SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2012

Hello Fellow Allotmenteers, Gardeners, Friends & Subscribers - wherever you are!

PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES IF YOU RECEIVE TWO COPIES OF OUR NEWS-LETTER - that'll be because your e-mail address is registered with both our Aeron Vale Allotment Society & Gardeners Chat-Shed web-sites. Consequently  it will have been automatically added to both data-bases. No harm done - just delete the second one to arrive! Simples!

Whilst you, our Gardeners Chat-Shed friends, may be members of your own gardening clubs and allotment groups, you can still share in what we have to offer here by way of gardening tips, news, information and gossip from our "grow your own" community.

There's something for everyone in our News-letter! If you're not particularly interested in the local gossip from our allotment society, just scroll on down to something else more general.

IN GENERAL

I always think of autumn as the end of our gardening season. I know that some plants grow in winter and you harvest many crops - especially root crops such as swedes or parsnip, after they've become "frosted". However autumn has that "end of term" feel to it. A time for assessments, comparisons and analysis. You will know by now what you'll never attempt to grow again! You'll also know what you tried - that blew your socks off - so you'll ALWAYS grow it in the future. You've had the feedback from the family (no point asking friends you've given stuff away to - they won't tell you what they really think of your offerings, for fear of upsetting you, or perhaps - more likely - in case future offerings dry up!).

Leaves on trees start to change colour as the nights draw in & the temperatures start to drop. The sap begins going back down, farmers are cutting their hedges and everything seems to be yawning and getting ready for sleep. The potatoes should all be out of the ground by now, the runner beans are starting to look their age with smaller toughened pods, and all the vigour seems to have gone out of everything else that's still managing to grow on tick-over. Seed pods are full, with the plants having done their job to ensure that the embryos of the next generation have been produced as seeds, beans or peas. it's all a bit like that little period after a hard day, when you've had your bath, put your dressing gown on, curled up with your Horlicks and you're getting ready to go to bed.

Winter is the rest period. Some of us use this time between now & spring to start planning our plots for next year and ordering our seeds early, if not, it's getting nearer that time when you can put your feet up in front of the fire and start writing your "wish lists" for spring. Assuming you're not plagued by a conscience that you haven't tidied your plot up for another year. Or that the autumn sown broad bean or onion sets that you promised yourself you'd get around to planting hasn't been done! We ALL have those moments - that's where the wet weather comes in handy - to blame it for for our little procrastinations! But it's not a sin! The main point of growing veg. is to get enjoyment out of it.

SOME OF OUR ALLOTMENTS SITE NEWS

Not a lot to report really from around the Aberaeron Allotment Association site at Cae Ffynnon Wîn. This site also has some of us Aeron Vale Allotment Society members with plots on it. It has NOT been a buzzing hive of activity this year. In fact it looks semi deserted. It's a classic example of a phase that many young allotment sites go through. Nevertheless I'm glad to say that the six plots on the site occupied by the Aeron Vale Allotment Society members are in an acceptable state of maintenance, and are all cultivated on this site. So there's no need to press the panic button yet!

Unlike young sites, most established long term sites mature to a point where most of the plot-holders on there are long term gardeners with a real interest and a collective knowledge and experiences of how a site should be run. Allotment sites mellow like a good wine. the initial flush of manic excitement and the inevitable novelty "kick" will have gone. The "fashion fad" gardeners will have moved on to the next fad, and gradually over the years, the dedicated gardeners are in the majority. New gardeners to a mature site settle in with old-hands who encourage and nurse them along. That is how the collective allotment community on a site flourishes.

Conversely when a new site is formed, especially where the vast majority of the founder members have no previous experience of allotment gardening and absolutely no experience of managing an allotment site, then problems inevitable arise of the nature mentioned above. New sites are often overrun with new "gardeners" - full of good intensions and well meaning, but often idealistic in their vision of what an allotment site is, assuming it to be an anarchistic commune with free for all idealistic plans of no substance. Many have completely underestimated how much hard work is involved and realise that in the real world things don't work as they do in gardening programmes on the telly! There are disappointments and failures when it comes to growing veg. - but that's par for the course - regardless of how experienced you are. Unfortunately after the first few seasons (especially with an abysmal season like we've had) the lustre wears off the new hobby for many, and the attraction becomes diminished. Joy turns into a chore. There's not enough experienced and dedicated gardeners on site to nurse them along (assuming they're humble enough to be nursed) and consequently the plots fall into uncultivated weed pits that are seldom visited anymore. However it is only a phase. With enough dedicated gardeners at the core it usually picks up and begins maturing. Hopefully that will be the case on the Cae Ffynnon Wîn site as the future unfolds. We do have a core of good allotmenteers here, and with a bit of effort and re-jigging I'm sure we'll see our way through this little depression.

Summing Up

Moving on. Here's a summary of how I saw things pan out on the crop front this season. Below are a few photos of some of my own produce, (I would dearly love a wider inclusion of other plot-holders produce, but I haven't received any contributions - all readers of this newsletter are warmly invited to contribute anything they think will be of interest or assistance to their fellow growers - just contact me). Space does not allow to include everything but this gives you a snapshot of the successes this year. I've also included a bit of crop variety background & performance notes:

Tomatoes

It's a bit unfair to make comparisons of the different varieties of tomatoes because they vary so much. The qualities expected of a beef-stake tom are totally different from say a cherry tomato. However, when it comes to taste, crop size and usefulness then comparisons can be drawn. Also of course I can report on how good I think a variety is within it's own category - even if it wasn't compared to another variety from that category in a head to head trial.

I grew three varieties of cherry toms, three standard cordon types & one beef-stake. The cherry types were:

• Black cherry (not a very original name, they were a little bigger than average cherry types & they're more purplish grey than black!)

• Sungold and

• Gardeners Delight

The cordon types were:

• Ailsa Craig

• Shirley and

• Golden Sunrise (a yellow variety - as you might have guessed from the name)

The only beef-steak was Black Krim.

They were all grown using the ring culture method in the border beds of my poly-tunnel. They were germinated in the same low peat seed compost

So according to my personal trial this year this is how they faired.

Cherry Types

Sungold comes out top. In my opinion it's probably one of, if not the best, sweet cherry type tom available. It has an orange coloured skin. It's down side? It's an F1 hybrid and the seeds cost a packet (excuse the pun). Having said that, whilst most of us are afraid to save the seeds of F1 hybrids, for fear of them not coming "true" I had one plant that was a "volunteer" from last year. One of the fruits must have dropped and a seed germinated. I let it grow to maturity out of curiosity. To my surprise it grew exactly the same as the other Sungold plants, it's fruit, and the flavour of that fruit, was identical to the other plants! So more seeds will be saved this year to see how they fare next year.

Gardeners Delight really IS a delight. It comes a very close second to Sungold. It has bright red fruit and if left to ripen is every bit as sweet as Sungold. It also has a stronger traditional tomato taste - which you'd expect - it's been around for a century, when tomatoes tasted like tomatoes! It really does take some beating. highly recommended.

Black Cherry. I have to admit that this was a freebie packet of seeds off the front of a gardening mag. I'm not sure whether seed companies do that to advertise how good their offerings are, or whether it's a means of getting rid of surpluses that don't sell! If Black Cherry was the benchmark I would opt for the second theory. The fruit were not even black, more of a dark grey/ dark red - not exactly very inviting when displayed in a bowl of of other bright orange or red cherry toms. The fruit was larger than the average cherry type tomato - more like a small standard size tom. Taste? Typically supermarket standard - bland & watery (very much like the taste of the over rated Moneymaker variety). I would not grow it again.

Cordon Types

Shirley by a long shot. A really heavy cropper. The fruits are very uniform and it has an excellent flavour. If I had one criticism it didn't ripen quite as well as some others. However given how reduced the sunlight levels were this year and with lower than average temperatures, it can be forgiven. In a better season it would have been outstanding.

Ailsa Craig. Wonderful flavour but a bit sickly in the vigour and crop quantity departments. However a worthy second to Shirley.

Golden Sunrise. The fruit was probably the prettiest in the polytunnel. It's a bright yellow colour and looks gorgeous on a plate. In the taste department it fails and can only be described as mediocre. Low on flavour and sweetness a bit tarty. I would call it tarty & bland - another Moneymaker type supermarket shelf offering. I won't grow it again. As it happens this variety was also a freebie offering on a magazine cover, which adds weight to my theory that what seed companies give to magazine sellers is often what "old hand" gardeners sniff at.

Beef-steak Type

I only grew Black Krim. Beef-steak toms are big and fleshy. They're good as sandwich fillers but are often low on flavour - that's my personal opinion. This heirloom variety is probably one of the better tasting. It originates in the Ukraine and not the island of Krim in the Black Sea as some seed companies wrongly assume & advertise. It's overall score is quite low here, but that's because it's not prolific, it has a tendency to be blight susceptible and is not particularly vigorous in the early stages of growth. However it's one that I consistently grow because compared to other beef-steak varieties that I've tried in the past it more than holds it's own in the taste department.

OTHER ALLOTMENT & GARDENING NEWS

Even The Students Are At It!

Welsh Government Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, John Griffiths (that's him on the right in the picture alongside the Deputy Vice Chancellor Graham Rogers - doesn't he look like Brian Murphy who starred alongside Yootha Joyce in the sit-com "George & Mildred"? - Maybe not - a bit before your time perhaps!). He's seen here officially opening Newport University’s new allotments last July - called "Student Digs"

Mr Griffiths met staff involved with the project before formally cutting the ribbon to launch the site, which is based on the University’s Caerleon Campus.

The project has been funded by the University and has taken about 12 months to complete through significant teamwork from across the University including the Universities Environment Officer, ground staff, lecturers, caterers and students. The group currently has 47 members and 18 plots and aims to recruit more students at this September’s Fresher’s fair.

The allotments will also help students and staff financially whilst re-connecting people with how and where their food comes from. Allotments and gardening has been proven to have health benefits not only from eating fresh locally produced food but also by having a positive effect on mental health and wellbeing.

Jayne Hunt, Community Development Officer and Senior Lecturer at the University who has led the creation of the allotments said: "The idea behind Student Digs is to increase student and staff food resilience, and to increase the universities sustainability and self sufficiency.

"Growing food locally is a small but not insignificant step to addressing climate change and helping people become more self sufficient and not reliant upon food grown many thousands of miles away. I hope it will also be great fun for everyone involved."

John Griffiths AM said: "The Welsh Government is committed to developing allotments sites across Wales and this project is an excellent example of what a community can achieve. This project will benefit student and staff wellbeing, help to further develop the university’s community, whilst also helping to benefit the environment. I am therefore delighted to open these allotments and hope other universities will consider similar schemes."

Wow! Things have changed since I was a student at Cardiff's University of Wales Institute of Science & Technology back in the early seventies! The nearest we long haired scruffians  ever got to a bean in those days were the ones in tomato sauce that we ate cold straight from a tin!

Some things really HAVE changed for the better!

KNOW YOUR PESTS

When we think of a "pest" in our vegetable growing plots we usually imagine slugs, snails, caterpillars, aphids, root flies etc. In fact some of the more devastating pests are often of the fungal variety.

There's certainly good guys and some VERY bad guys in this group. Without the good guys the whole earth would become barren, because they have key functions in the soil's mechanisms, without them the soil becomes useless dirt. We also eat a few - like mushrooms - although some of those are deadly poisonous to us! Then there's the very unwelcome ones, from potato blight, to downy mildew and everything else in between. They tend to be long-lived and are notoriously difficult to control, let alone eradicate. The soil borne spores of many devastating fungi stay put in contaminated soils. Consequently ANYTHING that's been attacked by a bad fungi should be carefully burnt (a good distance away or off the site if possible) and NEVER added to the compost bin. An infected plant may look OK for the compost bin, but spores are microscopic. The main weapon in the war against the "bad guys" is meticulous hygiene and the careful future use of known contaminated areas. Sometimes you have to sacrifice an area for exclusion from growing the same type of plants for many years. One of the more common fungal pests on a plot is:

Club Root

It's a fungal infection of the roots of brassicas, such as cabbage, cauliflower, turnip and swede, leading to swollen and distorted roots and stunted growth. It is also classed as a common pest. Most long term gardeners have come across it at some time or other

Club root is an infection of the roots of brassicas and related plants by a "bad guy" fungus called Plasmodiophora brassicae, a soil-dwelling  micro-organism related to the slime moulds, leading to massive swelling, distortion and severely retarded growth.

Plasmodiophora brassicae is loosely described as a fungus, but is in fact more closely related to the slime moulds. It produces resting spores that can contaminate soil for up to 20 years! In the presence of susceptible plant roots, these resting spores germinate and infect the root hairs of brassica family plants sown in that soil, causing the distortion and eventual plant death. The fungus produces more resting spores in the affected tissue, which eventually rots and releases them back into the soil, ready for the cycle to start over again.

It affects cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, swedes and radishes, and ornamental relatives such as wallflowers, stocks, aubrietia and cabbage-family weeds such as shepherd’s purse, wild radish & charlock etc. amongst many others.

As many weeds are from the brassica family, it's so important that the weeds are kept to a minimum on any allotment site. When plot-holders are pulled up for allowing uncontrolled weed infestation, the newer or more immature amongst them will often complain that they are being dictated to by others, or that they have the freedom to weed or not weed their plots as they see fit. They overlook the fact that their actions may cause enormous problems for their fellow growers. Contamination of fungal pests from certain weeds can in some cases render a vast area of soil useless for certain plants for many years. In the case of club root it could stop fellow gardeners from growing cabbages, cauliflowers, sprouts etc. for up to twenty years on the same spot. So weeding is usually a mandatory requirement on virtually all allotment sites.

The symptoms of club root are very easy to spot. You may see the following:

Above ground:

Stunted growth, purplish foliage and wilting in hot weather, which may recover under wetter conditions.

Below ground:

The root system becomes massively swollen and distorted, with a loss of the finer roots.

Growth and yield are severely reduced and very badly affected plants may die.

To help control the spread of club root you need to follow some basic common sense guidelines and be meticulously hygienic if there is a risk of infestation in your area. Wet, acidic soils are more prone to it, and liming to increase the pH of the soil prior to planting brassicas is considered to be helpful, along with good drainage - but it is not a cure. Brassicas prefer a more alkaline soil anyway.

Here are few practical guidelines:

• If you buy brassica plants, rather than grow them from seeds yourself (which is a safer option), take great care that they come from a guaranteed club root-free source. Be particularly careful in accepting plants from gardening friends, who with the best of intentions may be an unwitting source of infection

• If the disease is known to be present, try to give plants a head start by growing them on in healthy soil to a larger than normal size before planting out, so that they begin growth in the affected soil with a larger than usual healthy root system

• Grow transplants in pots of at least 9cm (3½in) diameter, which give plants a head start with a larger than usual healthy root system

• Beware of spreading contaminated soil on tools, wheelbarrows or footwear

• Club root is reduced (but not eliminated) by raising the soil pH by liming. On acid soils, lime at the rate of 500g per sq m (15oz per sq yd), with lighter dressings of 270g per sq m (8oz per sq yd) in future years

• Along with the liming regime, take care to improve drainage, by making raised beds for example

• Keep down susceptible weeds like shepherd’s purse, charlock, wild radish and the like

• Some cultivars show some levels of resistance: calabrese ‘Trixie’, swede ‘Marian’ and kale ‘Tall Green Curled’. Cabbages ‘Kilaxy’ and ‘Kilaton’ and cauliflower ‘Clapton’ show resistance, but no variety has yet been bred that is immune to club root

If you're not an organically sensitive grower & don't mind using poisonous chemicals on your food crops, then it's bad news for you I'm afraid - there are no chemicals available to gardeners to treat club root.

More info. on other pests will be published in future issues of our NEWSLETTER.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ants are a delicacy for woodpeckers! If you have a woodpecker in your area that you can watch, see if it picks up ants with it's beak! They'll do this and then crush the ants on their feathers. The purpose for this strange behaviour is to protect themselves from parasites! During the crushing process, tannic acid is released and it kills any parasites that are on the bird.

"Not a lot of people know that!"

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

Virtually every allotment and veg. garden throughout the UK is characterised by the familiar runner bean supports made from hazel sticks or bamboo canes. Everyone's vision of a plot of ground used to raise vegetables invariably has a runner bean "ridge" support or a "wigwam" associated with it.

The standard bamboo cane ridge support has it's merits. It's easy to assemble, and practical, it requires very little skill and it does the job. If you're a real traditionalist, who likes to make a work of art of it - as seen in the first picture on the right, then you'll go to the extra effort to build a "rustic" one. I personally think that the one shown is absolutely beautiful - I only wish more gardeners could have the time and skill to produce such a work of art on every allotment plot throughout the land! It's reminiscent of the type of structure my grandfather used to meticulously assemble. The hazel sticks were then carefully dismantled at the end of every season and kept in his shed over winter - they lasted for years.

The more modern bamboo version of this structure is even easier to assemble (not least because you haven't got to go hunting hazel wood in your local forest). The bamboo ridge support is the type of thing that's seen in the majority of our allotment gardens all over the UK.

These structures whilst being easy to build do the job admirably, after all they've passed the test of time over many decades of runner bean cultivation. However they have their limitations - as I'll explain further on.

The structure which has gained popularity in recent years is the aptly named "wigwam" support. It's noticeable how popular the wigwam structure seems to be amongst the younger "tree-hugging" generation of growers (probably because it has pleasing visual reminiscences of the structures used by the nature tolerant Native North Americans - that's only my personal theory!) In reality the wigwam support is practical, very rigid and it allows the grower to monopolise on limited space. I tend to grow my climbing French beans on wigwam support.

There are of course other methods of supporting your runner and French beans. Some even use string instead of poles. In seaside fishing towns it was not uncommon to see fishermen use old discarded rope nets for their beans to climb up. The same is probably true of lots of ingenious ways of providing something for them to climb up. As many allotment gardeners over the years have more often than not come from poorer working class backgrounds, then a tradition has cropped up of using "recycled" things for use down on the plot. In fact that tradition thankfully remains - even amongst those who can afford nice new shiny stuff! Allotment growing is not just the art of growing veg., but also the ingenuity of recycling discarded items. The exceptions are the Margo Leadbetter types (from the Good Life sit-com) in yellow "jump" suits with pink gardening gloves and pink flower patterned ankle wellies. they occasionally turn up with their arms outstretched (for balance and to keep clean) whilst tip-toeing along muddy paths - enthused by the "grow your own" fashion trend down at the local yacht club or WI. They usually disappear after the first season of getting dirty and tired! Sorry I'm digressing again!

Finally, the other frame support that I've come across is the "Munty Frame". So called after a certain  Mr Munty who invented it I assume - but I'm only guessing! It certainly has it's merits. The beans climb straight up the first set of poles and then they do an angled change of direction. They continue growing up the second set of poles. It's a good idea, as long as the structure is facing south. The bean pods, as they mature, hang down inside the frame for easy picking (the foliage also shades the picker in the height of summer I presume!). Here are a couple of photos of this structure. Notice that some use string rather than poles for the structure. From my experience string is not the best medium for runner beans to climb up, and of course the whole frame becomes a bit like a cow's tail! It looks a bit like a headache to erect on your own - but what the heck, just imagine the number of admiring passers-by you'll attract & educate!

As I said earlier, the traditional "ridge" support has it's inherent weaknesses. Due to it's shape it is not particularly stable. Often, the weaker constructed supports take on a leaning stance after a storm with the whole row looking like a domino collapse!

Going back to the traditional ridge structure. As the runner beans grow up the poles and converge at the top of the ridge, the area in the middle becomes dark and sunlight starved. The leaves form a weather proof canopy and there's a distinct lack of moisture, as the rain gets deflected away from the middle of the structures bed - where the plant roots are.

Finally, due to the natural effect of gravitational forces, the beans hang down inside the cavity of the ridge support. This makes them harder to pick from the outside, and of course, the flowers on the inside are hidden from pollinating insects like bees.

I got to thinking about these problems and decided there must be a way of improving on the common type of supports that are in widespread use. So I fell on this idea for a support design that counters the negative characteristics of the conventional type of "A" Frame (ridge) supports. So enter the "V" FRAME!

On the left is a photo taken this year, of my own support. You'll notice that the concept of a ridge ("A" frame) structure has been turned on it's head - literally - to form a "V" instead!

The advantages?

The support is inherently stronger - both ends being supported by a 2"x2" stake driven into the ground, with a "T" piece crossbar bolted on to it. The upper "box" section is made of batten and the canes are tied to those lengths. Consequently lateral movement in wind is reduced greatly, as each cane forms a strengthening support and the end stakes do not lean over.

Being a "V" shape the plants grow in a diverging manner (they are further apart at the top than at the bottom). This allows sunlight to enter the inside of the structure, and all the rain falls down inside the structure to moisten the bed where the plant roots are.

Finally, by the force of gravity the beans naturally hang down the outside of the structure. This makes them easier to see and pick, they get exposed to more food through extra sunlight exposure AND the flowers are easily accessible to pollinating insects.

Below is a diagram of the V-Frame that I've designed (I'm sure there are similar designs around). You can use it as a guideline to construct your own support next season. Do try it and compare the results with the type of support you've used in the past. I think you will be pleased with the results. The dimensions are not critical. As I tend to use 16' x 4' beds for my plot, the diagram reflects the size of support that suits me. You can build yours to suit the size of your own growing area.

If you would like to download and save this V-FRAME diagram to print out, them feel free to do so by clicking on the icon below:

No charge! Unless I catch you mass producing & selling them!

That's it for another issue friends. If you would like to write something for our NEWS-LETTER then all contributions are gratefully accepted. You can contact me via either of our two web-sites:

aeronvale-allotments.org.uk or gardenerschat-shed.net/

If you have any friends or gardening acquaintances who you think would like our news-letter and would benefit from it then by all means point them towards our news-letter archive on the web-site where they can also subscribe on-line to receive the publication by e-mail - it's FREE!

Until the next time - keep busy, keep tidying up your plots before you put them to bed, but above all have fun & ENJOY on your allotment plot or in your veg. garden!

Best Wishes,

G