Monday 5 November 2007

MORE AUTUMN JOBS



When the ground is dry the grass can have a final cut, the mower will do a great job at getting the leaves off the grass too, put the machine on a high setting.

Plant up containers for a winter display, I have already seen the pansies for sale in the shops. Plant spring bulbs in the containers or garden for that matter. Get the daffs in as soon as possible the tulips can go in a bit later.

This time of year is ideal for planting trees, shrubs and hedging. The soil still has a bit of heat in it and if the plants are put in now the roots will have a chance to develop in time for spring.

Divide large clumps of herbaceous plants to increase your stock.

Lift and store dahlias, gladioli and summer flowering bulbs, especially if the soil is wet, as this will rot them.

Rake up leaves under roses to prevent blackspot spores over wintering in the soil. Prune out infected shoots and remove any remaining leaves before they fall


Horticultural.

TIDY UP BUT LEAVE SHELTER



TIDY UP TIME?
With the frosty nights a lot of herbaceous plants are dying back now. The urge to cut everything back is pretty strong this time of year, but it might be an idea to leave some cover on the ground. Soil really needs a cover of some sort; if the ground is left bare then this is a perfect place for weeds to take hold. Ideally a green manure such as field beans could be grown on the area to keep the weeds off. It might be getting a bit late for that now so when you are collecting the fallen leaves put a thick layer of them on the bare earth as mulch.

WILDLIFE NEEDS SHELTER
A tidy garden may look smart, but where are all the friendly garden creepy crawlies going to snuggle down for the winter?


Leave some piles of leaves and logs in an out of the way place. Let thick hollow stems stand in the winter or collect them and tie in a bunch and hang in a sheltered spot.


Make a pile of dead leafy twigs. Don’t be too tidy. Ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies and many other garden creatures need as much help as possible to get through the cold, wet winters.


Horticultural.

iCARE CHARITY FOOTBALL MATCH

I went to the icare charity football match last week. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was to take part, so for a week and a half before the big day I decided to get myself into shape and do a bit of physical exercise. It has been twenty-five years since I last kicked a ball about (I was rubbish even then). It’s been a long time too since I ran any distance further than getting to the car from the front door when it it’s raining, which is a distance of about three yards.

So my keep fit regime started with a gentle jog around the rabbit hutch and up and down the driveway a few times. I also got hold of a bright yellow plastic football to kick against the house (which Max the dog has now eaten). Things went well for the first week and I was feeling the benefits. Because of this I decided to up the training and jog up and down the hallway when the weather was bad. This was quite a noisy exercise as I have a tendency to leave my steel toecap boots on for most of the day. Two days before the match and disaster struck. I could hardly move my ankles, they had swollen up and my kneecaps were locked in position. A friend of mine said that I didn’t use the proper footwear, and this is what happens, I thought steel toecaps should have given me great support but I was wrong, they aren’t very good for jogging in apparently.


Still not to be put off I decided that seeing as it was a friendly charity match I would go down to the indoor pitch and hobble about the best I could, wearing a pair of Julies old training shoes. When I got to the match it had only just started and there was a lot of action on the pitch. Buncrana were playing Newtown and I can tell you there was nothing friendly going off in the game that I could see, things were very, very competitive! Watching the match for two minutes I witnessed two red cards and one poor player get squashed into the wall as he went for the ball.

Feeling that I could be of no use to the team, even in goal, I hobbled out of the building as quickly as I could and headed for home. I’ll be ready for next years match.

In case you didn’t hear the result, Buncrana lost after penalties and a sudden death shoot out.



Check out the iCARE website: http://www.icare.ie/contact.htm



NOVEMBER CLEAN UP


I thought I’d break from my usual routine this week and actually talk about gardening. It’s all too easy to ignore the garden as the cold winter nights start to close in on us. Whether we like it or not though, the next couple of months are the best times to be doing any number of jobs, such as moving dormant trees and shrubs that have outgrown their places and planting new hedges (remember not to do these if there is the threat of frost as this will damage the plant roots) The vegetable patch can be prepared in readiness for next year, either do the heavy double digging and let the frost break the soil up or use the less laborious method of putting down cardboard then a thick layer of well rotted manure , the worms will then do all the hard work. You might like to sow a green manure such as field beans or winter rye; these will bring up valuable nutrients from deep in the soil and can be dug into the bed in spring.


It’s getting a bit late to sow new lawns with grass seed, as the plants may not be able to withstand the colder weather. The more expensive option of laying turf will still be all right as the grass is already established. Make sure the turf has a good root system and lay them as soon as they arrive. If all this sounds like hard work, then now is also an ideal time to sit in front of the fire with a pencil and paper and sketch out ideas for hard landscaping jobs such as the new patio or set of steps, this will give you chance to order the materials you need, there will be plenty of pleasant winter days to start these projects.

In the Greenhouse
If you have the use of a greenhouse or polythene tunnel, then you will probably be aware that this time of year brings plenty of problems for over wintering plants. Therefore some precautionary steps are needed to stop the fungal diseases or mould from destroying your prized specimens. On warmer days improve ventilation by opening doors and windows; this will reduce the humidity, one thing that mould thrives on. Keep what plants you have well spaced to let the air circulate and try not to let water sit on the plant leaves. I had a lot of trouble with mould in my tunnel last year and I must confess I was tempted to buy a chemical to spray on the plants to combat the problem. One thing that stopped me was the fact that I have recently constructed a pond in the tunnel to house my slug eating frog friends, any water that is in the tunnel will go to the pond as it has been built at the lowest point, so chemicals are out of the question. Luckily I was told recently that there is an organic method that can be used, this involves spraying the plants with one part skimmed milk and three parts water… Job done; I’ll let you know if it works.


As with most plants, when they are not actively growing, they generally require less water, so allow the surface of the compost or soil to dry out before watering.

Fruit garden
Now is a good time to plant fruit trees or all kinds. The soil is still warm so roots will have a chance to establish before next year. If you are planning to plant apples, check that the varieties are self-fertile which means that you will only need the one tree to produce fruit. Or that the trees rely on other trees to pollinate one another. This is important to ensure a good crop. As a general guide, trees that flower at the same time will cross-pollinate one another. I you are in any doubt then pick the brains of the garden centre staff before you pick the fruit!


Horticultural.

NATIONAL TREE DAY











TREE DAY –OCTOBER 14TH
On Thursday 14th of October, 2004 a large number of primary school children in Ireland will spend the day learning about trees as the eight annual National tree Day is taking place.
The day is organized by the Tree Council of Ireland and sponsored by ENFO, The Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Food and Tetra Pak. The event is supported by the Department of Education & Science. The experience will give many schools the chance to take part in guided woodland walks at over 120 locations around the country. Members of Coillte and other professional bodies from National Parks and Heritage departments will supervise the walks. The closest walks around here will be in Glenveagh National Park, Drumboe Wood and Ards Forest Park. None of them are that handy for us so the youngsters will just probably go to their nearest park to look at the trees and the autumn colours of the trees.





A poster depicting the many uses of wood will be circulated to all schools. The slogan for the poster is ‘100 years, 100 uses’, and celebrates the Centenary of Irish Forestry this year.

WHY HAVE A TREE DAY?
The aim of Tree Day is to create a learning experience that will enthuse and enlighten all children by making them aware of the magic, beauty and importance of trees. It will ensure that each child who passes through the primary school curriculum will have had eight full days of intensive exposure to trees and will have gained knowledge, understanding and an appreciation for trees and the wider environment. The woodland trust in England and Northern Ireland has set up an initiative to get one million children involved in helping to plant 12 million trees between now and 2009. Maybe ‘Tree Day’ here will influence more tree planting! Living near trees is rated very highly in the list of top ten ways to improve your quality of life.

TREE DAY MANUAL




If you are interested in what the tree council has to offer then you can go to the tree council website to download worksheets for all ages of primary school children. This manual is also available in hard copy for €6.50 to cover postage and packaging. Contact the Tree Council for details - trees@treeecouncil.ie or phone 01 284 9211








Horticultural.




WATER WHEEL INISHOWEN




Old water wheel from the Mill in Buncrana

STARRY EYED





There is always something in the news about the build up of rubbish on our ever-cluttered planet. This week you can cast your gaze upwards and look to the stars. Yes, the earth isn’t the only thing that is being clogged up with waste. The orbital debris that has been building up in space from shuttle rocket stages and old satellites is causing a cloud of fragments that are threatening the future of space travel. These small fragments are traveling at between 3-6km per second and a piece the size of a flake of paint would cause an impression the size of a golf ball in any craft unfortunate enough to run into them. There are about 70,000 objects 2cm in size just 1 km above our heads. Don’t be too alarmed though because the chances of one of them hitting you when you are out for a walk are around 1 in a trillion. To put you more at ease this compares with 1.4 million to one being hit by lightening. There was an instance near Buenos Aires where the inhabitants witnessed “incandescent meteors” one night. They woke up to find the streets were scattered with metal fragments from old satellites. Higher up at a level called geosynchronous altitude (this is 36,000 km above the earth where an object turns in orbit with the earth to make it look as though it is standing still) is where most satellites operate. Satellites usually have enough fuel in them so the operators on earth can send them into an orbital graveyard (300 km above geosynchronous) when their usefulness has come to an end. This is a cheaper and less hazardous method of disposal that trying to get the structure back to earth. The technology for sending these satellites into the graveyard is a bit hit and miss as only 6 out of 15 have managed to get there over the last year. It’s a bit of a short term fix up in space as the rubbish will have to be dealt with later as more things are sent up there. There will be earthlings moving into the new $100 billion International Space Station on November 2nd, lets hope they take a few dustbin liner bags and clean up after themselves


Environmental.

THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE



Even well cared for grapes can get a touch of botrytis







TIME TO PRUNE THE VINE

Ian
We live in a sheltered part of the peninsula near Redcastle, and have three vines growing well in our unheated greenhouse. We haven’t pruned them yet. Could you advise as to how and when we should prune our vines? Thanks. Sally B.

Reply
Traditionally vines grown under glass are trained much like an espalier apple resulting in one central vertical shoot and a series of horizontals borne on either side. The key to successful cultivation of vines starts with the soil, which should be well drained, humus and nutrient rich and slightly alkaline. To encourage development of a strong structure and fruiting, prune the plant regularly. To establish a new plant in the first autumn cut back the main stem to two buds from ground. In the following spring select one shoot and train vertically; remove other side shoots to one bud. In the following autumn, after the leaves have fallen, cut back the vertical by one third. The following spring select one shoot and train as a vertical and select side shoots about 15cm apart to train as laterals. Throughout the summer allow the vertical to gain height unchecked but prune the laterals two leaves beyond the developing grapes (or if no grapes develop, pinch out the tips when they are about 60cm to 70cm long). That autumn prune back the vertical by one half and prune the laterals to within two buds of the vertical. The following spring select one of the top shoots to train as the vertical and select side shoots at 15cm intervals to train as laterals, pinch out the tips two leaves past the developing grapes in summer and so on! I am sorry if all of this sounds complicated, it isn’t too fiddly once you get into a routine.


Horticultural.



MORE AUTUMN JOBS


JOBS TO DO IN NOVEMBER

Plant trees and shrubs. Now is a great time for getting bare rooted stock from the suppliers. Trees that cost a fortune in pots can be bought for a fraction of the price in bare rooted bundles.
Cover up any new beds with black plastic or old carpets, this will help get a clean bed for planting in the spring.


Finish planting spring flowering bulbs.


Clean and put away tools and machinery. Smear tools with old oil to stop rust setting in.
Trim back climbers that are growing on your house wall such as ivy. They look lovely but you do not want them growing through the windows!

Lastly, don't forget about your animal companions. Pets outside, such as rabbits and guinea pigs should be given lots of straw in their box hutches or placed into a garage for warmth.


Horticultural.

AUTUMN STUFF

Pineapple in autumn, a member of the bromlead family.



It is the start of winter when rural birds move into gardens in greater numbers. Some birds will arrive from the continent looking for our warmer winters and are hopefully free from the bird flu! Natural foods are still available in the form of cotoneaster, pyracantha, berberis and holly but food demands are certain to rise if more birds find a wildlife garden. If you have the shells left over from a coconut you can make a simple feeder for the birds in your garden. Tie a string through the half shell so it can hang on a branch. Smear peanut butter into the inside, this will act as a glue for the nuts to be stuck onto. The birds can feed without having to throw everything onto the floor. We have a prototype that we made in our garden and as yet it seems to be doing all right. The compost heap will be reaching its largest size and may become home to frogs and shrews. Try not to disturb the heap until spring to give the creature a bit of peace throughout the winter. In fact a lot of the cleaning and tidying in the garden can be left until spring as we look for ways to help our wild visitors through the winter ahead. Fallen leaves and dying plants can provide vital warmth; food and protective cover for many creatures and newly forming perennial plants. The main exception is if the leaves in your garden are settling on a path and make it slippery, these are best cleaned up. Of course there are still plenty of other things to do in the garden at this time of year even if you don’t want to tidy up.



Horticultural.

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