Growing in Capel St. Mary
Share this article:
THE VEG PLOT: - Continue with your winter digging incorporating well-rotted manure or composted garden waste. Apply bone-meal at 4oz sq. yd. Sow peas and broad beans. Plant rhubarb, cover with strawy-manure. Feed with sulphate of ammonia and cover crowns with boxes or buckets to encourage early growth. When it is too cold, wet or dark to go outside map out where you are intending to grow your vegetables this year trying to rotate the crops whenever possible to reduce the risk of disease. Check sowing dates on packets of seed and band together in months for easy reference. Harvest broccoli, sprouts, cabbage, swede, carrots, celery, leeks and parsnips. Empty compost bins.
FRUIT: - Apply a Winter Tree Wash to fruit trees and bushes to control over-wintering insect pests. Order and plant trees and bushes with a dusting of bone meal. Feed trees grown in grass with nitrogen and potash. Prune soft fruit bushes, removing up to a third of old blackcurrant stems to ground level. Other currents and gooseberries - reduce side shoots to two buds and cut out dead, diseased and over-crowded branches.
GREENHOUSE: - Empty greenhouse and wash down with Jeyes. Line with 1.5m wide bubble plastic. Check for and spray white fly with a soap solution, or other suitable product from THE HUT. Sow main crop onions, leeks, lettuce and sweet peas in pots. Sow Broad Beans in plugs, stand outside when 1” high. Plant some early potatoes in pots. Water plants sparingly. Make a final sowing of carrots in a large pot. Wash pots and trays on a warm day.
FLOWERS: - Tidy borders and mulch. Ventilate chrysanthemum stools in cold frames. Plunge dahlia stools into dry peat and protect from frost.
LAWNS: - Aerate badly drained areas. Lay turfs in favourable weather. Clean and overhaul equipment. Contact Steve Blake for repairs and service on 07813 814623 or TGCGarden Machinery Services Tattingstone for repairs and service plus new equipment at very competitive prices on01473 327737.
CARE. STALE FUEL OVER 4 WEEKS OLD can damage carburettors and cause poor starting and engines to run rough. Use fuel additives to keep fuel fresh.
All horticultural items are available to our members from a range of quality products provided to meet basic gardening needs. Membership is just £5 per annum. You can join by visiting ‘THE HUT’ or by downloading an application form from our website www.capelallotments.co.uk. Existing members and plot holders should have received details of 2024 fees by now. Any queries should be directed to memberships@capelallotments.co.uk
Welcome to 2024. What can be better than growing your own vegetables knowing just how much or little insecticide has been applied, what feed has helped them to grow and just how good they taste when picked fresh from your plot or garden. A year when you can enjoy some healthy exercise in very pleasant surroundings.
Our monthly column aims to help you enjoy your gardening while keeping costs down to a minimum. The vast majority of our members do not have an allotment but still enjoy the benefits of our bulk-buy prices and seed scheme. “THE HUT” will endeavour to supply you with quality products at the lowest prices.
VEHICLES ON SITE - Plot holders please remember that at times during the winter months it is advisable not to take your vehicle on to the allotment site. Considerable damage can be caused to the tractor paths and grassed areas after long bouts of rain. The Committee reserve the right to close the site to all vehicles in extreme conditions.
'THE HUT’ - The Hut will open for the new season on Saturday 3rd February between 10am to 12 noon. We will also open on one day in January - Saturday 13th, between 10am and 12 noon - to enable you to top up supplies of essentials. Please contact Dennis for your winter requirements while we are closed.
FEED THE BIRDS - In addition to garden sundries we also supply a choice of feeds to encourage wild birds into your garden. We have bags of Wild Bird Seed, Black Sunflower Seeds, Sunflower Hearts, Dried Meal Worms and bags of Peanuts and Niger Seeds. Larger bulk bags are also available.
SALT - We have attractively priced supplies of salt (25 kg or 5kg) suitable to de-ice slippery paths and drives.
And finally….. the Committee of the Allotments Association wish all of our members and readers a Happy & Healthy New Year.
