Christmas Luncheon at Clapton Village Hall

Table decorations made by Barbara, Kate and Rosemary

A great time to chat about good earthy topics

On Thursday 15th December, round about 40 members and friends gathered in Clapton Village Hall for the annual Christmas luncheon. Helen Furness exceeded our expectations, giving us a wonderful meal, thank you to her and her team. Here are a couple of photographs as we gathered.

Potato Day - Saturday 11th February 2012

Potato Day
Saturday 11th February 2012, 
10:30 to 3:30
Drimpton Village Hall: for food, fun and advice

Welcome to our 5th Annual Potato Day, with Pennard Plants offering dozens of  Seed Potato varieties for sale, by the tuber or in bags, with information on type, cultivation and disease resistance for each one.  Our Potato Day is organised for gardeners, by gardeners; you will find plenty of help and information.

There will also be Heritage Vegetable seeds, a selection of Garlic, Onion and Shallot sets, plus herbs, fruit bushes, rhubarb and more. There will also be an opportunity to enter our popular Potato Growing competition, (classes for young people and adults – weigh-in on Show Day, Saturday 11th August)

There will of course be the renowned Drimpton food, all Day Brunches available including new and unusual ways with potatoes - prices from £2.50 - £4.00, as well as warming drinks. As ever, the popular activities for young people will be here, so there's fun for everyone.

Please join us, whether you are an experienced grower or just starting out on veggies, you will find this a friendly and useful event.

There is no need to book, but for further information please contact 01308 868843.  We are on Chard Road (B3162), Drimpton, between Chard and Beaminster. For SatNav: DT8 3RF


If you get a new diary for Christmas you can put at least 2 dates in it now, not just the Potato Day, but also:


Drimpton Open Gardens' Day
Sunday 10th June 2012 from 1pm to 6pm

An invitation to visit 12 real village gardens.
Some are well established. Some have only been created in the last few years.
All are the work of enthusiastic amateurs.

Parking at Drimpton Village Hall in the centre of the village

The ticket/guide is a one-off payment of £3-50. It gives you entry to ALL the gardens.
You can plan your own route and start wherever you see a ‘Daisy’ sign.

PLANTS, PRODUCE & TEAS will be available.

Parking at Drimpton Village Hall in the centre of the village.
 Proceeds are to help fund developments at the Village Hall.

Annual Christmas Lunch

Today, at Clapton Village Hall
12:30 for 1:00 pm

See you there,

Happy Christmas

The Big Lunch

Although not strictly a Horticultural Society event, we have promoted the Big Lunch a couple of times and already have the village hall booked for the The Big Jubilee Lunch, on 3rd June 2012.

To see what other parts of the country did this year and have started planning for this Eden Project next year, there is a website just for the purpose: The Big Lunch

Gold Club Discount

We have just received the latest offers and discount coupons for the Gold Club (Castle Gardens, Sherborne, Brimsmore Gardens, Yeovil and Poundbury Gardens, Dorchester).
The coupons allow members 25% off  lots of things, from composts to watering equipment. There is also a list of Pre Spring Order items, mainly composts, bark, mulch and so on, with free delivery. There is information about the Gold Club and The Gardens Group on their website.

The coupons and offer forms will be available for members at the meeting this Wednesday (16th November)

'Vegetables with no digging, less weeds and lots of harvests' ..... 'It all starts with the soil'.

On Wednesday, 16th November we are pleased to welcome Charles Dowding to our meeting - which is open to both members and visitors.

For three decades, Charles has grown organic vegetables for sale, without soil cultivation. He finds that undisturbed soil grows bountiful crops with few weeds and is running an experiment, now in its fifth year, to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil. Yields are similar but different patterns of growth are becoming evident.

Charles crops just under an acre, mostly for salad leaves, sold in local shops and restaurants. He has written three books on vegetable growing, contributes articles to many magazines including The Garden, Gardens Illustrated, National Geographic and a weekly piece in Amateur Gardening, gives many talks and runs day courses at the farm and other venues, see www.charlesdowding.co.uk

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Introduction
This is an experiment by the Society,
in response to some requests by members to have more news about events and activities.
So, if you read this newsletter, do please give some feedback:
What works, what doesn't, what could be more or less, anything missing? 
You will see a comment box at the end of this newsletter.


(Thanks to Barbara for her her work researching a drafting this)

Club News
Make a note in your diary for the Christmas Lunch.  Thursday 15
December 12.30 for 1 o’clock at Clapton Village Hall.  Helen Furness
will prepare a lovely meal for us.  Bring your own wine.  Please book
your places with Linda Smith at the next meeting.

Coming Soon
Wednesday 18th January Quiz & Puds evening
Saturday 11th February Potato Day


Timely Tasks
(keep and eye out for the right weather)

• Collect leaves and make leaf mould – make circular bin-sizes with chicken wire and pack in the leaves, should be ready for use next year.
• Plant and move bare-root trees, shrubs, roses and hedging (make sure they are dormant)
• Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs, roses and soft fruit bushes.
• Continue planting tulips and hyacinths
• Divide fibrous rooted perennials
• Dig up dahlia tubers once the plants start to die off after the first hard frost and store in a frost free place (or leave them in the soil with a good depth of straw over).
• Plant lily bulbs
• Plant garlic, shallots, over-wintering onions and broad beans.
• Continue to harvest leeks and Brussels sprouts.  By the middle of the month dig up carrots and parsnips and store them in the fridge or shed. Mind you, I pile soil over them in situ, and dig as required, that works fine for me.
• Continue planting fruit trees
• Plant summer-fruiting raspberry canes
• Protect with covers – fleece jackets (bubble wrap for pots) and group pots for protection
• Prune wisteria and honeysuckle
• Collect seeds. (You may like to leave some good seed heads for the birds - who needs a super tidy garden over the winter, but the birds certainly will need the food).

Pesky Pests & Problems
Watch out for snails congregating in crevices around the garden and
mice in sheds and greenhouses and squirrels digging up your bulbs
The future looks bleak or Busy Lizzies.  The pathogen “Plasmopara
obducens (causes mildew) has developed resistance to fungicides – not
enough notice was taken of warning of overuse of fungicides and
pesticides was it? Try companion planting next year and try
New Guinea Impatiens which do not seem to be affected.

New Kids on the Block
(Have a look in "The Garden" or "Gardeners
World" or Google search for them)
Blueberry “Bluedrop”
Mildew resistant gooseberry “Martlet”
Apple “Christmas Pippin”
Lathyrus odoratus “Prima Ballerina”



What’s On & Out & About
Autumnwatch live: Fridays BBC2 until 25 November 8.30pm
River Cottage Veg: Thursdays times to be confirmed Channel 4
National Tree Week: 26 November to 4 December Nationwide treecouncil.org.uk
Narnia Trails, Arlington Court Devon: Saturdays and Sundays 11-3pm £4
adults children free, see more on nationaltrust.org.uk
9, 16 November Winter Wetland Safari Ham Wall Somerset 1.30 – 4.30
Entry £6.50 inc soup.  Booking essential 01458 860449
RHS Garden Rosemoor
Christmas Craft & Design Fair 26/27 November rosemoor@rhs.org.uk
Groves Christmas shop is now open

Winter Warmers

Cannellini bean and leek soup with chilli oil
Serves 4-6
4 medium leeks
1 tablespoon olive oil
15g butter
A few sprigs of thyme leaves, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.3 litres veg stock
2 x 400g tins cannellini beans
A handful of oregano chopped
A bunch of parsley chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For the chilli Oil
4 red chillies, deseeded, sliced
200ml olive oil
A few sprigs of thyme
1 unpeeled garlic clove
First make the chilli oil.  Put the chillies in a saucepan, with the
oil, thyme and garlic.  Heat until the oil is simmering very gently
and cook for 20 mins.  Remove from the heat and cool.
For the soup, halve the leeks lengthways, wash and slice thinly.  Heat
the oil and butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat.  Add the
leeks, thyme and bay leaf, and sweat gently, stirring from time to
time, for 15 mins until very soft.  Add garlic and stir for a minute.
Add the stock, cannellini beans, oregano and half the parsley.  Season
with salt and pepper, increase the heat and simmer for 20 mins.
Remove the bay leaf and stir in the rest of the parsley.  Serve with a
trickle of chilli oil.
Note: The oil will keep, in an airtight container in the fridge, for a
couple of weeks and you can use it to add heat to marinades and salad
dressings or to trickle over pizzas.

Poet’s Corner - November
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.  There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware.
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given.
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends, and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) The Soldier

Herbicide advice

Here is further advice, this time from the RHS (to whom many thanks):

"Although approved for use in edible crops glyphosate is inconsistent with organic methods as it is synthetic chemical.
This leaflet may be of interest:
Organic


Our bindweed information can be found here:
Bindweed

I hope this information is helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Guy Barter
Chief Horticultural Advisor

Weed Killer Advice

I was asked at the meeting last night if "Roundup" is organic. A reasonable question as I have heard it suggested that it breaks down into harmless compounds on soil contact. I do not know the answer, so I have contacted the RHS and Garden Organic for advice.

Garden Organic have responded already (great service):

"Glyphosate is certainly not acceptable for commercial organic production on certified land. We would not advocate its use in other circumstances although it is probably less harmful than some pesticides."


The story does not end there and there is more information available:

Please see our Organic Gardening Guidelines for more information:

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/pdfs/Organic-Gardening-Guidelines-2010.pdf

There are still environmental concerns. See the factsheet here:
http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/glyphosa.htm
There is a lot of information on the ISIS website, particularly related to Monsanto and the cover-up of the health implications of glyphosate here (birth defects and cancer) - http://www.i-sis.org.uk/SS-glyphosate.php

All in all it seems that if you wish to cultivate along organic lines then other measures to counteract bindweed are may be safer and more sustainable.

As soon as the RHS advice arrives I will publish that also.

Awards - Flower Show 2011

Here is a list of all the winners of the Cups and Trophies. The judges commented on what a high standard is achieved in our community of villages.


THE SOCIETY'S PERPETUAL CHALLENGE TROPHY
Mr Nick Guppy
For the competitor winning the largest amount of prize money in the Flower and Vegetable sections

THE MARTINEAU CUP
Mrs Barbara Wright
For the most prize money in the Flower section

THE CRAVEN CUP.
Mrs Aileen Bishop
For the Best Flower Exhibit.

THE GREENHAM ROSE BOWL
Mrs Rosemary Coates
For the rose with the best scent

THE STRAWBRIDGE CUP
Mr Nick Guppy
For the most prize money in the Vegetable section

THE MANOR CUP
Mr Geoffrey Harfield
For the best Vegetable Exhibit

THE JUBILEE CUP
Mr Michael Vickery
For the best Organic Vegetable Collection

THE CAPEWELL CUP
Mrs Barbara Wright
For the best Floral Arrangement

THE BAKER CUP.
Mrs Valerie Jones
For the most prize money in the Homecraft section.

THE KNORR CUP.
Mr Norman Marsden
For the best exhibit in the Preserves section

THE DRIMPTON SALVER
Mrs Jane Dickie
For the best exhibit in the Home Baking section.

THE COLLARD CUP
Mrs Joan Harfield
For the best exhibit in the Handicraft section.

THE LYMINSTER CUP
Tom Beck
For the best exhibit in the Photographic section.

THE DIANA SPRENT TROPHY
Mrs Valerie Jones
For the best exhibit in the Art section.

THE SOCIETY'S CUP
Matthew Medley
For the most prize money - young people up to 9 years.

THE CLAPTON CUP.
Jasmine West
For the most prize money - young people under 15 years.

THE DUMMETT CUP
Hannah Goffe
For the heaviest young persons Potato crop

THE SHEPHERD CUP
Mrs Rosemary Clayton
For the heaviest Adult Potato crop

Dorset Federation of Horticultural Societies Guild of Show Judges Certificate
Mrs Barbara Wright
Specially awarded by the judge.

Two Weeks in Drimpton

From Flowers to Fun, it's all happening here this month

Have fun!

The Great Garden Adventure at RHS gardens

In my RHS Newsletter I found this, which could be just what you need if you are looking for interesting days out during the school holidays:
Kids go free
Treat the whole family to a glorious day out at an RHS Garden this August. Up to two children 16 and under are FREE with each accompanying adult. Normal garden admission applies for adults.

See the RHS Garden Adventure page for more information.

Groves - Didn't they do well!

If you were at our meeting when Becky Groves was the speaker,  you may not be surprised to hear that Groves Nursery has done well in the Greatest Garden Centre Awards.

This is from their latest newsletter:
"Thank You
You may remember in previous newsletters that we were asking for votes if you thought that Groves was the greatest garden centre.  Well, we are delighted to announce that Groves Nurseries won two catagories in the Greatest Garden Centre Awards for 2011.  The judges came out and met us late in May, had a chat with our plant area sales team and took loads for photos and as a result we won the prize of the Greatest Plant Area Sales Team in the South West.  But even better than that, the votes that all of our loyal customers cast ment that we were voted the Greatest Garden Centre Team in the UK.  So I would just like to take this oppertunity to thank everybody who took the time to vote for us during May and also for all of the kind comments that were written on the voting slips."

More here - Groves July Newsletter

Trip to Ourganics, Litton Cheney

Surprise, surprise, after the days and days of rain, one of the first things Pat Bowcock described to us as we started the tour was how, 12 years ago the water table was but a spade depth below the surface, it is now (and remember this is a managed water meadow) about 5 spits down. Someone asked if that was just this year after the dry spring, but apparently not, it's been for at least 3 years.
Pat guided us through the forest garden, where trees and vegetable production complement one another. Then on to the pit dug for a Hugel bed which she is going to experiment with. Ian, one of our members (Rosemary's) brother-in-law, traded tips, advice and information with Pat on this form of cultivation which uses buried woody material as a source of both nutrients and moisture retention, whilst at the same time creating a raised, easy access bed. (Here is someone else's illustration of the method).
Then on through the raised vegetable beds, with sides made from old scaffold boards, and where the gravel paths double as water courses. Near them is a solar powered water pump for controlled watering in the 18 metre polytunnel, which was our next stop. There, Pat produces much of her salad crop, a significant contributor to her income. Beside the polytunnel were dry-method comfry bins, quietly dripping comfry juice fertiliser for use all round Ourganics.
Beyond, we found the two caravans for visiting helpers and near them, the very free range hens.
Passing the hives, we could see that Pat also keeps bees, but she lingered longer at her straw loos - the finest (and double berth too) in the country she told us.
Back outside her cabin we gathered to ask yet more questions about her life and the permaculture method. Warming in the background at Pat's campfire were our baked potatoes, with Kate laying out the food which she, Pat, Rosemary (S) and Trish had prepared.
After washing up, with sun-heated water, and just as the last of the days light faded, we headed back to Drimpton, over two dozen of us, not necessarily inspired to exactly follow in Pat's footsteps, but certainly wiser about a significantly more sustainable lifestyle and methods of cultivation.
Now we just await the book Pat!
There is more information on Ourganics here and also on Permaculture. 

RHS Hampton Court Flower Show - 5th to 10th July

Update from the RHS with details of winners:
"The I am, because of who we are Garden," designed by Caroline Comber with Petra Horackova, won Best in Show; the best Small Garden goes to the "Heathers in Harmony Garden," designed by Will Quarmby; "Landscape Obscured," designed by Dan Lobb, won best Conceptual Garden; and the winner of best Poet’s Garden was awarded to "On the Sea" by Barry Chambers.


For more information visit: Hampton Court Flower Show

Highgrove coach

Monday 11th July - Highgrove

Coach departs

Drimpton Village Hall 09:30

Clapton Village Hall 09:45

Crewkerne town hall at 10:00

Don't forget passports or other photo ID and lunch to have en route. The Highgrove website is here

66th Annual Flower Show

For details of all the classes in the Show, just scroll down to the bottom of this page.

For information about the Show and how to enter have a look at the Diary column top right.

RHS Community Gardening Support

The latest copy of RHS "The Garden" has information (see page 441) about RHS Community Projects. You can find out more on that section of the RHS website

The Gold Club

Wednesday 10th August - The Walled Garden, Castle Gardens

Exclusive Gold Club Summer Party - Illyria (Open air touring company), performance of "The Pirates of Penzance"

6:15 pm Reception and Nibbles in the Butterfly House

7:30 pm Performance

The tickets are £12.50 each, on first come first served basis, booking form with Brian

Becky Groves and Herbs

A lively, informative meeting with Becky Groves (Little Groves Nursery) with any scruffy herbs soon given a haircut, in a hall filled with the scent from the fine selection she had brought along.

Programme of Events

Sunday 5th June

The Big Lunch

(an Eden Project - see the web site)

Drimpton Village Hall Recreation Field

Sunday June 5th, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm

Bring your picnic rug, chairs, tables, games, umbrellas (for the sun

of course), drinks and lunch - grown yourself or locally sourced if

possible. Have fun in the field, or in the hall if wet.

Wednesday 15th June, 7:15 for 7:30 pm

Cultivating Herbs, talk and practical.

Becky Groves from Grove's Nursery

Don't forget to bring an exhibit along for "Flower of the Month"

Wednesday 20th July, meet at Drimpton, to depart 6:00 pm

Visit to Permaculture, Ourganics, Litton Cheney

and camp-fire picnic.

Meet at Drimpton Village Hall to combine transport and leave no later than 6:00 pm.

Saturday 13th August – 66th Annual Flower Show

Schedules are already available, if you haven't had one yet, please ask.

Programme, Recent Talk - Pest & Disease Control

On Wednesday 18th May, the topic was Pest & Disease Control -

including organic and biological methods. The guest speaker was the Managing Director of the Gardens Group:

Mike Burks B.Sc. Hons. Hort.

(An honours degree graduate in Horticulture from the University of

Bath. Mike is one of the founders who set up Castle Gardens in 1987.

Brought up on an organic market garden, nursery and the garden centre,

horticulture is in his blood. He is the Managing Director of The

Gardens Group and has specific responsibility for Finance and Hardy

Plants.)

I don't know if the pests were quaking in their boots or burrows, but the feed-back was:

"Great speaker last night – both informative & entertaining…."

So, thank you Mike!

Welcome

As a Society affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society we are able to receive and share information from them. That prompted us to think about creating a web presence, and here we are.

The blog will carry not just the advice from the RHS, but also information about the Society and its activities. Comments and contributions are both welcomed and easy to make. Just click on the comment button.