November News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

The first half of October turned out to be quite mild although not sunny but then turned colder. At the time of writing the leaves have yet to really start falling and Autumn is being held at bay but by the time this article is published the clocks would have gone back and the dark evenings will be here. During a time of energy shortage, I am glad I bought my logs back in June and it’s amazing how easy it is to find wood lying around. Although, even fallen wood collected from private land counts as poaching. I still have a few jobs to complete around the garden and will venture out on good days but I am now settled by the fire with the Junkyard Mutt at my feet.

The beans have lasted well into October, but then they were planted quite late, so I still need to cut them down and dig next year’s compost trench. The Parsnips are waiting for the first frost and the Turnips for the first casserole. Looking back over the year in the vegetable patch, the successes this year have been the Climbing Beans and the Rhubarb. Everything else has been quite poor. As the garden has matured, shrubs and hedges have grown taller and thicker and the patch has become quite shady. Light and sunshine are essential for success and I need to do some serious pruning. The Marrows failed again for the second consecutive year as the seedlings died within days of being planted out. I have been using a variety called Zebra Cross but will switch back to Lion Cross. The Sweet corn cobs are small and the Leeks are not bulking up. My soil is thin and sandy and growing onions has always been difficult as they are greedy plants. The patch will need some serious soil preparation to get it back to normal. The Rhubarb finally died down and is mulched with compost to fertilise the crowns.

The Carolina Reaper - Now in Upchurch!

The perennials continue to produce a bit of flower but the first frost will finish them up. Meanwhile, I will overwinter seedlings, cuttings and divided perennials in the greenhouse. With the door and louvres closed the nighttime temperature remains above the frost zone, for now anyway, and the daytime temperatures will generate good growth. The greenhouse will also be ideal for starting seedlings early in the New Year. I was given a number of Chilli plants this year which have happily ripened in the greenhouse and given a decent crop. They are drying in the conservatory and the seeds will be re-sown next year. One of them is the Carolina Reaper which apparently is the hottest chilli on the planet scoring 2,200,000 on the Scoville Heat Scale. I tried a very small piece in a large Chilli Con Carne and it was hot. I then made the mistake of licking my fingers and realised just what 2,200,000 SHUs really means. Four ice cold beers in 30 minutes finally managed to tame the raging inferno but it was an hour before I could talk and my eyes stopped streaming. I will wear gauntlets the next time I handle this Habanero from hell.

UHS is always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the shows we hold each year, please get in touch. We would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society