Grass Clippings
Grass Clippings – Peter Bradburn, Course and Grounds Manager
Spring has sprung
With the arrival of spring we have swung from one extreme to another with a cold, dry spell now vexing us. You would think that after the wettest winter on record we had enough water in the soil but in various fine turf areas we are now hand watering to save the turf from dehydration. This is mainly due to the properties of greens and lawns and how they were constructed, to be as free draining as possible and stop water ‘ponding’ at the surface.
Keeping calm and carrying on
The Grounds Team are working well under lockdown and we are following safety guidelines for greenkeeping / ground maintenance as advised by the R&A and BIGGA. We are restricting activities to only what is required to manage the surface using rotating crew shift patterns for social distancing. Despite all this, we have been very productive over the last few weeks as a department. Chris has finished the turfing on croquet lawn three and we are now top dressing the lawns to help with the levelling up of the slightest borrows and falls. On the tennis courts, the Air Hall was dismantled this week and we shall deep clean the poraflex courts. The golf course team have also been busy and the regular spring top dressing of the fairways with sand has been completed. The greens that remained on temporary positions for some weeks this wet winter, will be deep cored to improve drainage in the future. We are continuing regular feeding programmes on all turf areas to ensure they remain in good condition. Thankfully, a plus of the current cold, dry period is that it is limiting the grass growth. A warm, wet spring on the course would have become a veritable ‘grass factor’ which would have been a testing time for all under the current restrictions.
The spring bulbs in the gardens are starting to come to life with the first wave of narcissi popping up. I must pay tribute to all the course and grounds staff who have been exemplary and flexible during these trying times. We shall endeavour to keep the course and grounds in fabulous condition awaiting your return as soon as restrictions are lifted.
Seeds online
As workers nationwide stay at home and turn their attentions to other activities on a domestic front, to remain sane, the home improvement industry has seen a big uplift in sales and particularly the gardening mail order companies have found interest has risen by 4,000% in some cases. Mail order suppliers are filling the gap after the Government reclassified garden centres as ‘non-essential retail ‘ during this period and so, as long as you are receiving regular postal deliveries, many novice gardeners are ‘having a go’ at growing items such as vegetables or undiscovered flower species while they have time on their hands. Here are just a few companies still delivering:
Suttons’ Seeds – by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, is one of the UK oldest surviving seed merchants having been established in 1806. Dobies Seeds were incorporated into the same company a number of years ago but the still produce a separate seed catalogue.
Unwin’s Seeds – formed in 1903 by William Unwin by selling sweet pea seeds. Now owned by Westland Horticulture since 2004 which also owns Marshalls Horticulture.
Mr Fothergill’s Seeds – from the stable block of Lillie Langtry’s former Newmarket home in 1978, Mr Fothergill’s began selling seed to garden shops and centres and today also distributes to the wider domestic market.
Thompson & Morgan (T&M) – is an independently-owned company based in Ipswich, Suffolk founded in 1855
Other companies currently trading:
Chrysanthemums Direct
Organiccatalogue.com
Gardening Express
ashridgetrees.co.uk for soft-fruit-bushes
Architectural plants of Pulborough
info@barchamtrees.co.uk for tree deliveries
Good for you gardening
There is a wealth of evidence to prove that gardens and working outdoors is good for your mental, physical and social wellbeing. During lockdown, keeping sane and active at home is more important than ever. Being outside and exposed to natural sunlight not only boosts your vitamin D levels but studies have shown it also improves mental and physical health and disorders such as high blood pressure and depression related disorders. Although we are all fastidious about hygiene and reducing our exposure to viruses being out in the garden and being exposed to the soil is better for us than being in fear of it. Contact with soil particles gives us exposure to beneficial microbes, helping the immune systems work more efficiently by dosing the body to small amounts of micro-bacteria so an immunity builds up a knowledge of what’s good and what could be a potential threat in the future. The phenomenon, called the human microbiome has helped the human race build up a natural resistance to many conditions which due to the wide spread use of antibiotics, pasteurised food and far less contact with the soil, as children has led to some conditions becoming more prevalent in since the end of the Second World War. The 1940’s was a time we re-found an interest in market gardening and horticulture in general, out of necessity and the need to feed the country. The ‘DIG FOR VICTORY’ slogan was not a hollow one, with Britain dependent on vital supplies of food, notably from North America and the Empire. These goods were transported in thousands of merchant ships, which were vulnerable to attack by German submarines. What could be grown at home was a vital part of the effort to feed a nation under rationing restrictions. The post war era was also the hay day for gardening, as society needed a sense of pride in the domestic setting. The feeling of pride is a powerful emotion that is as crucial today as eighty years ago and one that can be achieved by tending to a green space. The sense of purpose and ownership gardening can give in troubled times has been proven to increase self-confidence and enhance positivity. Watching seeds grow can give a real sense of fulfilment and progression as plants develop and flourish. Psychologists believe that gardening goes beyond the immediate effects of a confidence boost, it improves mental health by allowing us to express our own identity. Growing plants for food in the garden or a tomato plant on a windowsill makes an individual feel useful by doing a meaningful task and while working in tune with the seasons.
In your garden
Now is the time to repot house plants that are looking a little pot bound. Never over size a plant into a too larger container, always try to find the next size up rather than one that the plant is dwarfed by. It is also a good time to look at growing herbs for the garden and making your selection for the year. Herbs don’t have to be relegated to a different part of the garden, they can be incorporated into a bed or border and live alongside other plants where there is a space available. Plant bulbs and corms for summer flowering now. The like of gladiolus, Eucomis and galtonia are prime examples of getting your fix of colour in summer. Plant seed potatoes directly into well prepared seeded beds now and then beetroot, carrots and leeks are soon to follow for planting out. As the frosts ease, peas and spring onions are to follow plants out into the garden. For those who feed the birds, with nesting season upon us be very careful with the type of titbits available to our feathered friends – avoid whole nuts and large chunky morsels that might harm fledgling birds.