'In Bloom' - Newsletter - June 2007
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June 2007
THE PENNINE VILLAGE OF LUDDENDEN
Silver Medal - Britain in Bloom 2005
The summer equinox and mid-summer day have now gone past, and although the days are beginning to shorten there is still much to do and enjoy in the garden. The village itself is looking great with everyone putting out there pots baskets and tubs and along with the “bloomers” efforts in the public areas the village will look it’s best for the judging day on July the 12th at 2.20pm.
The second plant sale was a resounding success with a clear profit of £262.88. This as last time will be poured back into the coffers for the village’s future efforts. There is one more plant stall to look forward to and that will be on Secret Gardens Day July 7th but don’t go looking for us at the old paper shop as we will be in the car park this time. Any plant donations before that date will be welcome.
With July nearly upon us it’s competition time. The Ada Brookes Trophy for the best house frontage will again take place. Having walked round the village it is going to be a close run thing this year so see what you can do to catch the judges eye.
What’s been happening around the village
The in bloom
team met on the 12th June to discuss what needed to be done before
the summer judging. All the village planters are already set up for summer so
that was one task already taken care of but there is still routine maintenance
to undertaken such as weeding, sweeping and litter picking. Villagers can help
in this by just ensuring the area outside their home is kept clear but if anyone
wants to get involved further please contact the in bloom team.
Not only is the village as a whole being judged but also the “Nellie”
has entered the best pub competition and Midgley School where most of the
village children attend has also entered a section of the competition aimed
at(what are they in?) So good luck
to them both.
Dates for the
diary
Secret
Gardens – Saturday 7th July 2007 – In Bloom plant stall in the car
park – herbs, perennials etc.,
Summer
Judging Day – Thursday 12th July at
2.30pm
End
July – Judging of house frontages for the Ada Brookes
Trophy
Bird Life – If you have like me been watching BBC’s
Springwatch you will have seen nesting birds like swallows and owls. From my
observation we certainly have our own family of tawny owls as the male has been
seen catching voles and young rabbits in the fields near where I live and
passing them on to the female to take back to the nest. Something I only learnt
recently is that it is the female tawny that calls in a high-pitched tone “too
wit” and the male in a deeper tone answers, “too woo”. So at dusk listen out for our
tawny friend. It also looks so far to be a good year for swallows and swifts.
Several large gatherings have been seen feeding over the village with the
swallows being the noisier group. There are plenty of fledglings about so keep
topping up the bed feeders but as said before no whole peanuts at this time of
year as youngsters can choke on them.
Jobs to do this month
If you
haven’t already get those pots, tubs and hanging Baskets out. Never let them go
short of water so check daily or even more frequently in hot weather. If you
forgot the slow release fertiliser then feed with tomato fertiliser and pinch
out faded flowers regularly. Tie in your tall perennials such as delphiniums as
a sudden storm will knock them for six. Give winter flowering heathers a trim,
as it is now they start producing new growth. Sprinkle feed around your roses
and cut back to one or two leaf
buds once they have finished their first flowering to encourage more blooms
later in the summer. Watch out for aphids on roses, lupins and other plants and
spray them with cool soapy water. Tomato’s should be trained as a single stemmed
cordon unless they are a bush variety. So pinch off side shoots regularly. As
with flowers veg grown in pots or grow bags must be water regularly. Damp down
green house floors in the morning to increase humidity. Plant out marrows,
squashes, pumpkins and sweet corn. Hand weed your veg beds between crops and
support fruit and beans with canes. Crops to sow now include lettuce, endives,
carrots, kohl rabi, runner beans, peas, French beans, peas and cauliflower.
Harsh though it seems now is the time to thin out your apples for a good healthy
crop. Nature in the way of the June drop will automatically cause some fruits to
fall but you can help by picking off any small or overcrowded fruits or those
that have been attacked by insects. Leave the best apples 10cm
apart
If you are a
cook why not plant up your own herb pot. Six tasty Mediterranean herbs to grow
are rosemary, oregano, thyme, lavender, sage and marjoram. Use 46cm container,
terracotta or wood is best for herbs, some crock in the bottom for drainage, a
soil based compost and after the plants have had a few days to establish place
in a sunny position. Use regularly in recipes all
summer.
Recipe of the
month
As it is
summer and time for garden parties and bbq’s lets try and make a beer to wash
down them burnt sausages. As with any recipe check that you have the right
ingredients by looking up the plant on the Internet or from a good book
otherwise it could be more than the food that gives you that queasy belly!!
Nettle, Dandelion and Burdock
Beer
Ingredients:
450g young nettles (remember the gloves – ouch! you forgot
didn’t you)
120g dandelion
leaves
120g fresh, sliced
or 60g dried burdock root
15g
root ginger, bruised
2
lemons
4.5
litres water 450g Demerara plus 4tsp. Demerara sugar
30g cream of tartar
Brewer's yeast (see
manufacturer's instructions for amount to use)