The Swilly Gardening Club had their annual walkabout last week, and the money raised went to the Samaritans. The rain was threatening but thankfully managed to stay away as the enthusiastic group, including myself, headed out to two local gardens. This years choice were Willie Grant’s near the bridge in Swan Park, which makes great use of the river Crana that runs along the bottom of the garden and Sean Clarkin who lives in Porthaw and also has a lovely backdrop- the Swilly. The two gardens are totally contrasting. Willie has been slowly working on his large plot over the last 33 years since he bought the house. It includes a polythene tunnel for growing tomatoes and small cuttings and also includes a large boat, called the Aberfoyle, which is permanently moored in the lawn. The garden is steeped in history as the house dates back over 200 years. Sean’s two-acre garden on the other hand has been meticulously planted over the last two years and includes low maintenance gravel beds that incorporate wind tolerant shrubs such as the perfect Escallonia Jamie and trees that should mature quickly to give a permanent border around the perfectly manicured lawns and pond complete with a waterfall.
JOHN AND MARY’S TOP TIPS
John and Mary from Fawn in Culdaff have some top tips for getting the best from our veggie patch.
Onion planting
When you are planting onions, put them into groups of four. As they grow they will push apart from one another but keep weeds from growing in the centre. This makes weeding simple and you don’t have to work around them.
Blackfly prevention
Mary nips out the new buds of her bean plants to stop any blackfly. “The flies lay their eggs in the soft tips of the beans. Wait until there are four or five groups of flowers then pinch out the tips”. Mary advises. “This way the blackfly cannot establish themselves”
Intercropping to stop carrot fly
John plants carrots in organised rows to make life easier to weed. Next to the rows, they plant strong smelling crops such as onions and garlic. The reason for this is to confuse carrot fly. “As soon a carrot is lifted the flies smell them and head straight for them”. John tells me. “ They don’t fly more than three feet off of the ground so if you had a small area you could put up a barrier such as the green netting or even grow them in an old bath. For larger areas such as ours we use confusion. It does work but precautions still need to be taken. Tidiness is key here. When you lift the carrots clear all of the carrots from the area that have been pulled up and take them away. Just one loose carrot could attract the pest”.
Feeding
John and Mary are not short of plant food for their acres of chemical free produce. “We use a few different types, mainly in liquid form”. Says John. I am taken over to the large barrels that store to mixes. “The main feeds are comfrey, seaweed and nettle juice. They are very strong so are diluted in water before being applied to the soil. They also act as a foliar feed and can be applied to the leaves. They make a wonderful tonic”. “The best tomato feed you can get”, he tells me, “are tomato leaves rotting in water. Tomatoes are cannibals and love nothing more that the nutrients gathered by their own leaves”. By the looks of their plants he’s right…
Remember that you can contact John and Mary for a visit. Check out their website http://greenhill.weebly.com or phone Mary on 086 327 3315. They also have a library you could join to get your hands on the latest growing books to help you in your quest for the ultimate veggies.
One more thing…
Hugh Henderson from the gardening club tells us that if you want to ripen fruit quickly but do not have a banana to hand then use a bucket of manure. The fumes from the dung will get the sugars flowing… any type will do as long as it is smelly…
