THE speaker at the September meeting of The Littleton and Harestock Gardening Club was the club president, Ray Broughton, whose topic at the well attended meeting was ‘Interesting Plants and New Ideas for 2015’.
A lecturer at Sparsholt College for many years, and now at Wisley, Ray has a wide knowledge, both theoretical and practical, delivered with gentle humour to an appreciative audience.
The list of many useful tips included cleaning tools with tomato ketchup, spraying with milk as an insecticide, painting woolly aphids with malt vinegar and a new method for making liquid fertilizer.
Colourful slides also depicted carrots grown in oil drums, celery plants in a pipe, lagging around leeks and plant pots made of new material that stays free from algae, as well as carbonized wood that stays intact and is a good material for garden features.
Concluding an absorbing talk, Ray reminded us that blue cornflowers last longer and attract bees, a concern for us all.
Derek Phillips acknowledged the success of the club's stall at the Littleton and Harestock Show on September 6, and Sally Macer, club secretary, presented details of the monthly sales table and the schedule for the Spring Flower Show on Wednesday, March 18 2015.
The next meeting at The Millennium Hall will be on the October 15 when the speaker will be Jill Daniels, with the topic ‘Tales from the Banks of the River Itchen’.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here