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Moulsecoomb Allotments & Horticultural Society
MAHS News Autumn 2018
In this edition:
1. Maggoty Apples – and Pears: take action
now!
2. Shop opening times & stock
3. Butterflies this summer
4. Autumn tasks on the allotment
5. A few messages from your Site Reps
6. The Nature Site gets bigger
7. How did your crops fare in the drought?
8. Caroline’s Radish
9. Potatoes: to water or not?
10. Seedy Sunday: a date for your diary
11. Autumn Show success
12. Waiting list fee
13. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Maggoty Apples – and Pears: take action now! by Liz Yeats
Our apple crop was good this year, well we had lots of
them. The trouble was every single one contained at least
one maggot, plus loads of damage caused by the maggot!
This can’t go on! Out with the RHS book and Mr Google.
So, what insects are responsible and what can we do about
it. It seems that apple Codling moths are the main culprits,
tiny white caterpillars with brownish heads, but also to a
lesser extent Winter moth and Apple sawfly.
Apple Sawfly: (affects apples)
Easily identified as a brown ribbon-like spiral mark on the
surface of the fruits. Sawfly lays its eggs on the base of the
flower (April- May). After the petals fall, eggs hatch, & the
caterpillar tunnels into the fruit, first beneath the skin, then
down into the core. Badly damaged fruit will fall as part of
the ‘June drop’, but some may continue to grow- becoming
scarred and/or badly misshapen apples. Caterpillars are
white with brown heads.
Winter moth: (affects all tree fruit)
Adult moths emerge from pupae in the soil from late
autumn to mid winter. Males have wings and fly, females
do not. They crawl up the trunks of fruit trees, laying eggs
on the branches, binding leaves together with a silk nest for
the caterpillars in Spring. The caterpillars that hatch in late
spring are up to 1inch long, yellow green with pale lines
along their bodies. They eat fruit blossom, growth tips and
make holes in the fruitlets which become misshapen.
Codling moth: (affects apples and pears, occasionally Quince and Walnuts)
Females fly to lay eggs onto the new young fruitlets on warm
nights in early to midsummer (May- July). They hatch 2
weeks later, and the caterpillars (white with brown heads)
tunnel into the young fruit at the eye end, leaving no visible
hole. After feeding for 4 weeks, they leave the fruit to spin
cocoons beneath flakes of bark & leaf litter beneath the tree
to over winter. A few pupate into egg-laying moths in late
summer, producing a second generation in early autumn.
How to control these pests the organic way:
Grease bands: (Winter moth) wrapping bands of sticky grease tightly round the trunk of each tree
in October catches the female moth as she climbs up the trunk to lay her eggs. It will also catch
ants and any other harmless insect as they climb your tree. Remove the band in late winter, to
prevent ‘by catch’ and to stop it restricting the growth of your tree trunk. Has no effect on Codling
moth.
Winter Tree wash: (Scale insects, greenfly, red spider mite). This is a plant oil- based tree wash,
to be sprayed on trees on a mild dry days from December to spring, to reduce over wintering scale
nymphs ‘& other insects’. Scale insects can excrete sticky ‘honey dew’ on the surface of leaves,
which in turn can attract ants and ‘sooty mould’. Heavy infestations can result in poor growth.
Spraying it on thickly, and using it repeatedly over the winter seems to be indicated. I can find
nothing to indicate this helps combat ‘maggoty apples’.
Pheromone traps: (Codling Moth). An open sided box is
hung in the tree in early May. The floor of the box is
sticky - to catch insects but not birds- and a Pheromone
(scent) pellet is placed on it. The scent attracts male
Codling moths which stick to
the box and are stopped from
mating. Result, fewer eggs are
laid, fewer caterpillars hatch.
You can probably reduce fruit damage by around 40% using this method
(says Geoff Hamilton). Commercial growers use Pheromone traps to
indicate when to spray the tree with pesticides achieving 100% success
rate.
Nematodes: (for Codling Moth, Apple & Gooseberry Sawfly) Nematodes are microscopic worm-
like creatures that infect caterpillars with a fatal bacteria. Spray onto trunk and ground
surrounding each tree in Sept- Oct. As all caterpillars under the tree will become infected
(including butterflies), keep the ground under fruit trees clear, butterflies will lay their eggs on
wildflowers and grasses so should not be present on bare soil. Nematodes will only kill your
current generation of codling moth, & not ones that fly in from neighbouring fruit trees. You will
need to repeat the process each year.
Natural predators : birds, other insects or your own sharp eyes can help by picking off the
caterpillars of Apple sawfly and Winter moth, manually squashing the eggs, and picking off &
destroying small damaged apples before the caterpillars can move on to another fruitlets or drop
to the soil to pupate.
Resistant fruit varieties:
Apple sawfly: particularly susceptible varieties are Worcester Pearmain, Charles Ross, James
Grieve, Ellisons Orange. Cooking apples are rarely attacked.
Codling Moth: no apple have been found to be resistant, though early harvested varieties may
escape 2nd generation codling moth attacks. Pear varieties with ‘stone cells around the calyx’ e.g.
Bartlet, are less susceptible as the caterpillar is unable to penetrate the flesh. (No, I don’t
understand what this means either!)
So what am I going to do?
We’ve bought some nematodes to spray (3 goes at weekly intervals during October, £20, at
Nematode Direct). We will put up some Pheromone traps in Spring (one trap plus 2 pheromone
lures, enough for 5 trees, £9 from Marshalls), and put sticky bands around all apple and pear trees,
(more than enough for 6 trees £7.50 at Wyevale.) And I’m going to cross my fingers!
Shop news
The shop is now open for winter hours from 12 noon to 1 pm. It is open most Saturdays and
Sundays – the full list is available here on the Shop page of the website.
Now is time that many of you want to sow peas and broad beans, and plant garlic bulbs and onion
sets. The shop has them all at bargain prices! Meteor peas and Aquadulce broad beans, are both
at £1-30 per tub. Onion sets are £1-00 per pot – Senshyu white onions and Red Winter red onions.
Caulk White hardneck garlic costs 95p per bulb.
In previous years, the shop has opened in winter at 11am for an hour. Many of you asked for this
change to 12 noon. If you find the new time more convenient (or indeed less so) please tell the
shop volunteers. When the shop goes back to summer hours, would you prefer to have it open
from 11am – 1pm or 12—2pm? Please let us know.
Butterflies this summer
It’s been a glorious summer for butterflies. I’ve seen so many on the allotment site. By May,
everywhere was teaming with Meadow Brown’s, Common Blue, Ringlets , Skippers, gatekeepers
and Small Tortoiseshell’s. I got especially excited by seeing a couple of small coppers on our plot-
beautiful little creatures with luminous orange and brown
wings soaking up the sun on some bare ground. We also
saw a Marbled White a couple of times, not a butterfly I’ve
seen on the allotment site before and perhaps a result of
plots with long grass in which their caterpillars overwinter.
On the Nature Site we saw a few ‘firsts’ as well, the lovely
luminous green Green Hairstreak, and half a dozen or more
Orange tips (pictured here).
Autumn tasks on the allotment by Liz Yeats
Many of you will have winter crops already growing, leeks, cabbage, sprouts, kale etc need almost
no attention until the time for picking. Cabbage family do attract, aphids - green white or black can
all infest and kill off plants. Spray with a soap and water mix, or squash them.
Lettuce and other salad crops such as Miners lettuce (claytonia), or land cress can be planted now
as small seedlings in your empty green house or polytunnel, or given protection from fleece or a
Perspex sheet hooped over them. You’ll be picking them in March, or maybe even earlier if the
winter is mild.
Onions, garlic and shallots sets: especially the hardy Japanese varieties can be planted out now.
Broad beans and peas: especially hardy varieties such as Aquedulce broad beans can be planted in
the next few months. Unless we get a really hard winter you’ll get an earlier crop, the plants will
also be too tough for the black fly invasion next Spring. Early peas should escape pea moth
caterpillars.
Trees, shrubs and perennial flowers: November is the ideal time to plant or move fruit trees and
bushes. The soil is still warm, but the plants have gone into their dormant mode. They’ll get lots of
water over winter, and should develop a healthy root system by next Spring, when they’ll put all
their energy into growing new branches and fruit.
Pruning fruit trees: ‘pip' fruit (apples and pears) are pruned over winter when their leaves have
dropped. ‘Stone’ fruit, such as plums and cherries must be pruned during the growing season
(they can repair cuts to their wood faster and avoid infection from silver leaf or canker).
Grease bands, nematodes, winter tree wash: this is the time to protect next year’s fruit crop from
maggots (see article on ‘maggoty apples)
Saving seed: bean, pea and other seeds can be collected now. Put them in a paper bag to help
them dry off, and don’t leave them in your shed over winter- the mice will eat them. You’ll not
only save money on buying seeds, you’ll have seeds from plants that like your plot, and are more
likely to do well again next year.
Compost and manure: the more plants (including weeds) you have in your soil over winter, the
less the winter rain will wash away both actual soil, and nutrients. Too late now, but next Sept
plant some green manure. Phacelia is good, so are ‘winter tares’. Mustard may work but isn’t very
winter hardy. Enrich your soil for next year by spreading your own compost or getting a ‘muck’
delivery over the winter. The MAHS web site has some suppliers.
https://moulsecoomballotments.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/manure-where-to-get-manure-
locally.pdf . If you don’t have a compost heap, winter is a great time to build one.
A few messages from your Site Reps by Maureen Winder
Keeping paths clear and safe
Please make sure the paths around your plot are looked after. If the grass gets very overgrown or
stones and lumps of earth are thrown onto the paths, they can quickly become inaccessible and
dangerously slippery. It is hard to show new tenants around when sections of paths are badly
maintained and plot boundaries can become confused.
Numbering your plot
Just a reminder to make sure you number your plot. Numbers can easily be mounted on your shed
or painted on a block of wood. If your plot isn't numbered it is possible for mistakes to arise during
the inspection process and you could get a notice letter intended for someone else.
A chance to meet us
If you need to ask us any questions or raise a concern about your plot, we will be available for a
chat at the shop on the last Saturday of each month. We will bring all the relevant forms in case
you want to register a co-worker or make changes to your tenancy agreement. Please do get in
touch by email at any time if you need help or advice on any allotment issue. (Contact details for
your Site Reps are available here )
The Nature Site gets bigger!
We have cleared the brambles from another patch of
ground and are about to make a second, larger, pond on
the Nature Site. The existing small pond has been a real
success, immediately inhabited by frogs and visited by
bees and birds for a drink. We hope that a larger pond will
attract dragonflies and damselflies to lay their eggs among
the plants - their larvae live and feed in the pond before
emerging as adults. We shall also be planting another
short hedge of native trees and shrubs, providing a source
of food for the caterpillars of several species of butterflies which visit the site.
If you haven’t visited the site, come and have a look. The entrance is from the car park by the
shop. Several plot-holders already go and sit there to watch and listen. In fact lots of people really
like the site - we’re very pleased to get help from time to time from volunteers from Sussex
Wildlife Trust and one of the City Council’s Rangers groups, and they all ask to come back! Indeed
3 of them are now regulars at our monthly work sessions. If you think you might like to join us, just
email me (Dave) or Liz to find out when the next session is.
How did your crops fare in the drought?
Like everyone else, we had to water much more this summer.
Despite that, yields were considerably lower especially our
soft fruit. For the past 2 years I’ve been recording the weight
of our crops as part of the Team Pollinate citizen science
project. Strawberries and blackcurrants were particularly hit,
weighing under half of 2107 crop. Gooseberries, raspberries,
tomatoes also suffered. Pumpkins weighed less than a third. But beans did well and courgettes
just kept coming – enough for lunch, dinner, breakfast and more!
Potatoes: to water or not?
Like most people we’ve always kept our spuds well watered during their growing period. But
earlier this year we went to a talk at Seedy Sunday by Chris Pennard from Pennard Plants, a
specialist potato grower. He said ‘No need to water potatoes’ so we didn’t!
We gave them NO water at all and they had very little rain.
But our crop averaged 1.5 kilos (just over 3lbs) per root. And
little or no scab! We grew Lady Balfour and Golden Wonder,
with a few Epicure as earlies.
Seedy Sunday: a date for your diary If you don’t know Seedy Sunday, it’s a great event
where you can swap seeds, buy plants and seeds and hear interesting talks by expert speakers.
You can find out more and sign up to their mailing list at http://seedysunday.org/
The next Seedy Sunday is on February 3rd 2019, 10:30-4:00.
Caroline’s radish!
Yes, it really is a radish - not a mis-shapen beetroot!
The Autumn Show by Heidi Green
It was wonderful to see so many allotmenteers at our first
Autumn show in a few decades. It was a lovely way for us all
to meet each other and talk about what we have grown. It
was lovely to have one of our plot holders, Nicola, to judge
along with Heather and Hannah who both have plots
elsewhere in Brighton and also the volunteers who helped
on the day like Joe, a co worker, and Maureen and Richard.
There were some fantastic
entries and huge
congratulations to Sally for her Blackberry Jam which won best in
show. She will be holding on to the silver trophy until our summer
show when it will be handed out again. We also wanted to give
thanks again to Brighton Community compost for donating some
wonderful compost and manure that were wheelbarrowed to the
winning plots.
There will be a Summer show sometime in June and a date and
location will go out in January next year. The categories for the
Summer show are now out and available in the shop or on the website so do have a look and find
something interesting you can grow for our next show. Remember there is something for
everyone in the show even if things don't do well - as Alyson can certainly vouch for after her first
prize of her bottom-looking squash.
Footnote from Dave
Lots of people who took part in the Autumn Show have told me how well run it was and how
much they enjoyed it. Clearly a big success – congratulations to Heidi!
________________________________________________________________________________
Waiting list fee
When you apply for an allotment you have to pay a one-off fee unless you are
over 60, a student, or receiving certain benefits. The fee is currently £16 but is
set to rise each year. The MAHS committee feels that this is a lot of money to
people on low incomes who don’t qualify for the concession. The fee does
seem to be having a deterrent effect as numbers applying to our site have
dropped. This came up at the AGM in April and the Council’s Allotment officer, Bruce Riach, told
us that the fee would be reviewed. The committee has recently written to Bruce asking for the
review to be carried out soon and proposing a fee of £5 or at most £10.
Do you know of anyone who has been put off by the waiting list fee? Please let us know at
[email protected] – this could help us persuade the Council to reduce the fee.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Sharron Davis of the Roundhill Society has produced a short but very detailed guide to recycling.
Although it is aimed at her community area it is relevant to the whole city and is useful guide to
recycling plastic and other waste from your allotment plot (and of course from your home). The
guide is available here on the website.
This newsletter was compiled by Liz Yeats & Dave Witts
on 15th October 2018
You can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time by contacting us at [email protected]
If you like this newsletter, why not tell other plot-holders about it.
The newsletter can be downloaded from our website
https://moulsecoomballotments.wordpress.com/