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what’s on in your village
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
AAAHHHH Autumn is here! Our gardens, as well ourselves are taking a well-earned rest from the struggles through this year's summer heat, working so hard to produces flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Dahlias are best dug up now, as the tubers can rot if left in the wet ground over Winter, so dry them out and store somewhere dry, in boxes, wrapped in newspaper until Spring.
And so it's time to prepare our little sanctuaries for their rest and put them to bed - although, there is still other things to be done for next year - thus, the cycle goes on!
Rake over your grass - if you still have any, and cut with mower blades adjusted to a higher setting. Scarify (rake off) any thatch and leaves and give an Autumn feed that's low in nitrogen, high in potassium and phospherous, promoting strong root growth, rather than weak top growth at this time of year.
But first, the retiring of the garden for winter. Now is the time to collect seed from annuals, before pulling them out for composting. I have just discovered a seed library at my local library - what a marvellous thing!!! I have already donated to this. So if you're wondering what to do with all the seeds you've collected, look for a similar scheme near you. Don't have one? Why not set one up for your village or community great for swapping!
Have a heart for wildlife while clearing up though, and leave a few fallen apples, pears or plums for the blackbirds and robins and pile up a few logs and twigs for invertebrates. Once you've cleared up, you can see where there are gaps or opportunities to plant something new.
Perennials are a whole month's work in themselves. If you have big clumps that need controlling, they can be divided now. Dig around the rootball until it can gently be eased out. Then comes the brutal bit. Take two garden forks and place them, back to back into the middle of the clump. Ease them apart, until the clump becomes two! This can be done several times to make numerous new plants. if you don't have room for them, pot them up and sell at the garden gate, or give away to friends and neighbours. Smaller perennials can be divided less brutally simply pull them apart. Clearing and cutting back is also a major part of Autumn in the garden. Roses can be cut back hard, to give bushy growth next Spring. Check the growing conditions of other shrubs to see how and when they should be cut back - for example, hydrangeas need to retain their old flowerheads to protect the buds below from frost, but some of the old woody growth can be removed to let in air and light. Mulch around everything with homemade compost or chipped bark, to retain water and protect against the coming cold.
Autumn is the best time for planting roses, shrubs and fruit trees, when the soil is still warm and giving roots the chance to settle in and grow strong. Never considered a fruit tree? Even in a small space an apple or pear can be grown as a cordon against a wall or fence - or even along the side of a path as a stepover. The RHS has some great guides online and Rosemoor has Apple Tasting Days at this time of year, to help you choose the one for you!
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
North Devon Ramblers walks Saturday 24th October Copplestone Pop Up Walk A circular 8.5 mile walk Details TBC Meet at Copplestone train station – limited parking, train travel recommended. Train from Barnstaple at 09.35am Start Time: 10.15am Estimated Finish: 3.30pm Please refer to our website for further information: northdevonramblers.org
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CLUCK & MOO: Dig for Victory
I seem to fall into a familiar group of men (and some women) in their 60s with a fascination for the Second World War —not the horrors, but the countless factors that shaped its outcome: rapid technological innovation, global political manoeuvring, and the extraordinary bravery of those who operated behind enemy lines. For many of us, this interest stems from parents and grandparents whose stories were still fresh when we were young. My dad and his friends would cycle out to inspect crashed aircraft during the Battle of Britain, and my grandad led a team fitting H2S radar to Lancaster and Mosquito bombers. A podcast, We Have Ways of Making You Talk, has deepened my understanding. A recent episode compared wartime food production and revealed how vulnerable Germany was, with poor agricultural output, minimal mechanisation— one tractor per 1,000 acres—and pork production that competed directly with human food. A naval blockade only worsened their position. Britain, meanwhile, had allowed agriculture to decline and relied on more than 70% imported food, all at risk from U‑boats. Yet it had better mechanisation— one tractor per 300 acres—and sheep that could graze land unsuitable for crops. Crucially, Britain managed a dramatic agricultural turnaround. Farmers were pushed to produce more, gyrotillers cleared scrub for a vast plough‑up campaign, and mechanisation soared to one tractor per 20 acres by 1945. By the end of the war, Britain produced up to 90% of its food. Today, domestic production sits around 60% of our needs—likely higher in real terms
given population growth—and we enjoy foods that would be uneconomic to grow here. But how secure is our food system now?
Supermarkets have driven a “just‑in‑time” supply model, leaving us exposed to pandemics, wars, and climate‑driven disruptions. Both the NFU and NAO have urged the Government to adopt a serious food‑security strategy. The response has been tepid; the only advice I’ve heard is to keep a few days’ worth of tinned food. Meanwhile, domestic production faces pressure from competing land‑use demands—housing, clean energy, nature recovery, water management, and community development—alongside extreme weather, new diseases, and trade deals that undercut the standards our farmers must meet.
I hope it doesn’t take another war to focus our minds.
“No Foul by the Fowl” – Cluck cluckandmoo@mail.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
M: 07779 601 574 mark@map-accounting.co.uk www.map-accounting.co.uk
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
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In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com
In 4,000 rural homes,FREE every month FREE.326694 Email: ruralreach@boomboommedia.co.uk In Every Home, Every Month Call 01271 or Email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com