Last Saturday Chiswick Horticultural and Allotment Society hosted an event where 7 experts from the Royal Horticultural Society visited the Trading Hut for a Q&A session and then visited several plots on Burial Ground, Staveley Road and Dukes Meadows allotment sites.
A group of 40 plus members gathered to ask them questions
Q. What can we do about slugs and snails ?.
A. Plot hygiene is the key. Try to make sure that all areas that are overgrown with weed, grass etc., are cleared so as to deny them somewhere damp to hide. Raised beds are the best deterrent but at times the use of slug pellets is almost inevitable.
Q, How do you get rid of bindweed and mares tail?
A. No easy way. If possible dig down to the roots or keep pulling them up as they appear.
Q. Do wood chippings make good mulch?
A. No they are to acidic and deprive the soil of nitrogen. Only use as a path surface.
Q. How and when can we use the fresh horse manure?
A. Allow it compost down before putting on the ground, or in the winter put a 4-inch layer over any unused beds and allow the weather and worms to take the goodness into the soil. Dig it all in before plantings crops.
Q. When is the best time to prune fruit trees?
A. Stoned such as cherry, plum and apricot can be pruned from late July. Apples, pears can be pruned from August. Do not apply any sealants to the cut branches. Rub water shoots off main boughs as soon as they appear.
These were a few of the questions asked before the group split into three groups and visited the allotment plots.
One plot holder in my group was taken aback when she asked how she should prune her overgrown cherry tree, which was not producing fruit. She was advised that the tree only need one cut – 6 inches from the ground because the tree had canker and was dying.
The RHS experts were very patient and answered all questions in layman’s terms and everyone who attended said they has learned something from the visit and we felt very privileged to have had them visit out sites.
Dennis Flaherty
Allotment Secretary
Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society