Adam & Benjamin added the vents on Sunday
Author: lynnsrose
Edible hedge planting
On February 9th, a dozen or more of us took advantage of a lull in the rain to plant up the perimeter of the garden with the hedge plants donated by the Woodland Trust. We managed to complete the circuit in a double row of hazel, dog rose, hawthorn and blackthorn.
Pruning apples
David described how to prune apples in winter and then we pruned the trees planted last spring
Winter pruning is to form the shape of the tree. First cut out any clearly dead or diseased wood, to stop disease spreading. Then cut new growth to form an open bowl shape, so that air can circulate. Select an outward-facing bud, and cut immediately above it – if you leave too much it will die.
If you can make your cut with secateurs there should be no need for wound paint: only use it if you have to use a pruning saw or loppers. Distinguish the larger, bumpy buds, which are fruiting buds and will produce flowers in due course, from the smaller vegetative buds.
We also have a quince. David told us he used to prune his quince tree like an apple, and got very little fruit. On a trip to Germany, he saw heavily laden quinces, and learnt that they never pruned them. Last year he left his alone and got a bumper crop.
Wassailing and pruning
On Sunday 12th we had a wassailing and pruning day:
Four singers came with a selection of traditional wassail songs for us to serernade our trees.
Then David Petch showed us how to winter prune apples (see separate post).
We shared mugs of mulled cider and apple juice, and hung cider-soaked toast in the trees
Another tradition: some say it appeases the tree spirits, others that it attracts insect-eating birds!
Pruning the blackcurrant bushes
On Sunday, Camilla showed us how to prune the black currants to encourage lots of sideshoots and , eventually, fruit.
Blackcurrant need to be pruned to an outward facing bud close to the ground
this leaves very little!
Prunings longer than 20cm can be used as hardwood cuttings: trim off straight below a node at the bottom and ant an angle above a bud near the top.
Then push the cuttings into soft ground: with luck some will take root:
They can be moved to a permanent position next year
Greenhouse construction continues
Several of us spent much of Sunday continuing with the foundations and constructing the greenhouse frame – rather like playing with a meccano set. Three mice had nested in the boxes storing the greenhouse parts and had to be evicted
Seasonal pumpkins
Preparing for the greenhouse
Over the last few weekends we’ve been preparing the site for our greenhouse, purchased with a grant from South Downs National Park.
First, we had to level an area large enough for the greenhouse:
The greenhouse was delivered to site last Thursday. We did final preparations and started to assemble the frames at the weekend:
As a storm was forecast we didn’t take things any further, not wanting our half-completed greenhouse to be blown away.
Garden Genius
Sunday work party
Some of us carried on with the fruit bush planting, in time for them to get established before winter
Some of the squashes are getting riper
Petersfield Community Garden 