Our meeting on the 23rd April was a talk by Karen Kenny of Suffolk Radio on “Companion Planting”.  This was a very interesting subject, put over in an entertaining way by Karen, an excellent speaker.  She had lots of tips such as getting rid of ground elder, controlling white and black fly, and even protecting hostas by planting lettuces around them.  This works on the assumption that the snails and slugs will eat the lettuces first, so that they are full and then they go home, leaving your prize hostas alone, instead of like net curtaining!

Another tip when trying to grow brassicas of any description was to intersperse the plants with plants such as tomatoes or fennel – this works on the basis of confusing the cabbage white butterfly by disguising the smell of the cabbages, sprouts, cauliflowers, etc.    Karen stressed that nature is a wonderful thing and many old fashioned gardeners knew how to control pests and diseases naturally, rather than using chemical treatments straight away. 

She was warmly thanked by Stan Bates.

Our meeting on the 14th May is a Coffee Evening and Bring and Buy Sale.  This begins at 7.30 p.m. in the W.I. Hall.  Everyone is very welcome.