CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020 20202

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Catisfield Gardening

ClubNewsletter MAY 2020

Editor: Susan Kavanagh gardenclubnews@btitnternet.com

" ANOTHER MAY NEW BUDS AND FLOWERS SHALL BRING” – CHARLOTTE SMITH NEWSLETTER 4/2020From the ChairDear Members,Welcome to our May Newsletter. I hope that you and your family are keeping safe during these difficult times.I have stated previously that I often look back at what I have said at this time from previous Newsletters. This year is so different, unique and hopefully at this time next year when I look back it will be a dim and distant memory. All of us meeting regularly and not worry about catching the virus, able to go shopping with plenty of flour, hand wash and other items available and see friends and family. As gardeners we can then get back to our usual past time of complaining about the weather! To me it really does look at this stage that we are not going to be able to hold any further Garden Club meetings

this year. Although I expect some of the measures to start to be lifted in the next month or so, I can also see that we are going to have to exercise social distancing for a great deal longer. With many of our members in the high or moderate risk groups we are not going to be able to provide a safe environment to meet until a vaccine is available and we are being warned that could be some considerable time. We of course will see how it goes and the Committee and I will of course monitor the situation. In the meantime I have had a number of communications from members stating that because of being restricted to staying at home, their gardens have never looked better! This got me thinking that it was a pity that we could not see what our members are producing, we need to start a competition for our members I thought. I am delighted to say that our Sponsors; Parkers

and St Margaret’s Nursery have kindly agreed to provide prizes for the competition and I have been liaising with the Committee over its format. We have agreed that the competition will be a photograph one with members sending in photographs of their own plants, vegetables and gardens. There will be 7 or 8 categories to enter. You can enter one or two categories or all of them. You the members will be invited to vote for the best entry in each of the categories and in addition for the best entry over all. The winner of the best entry overall each month starting in May will receive a £10 Gift Voucher from either Parkers or St Margaret’s and points will be awarded to the top 3 in each of the categories. I will be sending out competition details in a separate e-mail. We the Committee hope that you the membership support the

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CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020

competition by entering the competition and in addition voting. We know that we have some excellent gardeners in our membership and everyone is looking forward to seeing your hard work in the garden being recognised. Keep safe and well. Glenn

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CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020

Plant of the Month: LilacLots of plants have the word “lilac” in their name but this article is limited to members of the syringa family. All of the varieties listed hold the RHS Award for Garden Merit and all are noted for their fragrance. All can be readily purchased online.In the words of the song by Elkie Brooks (originally recorded by Nina Simone), “Lilac wine is sweet and heady”. Lilac flowers are edible and you can indeed make wine from them as well as cordial, cakes, biscuits and other treats. You can find plenty of recipes online. Best purple lilac

Syringa vulgaris 'Katherine Havemeyer' is a spreading shrub, 2.5-4 metres height and spread. It has fragrant, double, lavender-purple flowers which fade to lilac-pink.Best white lilac

Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine', a bushy shrub, 2.5-4 metres height and spread. Compact trusses of fragrant, double, white flowers open from yellowish buds.Best for small spacesSyringa meyeri 'Palibin’:

Bushy, slow-growing deciduous shrub with small dark green leaves and upright fragrant, lilac-pink flowers. Grows to a maximum of 1.5 metres height and width.

Best for partial shadeMost lilacs prefer direct sunlight, but Syringa vulgaris 'Primrose' (cream) and 'Andenken an Ludwig Späth' (deep wine-red) will tolerate light shade.

Both are large shrubs / small trees, growing to 2.5-4 metres in height and spread and flower in late spring / early summer.Know your weeds

Over the past few weeks many of us have struggled to manage our garden waste. With Fareham re-starting garden bag collections the problem should ease a bit, but it also helps if you know which weeds you can compost, which you can hoe and leave on the ground and which need other treatment. In this article I’ll cover some of the most common weeds you’ll find in this area during May and June. With all of them, aim to control them before they start to spread seed.

This article concentrates on chemical-free treatments, but most weeds can be killed with weedkiller. Just make sure you use the right type: contact herbicides are applied directly to specific weeds, systemic herbicides

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CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020

are usually sprayed over a large area so best used on paths and patios as they’ll kill everything they touch. Some weedkillers are used for specific purposes e.g. clearing lawns or killing moss. Detailed guidance can be found at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/weedkiller-for-home-gardeners.pdf.

Stinging Nettles

Wear gloves and long sleeves to prevent being stung! If the soil is soft enough dig these out, otherwise cut down to ground level to stop them spreading. These are perennial weeds but the leaves can be composted as long as you remove any roots and flowers.

Other uses: nettle leaves can be cooked and eaten, made into tea or made into a liquid fertiliser. See https://www.seeingthefuchsia.com/post/stinging-nettles for ideas.

Herb Robert

Rather a pretty little plant and can be useful as ground cover in shady areas, but it spreads like crazy! Dig or pull up (it does not have deep roots) before the flowers appear or hoe seedlings and leave on the ground. Can be composted before flowers appear but home composting won’t get hot enough kill the seeds if flowers are present so cut these off or put the plants in the garden bag (commercial composting reaches higher temperatures).

Cleavers

An annoying, sticky weed which spreads rapidly. You’ll never get all the fine roots out so simply pull them up by hand (wear gloves as they can be irritating) or hoe, in either case before flowers appear and set seed. Can be composted if you get to them before flowering.

Horsetail

Practically impossible to eradicate without weedkillers, but removing shoots by hand or hoe as soon as possible after they appear will weaken

the plant and reduce infestation over a number of years. Don’t bother trying to dig these up, rhizomes can be several feet below the surface! Home composting won’t kill the seeds and it can be hard to tell whether these are present so I’d put them in the garden bag.

Dandelions

The best way to control these without chemicals is to dig them out. They have long roots so you’ll have to go down a reasonable distance, special “dandelion pullers” or similar tools may help. It’s easy to see when a dandelion sets seed as it forms a “dandelion clock” so aim to control them before this appears. You may want to leave the flowers a while for bees, although opinions differ as to whether they’re actually good sources of pollen. Dandelion leaves and stems can be composted but remove roots and flowers.Other uses: leaves, roots and flowers can all be used in food or drink. You can find some recipes here: https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/dandelion-taraxacum-officinale#Dandelion_Recipes.

Couch grass

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CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020

A perennial weed, it looks like an ordinary tuft of grass but under the surface it has a large network of rhizomes (underground stems). Dig out the plant with as much of the rhizome system as you can. If this plant appears close to shrubs or trees, where digging could damage the roots of the plants you want to keep, weedkiller may be the only solution.Home composting will not kill the rhizomes so put these in your garden bag.

Ground elder

A perennial weed which can spread quickly from rhizomes. The leaves look very much like those you’d find on an elder tree. Roots are close to the surface so it’s best to dig these out, although it may take a few years to fully eradicate because even the smallest amount of root left in the ground can re-grow. Don’t use a hoe, the plant will simply grow back and the rhizomes will continue to

spread. Home composting will not kill the rhizomes so put these in your garden bag.Other uses: It’s commonly claimed that the Romans used ground elder for food and introduced this to Britain. While there’s no real evidence for this, it’s true that the leaves and stalks can be eaten. Aim to select the youngest, freshest shoots as older plants can develop an unpleasant flavor. Then simply stir fry these until the leaves have wilted and the stem is tender and serve as a side dish.

Bindweed

Climbing plant with large heart-shaped leaves and large white trumpet-shaped flowers, which twines around shrubs and trees. Like horsetail, rhizomes can be several feet below the surface but repeated hoeing or cutting off at ground level can weaken the plant and reduce infestation over a number of years. Can re-grow from any part of the plant so don’t put these in your home compost.

Question of the monthLast month we asked: my roses have orange-brown spots on the tops of their

leaves and orange bumps on the bottom. What is this, is it harmful and if so what should I do about it?

This sounds like “rose rust”. It can weaken plants in the long term so it’s worth tackling.

Good cultivation practices can help prevent this. Make sure your roses are well-watered throughout the growing season, prune them every winter and remove all fallen leaves and pruned stems, and mulch annually with organic matter.

If you’ve already got signs of rust you’re too late to prevent it. In this case a fungicide spray may help. The Telegraph tested a few back in 2013 and recommended Bayer Garden Systhane Fungus Fighter, Scotts Fungus Clear Ultra and Bayer Garden Multirose 2 Ready-to-use, all of which are readily available online.

Question for next newsletter: Our next question is: I grow apples, pears and peaches. Do I need to thin the fruits, and if so when and how many?If you have any views on this question send them to

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CATISFIELD GARDENING CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 Issue 4 2020

gardenclubnews@btinternet.com by 19th May 2020. The results will be published in the June 2020 newsletter. MAY CHECK LISTStart planting out summer bedding and tender annuals from the second week in May.

Prune spring shrubs, such as forsythia and chaenomeles, after flowering.

Continue sowing annuals, such as California poppies, into gaps in borders for colour from August into autumn.

Check plants for pests and tackle these as soon as they appear.

Earth up potatoes by covering the shoots with soil as they appear.

Sow French and runner beans, salad leaves and stir-fry crops outside.

Keep thirsty plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes watered.

Apply nitrogen-rich summer feed to your lawn to encourage leafy growth.

Keep on top of weeds!

You can get excellent monthly advice from the RHS web site at the following link: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/may . You can then click on other months.

Our next newsletter will be June 2020, and the cut-off date for submissions will be Tuesday May 19th.

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