I have lifted all my Dahlia tubers and boxed them up. They are now residing in the barn, hopefully, they will be ready to take cutting from in the Spring. I have left a row in, but have covered them with a good 4” of rotten horse manure from a known source. You have to be careful about buying manure as if the straw has been sprayed with a hormone weed killer, it can hang around and be toxic to a lot of plants, particularly tomatoes. I used to live near large hay fields and the famer always told me if he was spraying, as I used to grow about 400 tomatoes in a Polytunnel.  There is still time to plant Winter and Spring pots. Under-plant Pansies and Bellis and Polyanthus with Hyacinths, Tulips and Daffodils. Dutch Iris will continue to give colour with late Tulips, in fact any bulbs will push their way through the foliage above, so it is worth checking they haven’t lifted any plants as they grow.

If it isn’t frosty, and you haven’t already done it, give the lawn a last cut and put the lawnmower away. It is always a good idea to let it run out of fuel, so you can have an easy start in the Spring. Please do get your tickets for our annual Christmas dinner – for only £18 you get a three course dinner along with a very silly local quiz that’ll make you realise how unobservant you are as well as a hearty laugh or two. 


For further information on your local, friendly gardening club, please do get in touch, all our details are online: www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk  or email info@bishamptongardenigclub.org.uk  
Cheers, Pete Chamberlain, Chairman, Bishampton & District Gardening Club. ​

Autumn is approaching fast, time for a tidy up in the garden. Try to gather any fallen fruit; a lot will have grubs in and will overwinter in the soil to reproduce in the Spring. Put them on the compost heap with the last of the grass cuttings to heat up and decompose. Tidy up any broken branches, I have several plum branches that were too heavily laden and broke under the extra weight. With the showers of rain the lawns are recovering well and will require cutting probably into November. 

I never feed the lawn in Autumn, I think one weed and feed in Spring is enough. If you are lawn proud, then my regime will not be for you; I think feeding needs more lawn moving so I don’t do it.

​Keep dead-heading roses and Dahlias; both will keep flowering until the first frosts. With the Dahlias you have to decide whether to leave in the ground or dig up the tubers and store them dry until next year. If leaving in the ground, it is best to mulch with three inches of compost as they will not survive the frosts otherwise. Any foliage from Dahlias will compost more readily if reduced in size by shredding or just throwing them on the lawn and running the lawn mower over them a couple of times. It is surprising how small an area they go into when chopped up. Needless to say, a rotary lawn mower not a cylinder mower!

Don’t forget it’s time to buy new bulbs and things like Amaryllis or Hyacinth for the home to cheer it up over winter, or as a seasonal gift. More on this next time. We’d also love to see you at our monthly meetings in the Villages Hall, Bishampton – it is always the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30. We offer a variety of speakers as well as evening trips and days out.
​
Any questions? Please do get in touch, all our details are online: 
www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk  or email info@bishamptongardenigclub.org.uk
Cheers, Pete Chamberlain, Chairman, Bishampton & District Gardening Club.

Have you all cut back your Forsythia yet? In the next few weeks, any Weigelia that has flowered can be cut back as it is another shrub that flowers on last year’s new shoots! Indeed, any evergreen shrub can be cut back into a manageable shape; Robinia and similar can get out of hand if not kept under control. Most hedges will look better for a quick trim, new growth will be easy to cut and a large hedge can be done in a very short time. If you haven’t got a mechanical hedge trimmer, I have often used a strimmer, don’t forget the safety glasses! 

Primroses and Polyanthus that are overcrowded can be split up and divided. If you want to grow some from seed early June is the time to sow them. Similarly, if you want Wallflowers, Sweet Williams, Foxgloves or other triennials from seed, get these in June as well. I usually grow them in a deep seed tray and prick them out into cell trays (15 inserts in a tray) then put them in their final position in early October. Anyone wanting Forget-me-nots to go with a bed of tulips if you haven’t got seedlings springing up all over the place sow some seed now. 

Anyone growing Runner Beans who finds they run out of steam early in September, why don’t you try a late sowing? Put two seeds in some 9cm or 3½ inch pots in late June and enjoy some tender beans up to the first frosts. 

​I will plant my Dahlias that I have raised from cuttings in the first week of June as I plant them out, I pinch the tops out to make them bush out. I restrict them to different amounts of stems according to the size of the bloom. The average size decorative or cactus will support 10-12 stems. Disbudding will give you maximum size of bloom. Gladioli jumping up through the ground, like plenty of water and a top dressing of general fertilizer. Good look with all your growing! 

What are you doing, Wednesday 6th June? Why not join the Gardening Club – we’re very friendly! In June, we have the pleasure of Helen Picton and her fascinating talk, ‘Daisy Days – the rise, fall and renaissance of the Michaelmas Daisy.’ Also, in the evening of June 20th we are visiting the prestigious Croome Walled Garden, with a guided tour and optional refreshments afterwards. If you’d like to come, but can’t get a lift, contact us and we’ll do our best! 
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You can now pick up your free copy of our Summer Show Schedule, or download it online. We would love you and your loved ones to enter your blooms or veg or even crafts to make the August show an amazing spectacle.
Plenty for young children to enter as well. Any questions? Please do get in touch, all our details are online: www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk or email info@bishamptongardenigclub.org.uk 
See you soon! 
​
Cheers, Pete Chamberlain, Chairman, Bishampton Gardening Club.

​Tomatoes are a favourite for home gardeners, although when visiting friends, I am often surprised at their poor results. It is important to know the variety you are growing is it ‘indeterminate’ or ’cordon’? Both names refer to a plant that likes to grow on a single stem. When it has grown up a string or stake it will produce shoots at leaf axils, these need to be broken off rather than cut out. Breaking will stop any other shoots growing; cutting often results in shoots forming again. Most plants will support 6 or 7 trusses. I always tell people to buy the biggest growbag they can get. If growing in pots, get one as big as a bucket. 
The other type of tomato is the ‘determinate’ or ‘bush’ variety. These start as a single stem that breaks into many shoots that all have flower trusses. This makes a plant that can be grown in a big hanging basket, a planter, or a big pot. Some varieties make huge plants, mostly bearing small fruits. Once the first flowers show and small tomatoes have formed, add some tomato fertiliser to every can of water; you are sure to be repaid by loads of fruit and healthy foliage. 
Watering is vital. Don’t let the plants dry out when they have fruit, or you risk a condition called ‘blossom end rot’ which results in a black or brown patch at the bottom of the fruit. However, try not to get water on the foliage. If you are worried about pollination, just tap the plant gently. 

​Many books say that you can’t grow cucumber in the same greenhouse as tomatoes. Yes you can! They enjoy warmth, so plant them further away from the door and not until the end of May. Always make sure you buy or grow F1 hybrids. The variety ‘Carmen’ is a standard size or ’Passandra’ which is half the size but very prolific. 
Our next event is our Annual Spring Show – Saturday March 31st – entries and staging is between 9 and 11am - we’d love to see your daffodils, tulips and pansies, amongst other things.
It truly is beautiful to fill the Villages Hall with spring flowers.
If you’re not up to entering, please come along and enjoy a free feast for your eyes between 2 and 4pm. Entry forms and details can be found on our website www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk or email info@bishamptongardenigclub.org.uk 

​Sunday, April 22nd trip to John Massey’s Garden at Kingswinford. Entry £5, cash only please on the door for the National Gardens Scheme. To see and read about the many treats in store, see their website: https://www.ashwoodnurseries.com 

See you soon!
​Cheers, Pete Chamberlain, Chairman, Bishampton Gardening Club. 

What a summer so far!  I know you think I might be deranged but it is time to order bulbs for the winter and spring – get your order to a known bulb supplier and order by September and you will have every chance of getting what you want, whether it ‘s scented daffs for Christmas or smelly hyacinths. I never seem to time it right and have nice blooms in January!  My real favourites are amaryllis, they are foolproof and so spectacular.  Perfect presents!
 
Dead heading is a priority in this hot weather be it roses or dahlias. They will repay you with more blooms if you’re attentive.  My sweet peas have reacted to the hot weather by shortening their stems – instead of nine inches, they’re struggling to make 3”!
 
This year’s village Summer Flower and Produce Show will soon be with us.  All over the country shows are closing some due to lack of support, others due to lack of a committee to do all the hard work.  We are lucky that the Gardening Club does a fantastic job running a Spring and Summer Shows.
 
Please support the Show on Saturday, 19th August – it is open to everyone.  The 74 (yes 74!) classes cover vegetables, flowers, pot plants, home produce, flower arranging, and artistic subjects – as well as a special children’s section – so if you have visiting grandchildren for example – encourage them to have a go!  Pots and containers are judged in situ a week before, so please let me know if you’re entering yours!
 
If you are new to showing, come and talk to one of the committee members, they will welcome you with open arms!
You can get a copy of the schedule with the entry form from Bob Teasedale who lives at Glebe House, Main Street, email info@bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk or download one from our website at www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk/events.
 
With this dry weather, if you water the garden it’s better to do it less often and give it a heavy soaking, preferably in the evening as there’s less evaporation.  My plum trees have such heavy crops I pick a lot off as I walk the dogs around the orchard.  I try to space them about two inches apart but it never works out as the dogs get bored and I have to move on to another tree – besides a lot are too high to reach!
I might cut the branches down to pick them as some trees are so tall I would need a cherry picker to reach them.  At least it would be the right time to prune as all stoned fruit should be pruned when growing to avoid disease getting into the cut branches.
 
So DON’T FORGET THE SHOW – Saturday 19th August  – entries Thursday 18th 6-8 pm Villages Hall, or by post to me Four Acres, Hill Furze, WR10 2NB.  Staging of exhibits 9-11 on the day and the Show is 2-4pm with the obligatory cake and tea to whet your whistle, prize giving and auction at the end.
 
Pete Chamberlain
www.bishamptongardeningclub
01386 861438

Being a creature of habit I start sowing seeds on Valentine’s Day.  Any earlier and my mean streak hits in and I don’t want to heat the greenhouse unnecessarily.  Peppers and tomatoes all go on the hot bed.  I have already put mousetraps baited with peanut butter and poison down to reduce the chance of feeding the little blighters.
 
If you are growing the tomatoes outside later on, don’t sow until the beginning of April – they would be too big to plant.  Pepper I put in 3.5” or 9 cm pots as soon as they have three leaves, and the same with tomatoes.  I still use peat-based compost as I haven’t found a decent substitute. 
 
I use clover multi-purpose for seeds with the addition of 25% vermiculite.  This opens the compost up and makes the transplanting of the seedlings easier as the compost is so open and falls away with breaking any roots.
 
For any geraniums that have overwintered I shake off a lot of the old compost and repot into the same size pot with fresh compost containing a good amount of slow release fertiliser.
 
In the garden it’s not too late to cut off the leaves of hellebores.   The reason for doing this is that they suffer from leaf spot and you don’t want it on fresh leaves and flower stems.
 
Any dogwood or willows that are grown for coloured stems can be cut down to ground level.  Buddleia can also be cut down to ground level if they have become straggly or to about two foot if you prefer to have some height.
 
Ornamental grasses can be cut down now.  A hedge trimmer makes light work if you have a few and while you’re at it you can also give the same treatment to Michaelmas daisies, Japanese anemones or other tall-stemmed perennials that haven’t already been trimmed.
 
A friend of mine who grows a lot of rose, prunes his with his hedge cutter and he’s a good showman so it can’t be that bad!
 
It will soon be grass cutting time, so it’s worth dragging the mower out of the shed and making sure it works.  If it is a rotary with a grass box, you can chew up all the ornamental grass pruning and old herbaceous stems, having chucked them on the lawn.  The bits will take up less room on the compost heap. Of course if it doesn’t start, then at least you have an opportunity to get it fixed in good time.
 
We have a busy schedule for 2017, starting with a talk on Wednesday 1st February on Design and Landscape Principles in your Garden by Rupert Keys and Ruth Gwynn of Keyscape Design who have won a number of RHS medals.  Our March event will see Neil Cook, Head Gardener at Hanbury Hall telling us how he created a garden from a blank canvas (we’ll have the opportunity to see it in the flesh on 23rd April with a club trip). 
 
Our Spring Show will be on a Sunday this year as a first – the 9th April; and highlights will include our Open Gardens on 18th June and Bob Flowerdew on Wednesday 5th April.  So look on our website, or get a programme from me or one of the committee members so that you can get those dates down in your diaries.
 
Pete Chamberlain
01386 861438
www.bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk