Page 20 - HGS Suburb News 152 - Winter 2022

S U B U R B Sustainability
is the name of the game

March, and you could be forgiven repurposed as collars around And finally, with the festive
in thinking they were dead but vulnerable new perennial growth, season in mind, why not treat your
persevere. Once the fuchsias and as a barrier to slugs and snails. wildlife to a hedgehog hotel, toad
salvias start showing signs of life, I The list goes on. Some nurseries house or bird feeder. You’ll never
prune them back to a strong basic such as Clockhouse in Enfield take have to use slug pellets again.
framework of stems then pot them plastic pots back, and the rest
up individually and plant them out just get used again and again for Please note that Thames Water has now
when all risk of frost has passed, raising cuttings, potting on plugs cancelled its hosepipe ban for customers
THE GARDEN GIRL so around here that’s about early plants and planting up divisions. across London and the Thames Valley.
May. The spent compost from the
CAROLINE BROOME raised bed is then spread over the
borders as a mulch. Although it
f you feel guilty about wasting will be depleted of nutrients it will
water every time you run the still help improve the soil, suppress
I hot tap, then let me reassure weeds and retain moisture.
you that there are lots of things If you’ve got as many containers
you can do in your own home and on your patio as I have, that’s an
garden to mitigate the odd enormous amount of compost to
transgression. Talking of water, it be disposed of. Unfortunately,
seems arbitrary that while Thames summer favourites such as
Water has extended its hose pipe impatiens and fuchsias succumb
ban into 2023, Affinity Water has to the dreaded vine weevil if
no plans to instigate a ban in the planted in year old soil: If you’ve
near future. As a responsible ever wondered why, when you go
gardener I don’t use sprinklers, I to water a wilting plant, it comes
have a timed irrigation system and away in your hand with no
during dry spells only use the hose rootball, it’s because the little
on those plants that are wilting. white larvae hatch in the soil and
Shower, bath, kitchen and washing eat the roots. Chemical drenches
machine water, referred to as grey are costly and bad for the
water, can be used in the garden. environment and while you can
GARDENING
You can visit the RHS website at use nematodes as a biological
tinyurl.com/3prvun3w, for more control, I find it easier to spread
information. It may be a case of the spent compost onto the
closing the barn door after the borders as a mulch, any vine
horse has bolted, but if you haven’t weevil larvae will be welcome food
got a water butt then now is the for the birds. Nothing is wasted.
time to get one. Lack of space? I like to save my tuberous
B&Q sells the Ward 100L Slimline begonias. As the foliage becomes
Water Butt which is unobtrusive frosted and falls away from the
and relatively inexpensive. tuber, lift the tubers out of the
It’s been a long time coming, compost. If you lay them on a tray
but finally the government has indoors the soil and roots will dry
announced that sales of peat for out in a day or two and can be
use on private gardens and brushed off. Store the tubers,
allotments will be banned in hollow side up, in cardboard egg
England from 2024. The quality of cartons, in a cool dark place.
peat-free compost has been a (I store mine in our spare room
bone of contention for years, the drawers.) Take a look towards the
earliest substitutes falling wide of end of February, and little pink
the mark. Fortunately however, ‘pips’ will have started appearing
these days, peat free composts around the middle of the tuber.
have improved no end, making These are the new shoots. I usually
the switch much easier. On the keep mine in storage until about
home front, if you can make your early March, then I pot them up,
own leaf mould and compost you just below the surface of multi-
are winning! purpose compost, one tuber to a
With electricity prices through 9cm pot, pips side up, then water
the roof, heating the greenhouse them in and allow to drain. If it’s a
may well be a luxury. My unheated mild winter you may be able to
greenhouse is still very productive. keep them in your unheated green-
It has a raised bed which I use to house or, if not, then in a warm
grow my tomatoes and cucumbers bright room until the temperatures
in summer. When they are cleared start to rise.
out in October, I use the raised In the spirit of Reuse, Recycle, Christmas Services
bed to overwinter my tender Reduce, the biggest dilemma
salvias and fuchsias. I water them remains the extensive use of Carol Service: 6pm Sunday 18 December
sparingly until their leaves have plastics. So, as promised, here are Family Christingle Service: 4pm Saturday 24 December
fallen off. The soil should be just some useful tips: The brightly Midnight Mass: 11.30pm Saturday 24 December
moist, as winter wet is more likely coloured plastic trugs that have
to kill them than cold. This period become so popular are invaluable, Christmas Day Eucharist: 10.30am Sunday 25 December
of dormancy can last as late as however over time their handles
do snap off. I repurpose them as
Four Seasons containers for gravel, crocs,
vermiculite. Likewise, the clear
plastic lidded tubs of fat balls,
GARDEN MAINTENANCE great for storing bird seed.
Polystyrene plug plant trays can
r Weekly or fortnightly maintenance contract r Garden clearance be broken up and used as fillers at
r Lawn care (mowing, turfing, fertilisation etc.) r Planting the bottom of containers, with
r Weed killing & treatment r Hedge trimming, tree works the added advantage of being
r Patio cleaning r All general garden services lighter than terracotta crocs.
We offer a professional, reliable service with 16 years of Lidded ice cream tubs are
experience at an affordable price. Call Roland or leave a message excellent for storing seed packets.
for a free quote. Plastic veg trays can be used as
r 07584 574520 r fourseasonsgarden@hotmail.com seed trays. Large plastic pots with
their bases cut off can be
SUBURB NEWS IS PRODUCED AND DELIVERED TO YOU BY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEERSNEWS IS PRODUCED AND DELIVERED TO YOU BY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEERS
20 20 SUBURB