May & June 2024

Worplesdon Garden Club is a friendly and enthusiastic club which meets every second Tuesday of the month from 8-10pm in the Old Church, Emmanuel Parish Centre, Stoughton, Guildford, GU2 9SJ with doors open from 7.45pm.

About Worplesdon Garden Club

Membership is only £15 for the year from January (£8 from July) and includes a full schedule of speakers throughout the year, plus a range of social events including Garden Visits, Lunches, Barbecues, and Horticultural Shows. Please see the club website, www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk, for more details. Visitors (£3) and new members are always welcome.

Club News:

Tuesday 11th June
Club Meeting in June
Eddie Bailey – ‘The Soil Food Web’.

Tuesday 9th July
Club Meeting in July
Cindy Smulders – ‘Swan Lifeline’.

For more information on Worplesdon Garden Club contact Tim Bonnert on 01483 237702, info@worplesdongardenclub.co.uk, or visit www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk where you can read our latest Club Newsletter – www.worplesdongardenclub.co.uk/newsletters

There is a full programme of events throughout the year and we have a Summer Show where the cups and trophies the Club has inherited from the days of the village shows in early 1900’s are presented.

Gardening hints and tips for June and July

• All half-hardy annuals and tender vegetables can be planted out now that the risk of frost has passed. The warming soil and long days of summer will mean they will grow rapidly.
• New growth on all plants will however, be a magnet for slugs and snails. Only Slug Pellets containing Ferric Phosphate are approved for use but not all slugs do damage to your plants, so try to use a Garlic wash or other natural methods of control (including encouraging wildlife) to limit damage by slugs and snails.
• Warm days and nights will bring on your plants but also all the unwanted weeds too, so keep on top of these opportunistic weeds by regular hoeing on dry days.
• Keep the greenhouse well-ventilated and water regularly as warm days and rapidly growing plants will dry out the compost very quickly.
• Mow lawns regularly, especially if June is an unusually wet month. Moss and broadleaf weeds may still be treated in early June but most treatments require rain shortly after application so time any application appropriately.
• The new growth of herbaceous perennials will require staking, tying, or a plant support to keep them from sprawling or being damaged in the wind. It is better to put the supports in place before they are needed by the tall plants.
• Prune early flowering shrubs such as Deutzia, Philadelphus and Weigela (RHS Pruning Group 2) after flowering and certainly before the middle of June to allow time for the new growth that follows to harden and bear flowers next year.
• For all your flowering plants, remember to deadhead as often as you can to prolong flowering.
• In the vegetable garden, plant out sweetcorn in blocks rather than rows to help with wind pollination of the cobs and continue the succession sowing of salad crops for a continuous supply throughout the summer.
• Pinch side-shoots of cordon (indeterminate) tomatoes and continue to tie in the stems to a cane or twist around a suspended string.
• Feed annual and perennials, all plants growing in tubs or containers fortnightly, and tomatoes and cucumbers weekly with a high potash/potassium (K) liquid fertiliser.
• Keep all pots, containers, and hanging baskets well-watered and do not get the compost dry out completely.
• Pick fruit and vegetables regularly – this is especially true for beans and peas that will reduce or stop flowering as mature pods ripen, and for courgettes that will become marrows if left too long on the plants.