Our 2026 schedule is now available. All members should have received their copy along with membership renewal forms and entry forms. It is also on the Home page of this website.
Schedules complete with membership forms and show entry forms are available from The Five Bells and any committee member. Our first show is on the 21st March in the village hall so please come along and support us or even better put in some entries!
Also keep an eye out for other events we plan to put on.
February can be a bit of a dismal month, often( cold , damp and dark but it does represent the beginning of the growing season with the increase in daylight hours.
Aubergines and chillies require a long growing season and should be planted before the end of February. A propagator is really essential to ensure germination. When the second lot of leaves appear transplant into pots. I use small biodegradable pots so movement into larger pots doesn’t require root disturbance. They will still need heat and light so in the absence of a heated greenhouse make use of sunny windowsills and be prepared to move plants around. For chillies in pots try De Cayenne and Apache with scoville heat units around 50 to 60 thousand but if you wish to impress your friends ( and maybe loose them!) offer them the wonderfully named Carolina Reaper with a heat measurement of 1.6 million!
For aubergines Money Maker is a good reliable standard. Also don’t forget that all these can be bought as plug plants.
Greenhouse tomatoes and sweet peppers should also be planted by the end of the month.
Buy in seed potatoes and set them to chit in a light dry frost free place. Old egg boxes are useful for this. The first earlies can be planted out at the end of the month in potato sacks or buckets which can be moved around so as to get maximum light and warmth and avoid frosts.
Finish pruning apples, pears and quinces and ensure grease bands are in place.
One herb I omitted last month was Bay whose leaves are an essential ingredient of many dishes. It can be grown in open ground but also does well in large containers. It likes plenty of sunshine and some protection from cold winter winds so a west facing wall or patio is ideal. It is fairly drought tolerant and doesn’t like to be in a waterlogged environment so ensure good drainage and water sparingly. A light feed along with pruning in late spring will ensure a healthy plant of a manageable size. Flowers and the black berries are not edible and it is the leaves you are after. Flavour is strongest in late summer and older dried leaves. Fresh leaves have a softer flavour and are easier to use.
I think one of the worries for gardeners in the coming year is another drought and hose pipe ban. Despite some very wet days my impression this has been a moderately dry winter which won’t have helped our already depleted reservoirs. So what to do? Firstly ensure maximum rain collection from roofs and out buildings into water butts . From late spring put a thick layer of garden compost around all trees especially fruit trees and fruit bushes and raspberry canes to reduce evaporation.
When planting out brassicas , tomatoes or any large plant dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball and fill with water. Keep filling with water until it drains away very slowly. Use plenty of water retentive compost and water in and the finally surround the plant with plenty of mulch to reduce evaporation. Hopefully by doing this you encourage the roots to go deep and thus becoming more resistant to drying out.
Don’t forget to collect a schedule and start preparing for our first show!
Good Gardening
Peter Estcourt