Gardening

may be less hardy. The cabbage palm will flower when mature, bearing huge panicles of sweet smelling white blooms in early summer.

Tender perennials are used to further enhance the plantings, a diverse group of plants which come from the warmer parts of the world. In our climate they are best used as summer bedding so, with their frost tenderness in mind,

ENDSLEIGH GARDENS NURSERY

Well worth a visit!

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Follow the brown signs to Endsleigh House and Gardens from Milton Abbot don’t forget to propagate or lift them before the first frost, and over-winter them in a frost free greenhouse.

Cannas are grown for their huge, exotic leaves and colourful flowers. Foliage varies from purple, through green, red, silver and variegated forms, and flowers come in a range of flamboyant colours including orange, yellow, red and pink. Cannas are easy and worthwhile to grow; and should be planted in full sun once the last frost has gone. Once autumn frosts blacken the foliage, either cut them back and cover them with a thick mulch, or pot them up, and keep them frost free over the winter months. Cannas are also great for growing in large pots, but remember to feed and water them regularly. This type of gardening, is great fun as it is so informal and with so many types of plants to choose from, be bold and adventurous – use your imagination and you can produce something really original and different which will look great through to the start of autumn.

September and October gardening jobs • Buy and plant your spring bulbs

Think about which tender plants you want to protect in a glasshouse over winter, lift before the first frost Harvest apples and autumn raspberries

Collect seeds of annuals ready for next year’s display

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Good for bull sales - bad for forage

Stuart Luxton reflects on the ups and downs of farming

Hello again everyone. Since I last wrote things have started to return to normal, but this definitely the new normal rather than the old normal.

Now I stop to think, farming must be one of the few industries that has seen little change since this virus situation arose. The animals have no idea what has been going on, they still have to be cared for, crops still need to be harvested so they can eat in the winter. Plans still need to be made for next year not much different to any other year.

It has been yet another good year for bull sales, demand has been so strong that we have sold some of next year’s bulls too, it looks like we will need to increase our bull production.

The hot weather in May caused problems with a poor amount of forage. Last year we broke records with the amount of silage and hay we harvested, this year the low rainfall and high temperatures caused poor grass and we still have a large shortfall in feed supplies for the upcoming winter. We would buy some, but most livestock farmers are in the same boat. We are cutting some fields a second time but the knock on effect of this is that we have smaller area available for grazing than we normally would have in July, there is also the cost of extra fertiliser and contractors. However, it could have been worse, since the end of May the regular warm rain has kept grass growing and the cattle and sheep haven’t seemed to notice.

The spring born lambs and calves have fared very well this year. They are all looking fantastic. Perhaps it has the warm weather, but touch wood, everything has been very healthy and relaxed.

Things at the shop have gone from strength to strength. There seems to be a real move to shopping locally which is fantastic. All of our staff have been superb especially when you consider that my senior butcher Lester has stayed at home to remain safe.

Trade has been so good that I haven’t had much time for farming - the first time in 30 years that this has been the case.

I really miss the farm - and I am also finding that due to the lack of physical work, my fitness has declined dramatically! To rectify this I have parked up my car and now travel as much as possible by bike.

If there is anyone reading this that would like a local delivery of quality produce please give us a call and we would love to help - I could even deliver it by bike just like the old days!

Please stay safe everyone. See you next time.

Stuart Luxton

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Vineyard to open new facilities

Twelve years on from first planting vines as a rather eccentric hobby, the family behind a Devon vineyard at the foot of Dartmoor are gearing up to open their new purpose-built winery, shop and local kitchen. Despite the delays and challenges of COVID, Alder Vineyard are set to open the doors to their new building in August - and look forward to championing a wide range of Devonshire delights, welcoming visitors to their ‘very own little bit of heaven’.

The vineyard, at Lewdown, is run by a small yet passionate family team of four - founders Sarah and Mike Hodgetts, their son Tom and Tom’s partner, Adam. With backgrounds and full-time careers in horticulture, construction, sales, design and marketing, they have filled every spare hour tending to the vines and sharing their love of wine at shows across the county. This new expansion marks the next big step for the family as they go full-time in the vineyard with one clear mission - to share a love for wine, far beyond the bottle.

The new winery is also a milestone for the family as they bring all production on-site. Until this year, they had enjoyed growing grapes and worked with their friends at Polgoon Vineyard in Penzance, who made the wine. Alder Vineyard’s ‘head wine wizard’ Tom, who has been away to wine college and worked with other wineries over the past few years, is now preparing to make their first vintage on-site this year.

When the new building opens, the family will be welcoming visitors to browse delicious food and drink from suppliers across the county, including Papillon gin, Sandford Orchards cider and Taw River Dairy. Their new kitchen means they can serve up a treat, with a range of local charcuterie and cheese platters plus delicious open sandwiches perfectly paired with a refreshing glass of their wines.

As well as being able to tour the new winery, groups of up to six people will also be able to explore the vines, which overlook Dartmoor, on COVID safe tours. Plus visitors will experience a fun yet educational wine tasting of Alder Vineyard’s latest vintages.

Mike said: ‘From jumping into the crazy world of English wine, we have all fallen in love with growing vines, winemaking and of course wine drinking. We can’t wait to share that experience with everyone who comes to visit us.’

Escape to Lewtrenchard and forget the past five months

We are delighted to let you know that we have re-opened our doors to guests from the beginning of July Although adhering to government advice we are trying to be as normal as possible. One thing that we can assure you of is that the friendly atmosphere and the welcome will be as efficient, warm and personal as it has always been in our long history with our special hotel. Our Covid Secure Document is available on our website .