Our autumn show which we did in conjunction with the Five Bells harvest festival was a great success with many more visitors in the afternoon. Entries were a little down largely in the flower classes which I think we can put down to the long dry summer. Surprisingly the vegetable classes were well represented with the usual very high standard. It was also gratifying that there were some first time entries in the classes for children.
Sadly the society is in a bit of a crisis. I am having to stand down as chairman and show secretary due to age and infirmity and with a shrinking committee it is difficult to see a way forward. Any help ⎌would be greatly appreciated. Our AGM is on 16th October in the Reading Room, Chailey Green, at 6.30 pm so please come along and help.
Now to gardening matters. Autumn is well and truly with us and as crops are slowly cleared a lot of bare soil is revealed that won’t be planted again until the spring. So what to do with it? If left bare the danger is that the winter rains will leach out a lot of the nutrients. So how to protect it? The enthusiast will plant a green manure to be dug in come the spring. For small areas a good layer of garden compost with some cardboard weighed down as protection against wind and rain. This will protect the soil and add nutrients, microbes ,improve structure and aid moisture retention.
When making garden compost remember the four ingredients, green waste, brown waste, water and air. Green waste is mainly grass cuttings, spent vegetables, dug up weeds and kitchen waste including coffee grounds and tea leaves. Try to compost weeds before they have set seeds and avoid trouble makers such as bindweed. This mixture provides the nitrogen and heat. Brown waste is fallen leaves small bits of wood, sawdust and wood shavings along with paper and cardboard though try and avoid glossy and heavily printed material. The proportions should be roughly equal. Air and water will be provided from the environment.
To start with turn every week or two and when the process has started and it is sufficiently moist cover with a bit of old carpet to protect it from too much rain and to try and retain some heat. The process can be accelerated by adding well rotted horse manure but ensure it doesn’t contain any persistent herbicides and pesticides. After a year to eighteen months you should have a nice crumbly compost for digging in or use as a mulch.
October is the month to plant overwintering onions, garlic and shallots. For onions try Senshyu and Radar sets. For garlic try Carcassonne wight and Picardy Wight and for shallots Jermor. Autumn planted onions will give an earlier crop than those planted in the spring but in general do not keep so well. Garlic needs a period of cold to stimulate the formation of cloves and so are better planted in the autumn. Shallots require a long growing season and are therefore best planted in the autumn.
Remember onions and shallots form a bulb at ground level and so should be planted with the tip just showing. Garlic bulbs are produced below ground so the clove should be planted at a depth equal to its length. Keep weed free and ensure birds don’t pull out the shallots and onion sets.
Don’t forget to plant your daffodil bulbs before the end of the month to ensure that they are well established before the cold weather which is necessary to initiate flowering.
Now is also the time to plant hyacinths for indoor flowering early next year.
At the end of the month you can plant overwintering broad beans and peas. Aquadulce Claudia is the most hardy but for limited space The Sutton will work with minimal protection.
For peas, Provence Douce.
Please remember our AGM on 16 October at 6:30pm in the Reading Room.
Good Gardening
Peter Estcourt
pge44@icloud.com