Streamside News…Autumn ‘22
What a summer that was – the UK recorded record-breaking high temperatures, and the impact on our gardens was pretty devastating in some cases. But nature has a way of giving a helping hand, and after recent rainfall a lot of gardens have started their recovery process. Now is a great time to give your garden or outside space some TLC to get it through the winter, and ensure a good start to 2023. We are pleased to forward your Autumn newsletter from Streamside Horticultural Association which we hope will give you help and advice for the season ahead.
Straw Bale Gardening are you going to give it a try?...
Straw bale gardening uses a bale of straw or hay instead of a bed of soil or compost to grow produce in. The bale is conditioned by watering it every day for a few weeks. Then seeds, seedlings or young plants are simply placed in the bale, where they're protected and nourished by the straw as they grow. As the bale starts to break down, it generates heat and slowly releases nutrients. This helps seeds to germinate, and flowers, fruit and vegetables to thrive.
Compared to traditional methods, straw bale gardening reduces the need for weeding and minimises the spread of pests and diseases, plus, there's no ground to prepare with hoeing and digging, so it makes it much easier to grow plants.
Plants need a good root system to survive and grow strong. And, as a straw bale has plenty of gaps, roots find it easy to spread out and develop. So, it's a great medium for growing fruit and vegetables. Straw bale gardening is a good option for novice gardeners to try as it's straightforward to set up and there's less that can go wrong. But it's important to choose a bale that's free from herbicides and other harsh chemicals, to protect you and to ensure your plants grow.
Most edibles will grow in a straw bale, although root vegetables such as potatoes may need the straw loosening up a bit to make room for growth. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and courgettes are particularly well-suited to straw bale gardening, although you'll need to add some support. The protection and warmth provided by the straw means they'll grow well without needing a greenhouse. Leafy greens such as cabbage and lettuce which are prone to slug and snail damage in conventional beds, also grow well in straw. And as drainage is good, strawberries do well too.
As straw bale gardening requires very little in the way of set up, digging and weeding, and the bales have a raised height, it's easier for people with mobility issues to manage. And as it's neither expensive nor time-consuming, those with limited budgets and busy lives can give it a go, too.
The most important thing is to get the straw bales hot and composting. Do this by adding water and a nitrogen-based feed over a period of time in varying quantities. The "maturing schedule" lasts about 17 days. By that time, your bales should be ready to plant or sow in. Then you put a thick layer of organic compost on the surface of the bale and you are good to go. Compost is not necessary if you are planting plus plants, but experts agree it does give plants a “head start”. It's a very eco-friendly way to garden. After the growing season has finished, the whole bale, along with any spent plants, can be composted or mulched down. This recycling of garden materials means you can enrich your soil without buying compost or mulch and is much less wasteful than conventional grow-bag methods.'
PRODUCTS IN STORE…
We have an extensive range of colourful Autumn (planting) bulbs available to ensure that your garden has a looks good next year. Bulbs on sale will include daffodils, tulips, muscari, hyacinths (indoor and outdoor), crocuses and many more...do come along to the store and see our selection. Planting now will ensure your garden has a boost of colour next Spring – and with a bit of planning you can ensure that there’s something beautiful to look at in your garden every month.
Autumn is also a good time to boost your soil by adding manure, compost or other fertilisers, this will give you a head start for next year’s planting in your garden or allotment. We have a wide range of soil improvers available – if you’re not sure what is best for your requirements, then just ask one of our team who will be pleased to help you.
A COUPLE OF SEASONAL RECIPES USING PRODUCE FROM YOUR GARDEN…
Roasted Autumn Vegetables with Lancashire cheese
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (about 600-700g/1lb 5oz - 1lb 9oz in weight)
1 medium red onion
6 tbsp olive oil
1 large sprig fresh sage
1 large courgette
1 tbsp balsamic or sherry vinegar
100g Lancashire cheese
Method
Preheat the oven to fan180C/conventional 200C/ gas 6. Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the halves into smaller pieces so you can peel them more easily. Chop the flesh into big bite-sized pieces – they don’t have to be neat.
Halve the onion and trim the root end leaving a little on to hold the segments together. Peel and then cut each half into four wedges. Scatter the squash and onion in a large roasting tin so they have plenty of room to roast, drizzle over 5 tbsp of the oil and toss together. Strip the sage leaves from the stem and roughly chop – you should have about 2 tbsps. Scatter over the vegetables and season. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Meanwhile, slice the courgette thickly and toss with the remaining oil. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and push the partly cooked squash and onion to the side. Put the courgette slices flat on the base and season. Roast for a further 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender.
Remove tin from the oven, sprinkle the vinegar over the vegetables and toss. Crumble over the Lancashire cheese. Toss lightly so the cheese melts a little and serve.
Pear Tart with Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
375g (13oz) sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
4 to 5 pears, such as Comice
little melted butter
beaten egg, to glaze
5tbsp apricot jam
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 C, 180 C fan, 400 F, gas 6. Lay the pastry on a baking sheet and mark a frame around the edge 2cm (3/4in) with a knife. Place in the fridge. Peel the pears, halve and remove the core and slice thinly into half-moon shapes.
2. Place on the pastry, brush with butter, glaze the pastry edge with the egg and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Heat the jam in a pan, then sieve and brush over the pears.
3. To make the sauce, heat 150ml (¼pt) double cream with 50g (2oz) butter and 75g (3oz) chopped dark chocolate until melted.
SOME THINGS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN THIS SEASON……
The following lists are just some of the seasonal tasks that you may like to consider to ensure that your garden or allotment continues to look good, and produce a good level of crops -:
September
Fruit and Veg
Save your own bean seeds for sowing the same varieties next spring. Collect when pods on plants are brown and dry.
Cover late crops of veg, such as carrots and salads with cloches or horticultural fleece.
Pot up herbs like basil, coriander and parsley to bring under cover.
Start harvesting parsnips.
Let the skin of marrows and squash ripen and harden in the sun before harvesting for storage.
Plant hardy varieties of onion sets and shallots.
Sow green manure crops to cover any bare soil.
Cut back fruited canes of autumn raspberries to ground level.
Plant spring cabbages and cover straight away with netting to deter hungry pigeons.
Leave a few plants of salad crops such as rocket and watercress to flower and set seed, which will provide free seed for next year.
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Flowers
Plant snake’s head fritillary bulbs in damp, grassy areas
Keep deadheading and watering dahlias to encourage flowering until the frosts come.
Support tall flowers like echinaceas, heleniums and sunflowers as they become top heavy.
Stop feeding your perennial plants growing in containers. This will discourage weak growth.
Divide and replant herbaceous perennials once flowering is over.
Continue deadheading roses that repeat flower for more new blooms.
Plant spring bedding such as wallflowers and forget me nots.
Take softwood lavender cuttings.
Lift and store gladioli bulbs.
Sow hardy annuals such as calendula and godetia for early summer flowers.
Prune rambling roses, taking out old stems and tying in new ones.
Keep camellia plants well-watered, otherwise their flowering performance next spring may be stunted.
Miscalleneous
Take down greenhouse shading or netting to make things brighter.
Dry off mesh and fleece used after harvesting your carrots.
Start preparing soil for hedging in advance of bare-root plants becoming available in winter.
October
Fruit and Veg
Remove the large fruit on fig trees that haven’t yet ripened.
Cover salad plants with cloches to prolong their harvesting period.
Divide large clumps of herbs such as lemon balm and marjoram.
Sow varieties of broad beans that are suitable for autumn sowing.
Cut back the ferny shoots of asparagus when they turn yellow and add to your compost bin.
Pick late-ripening apples such as Golden Delicious and Spartan.
Cut just the outermost leaves on non-hearting leafy crops such as chard and spinach, thinning out plants will improve the air and light around them.
Plant autumn onion sets
Sow green manures over bare soil for enrichment
Cover endives in order to blanch their leaves
Trim old foliage and runners from strawberries
Wrap bands around fruit tree stems to catch winter moths
Harvest the last of the autumn raspberry crop.
Flowers
Cut back, dig up and move perennials like verbena if getting too big for their space.
Bring succulents indoors for the colder months.
Cut back hardy geraniums which are going over now having spread themselves out all summer.
Lift dahlia tubers once flowers have gone over to store for next year.
Fill gaps in borders with winter-flowering plants.
Prune the soft tops of roses to protect them for winter.
Lift and store gladioli corms
Cut back plants hanging over paths and fences
Take hardwood cuttings from many trees and shrubs
Remove diseased foliage from roses and burn it
Plant lily bulbs in pots
Empty spent hanging baskets
Check pansies for greenfly attack
Remove fallen leaves smothering bedding displays
Miscellaneous
Collect fallen leaves to make leafmould from.
Scrub clean all the dirty pots and seed trays that have accumulated during the year with soapy water to kill fungal spores
Empty and clean water butts, before putting them back in place ready to collect rainwater over the winter
Treat decking and timber structures with preservative.
November
Fruit and veg
Harvest beetroot as you need it and juice any roots too hard to eat.
Keep harvesting Swiss chard now and throughout the winter.
Apply a thick mulch of dry straw over your root vegetables to protect them from the cold.
Finish planting winter garlic before the ground is too hard and cold.
Plant summer fruiting raspberries now in order to establish in time for spring.
Winter prune blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries cutting a third of older branches to the ground.
Start harvesting brussel sprouts from the base of the stem by gently twisting them off.
Check on stored maincrop p[potatoes for signs of rot.
Order fruit trees for winter planting
Tidy strawberry rows, removing old runners and weeds.
Harvest maincrop turnips now.
Flowers
Finish planting spring bulbs in pots. Borders, grassy areas and under shrubs for a colourful spring display.
Cut back climbing roses to prevent damage from strong winds, and tie in any new shoots.
Pot up lily bulbs for an exotic summer display.
Sow cyclamen seeds in pots – keep heated between 12 degrees and 15 degrees for germination to occur.
Order bare-rooted roses for planting during the winter.
Clear top growth of annual climbers.
Move wrongly positioned shrubs
Cut back clematis viticella and texensis to ground level, removing all their top growth completely
Bring in succulents to protect over the winter
Plant indoor narcissus now for scented flowers in the New Year
Miscellaneous
Clean gutters around the greenhouse, removing fallen leaves that can be added to compost.
Look out for snails hibernating in sheltered spots, such as pots or sheds, and remove them.
Clear out bird nest boxes
Protect outside taps and hoses over winter to prevent damage from freezing weather.
The next Newsletter will be Winter 2022, and will be available at the end of November/ beginning of December 2022.
Don’t forget we will be closing for our Winter break end of October so stock up on all your gardening requirements before then.
We will re-open for business the first Sunday in February 2023.