Oxhill News

www.oxhill.com / www.oxhill.org.uk

South Warwickshire, England.

The Oxhill News

May 2015

This months News

Contents

 

Garden Club

On Thursday 16th April, members of the Garden Club and their guests were the spellbound recipients of a talk given by local (Stratford) plantsman and raconteur Steve Brookes to an almost capacity audience.  Preceded by anecdotes of a seemingly idyllic rural upbringing including inspirational trips to his grandfather’s allotment, Steve’s presentation comprised a succession of ‘old (and new) wives’ tales that actually work’ collected over the years and recently gathered together in his book The Greatest Gardening Tips in the World.

Seemingly innocuous household articles and cupboard contents on a table display in the Village Hall provided a succession of astonishing (but proven) ‘aids’ to successful and productive gardening.  The sympathetic securing and ‘tying in’ of plants and shrubs with strands of cotton from old mop heads, strips of discarded bicycle inner tube, and dabs of clear silicone sealant gives the reader an inkling of the ‘flavour’ of the talk.

Plants lacking in growth hormone can often be rejuvenated by soluble aspirin being incorporated into their watering; Epsom salts can rectify magnesium deficiency evidenced by the yellowing of houseplant leaves; a good liquid feed can be made from pigeon, ferret or sheep droppings contained in laddered ladies’ tights suspended in a water butt; nettles incorporated into a compost heap provide useful nitrogen content; dried cowpats mixed into compost for hanging baskets keep the annual flowers looking wonderful!

Elasticated plastic shower caps make ideal propagator tops for large flowerpots; a 2" sprayed band of WD-40 around a plant container will provide a barrier to deter slugs and snails; roll-on deodorant containers can be (carefully) filled with weed killer for ‘spot’ applications; used dried tea bags sprayed with Ralgex area sure-fired way of keeping cats off of a newly raked seedbed; borax mixed in with sugar crystals will kill off a nest of marauding ants.  And so it goes!  Too many tips to recount here – if you weren’t at the talk, buy the book!

The next Garden Club event at the Village Hall is the annual Plant Sale – 7pm May 28th.

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Last modified: May 11, 2015