Bridge of Weir Horticultural Society

February, and Spring, is beckoning! An old carving fork is ideal for removing random weeds and seedlings, but leave clumps of leaves alone - horticultural opinions now believe we destroy over-wintering butterfly chrysalis and larvae by being too tidy! Also leave last year’s stems and flower heads in situ for overwintering insects. The cold weather has taken its toll - time will tell what has survived. Remember a lost plant creates an opportunity for a new one and right now, gardeners are buzzing with ideas! During dull days, check garden implements and tidy the potting shed. On a sunnier day, turn over and rake borders, cover with cardboard or matting then peg it down. This will help warm up the soil for earlier planting.

If you haven’t got a compost bin, create one. Choose a metal incinerator with the most holes, attach the legs and place in a sunny spot. Sprinkle in some garden soil (an organic accelerant in its own right!) and then add green kitchen and garden waste. A good mix is best –wrap peelings etc in newspaper and drop it in. Left-over cooked vegetables can go in, as long as these are free from oil, butter and sauces (which would attract rodents). Cutting up outer leaves from cabbages or fibrous stalks from broccoli into smaller chunks will speed up composting. Also add coffee grains and tea leaves (no bags!), include cardboard rolls from kitchen paper etc or egg cartons and pull apart to trap air. Don’t worry about slugs – the slightly greenish spotted Leopard Slugs are the ‘goodies’ and eat other slugs. Fruit flies in the summer mean successful composting as does the sight of tiny, red brandling worms! Place a mat or cardboard over everything, replace the lid and let things develop. From time to time, if you can, push a bamboo cane through the holes and move it around to aerate everything. In 6 months you should have lovely dark compost pushing through those holes!