DEAR MEMBER

Welcome to the August Newsletter. We have had a fantastic summer in terms of weather, albeit a bit too dry. Still, harvest time is almost upon us.

Membership

The committee have been round most of our members and we have had 130 renewals so far. Hope to reach 150 by end of August. If you’ve not been visited it should happen soon, if not, get in touch.

Winter Talks

We look forward to our first talk of the new session “Making a Garden from Scratch” by John West on 16th September. All welcome, bring a friend.

Jobs for August

Tomatoes are ripening on the vine and to give them the best chance, remove any
extraneous foliage around the truss to allow maximum light. With the cartoon in mind don’t strip them bare, as they need leaves on the plant to photosynthesis, hence feeding the fruit.

Gather seed for next year from your favourite annuals and perennials such as Papaver (poppy) Calendula (Scotch Marigold) and Nigella (Love-in-a-mist). Store in paper bags, label them and keep in a cool dry place for sowing next spring. I’ve been collecting seed from my Scottish Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) and now have over 20 plants in the garden from an initial two. They tend to self- seed also. If collecting seed from shrubs etc they need to be sown now in a pot of sand for striation – a process which exposes the seed to a cold period over winter before they germinate in spring.

Hold back cutting seed-heads when deadheading plants that won’t flower again, as this will not only give you winter interest, protect the crown of plants in frost, but also provide food for wildlife.

Finally, when harvesting potatoes, cut the shaws off first and leave for one week without watering. This firms up the skins of the potato making them easier to store. We now have 82 members and friends on our Newsletter mailing list but still room for more at info@bachs.co.uk

The September Newsletter is going to be a serious “Call to Arms”. Don’t miss it.

Many thanks,
Fergus Cumming
President (0141 620 1435)

View newsletter as PDF – BACHS Newsletter August 2021