lural Life so tar - blazing temperatures earlier in
the month, a hosepipe ban m'id-month, following which It has seemed like non-
he county! ^
Welcome ■
ELLO and welcome to the July issue of Rural Life.
! And what a month khncKvii;, - And what a month is has been -M= ^ ^h ow tim e ! 'i -W
Fortunately the area covered by this SS magpne’s circulation has not seen any L i l
therewasonl a r r t ; S e T t m l S w S J ? T ^
the show and the fun day hugelccess (see our’sD S '''* “‘^ On the social scene RibchLter hns
artsfestival, with colourful oolitichn Ann vv / r sp r e a d o fp ic tu r e sS iS
you can learn more^abmUHoni^vd™^ panyfrom Woodplumpton.^^ '
all the rurahrelated^boofa we .. opportunity to win copies of “' annual music and gardening advice, and
tstop ram, with deluges in some parts of ^Sll^feviewed *- bWtV», V»B
f’'*****'' I I feoSMMW . (U
•■‘' ’i*' JtdyMlO - r I J a C : '^ - ;L
in at the end of the month and, as"^! sus pected, it was a light crop, only two thirds of the number of bales as last year. Now it’s St Swithin’s Day (yes, I’m on about
I ’ 7). / '' some rain distii”.
winch i f that it rain they do say, Fuii 40 days after it wiii. Or more oriess
I So, it rather looks as thouah we are going to ‘catch as catch can’ getting the rest of the grass harvest in.
One field 1 have fenced off for silage had
been grazed by the last of the lambs -and I think they took exception to being moved.
Every time 1 turned my back they had
squeezed though a different tiny gap and were back in there. Well, 1 got fed up of that game and moved them to the other side of the farm-that’ll teach them!
, All my regulars know that during late July
, f begin to look at my flock in preparation for next year s lambing. You will also remember that t’Missis keeps
a close eye on any forays to the auction at this time just in case I try to sneak back with a
couple of extra pens of ewes Well, I think I’ve capped her this year....
at foot (the ewe and her lambs are sold as a nf 7Happy reading -and good wishesfor the rest of the summer,
" R ic U id /H d c i i ih Editor
^ ‘lambs
hmL ^ were very good half Texel lambS’ so I am going to keep the ‘gimmers’ sheep) and breed from them.
. ^ I his IS a new experiment for me, as 1 have f ’ways bought in all my breeding sheep but
en“ afg°ed eniarsed riock unti ^t ic t^r. "otice the t j ?j _ have far fewer than the last couple of years!
the weather again) and although it is sunny at the moment it has been raining. Poor Robin’s Almanac of 1697 tells us “In this month is St Swithin’s Diiv, On
MADE a big mistake last month didn’t 1? I wished for a couple of good down pours and I certainly got my wish!
We managed to get the first big bales July, 2010Rural Life _ ^ g e3 _ They arc left in the hedges and when thev
take over the pasture it is veiy difficult forthe stock to pasture properly, so the ground soon becomes rank with other weeds
The other weed 1 make sure 1 have
removed any visible trace of is ragwort If it gets into the riicadows and is inadvertentiv
lethal to cows. Horses are even more affected by It and a veiy small amount can kill them. I found a van load had grown in an area of
mbble and soil used to fill in a gateway. Please pull up any bits of this toxic weed you come across, dispose of it safely and pass
the word to anyone who doesn’t know of its dangers. It IS now the main calving time for dairy
tarmers and the nursery pens are filling up. t *0 calve during the summer are”some
ot the older milk cows producing the pure bred dairy cattle, later on the heifers will calve, usually to a beef bull like an Aberdeen Angu,s which gives a smaller calf. By the end of the summer there will be
a multitude of different coloured calves around the farm.
Again I have to refer to one of my com
ments from last month; I didn’t think the raspbernes were doing so well.
Cancel that, they are two feet above the
canes and are producing buckets full even- aay. I m hoping for a pie which is normally
to ° c o o k r a s p b e r r i e s are too precious On the other hand, the normally very pro-
-strange isn’t it?
ouctive loganberry is giving a veiy poor crop ^
How to help your garden survive the hosepipe ban
^HIS time of the year, 1 realty just sit back on my patio and enjoy the garden, especially all the
tubs and containers which arc full of flower, like the agapan- thus, marguerites, fuchsias and the many dark-leaved dahlias I have which are just stunning at the moment. I also really enjoy ray lawn. I just
love grass in a garden - not only does it soften the overall look, it also has other benefits. The main and really important
one for me is that it provides some where for my little girl to play. At only SK months old, she won’t
be playing on it much this year, but next year I will get great enjoy ment watching her run around, starting to experience the joys of the garden and all those plants and flowers - which is just how I got started. The lawn will need a bit more
care this time of year, especially if there’s not much rain about. So raise the blades on your mower before cutting fine lawns, which will help reduce drought stress. Also try mowing lightly and
frequently, so that short grass clippings can remain on the lawn during the summer to act as mois ture-retentive mulch. If you can manage to put down
your beer and get off the sun lounger, there are a few jobs you can be getting on with.
CoiTie and visit our showroom with Q Wide range of...
• Hardwood flooring .St felISfi
Editorial Richard Machin, Editor
Tel: 01995 605910. Email
Advertising - - Mark Fry, Advertising Mt Tel; 01772 838050. Email:
Tel. 01524 8j4015 / 01772 554528' Email;
mark.morkin@
lmnews.co.uk
Newspaper Sales/Distribution tI f
Manager __,35; t i
% *S l' i l iS l i
: ?^'^°"gRd;Claughlon-on-Btocic .Preston PR30GA;
Telephone: 01995 64056A 01995640793
Email garstang@ge-robinsoncouk ^ 't®S ' ' '^ • a a r s t a n g t im b e r . c o .u k
• Stair parts- me spindles, ballustrodes, newell posts etc
• Velux windows
• Underfloor heating • Interior and exterior doors
• Large timber slocks for prompt dekery Alf ready for those winter projects ^ >
. By MATT HOWARD, of Barton Grange '
Hebes and lavenders can be
given a light prune after flowering. Continue to deadhead shrubs and roses, as this should extend flow ering into early autumn. Rambling and climbing roses can be pruned once they have finished flowering. Don’t neglect tubs and hanging
baskets; deadheading, watering and ifeeding will help them last through until autumn. Keep dead heading dahlias and penstemons, too. I resist cutting the flower heads
off ornamental grasses as it gives me something interesting to look at in the winter months.
1 will be harvesting my sweet-
corn and other vegetables as they arc now becoming ready. As I love strawberries, I am now
lifting and potting up rooted straw berry runners and also preparing my new strawberry beds, so I will have even more next year. Keep ponds and water features
topped up. Pile the removed pond weed by the side of the pond for 24
hours to allow pond life to crawl back into the water and then put on the compost heap. Aerate the water in hot sticky weather by leav ing fountains on overnight. Shallow water features or those
with water washing over cobbles can become green very quickly in summer weather, so algaecides may need applying more fre quently than in normal ponds. As we’ve had the driest start to
the year since records began, we need to be sensible about watering the garden. There is a hosepipe ban, but all is not lost. Here are my ten tips for surviving the ban: 1. Don’t worry about your lawn.
Your grass will not die if it’s not watered. Yes, it will turn brown and won’t look so good, but it will recover. 2. Don’t cut your lawn too short.
It will survive the hot dry weather much better if it is a little longer. 3. If rain is forecast, make a
few holes in your lawn with a garden fork to help the moisture penetrate.
PLANT OFTHE MONTH: Dahlia Kelvin Floodlight produces up to 15 large flowers per plant
4. Try not to worry about the
established plants in your garden - most of your trees, shrubs and established perennials should be able to survive with very little water. 5. You can still use a watering
can to water your pots, bedding and new plantings which are not yet established 6. Water in the evening, so
the moisture won’t evaporate so quickly. 7. Move your pots to a more
shady area if you can - again to maximise moisture levels. 8. Use grey water (such as your
washing up water) to water your plants. 9. Apply a mulch to your beds
and borders to help preserve any moisture there is. 10. If you don’t already have
one, get a water butt and start collecting rainwater - let’s face it, there has been plenty since the ban began! ■ My Plant of the Month for
August is the amazing dahlia ‘Kelvin Floodlight’ - a truly stunning dahlia with eye-pop- pingly large flower heads in a cheerful sunshine yellow. It can’t fail to brighten your day.
competition, our monthly quest to find the green welly hidden somewhere in your Rural Life magazine. The June winner correctly
stated that the welly (disguised in white this time) was on page five of last month’s edition. ‘Where’s Welly?’ is back this
month and, as ever, the idea is simple. Just look through this
month’s Rural Life and spot the little green welly icon hidden somewhere - it could be in an article or on a picture, so look
. carefully! Once you find the Rural Life
welly, fill in the coupon telling us which page you think the welly is on, with your name, address and daytime phone number. We have a new sponsor for
Where’s Welly? in the shape of Garstang firm C and C Supplies (Collinson Ltd), the builders’ and plumbers’ merchants.
The company will be provid
ing the sender of the winning entry with a pair of new wellies for correctly identifying where the Rural Life welly is hidden. Once you have found the
welly, fill in the coupon and send it to ‘Where’s Welly?’, Rural Life, 7 Pringle Court, Park Hill Road. Garstang, PR3 ILN. The closing date for this
m o n th ’s c om p e t it io n is Monday, August 9th. Usual Courier/News competition rules apply. Happy welly hunting!
WELLY WINNER: Joanne Jack, of C&C Supplies presents the prize to the June issue winner
So where is welly hidden? i weiiy? ENTRY welly?
rE have again had
j loads of entries ’ for our popular ' ‘Where’s Welly?’
where's 400 > . 28UX28U v i i c i e d ■ ■ M -V. .-IHO • — . bUUA WU . CM A M F F .R E D I’ ^ ^ 6 3 0 V 630 1 R P IE U C
Age.................. . Daytime Tel No.- Mobile Tel No...... Email............. ......
Welly is on page................................
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□ Every week Do you have it tielivefed? YES Q Don’t buy □ jjq Q
Do you buy the Lanca^ire Evening Post? YES Q NO |~~| If *Yes’ on which day do you normally buy it?
0 El 0 E3 ED 0 don't buy Q Do you have it delivered?
YES □ NO n
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