Trees and shrubs

BBC Radio 4's Guide to Garden Wildlife series of documentaries: episode 4, trees and shrubs.

Plants that eat air

Excellent news from nearby in the Midlands. Nottingham University has developed a way to have a plant draw the fertiliser it needs straight out of the air. It's done by bonding a proven-safe bacteria into the cells of seemingly any plant. Clover and soybeans already benefit naturally from such an alliance with air-munching bacteria. If it works and if it means even a third less fertilizer is needed, then it could have a real impact.

Some caution needed on this press-release perhaps, since the team has published no new academic paper on the topic since 2006 and their last conference poster was in 2009. Since Nottingham are commercialising it as N-Fix perhaps they've been quietly slogging through the patents system for the last few years? But then why does the press release have no supporting quotes from other scientists? Maybe it's just due to the incredibly lazy science journalism / public-sector PR we get these days, but you might have thought that the Nottingham team would have included a few independent quotes.

Open Day 31st August 2013

The new site newsletter has arrived. The new site H.Q. is being erected 19th August, and the annual open day / produce show has been set for Saturday 31st August 2013. Competing produce needs to be registered for the show before 11am, when gates open to the public. There's also a... "Richard Shaw Cup - Photo / painting / craft on the theme of our allotments" and a "Stan Chell Cup for a Children’s picture".

Hedges

Now available, the "Hedges" episode of BBC Radio 4's new A Guide to Garden Wildlife documentary series. Made me think about the nectar needs of night-moths as well as bees, and also that my so-far complete freedom from slug damage may be due to having nightly hedgehog visits?

Storm

No need to water the plot today, as the storm clouds have done it for me, giving the ground a really good soaking from dawn this morning. With more to come. It seems the storm also ushered in the new Royal Baby and future King. 'King Storm the First' has a nice vigorous ring to it... ;-)

Harvest Day #1

Weather: cloudy, quite warm and humid, and at times the faintest spittering of misty rain.

Up to water the plot again. On the way there: early Sunday church-bells sounding over Stoke town, and I spotted an old lady out washing the red-leaded front step of her terrace house. That does still happen!

It felt rather weird to be sitting on the plot when the sun wasn't shining! The run of fine weather is turning now, and we're in for "overcast with showers, hot and humid" until it breaks in a series of big thunderstorms. But until then, the watering is still needed.

It was my first real "harvest day" today. Three strawberries; another nice bag of blackcurrants; some of last year's garlic plants which had come up unexpectedly (a bit small, but they smell nice); a load of "cut n' come again" spinach; some potatoes; and a nice big load of the first courgettes...

Should make a fine curry!

My broad beans are not large in terms of plant-size, but they're producing the bean pods which is what matters... seen here a few mornings ago...

I also did an emergency quick fix on the hole in my shed roof, ahead of thunderstorms — a square of roofing felt and two bricks to hold it down!

Gardeners Question Time from Staffordshire

BBC Radio 4's Gardeners Question Time, so recently in Stoke-on-Trent, now has a programme today from Staffordshire.

What to do with all the courgettes?

Looks like I'm going to be needing this book soon...

Apparently they can be frozen if you carefully blanche them first, or else make them into a soup and then freeze.

Guide to Garden Wildlife: Ponds

Just broadcast, part two of BBC Radio 4's Guide to Garden Wildlife: Ponds. Available online as "listen again".

Photo: By Lily.

It's all gone fluffy

Weather: the usual warm morning, in a run of bright summer weather.

Up to t' allotment early for watering. I also fished more useful bricks out of the skip, put a lot more woodchip down on the paths.

Apples growing...

More blackcurrants coming along nicely, despite my recent picking...

And my first courgette forming already!

Gareth pointed out the source of the blizzard of fluff that's recently been floating up and down the valley like snow, and covering some of our allotments. It's from trees, and not Rosebay Willowherb — either Poplar or Aspen trees, both of which can produce fluffy seeds.