Herald - Issue 419

v GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE HERALD v 17th February 2022 • The HERALD • Page 49 | DOWN THE GARDEN PATH | Telephone Richard 023 8084 9637 | Grass Cutting | Edges Trimmed | Hedge Trimming | PRESSURE WASHING OF DECKS, PATIOS & DRIVES | FENCE & SHEDS PAINTED QuickSmart Garden Services Professional & Reliable Send your local news or events to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH or email: editor@herald-publishing.co.uk BLACKFIELD GARDENING CLUB by Patricia Hedley-Goddard On Tuesday 11th January the Black eld Gardening Club held their rst meeting in 2022. e subject of the presentation was Growing Fruit and Vegetables and covered a comprehensive range of information for all ages and skills. Chris Bird of Sparshott College is a natural raconteur, interesting and informative and more than happy to receive questions and to give simple practical answers. He stressed that you should only grow what YOU eat or like. Anything else is a waste of e ort or precious space in your garden if you do not have a lot of room. Gardening is good for you no matter what your age or health. It is a ‘Green Gym’! It can be fun for all the family, and not only do you know where your produce has come from, but also what growing medium it has been put into, and what chemicals etc., if any, have been used. In some supermarkets the lettuce they sell could have been sprayed up to 21 times with various substances before it reaches the shop shelf! Chris explained you need to follow the four basic criteria for growing vegetables, soil depth, light levels, water, and ‘feeding’. Regarding onions and shallots he mentioned that if you wish for a more intense avour, add sulphur to your soil mix. He also said that if you grow sweetcorn, never mix sweet corn and super sweet corn. ey neutralise each other and you end up with possibly no corns at all. He also strongly recommended that you only purchase red onion stock from a reputable dealer. Reference growing fruit there have been many new varieties introduced which are far more suitable for the U.K. season. It is possible to get raspberry canes which will give you fruit from June up to December. Strawberries are now available in all shapes and sizes and have an extended U.K. growing/fruiting season. Gooseberries can be grown fan shaped against a wall which enables easy picking, and ‘step over fruit trees’ which are easy to maintain and harvest. In the main the soil should be well turned before planting to avoid compaction. Reference pruning, you should remove no more than a third of the growth which will reinvigorate the plant, and should give more fruit. Black eld Gardening Club meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm, at St Francis Church, Langley . All are welcome. Visitors £2 each. eir next meeting will be on Tuesday 8th March for ‘ A History of the Drummond Family’ by Mrs Gilly Drummond. Followed on Tuesday 12th April for ‘Calshot – A Place in Time’ by Colin Van Ge en.