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HINTS AND TIPS.

Rubber Band Plant Support by Jocksamalec.

The Bands illustrated are about 2 inches in diameter and can be varied according to circumstances.
BEETROOT CHUTNEY
2lb (l kg) uncooked beetroot
l lb (500 g) onions
l l/2lb (750g) cooking apples
l lb seedless raisins
3 tablespoons ground ginger
2 lb (l kg) granulated sugar (white)
2 pints (l litre) malt vinegar
 
Method
Peel and grate the beetroot; peel and finely chop onions; peel, core and chop apples.
Put in pan with the raisins, ginger, sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil. Simmer until
thick, then pot.
(Best kept for 3 months before opening)
For those of you who are into companion planting; I would like to share a tip from Mr. Ray Broughton of the Sparsholt College who entertained us with his talk on 'Colour in the Garden'. If you grow Tagetes to deter aphids, it is the strong smell of 'dead flowers' that they don't like, so dead head regularly and leave small piles of them around your plot/plants.
LEEK MOTH.
 
The Leek moth is becoming increasingly a devastating problem here in the South but it is also now spreading across the country. You may find the following information helpful in dealing with it.
 
The Royal Horticultural Society Garden,
Wisley, Woking, Surrey. GU23 6QB.
18th September 2002
 
The damage that you have noticed on your leek plants has been caused by the caterpillars of a pest commonly known as the leek moth. This is a local occurrence in Britain, being mainly found along the east and south coast of England, although it does sometimes occur further inland. Where it is found it can sometimes be very troublesome and make the growing of leeks and onions difficult. It has two generations during the summer with the larvae being active during May and June and again between August and October. The larvae feed initially as leaf miners in the foliage but as they grow larger they bore into the stems of leeks and into the bulbs of onions. Once the caterpillars have penetrated the deeper tissues of their host plants it is very difficult to reach them with insecticides. When the larvae have finished feeding they emerge from the plant and spin net-like silk cocoons, usually on the foliage. Pupae of the late summer generation are present during September to October and the adult moths emerge during the latter month. This pest overwinters as adult months which seek sheltered places during the autumn.
It is worthwhile examining the foliage on your leeks to try and detect these pupae which can be destroyed by hand removal before the adult months emerge. Next year you should watch out for signs of leaf mining beginning on your plants during May and August. There is currently no pesticide available to amateur gardeners for use against pest on leeks. In the absence of pesticides, gardeners now have to either tolerate the damage cause by the leek moth or they can try and protect the plants by growing them under the cover of as horticultural fleece. This is a finely woven material which allows light and water through but will exclude most pest, including the egg laying females of the leek moth.
The only pesticide which is currently approved for the use on leeks for leaf miner control is nicotine. This is not sold in small amateur packs and is only available to professional growers. If nicotine is to be effective it needs to be applied when signs of leaf mining are first seen. There would be no point in spraying your plants now as we are at the end of the larval feeding period and they will be currently emerging from the foliage in order to pupate.

The following article was written by John Trim in the National Vegetable Society Quarterly Bulletin. Vol.10 part 4.
The Leek moth is becoming increasingly frequent problem in Southern England and it can also attack onions. This moth is of local occurrence in Britain, being mainly found along the east and south coasts, although it does
sometimes occur, further inland. Those of us who have been troubled by this pest have found that the growing
of leeks has become exceedingly difficult. The moth produces two generations during the summer. The larvae are active during May and June and again between August and October. They feed initially as leaf miners in the foliage but as they grow they bore into the stems of the leeks and into the bulbs of onions. Once the caterpillars have penetrated deep into the tissue of the plants it is nigh on impossible to reach them with pesticides. When the larvae have finished feeding they emerge from the plant and spin net like silk cocoons, usually on the foliage. Pupae of the late summer generation are present during September to October and the adults emerge during the latter month. This pest then over-winters as an adult moth in sheltered places. Control - Examine the foliage of the plants regularly, and if you spot damage on the leaf you can usually track down the larvae and destroy them. Pay special attention to your plants from May onwards. There is currently no pesticide effective against the moth that is available to amateur gardeners. An alternative, and very effective, way to protect your crop is to grow under fleece or, even better Enviromesh. The latter is more expensive but will last many years and has the advantage of allowing air circulation and natural rainfall through to the crop. It will exclude most pests, including the egg laying females of the leek moth. I have known some exhibition growers who have installed ultra violet lights that electrocute the moths when they attempt to land. If all else fails and your crop has been badly infected you can always cut the foliage off your leeks and they will re-grow, albeit somewhat smaller. But do not try this with onions. But, realistically, if you live in an area where leek moth is prevalent the only way forward is to provide some form of physical barrier to prevent the female moth reaching the crop.
 
2005 - There is now a further threat to our leek and onion crops, the 'Allium Leaf Miner'.
For more information and detailed description visit the folllowing web site.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/allium-info.pdf
Rhubarb Forcer by John Flower
 
Constructed out of old pallets. John's instructions as follows:-
top part cut into 4, 18x22 bottom part used to fill in gaps, cost if lucky nil, unlucky hand full of nails plus some green paint.
 
....
Problem getting rid of Mares Tail?
 
Try mixing your weed killer with wallpaper paste it attaches itself to the weed and works better.
 
Tip received from David Knowles 24/04/07

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