For information on talks to gardening clubs - click here

JUNE 2010

Asparagus is one of those magical seasonal crops which will be coming to an end around the 21st of this month. If you don’t grow your own then get down to a place where it is grown locally and grab a bunch of spears for a summertime treat. And don’t be disturbed if your wee comes out a bit smelly afterwards. This is purely natural! Asparagus is a diuretic which cleans the liver. A strong whiff means that your organs are functioning correctly. It can be quite pungent, though: the Victorians called this by-product Chambermaid’s Nightmare.

As one thing finishes so another begins… think new potatoes, which should be ready from the time flowers appear over the next few weeks. And broad beans. And peas! Oh, the list gets longer and that is what it’s all about. Fantastic. I love it when we get spoilt for choice and the days are long-long-long.

The Computer Trouble Shooter and I are sitting side by-side at the table as I type this. We’re going to have a go at re-jigging a few things here in Dirty Nails-ville. I hope you can navigate easily and find plenty of stuff to keep you interested and amused.

Good luck in the garden and in life.

Best wishes, Joe Hashman

Aka Dirty Nails

DIRTY NAILS ON YOUTUBE

I've been working with Colin Cox from Gillingham on making short, instructive edible gardening snippets with video. It's early days in the project but we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves (which is the main thing!). I really have no idea how its all going to pan out but he's loaded a few bits and bobs onto YouTube for general consumption.

Practical Advice to Help Housemartins

My favourite bird is the house martin. These are the little fellows who frequent towns and villages all over this region from late spring until autumn. They entertain us with acrobatic aerial displays and a sweet bubbling chatter from under the eaves of country cottages and urban terraces. Here, cheek-by-jowl with human company, they construct enclosed, semi-circular nests. Fuelled by insect protein, the next generation of house martins is raised. In a good year two broods may be forthcoming. By October, with the passing of summer, they are gone. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rolling seasons, the changing colours and sounds, the naturally occurring ebb and flow of life itself. But when these chirpy black and white minstrels fly south to their over-wintering quarters in sub-Saharan Africa, I am sad. The long, cold season has its attractions but like many I look forward with rose-tinted glasses to the next time they’ll visit.

Read more...

Talks to Gardening Clubs

I am giving talks to Gardening Clubs in Dorset and Somerset in the coming months. If you would like to book me please get in touch, initially via email. The talk can last for anything up to an hour, is accompanied by pictures, and entitled Establishing & Maintaining An Allotment. I am happy to answer questions too. My charge is £80 per event plus 40 pence per mile travel. 

Worrying news about bees

China
The Stirling-based Bumblebee Conservation Trust reports some worrying news from China in its latest newsletter, 'Buzzword' (Issue Number 7).

The environmentally disastrous effects of pesticide overload and intensive farming practices have wiped out so many bees that humans are now employed to pollinate crops. In Sechuan Province, notable for its centuries-old tradition of cultivating pears, villagers are forced to climb trees with feathers and pots of pollen to do the job that bees once did.

Britain
Gardeners in this country may be unwittingly killing bees too.

It is apparent that some pre-packed composts sold for domestic use contain insecticides. Being what is called 'systemic', they are taken up by the growing plants which become completely poisonous themselves.

Look out for well-known brand names claiming to have "Vine Weevil Control" or similar. These are the ones to avoid as its not just vine weevils which suffer. Without bees we will be in serious trouble.

More on www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.org

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