Dear CHAPS member,
Since I wrote in the summer we have had several events that were much enjoyed by many of our members. At the beginning of August we had the garden party which I found very enjoyable and hope everyone else had an equally good evening. We then had a very good turnout for the evening visit to Wheatley House later in the month where we had excellent weather to enjoy the colourful borders and beds. The Autumn show at the beginning of September was to our usual high standard with a good range of exhibits. Again we had some new entrants who did well in the classes they entered so hopefully they will feel inspired to enter again in the Spring show.
Our autumn talks programme begins on Thursday the 21st of September with a talk by Barry Newman on the Modern Kitchen Garden. Barry is a well known grower, exhibitor, lecturer and judge. He is Chairman of the Southern Region of the National Vegetable Society (NVS) and serves on its National Executive. As well as being a senior NVS judge, Barry is on the judging panel of the Royal Horticultural Society and South & South East in Bloom. He is also a member of the South of England Agricultural Society’s Horticultural Committee. Barry was formally trained in horticulture at Pershore, York and Bath Botanical Gardens. He lives in Partridge Green in West Sussex.
The October talk on the 19th of October is a change to that shown on the back cover of the schedule. It will be a talk on Insects and Pollination by Andrew Halstead, the RHS Principal Entomologist.
In November we have the AGM on the 16th at Quinnettes followed by a talk on Work and Wildlife in the Local Area by Matthew Cusack of the National Trust.
This year we are preparing the 2018 Schedules and Membership Cards in time for the AGM so all those who renew their membership on the evening will be given their new schedule and membership card. If I could encourage as many people to come to the AGM and pay the £5 subscription (£10 for family membership) it would be a great help to the committee as it will save a lot of shoe leather coming round to collect subscriptions individually!
One item from the new schedule that I would like to bring to your attention now is the day visit. On Wednesday the 25th of April we will be going to Arundel Castle where they are holding a Tulip Festival during April and May – over 32,000 tulips will be flowering during that period. Tickets will cost £25 per person and this includes coach travel to and from Churt and entry to the castle and gardens. It would be very helpful if members wanting to come could book and pay for their tickets as soon as possible. We will be taking bookings at the AGM so if you would like to come please bring the ticket price with you (as well as your membership fee). More information on Arundel Castle, the gardens and the tulip festival (it is in the Garden menu on the website) can be found at http://www.arundelcastle.org/ .
I look forward to seeing you at some or all of the forthcoming events.
Happy gardening!

Maggie Wright, Chairman

On Thursday 21 September CHAPS members were treated to an excellent talk by Barry Newman on the Modern Kitchen Garden. Barry is passionate about growing your own fruit and vegetables as it allows harvesting at optimum maturity, produce is high in flavour and nutrients and varieties which are too delicate for transportation and storage can be grown. The UK imports 50 % of vegetables (of which 80% arrives by air) and 95% of fruit.
There are three approaches to cultivation – Open Ground, Container Growing and Raised Beds.
Open ground is the traditional approach and is suitable for larger gardens. Compartmentalising allows for easier crop rotation. It is important not to put down paving to give clean access to the plot as snails and slugs love living under the slabs and then eat the produce you have so carefully planted.
In a small space squashes can be grown vertically up hedges or a cargo net thrown over a shed.
Vegetable growing can also be integrated with flowers.
Container growing is a very versatile way of growing where space is restricted. Pots, troughs, grow bags, old sinks can all be used. So long as the plants have access to water, nutrients and air (uncompacted ground) they will grow. Barry recommended that containers have a depth of at least 8inces or 30cm and that liquid feed is provided little and often as over feeding can slow growth down. Barry showed us several horticultural sundries he uses to grow vegetables in or to support vegetables as they grow. He sources these from LBS Horticultural Supplies.

The website address is  http://www.lbsbuyersguide.co.uk where you can either download a catalogue or request one to be sent to you.

Herbs grow well in a strawberry planter but to ensure the bottom openings also support growth put a brick at the bottom and rest a vertical length of drain pipe on it so you can get water all the way from the top of the pot to the bottom without the root system of the intervening herbs taking it all up before it reaches the bottom. Also turn the pot every week or so to allow sufficient light to reach all the plants.
Potatoes can be grown in bags with holes in the bottom let into a trench to keep them cool. Dig a trench, fork Vitax Q4 into the bottom of the trench, plant one potato at the bottom of each bag and fill with compost. The roots will go through the holes into the trench and the potatoes will grow in the bags. The recommended varieties are Kestrel, Nadine and Charlotte. Cut the leaves off a week before lifting the potatoes. Pour the compost and potatoes out, pick the potatoes and put the compost aside to use again next year. This way no potatoes are left in the ground to sprout next year. The bags can be reused for 4 to 5 years.
Raised beds, also known as deep beds use space very efficiently. The width should be around 4’6” or 140cm so the centre can be reached from both sides. The depth should be 6 to 8 inches or 20 to 30cm. Use wood chip or bark for the paths between the beds on a weed membrane. The wood chip will keep the slugs and snails away and the weed membrane will prevent worm casts and moles. Raised beds warm up quickly and drain quickly. Raised beds can be constructed from sleepers, new wood, concrete or supercrete.
With raised beds there is no soil compaction as you do not walk on the beds which means there is good soil structure, less digging and good drainage.
Barry suggested growing courgettes up 6 foot or 2 metre tree stakes. Set the stake into the ground and plant the courgette to the stake. When it starts to run lift it gently and tie very gently to the stake with bailer twine. Tie it every 4 inches or 10cm for the first 2 feet or 60cm, then tie in every 8 inches or 20cm. The courgette plant will run up on a single stem and keep the fruits off the ground. Recommended varieties are Ambassador, Venus and Defender.
The benefit of raised beds is all weather access, crops are easy to reach and crop rotation is simple – four raised beds and each year move everything round one bed.
Other tips were:
o Prune tomato trusses to 14/15 fruits and always keep the roots moist
o Plant Cobra variety French beans
o Earth up beetroot to keep the tops red and smooth
o Use a mix of 60% soil and 40% compost in containers or raised beds
o If working with raised beds apply organic matter to one bed each year – lightly fork over the surface before the end of the year, apply a 4 to 5 inch (10 to 12cm) layer of organic matter over the top, cover with weed resistant fabric and brick down the edges, leave until February, lightly fork in and plant through it

The talk was very well received by members who had many questions. We all left inspired to try out some of the techniques we had learnt about during the evening. I am looking forward to seeing the results at the shows throughout 2018.