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Tag: News
Gardening Scotland Show The Royal Highland Centre Edinburgh Friday May 30 to Sunday June 1 2014.
Here’s what the organisers promise:
“The national gardening and outdoor living show returns this summer bringing with it everything you need to transform your plot, whatever its size or style.
Gardening Scotland 2014
The show combines the biggest and best plant fayre in the country with a line-up of experts ready to give advice on all questions about growing and gardening.
Dozens of top nurseries from across the UK will fill the New Hopetoun Gardens Floral Hall with impressive floral displays and they’ll be selling the sorts of top quality and often very rare plants that just can’t be found anywhere else.
Along The David Wilson Homes Show Garden Avenue, leading designers will be creating inspirational gardens, filled with great ideas to recreate at home and there will be expert advice from members of both The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and the RHS.
In total more than 400 exhibitors will take part, selling everything from tools and fashionable garden furniture to pots, plants and all the accessories you need for a beautiful garden.
The show takes place from Friday, 30 May until Sunday, 1 June at The Royal Highland Centre Edinburgh and it is a great day out for everyone, from novice gardeners to those with green fingers.”
Tickets can be bought in advance and at a discount.
Our relationship with The Robert Gordon University and its Student Association continues to flourish. The Student Plot took a major step forward in the last week or so with the delivery of 100 tons of topsoil to raise its level and help with water-logging.
Green-fingers to the fore…
This weekend some of the student team were hard at work creating beds in preparation for sowing and planting. We all know just how much work is involved in taking over a new plot and wish them well for the future. They are off to a flying start.
Further information on the RGU students’ sustainable community garden project is available on the RGU website.
The NZ flatworm
Stuart recently circulated an email reminding us that New Zealand flatworms have been resident on our site for several years now. If you are lucky enough not to have come across any on your plot, you want to look out for them – they are a murderous bunch and live almost exclusively on our native earthworms.
Some of our plotters report finding no earthworms in their soil for the last four years or more and NZ flatworms (Arthurdendyus triangulates) are the obvious suspects. They kill their smaller earthworm prey in the most unpleasant way – covering them in mucus to part-digest them, then sucking up their remains. They have a voracious appetite and will quickly decimate local earthworm communities if left uncontrolled.
Know your enemy
They are not a problem limited to our area. Researchers from Scottish Natural Heritage indicate they are present across much of Scotland as this Advice Note and Distribution Map shows. Early reports from the 1960s, when they first appeared in the UK, warned of the possible elimination of our earthworm populations, but more recently commentators have suggested that with help our earthworms may be able to come to terms with the interlopers. Research is on-going at The James Hutton Institute and sightings should be reported to Dr Brian Boag via the above link.
Control Measures
Can we fight back? Unfortunately, it seems that once established the New Zealand flatworm cannot be eradicated: however, their local impact can be reduced to a degree. The following methods are suggested:
- Inspect any pots or containers of bought or swapped plants before planting to prevent new infestations.
- Look under flat stones or wood etc. as the flatworms retreat to these locations during the heat of the day.
- Lay such traps, or peg out sacking to find if they are present.
- Kill any flatworms found by grinding between stones, completely squashing, dropping them into very salty water or spraying them with lemon juice.
- Ground and Rove Beetles are reported to prey on the adults.
- Add farmyard manure to help introduce more earthworms.
Bruce on flatworm patrol
Need more information?
Pat Wilson circulated a recent Factsheet – see Stuart’s email.
Related articles
When working her plot on Thursday last, Rhona spotted this visitor. While many have reported seeing foxes around our site, Rhona was quick enough with her phone camera to catch this shot:
Look who’s dropped by
Foxes are much more common visitors to open areas and gardens in our cities than they used to be, but need not be a cause for alarm – they are very rarely aggressive unless cornered and provoked. One of the benefits of a large allotment site is the space it provides for wildlife, although some visitors are a lot less welcome than others! The RSPCA has advice on being around foxes on their website.
More Foxy Facts
Urban foxes: the facts and the fiction The Guardian
Sharp-eyed visitors to our site will have seen our noticeboard on the bothy now sports a smart new canopy. We were having trouble with water ingress so the canopy will help prevent that to some extent. The perspex still needs to be resealed to the frame and this will be done at the earliest opportunity.
All the news that’s fit to print…
Thanks go to Frank from Plot 63A for the joiner-work and to Maureen from Plot 82 who kindly supplied some of the timber needed.
Remember that all members of the association are welcome to post relevant items to the noticeboard. If you have items likely to be of interest to fellow members please pass them on via a member of the committee.
Stuart.