Streamside News…Summer ‘22
Streamside Introducing Card Payments for Purchases ….
In response to many of our members who have asked us to provide the option of paying by card, we are delighted to confirm that we will now be able to take payment for your purchases from Sunday June 12th. As with anything new there may be a few teething problems so please do bear with us if there are a few initial technical hitches. And we will of course still be able to take cash for any goods that you are buying.
Have you joined the Members’ Forum on the Website Yet?...
The Members’ Forum is there for members to upload photos of their gardens, to share any tips they have, ask for advice from other local gardeners who have joined the Forum, swap seeds, share surplus cuttings they have, post photos of plants they have seen, talk about gardens they have visited that may be of interest to other keen gardeners....or anything else with a horticultural theme!
Unlike other more general social media groups our Members’ Forum is going to bring together people with a shared interest, who are mostly local so will face similar challenges to others in the group – eg how to deal with slugs and snails
It’s really simple to join –
Select the “Members’ Forum” button either from the drop-down index on the top right-hand corner of the website, or there is a “Members Forum” button right in the middle of the home page which you can use. https://www.streamside.store/
You will then be asked to “sign up”, if you have an existing “Google” or “Facebook” account you can use these login details, if not, then just enter your email address and create a new password and then you’ll be in! - (you will use these details for each future visit).
From there you can see existing members and “follow” them to see the posts they have made, commenting on anything that you may find interesting, or are able to help with. Plus, you can add details to your own profile and share information that you think will be of interest to other members, (photos and/or comments) by using the “share something” field at the top of the page.
Please do join the Members’ Forum, the more who join, the more interesting, enjoyable and beneficial it will be.
Thrifty Corner…..
Collect Your Own Rainwater
Collecting rainwater will save you a substantial amount of money on your water bills and it’s better for the planet as well as your plants. Clean, fresh, water is a valuable resource, one which is increasingly under pressure. Gardeners can help by using mains water as sparingly as possible. Install as many butts as you can on downpipes from the house, conservatory, garage and shed roofs as it’s surprising how much water you can get through during a hot, dry spell of weather. Like compost bins, you may be able to get discounted rainwater butts through your local council. In addition to collecting rainwater, you could also look into recycling your grey water from sinks, showers, baths and washing machines.
Seasonal Recipes
Strawberry & poppy seed breakfast muffins – Makes 12
Ingredients
· 75g natural yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
· 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 unwaxed lemon, zest
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
· 175g self-raising brown flour
· 200g light brown soft sugar
· 50g ground almonds
2½ tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp baking powder
· 275g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds
Method
· Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper muffin cases. In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, butter, lemon zest and vanilla paste.
· In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, ground almonds, poppy seeds, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Gently stir the contents of the jug into the bowl, taking care not to overmix. Finally, gently fold in ¾ of the strawberries, reserving ¼ for the tops.
· Divide the batter between the muffin cases, then sprinkle each with the remaining strawberries and a pinch of the fennel seeds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until well risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Courgette & mint toasts – Serves 1
Ingredients
1 small courgette, coarsely grated
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ red chilli, deseeded and sliced
¼ x 25g pack mint, leaves only
· 20g Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved
½ tbsp olive oil
½ lemon, zest and juice
1 ciabatta roll, halved
1 clove garlic, halved
· 10g toasted pine nuts
Method
Put the grated courgette into a bowl and season generously, then set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze the excess water from the courgette, then return to the bowl. Add the tomatoes, chilli, mint leaves and cheese. Stir in the oil, lemon zest and juice. Toast the ciabatta until lightly charred and rub with the halved garlic clove. Put the toasted bread onto a plate and top with the courgette mixture. Scatter over the pine nuts just before serving.
SOME TASKS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN THIS SEASON
June
Fruit and Veg
Feed tomatoes and other fruiting plants weekly to encourage good harvests.
Transplant leeks of pencil thickness to their final position 15cm apart.
Keep rows of onions well watered when the weather is dry.
Remove flowering stems from parsley.
Earth up soil around potato stems to get a bigger crop.
Thin gooseberries and cook the pickings.
Harvest asparagus for the last time.
Tie in new raspberry canes into support wires using twine.
Water fruit bushes growing in containers regularly.
Cover brassicas with nets to protect against pigeons.
Plant out sweetcorn in blocks to ensure a good crop of cobs.
Thin congested nectarine and peach fruits.
Start harvesting early potatoes if large enough.
Flowers
Cut back spent alliums hard to make room for tender summer flowers.
Plant out tithonias and cosmos now it’s warmer.
Reduce the height of heleniums and rudbeckias to encourage more side shoots.
Stake tall growing plants such as delphiniums and hollyhocks using bamboo canes and twine.
Remove diseased leaves from roses and bin or burn them.
Water newly planted perennials during dry spells.
Sow biennial wallflowers in nursery beds for autumn.
Plant potted dahlias to fill gaps in borders.
Protect young plants against slug and snail attack.
Prune spring flowering shrubs such as deutzia and spirea.
Keep an eye out for scarlet adult lily beetles and destroy.
Life and divide clumps of spring flowering perennials,
Prune evergreen clematis armandii.
Water sweet peas well in dry weather and tie in early sown plants..
Tie in stems of sweet peas as they develop loosely to supports with string.
Lawns
Keep lawn edges trim, it will make a huge difference to your garden.
Feed lawns and treat any moss and weeds.
In times of hot weather leave the lawn to grow longer so that it stays greener without watering – even if it turns brown, it will recover after rain.
July
Fruit and Veg
Harvest redcurrants by snipping off whole strings of fruit on one go.
Pull out bolting salads and add to the compost.
Cut and collect herbs to wash and dry or store in the freezer.
Harvest garlic when the leaves turn yellow.
Prune sideshoots on figs back to four leaves to encourage fruiting.
Sow leafy slad such as rocket or mizuna direct in the soil.
Fold the leaves over cauliflower curds to stop them scorching.
Earth up main crop potatoes to prevent light spoiling the forming tubers.
Water runner beans well in dry weather to help the pods set
Give squashes and aubergines liquid high-potash feed each week.
Clip bay to shorten sideshoots and control the shape.
Protect raspberries from birds and squirrels by putting netting over the plants as soon as the fruits start to colour up.
Sow oriental vegetables directly outside.
Remove diseased strawberries from the plant immediately to stop the problem spreading to other fruits nearby
Stop picking rhubarb then feed and water to help plants recover.
Spray potatoes and outdoor tomatoes against blight.
Flowers
Divide and replant any congested clumps of bearded iris that flowered poorly.
Feed dahlias with a high potassium feed every fortnight to boost flowering
Spray roses with fungicide to help prevent disease.
Feed flowering plants in pots and baskets weekly with potash.
Layer clematis shoots to root in the soil and form new stems.
Deadhead annuals, perennials and roses as the flowers fade.
Take cuttings of carnations, lavatera and penstemons.
Cut down faded delphinium and lupin flower spikes.
Cut back whippy wisteria side shoots.
Remove rose suckers by tearing away from their point of origin on the root.
Check solomon’s seal for signs of sawfly larvae, and pick off or spray with insecticide.
Prune overgrown clematis Montana.
Feed plants in hanging baskets and patio pots.
Mulch perennials with compost to keep soil damp.
Pick sweet peas regularly to keep them flowering.
Lawns
Use a long blade or weeding tool to lever out deep-rooted weeds such as plantains and dandelion.
Continue feeling lawns to encourage strong growth.
Trim edges with hand clippers or long-handled shear for a sharp finish.
August
Fruit and veg
Pot up strawberry runners to make new plants.
Sow last batches of peas and dwarf beans for a late-season crop.
Keep watering fruit trees to keep harvest coming.
Harvest blackcurrants by snipping off whole sprigs of ripened fruit.
Pinch out flower buds on rocket to encourage more leaves to form.
Pick gooseberries when the fruits are no longer hard.
Sow green manure in bare areas of soil.
Harvest shallots on a sunny, dry day.
Water potatoes well in dry spells to prevent tubers splitting.
Take out side-shoots on tomato plants grown as cordons.
Harvest late-summer fruiting raspberries.
Thin out crowded rows of salad leaf seedlings.
Pull up annual herbs that have run to seed.
Pick over sugar snap peas and mangetouts every few days, to catch pods while still young, tender and sweet.
Cover carrots with fleece to keep carrot flies away.
Thin out over crowded pear fruits to ensure a good crop.
Harvest onions, shallots and garlic once foliage has died back fully.
Flowers
Keep deadheading dahlias to ensure a longer display of blooms.
Dig out any hardy annuals that you don’t want to self-seed for next year.
Take semi ripe cuttings of lavender and ceanothus.
Propagate alpines by softwood cuttings.
Cut back any overgrown perennials.
Prune wisteria by shortening sideshoots to six leaves.
Pick flowers for indoor arrangements.
Start some hardy annuals from seed now for early flowers.
Trim back hebes lightly after they have finished flowering to encourage bushy,compact growth.
Order prepared hyacinth bulbs for Christmas flowers.
Take cuttings of non flowering pelargonium shoots.
Water cyclamen to start the corms into growth.
Pick diseased leaves from roses.
Pick bulbils off lily stems and pot up to get new plants.
Regularly pick off faded flowers from summer bedding to keep plants looking neat and keep them flowering.
Trim leafy shoots from pyracantha to reveal the ripening berries.
Take cuttings from hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses.
The next newsletter will be Autumn ’22 and will be available end of August/beginning of September.