Gardening

GARDENING Prepare your garden for a hot dry summer - tips from nurseryman Colin Ward of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery

The summer has been challenging horticulturally due to the dry and heat. The garden here at Swines Meadow has stood up to the rigours of the season fairly well due to the practices we use within it.

To garden successfully the most important element is the soil and making it provide the essential elements for growth and sustainability of your plants. Soils can be very varied but essentially, they need to be able to provide nutrients and moisture. Here our soil is heavy clay which in winter can get waterlogged and in a summer like this year’s can dry out and crack. We operate a no-dig policy here at the Nursery and every autumn/winter apply a mulch to the garden which over time has changed the whole structure to a wonderful friable texture which is free draining.

There are all types of mulch from leaf mould to rotted manure. These are very good mulches to use but here at Swines Meadow we use rotted wood mulch, as it has a more open structure which can provide drainage and insulation in the winter but has the ability to retain moisture during the summer months as well as acting as a good weed suppressant. We also use other products in conjunction with the wood mulch and a very important one is crushed volcanic rock dust with the brand name Remin, which is full of minerals and is very good for rejuvenating tired soil. Because of its porous nature it provides an environment for beneficial bacteria which are an important part of the process of the breakdown of the wood mulch. Worms and woodlice are also valuable contributors to this process and the population of these will increase as your soil improves. Another Remin recently discovered benefit of Remin is its carbon capture abilities, so all in all a winning situation for your soil. Another useful product we use in the garden is Rootgrow which is used in the planting procedure. A small amount is put into the bottom of the planting hole and then you place the plant so that its roots come into contact with it, infill and then water the plant in. The clay granules of the Rootgrow dissolve and release a fungus which attaches itself to the roots and then spreads its mycelium though the soil which in turn brings water and nutrients back to the plant.

About three years ago we took the side of a conifer hedge back to the trunk, giving us a border of about a metre in depth. As can be expected this was an area of very poor quality soil, Firstly we soaked the soil and then applied a dusting of Remin topped over by wood mulch of about 10cm. Two months later in April we planted it up!

Plant selection is also an important aspect towards having a garden that can tolerate the type of summer we have just had. Salvias, lavenders and rosemary are all recognised as being good drought tolerant plants but there are plenty of other plants you can use which we can recommend. We have watered the garden this summer but only on four occasions as it is a show garden. Without using the techniques described above we would have had to water the garden at least twice a week over the last seven weeks.

Hardy Plant Society will be holding a plant fair at Swines Meadow Farm Nursery On Sunday 16th September 10:00 till 2:30 also refreshments at the Cow Shed Café

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As previously mentioned a joint Working Group has been formed to consider the organisation of Remembrance Events and this year invitations to the World War 1 Centenary Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be sent by Market Deeping & Deeping St James Joint Remembrance Group. This I believe, reflects the sacrifice made by those in our community.

Next I would like to express my admiration for the teenager participation in the National Citizen Schemes that have taken place in the Deepings this summer. Two groups were based in our Town Hall, their projects being the refurbishment of Cherry Tree Park, and a “Blast from the Past tea party” for care home residents. Other groups in the Deepings had a project of “Go explore” to encourage the community to become more active and another to work at the Cricket Club while raising funds for Sue Ryder. What an exuberant bunch and what enabling experiences for them!

Finally I had the privilege to meet Chris and Gabs at the Town Hall, as they left on the “Chris and Gabs World Cycling Tour”. An epic journey for the charity Prevent Breast Cancer Please visit – http://www.chrisandgabsworldcyclingtour. com/ A humbling experience.

A warm August welcome to you all.

At the end of 2017 Deepings Police Station was closed and we were told it was no longer required. Councillors from DSJ had other ideas and following a lot of work and a number of meetings the Station was reopened, run by a group of volunteers . Cllr Chris Halls and myself are two of the volunteers, and we were both involved in the recent Open Day where tours of the Police Station were given, and children had the chance to play with a police car and van. It did not take long for them to work out how to switch on the siren. The queue to visit the cells stretched round the block all day, and I had the pleasure of spending four hours in the cells where mug shots could be taken.

It remained hot and sunny for the Raft Race, and it was wonderful to see so many people out and enjoying themselves on the day. It was my honour to open the event, and afterwards it was a pleasure visiting the many attractions and stalls, and talking to so many people.

The Parish Council does not meet in August, but we will meet again 27th Sept 7.30 The Institute, Church St DSJ.

County Councillors, Rosemary Trollope-Bellew and Barry Dobson serving the Deepings and surrounding area are present at the Deepings Library on the first Saturday of each month from 10.00am - noon if you have any issues that you would like to raise relating to County Council business.

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Obituaries

Jean Woodhead

of Deeping St Nicholas and latterly Frognall. 29.04.1933 -6.8.2018 In Our Hearts

William Roy Burton died on 29th July 2018 after a short illness, aged 89 years. Born in Deeping, lived in Gedney Hill.

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