Chalfont St Peter Garden Club Newsletter - October 2009

Chairman: Grace Hunter 01753 884006
Secretary: Susan Mills 01753 885496
Treasurer: Robert Bastin 01753 891398
Garden Hut Manager: Tony Gelder 01494 873316
Membership Secretary:  Richard Fenton 01494 871308
Editor: Diana Longshaw 01753884448
Newsletter                 Email info @gardenclub.org.uk

September Speaker Report

Chris Smith proved an extremely interesting speaker who gave a great deal of information to the 30+ in the audience.  Those who attended were then rewarded with being able to buy their seeds etc at very attractive prices.

KEITH’S COACH OUTINGS

These will be the dates for 2010 – please put them in your Diaries : 
 PETWORTH HOUSE – National Trust / March  31st
R.H.S. WISLEY - RHS / April 28th
WATERPERRY / May 26th
STANDEN – National Trust / June 23rd
OXFORD UNI. BOTANIC GARDENS / July 14th
CLAYDON HOUSE – National Trust / September. 8th
SHEFFIELD PARK GARDENS – National Trust - October 6th
These venues are subject to revue but the dates will remain firm.  –
KEITH

THE GARDEN HUT

Topical items for October available in the hut:
Boxes of Fruit Tree Grease Bands £4.00ea.
Tubs of Fruit Tree Grease Tubs £3.70ea
Greenhouse Sulphur Candles – fumigates and kills pests and fungal spores on exposed greenhouse surfaces £4.20ea
Collapsible Garden Tidy Bins          Watering Cans with roses
25 Kg Bags of Granular Salt or Tablet Salt for water softeners
Stocks of Roundup concentrate in handy 140ml PLUS 25% containers £7.40
For those members who find it difficult to get to the garden hut on Sundays between 10 to 12 0’clock;  we will stay open until 12:30 on Sunday 11th October 2009.  On this Sunday we shall have special October offers on sale inc. 25Lt bags (large) of Perlite or Vermiculite reduced from £9.50 to £8.00

SPECIAL GARDENING OFFERS – Can be ordered  UP TO MONDAY 12th OCT. 2009 from the hut or telephoning Tony Gelder on 01494 873316 :
85L Wheelbarrow with pneumatic Tyre special price £30 (normally £49.99) 
Joseph Bentley Traditional Stainless Steel Border Fork, Border Spade, Digging Fork, Digging Spade £14.00 each (normally £23.99)
Fiskars Folding Pruning Saw £6.50 (normally £14.99)
Fiskars Leaf Rake  - Plastic Tines or Metal Tines £16.00 each (normally £27.99)
Parasene Superwarm 4 Paraffin Heater £17.00 (normally £24.99)
Parasene Superwarm 5 Paraffin Heater £26.00 (normally £38.99)
Please pay for the item with order; delivery usually within 1 week

Jane’s October Garden Tips

Lawns are often expected to look great year after year, with no investment in nutrition.  If your lawn needs reinvigorating, then now’s the time to give it an Autumn weed and feed and a top dressing. If it is covered in moss or thatch it will need scarifying or raking before adding anything; also, go over poorly drained areas with hollow tined aerator or fork and brush equal parts of sharp sand and compost into the bare areas, also adding some grass seed if necessary. When cutting the grass at this time of year raise the blade to a higher level.

Prune climbing and rambling roses. Sow sweet peas in pots and protect plants in cold frame over winter, also sow hardy annuals for early flowers next Summer. As leaves fall rake up and gradually add to compost throughout the Winter, adding small amounts at a time where they will rot quickly to make valuable organic matter to add to the soil. Take hardwood cuttings of gooseberries and currants, also willow, roses, cornus and forsythia; trim a bare length below leaf node, remove soft tip and bury lower half in gritty soil sheltered spot outside, leave to root. Prune blackcurrants removing the oldest stems. Bring all houseplants in for the Winter.

Plant garlic placing one clove in each hole with the tip just showing.  Sow broad beans in shallow trenches for a crop in early Summer. Remove yellow leaves from brassicas to prevent diseases spreading. Continue to check stored vegetables and fruit for signs of rotting.

After clearing out old crops from the greenhouse give it a good clean and then try some Winter salad crops in old grow bags such as winter lettuce, radish, mustard and cress. If you fancy fresh mint during the winter, pot up some roots now for forcing indoors on a well-lit windowsill, to encourage fresh new growth. 

Special Interest  - 

Friday, 9th Oct :  8-10pm St Thomas’ Church Hall, Mayflower Way, Holtspur. HP9 1UF.  Contact : John Hoard 01494 676091
Flowers of the Bernese Oberland : Frances Watkins illustrates her talk on alpine flora.  Admission £3.

Saturday, 17th October
11am – 1pm  College Lake Nature Reserve, Tring.  Contact Rodney Sims 01422 822669.  No Dogs please.
A walk around College Lake – 2 miles at a gentle pace.  Free

11am – 3 pm  Long Grove Wood, Seer Green.  Contact Maggie Piggott 01865 775476 ext. 217.  No Dogs please.
Practical conservation tasks for everyone, incl. Installing benches and scrub clearing. Bring waterproofs, work gloves, sturdy footwear and a packed lunch.  Free

Tuesday, 20th October.  7.45-10pm Gt Missenden Memorial Centre, Link Road, Gt. Missenden.  Contact Gita Szwer 01494 447763.
Ponds – Creation & Management.  Rod D’Ayala guides us through the basics of creating a successful pond.  Admission £2,50

Sunday, 25th October.  Nr Tring, Bucks.  Hide with a Guide
Contact:  Nancy Reed  01442 826774.  No Dogs please.
Join the College Lake Warden & volunteers in observing some of the birds on site from a hide.  ID books available to use.  Free.

Wednesday 28th October: 2 – 4 pm. Stoke Poges Memorial Garden – Contact Graham Pattison 91753 537619
Fungus Foray. Bring specimens for identification. Introduction to Fungi, how to collect, tour, identify those collected.  Bring a basket or plastic ice cream box (not plastic bags) and small trowel.   

(Information provided to the Editor.  If you want to include something of interest, please contact me)