Death by Lights

I find it very difficult to walk past a tree without noticing its state of health, and whether it has been planted correctly. This must be something that has been ingrained in me after years training at Hillers Arboretum, looking at ailing plant samples as a horticultural advisor for the Royal Horticultural Society. I feel I also have a ‘maternal’ instinct to ensure that plants and in particular trees are able to grow for our future.

I was in Osterley in London looking at trees within a corporate headquarters when I noticed what could be only described as death by lights. Often trees have been planted and supported with a tree stake and rubber tie. These ties unfortunately are often forgotten about and not loosened off as the girth of the tree increases. This is a simple task but has such major consequences if not done. On this occasion the tree in question had established well. The trees along the boundary of the property had been decorated with strings of fairy lights. As with tree ties, these need to be loosened off and checked twice a year during the growing season ensure that the girth of tree is not expanding against the cabling which constricts the vascular tissue underneath the bark. It is not too late for this tree but many trees have been lost before now.

 http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2010/02/22-trees-growing-around-objects.html


Barbed wire, railing and estate fencing are often found engulfed in boundary trees. Generally this does not cause too much damage as there is no constricting of the vascular tissue of the tree. Once the tree has covered the object, the vascular tissue repairs and continues to work. Constriction all the way round prevents vascular movement up and down and in due course causes decline and often death.

There are some wonderful images of trees that have enveloped items that have been growing in close proximity. Please click on the link below just to see some truly remarkable objects.

Experienced and delicate plucker available

Please contact me if you would like to utilise our highly skilled and experinced resident plucker. Our fox continues to be able to remove the feathers from our feathered potato scarers on a nightly bases. The potatoes continue to be unharmed.

Now that all of our heritage potato varieties have been lifted from the kitchen garden we have spent a day ploughing the bed with the aim of removing the compacted layers of soil which continue to cause us cultivation problems.

Our new single furrow reversible plough attaches onto our BCS740 two-wheel tractor supplied by tracmaster. Please click on the link below for further details on this piece of equipment and the available attachments.
http://www.tracmaster.co.uk/BCS-740-Two-Wheel-Tractor.html

Once the bed had been cultivated, Nicola and James raked the bed level removing some surplus stone. The bed was then consolidated by performing a very amusing to watch, "gardeners shuffle". This is where the gardeners walk across the bed walking on their heels moving forward at a very slow pace with feet together across the area. This consolidates the soil lightly and effectively. Once this was completed the gardeners then used landscape rakes to produce a fine tilth ready for sowing.

Our intention for this bed is to grow a green manure during the winter months which will then be dug in following cutting in early spring. The green manure will help to stabilise the soil during the winter months while also adding organic material to the soil which in time will increase the humus level within the soil. The particular green manure that we have selected is a Winter Mix Green Manure containing Crimson Clover, Mustard, Red Clover and Italian Ryegrass. Please click on the link below for further details regarding this green manure.

http://www.sowseeds.co.uk/green-manure-seeds/winter-mix-green-manure-seeds.html

The morning, after sowing, upon arrival to the kitchen garden the area was covered with pigeons slowly but surely undoing all this hard work. Birds are generally not an issue for us however we have decided to install some wonderful Victorian bird scarers to help reduce their presence in this area.

Nicola discovered this particular technique some time ago while reading through Victorian kitchen garden references.

Nicola suspended six potatoes from arching bamboo stems placed around the vegetable bed. Each potato has between 10 and 15 feathers stuck in them giving the impression of a bird. The feathers help the potato to move and swaying upon the pendulum. At present this appears to be keeping the pigeons away. Although this cannot be said for all the wildlife. On the second morning of the new bird scarers one had been detached from it's bamboo cane and taken several metres away. The feathers had been removed. We believe this to be the activity of a fox as all those feathers were removed and the potato was effectively unharmed. The long potato tubers of the pink fir apple proves be very effective and almost give the impression of a very large hummingbird when it bobs back and forth.