Topsham Allotments and Gardens Society

JOBS TO DO IN THE GARDEN IN NOVEMBER 2024
    1. Put frost protection around tender plants or move into the house or greenhouse.
    2. Raise containers onto “feet” to stop water clogging and keep the bottom of pots out of water and the compost from freezing.  Insulate outdoor                        containers from frost – bubble wrap works well.
    3. Plant tulip bulbs and other bulbs in situ for a Spring display and sow all pea varieties in the greenhouse or cold frame.
    4. Prune roses to prevent wind-rock if you haven’t already done so.
    5. Stop Winter Moth damage to fruit trees using grease bands around the trunks.
    6. Put out bird feed and water to encourage winter birds into the garden.
    7. Use seasonal bonfires – where allowed – to dispose of debris unfit for composting. If conditions are too wet for bonfires and going on the soil, then              spend your time turning your compost heaps to improve aeration and speed up the composting process, as good as a visit to the gym!
    8.  Cover brassicas with netting.
    9. Put a support system in place for raspberry canes before planting. This is a good time to move raspberry runners into tidier rows.
    10. Plant bare root trees and shrubs and it is a perfect time to plant hedging.
    When the weather is too bad to be outside, enjoy the garden catalogues inside and plan for next year.

On 14 January 2024 the team, which has been laying the Butts Park hedge alongside Elm Grove Road in short spells each winter since 2017, finally completed the task of laying around 140 metres of dying elm hedge. This 7 year project spearheaded by hedge layer and chainsaw wizard, Derek Hazelden, has been supported by a small but tight knit team of TAGS members/allotment tenants and interested others in varying numbers for each season of work. (Note, no laying done during COVID). Financial assistance and some practical help has come from the council, TAGS and the Woodland Trust for which we are very grateful. Also note, the council has promised to take down the remaining 3 medium/large dead elm trees next to the entrance.

On 18 February 2024, a number of the volunteers and allotment tenants joined a short meeting at Butts Park with coffee and pastries to celebrate reaching the ‘finishing line’ and also to plant some 150 tree whips in the hedge. These small trees were grown from seed collected by Sarah Piercy, who has the wheelchair adapted plot at Butts Park. She collects seeds from local trees, as she keeps fit while wheeling round the local area, and then plants them in her raised beds and nurtures them for a year or two. A massive thank-you to Sarah and all those who participated in this project. It has been quite demanding work but the fruits of all their labour shows in the revitalised hedge in all its different stages along the hedgerow.

We felt this project was important because hedgerows have an important place in our landscape, particularly in such a prominent location in Topsham. It acts as a screen, protection and barrier. Moreover, the environmental benefits such as more varied habitats for plants and animals, ecosystem diversity, wildlife corridor function etc. are well known. The logical conclusion of no action is shown in the car park inside Butts Park Allotments where there is just a grassy hedge bank.