
Full report on the Summer Show results, with lovely pictures from Carol Martinez, Show Chair.
Read Carol’s Show Report here
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, be it flowers, fruits, vegetables or even cup-cakes.
DONATIONS OF PLANTS OR PRODUCE FOR OUR POPULAR STALL WOULD BE VERY WELCOME.
From Carol Martinez, Show Chair:
🍎 Fingers crossed for good weather. This is an opportunity for everyone gather together, see the entries and have a great time catching up with our allotment neighbours. There will be savoury snacks and Buck’s Fizz available, as well as other refreshments.
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.
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.
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
The Buzz Club is a citizen science group run by the University of Sussex and directed by Dave Goulson. They create experiments that ask important insect conservation questions, specifically based around pollinators. These experiments can then be conducted by anyone with an outdoor space and the data is then sent back to us to analyse.
These experiments are perfect to do in allotments as they all seek to improve the biodiversity and pollinator abundance, which will improve your yield. Each experiment is easy, accessible and really will enhance our scientific knowledge and your allotments ecological value.
They also hold online webinars so you can learn how to ID the species you find. Our next event is a ‘Beginner’s Bee ID Webinar with Dave Gouslon’ – find out more here:
Find out more about the BuzzClub here
It seems there is a world wide trend to plant more stinging nettles – and not just for soup! In New Zealand nettle cultivation is revitalising their red admiral butterfly population, and in the UK the Woodland Trust urges us to conserve nettle patches – home to several lovely UK butterflies. If you have a small patch of nettles, please consider leaving it alone this summer….
Butterflies on Site 3…
Bill Young
On Sunday last, (9th May) both Albert and myself were treated to a charming Common Blue Butterfly fluttering over both our allotments. Everyone has been telling me about Peacock Butterflies, how they for a few days and were everywhere, then suddenly disappeared. Don’t be sad, they will have mated, laid eggs, and the caterpillars from those eggs will grow over the summer, to enchant us all flying around in August and September.
Small Pearl Fritillarys are now on the wing; several can be seen on site 3. They are about the size of an old half-penny at most. In some of the ponds, damsel flies are now in residence. I’ve yet to see any dragonflies but with the expected hot weather, they will put in an appearance.
