Our March speaker, Mr. Andrew Babicz, gave an interesting talk full of ideas on Seasonal Container Gardening.

Using slides to illustrate his talk, members were shown how containers, of all shapes and sizes, can be used for flowers, fruit, vegetables, and trees to add height and colour to a garden, as well as providing a home-grown harvest throughout the growing season. John Innes No.3 was recommended as the growing medium but containers need to be fed regularly, with tomato or diluted seaweed feed being the best.

Throughout the talk members were given lots of tips eg. by placing a Jeyes cloth over the drainage hole and holding it in place by crocks this will prevent beasties from entering but will allow the pot to drain and in large pots if only planting bulbs or bedding plants, after covering the hole use polystyrene, plastic pots or drink cans to fill the space, and then add the soil.

Terracotta pots are expensive but are prone to cracking if the winter weather is harsh, a repair paste from DIY Stores, Amazon, and garden centres called “Milliput Terracotta Putty” was recommended. Once filled, containers are very heavy, and purchasing or making a stand with wheels to move the pots around the garden was recommended.