Join The Recycleworks Wildflower Seed Project 2012/2013

We have had a great response to our Wildflower Seed Project 2012/2013 from schools, and community associations that support children, if you want to get involved, start collecting your seeds now before the plants have dropped them all and register your group before 31st October 2012.

Seed storage tins

What you need to do 

If you are not already a member join our FREE Gardening with Children Club, which gives schools and community associations supporting children of all ages access to lots of information to encourage children to learn about gardening, grow their own fruit and vegetables and to care for their environment as well as member’s special offers and discounts.

 

Once you have received your welcome email with your exclusive Membership Number register your school/group FREE for our ‘Wildflower Seed Project 2012/2013’ before 31st October 2012 via email to sylvia@recycleworks.co.uk quoting your Membership Number, School/Group Name, Address, Contact Name, Telephone Number and email address.

 

We will then send you 5 FREE seed collecting tins to store your valuable seed in until the spring, when we will then contact you via email with details of our ‘Wildflower Seed Propagating Kit’ perfect for schools and groups and containing everything you need to sow and grow your wildflower seeds as well as sowing and cultivation instructions.

 

Collecting Seed

Collecting seeds is a wonderful thing to do with children and they will learn where seeds come from. Not only will they be rewarded with free seeds but also lots of free plants too in spring and with the satisfaction that they have grown them themselves from ‘their’ seed.

 

Some of the most rewarding and valuable seeds to collect are from Wildflowers and Nectar Rich plants which provide food for our bees, butterflies and pollinating insects, by growing these you will be giving back to nature and enriching your environment.

 

Here are some of the many plants that are beneficial to insects: Buddleia, Ox Eye Daisy, Borage, Verbena Bonariensis, Evening Primrose, Calendula, French Marigold, Teasel, Thistles, Foxglove, Cornflower.

Ox Eye Daisy

Where to look for seeds

The best places to find wildflowers are in uncultivated areas such as on grass verges, under hedges, on the edges of parks/playing fields (where the grass cutters can’t reach), church yards and farmland that is grazed. Nectar rich flowers can usually be found in gardens. You may need to ask the landowners permission before entering their land to collect seed.

 

How to collect seed

You will need paper bags or envelopes, scissors and a pencil.

Some seed heads will shed their seeds very easily, simply empty their contents into your bag, or cut off the ripe seed head/pod and place in your bag then write the plant name on the bag and also where it was growing in sun/shade or in dry/wet soil this will help you when you grow your new plants next year. If some of the seed heads/pods are damp, lay them out on paper to dry before removing the seeds. If you are not sure of the name of the plant cut off the seed head/pods and a leaf or take a photograph so that you can identify it later.

Evening Primrose

Storing your seed

Some of the seeds will need to be cleaned by removing the husk and extracting the seeds from their pods/seed heads as these may contain small insects too. Place your dry seeds in a cold, dry and dark place until February/March. This can be in a container in the fridge so that they go through the natural cold winter conditions. It can be in a sealed tin (which will protect them from insects and animals) in the shed, but dry, cold and dark is important. If they get wet or warm they may start germinating and if it is too early for spring they will not survive.

 

Some seeds can be toxic, take care when collecting seed and always wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

 

So make the most of this lovely weather and collect some wildflower seeds.

 

Gill

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Collect Wildflower Seed this Autumn to sow and grow next Spring

Collecting seeds is a wonderful thing to do with children and they will learn where seeds come from. Not only will they be rewarded with free seeds but also lots of free plants too in spring and with the satisfaction that they have grown them themselves from ‘their’ seed.

Some of the most rewarding and valuable seeds to collect are from Wildflowers and Nectar Rich plants which provide food for our bees, butterflies and pollinating insects, by growing these you will be giving back to nature and enriching your environment.

 

Here are some of the many plants that are beneficial to insects: Buddleia, Ox Eye Daisy, Borage, Verbena Bonariensis, Evening Primrose, Calendula, French Marigold, Teasel, Thistles, Foxglove, Cornflower.

Ox Eye Daisy

Where to look for seeds

The best places to find wildflowers are in uncultivated areas such as on grass verges, under hedges, on the edges of parks/playing fields (where the grass cutters can’t reach), church yards and farmland that is grazed. Nectar rich flowers can usually be found in gardens. You may need to ask the landowners permission before entering their land to collect seed.

 

How to collect seed

You will need paper bags or envelopes, scissors and a pencil.

Some seed heads will shed their seeds very easily, simply empty their contents into your bag, or cut off the ripe seed head/pod and place in your bag then write the plant name on the bag and also where it was growing in sun/shade or in dry/wet soil this will help you when you grow your new plants next year. If some of the seed heads/pods are damp, lay them out on paper to dry before removing the seeds. If you are not sure of the name of the plant cut off the seed head/pods and a leaf or take a photograph so that you can identify it later.

Evening Primrose

Storing your seed

Some of the seeds will need to be cleaned by removing the husk and extracting the seeds from their pods/seed heads as these may contain small insects too. Place your dry seeds in a cold, dry and dark place until February/March. This can be in a container in the fridge so that they go through the natural cold winter conditions. It can be in a sealed tin (which will protect them from insects and animals) in the shed, but dry, cold and dark is important. If they get wet or warm they may start germinating and if it is too early for spring they will not survive.

Some seeds can be toxic, take care when collecting seed and always wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

 

Seed storage tins

 

Join The Recycleworks Wildflower Seed Project 2012/2013

Schools or Community Associations that support children can register FREE to The Recycleworks Wildflower Seed Project 2012/2013 and they will receive 5 FREE Seed Collecting Tins to store their valuable seed until the spring, when they will receive details of a ‘Wildflower Seed Propagating Kit’ containing everything needed to sow and grow their wildflower seeds as well as sowing and cultivation instructions. Click here for more information.

 

So make the most of this lovely weather and collect some wildflower seeds

 

Gill

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School Jubilee Tree planting and holiday preparations for the school garden

Last week the Eco Committee members at Thomas’s School were invited by the Parish Council, in co-operation with the Borough Council, to plant a tree as a final act in the local Jubilee celebrations. The tree, an English Oak, was planted in open space land in the village so that it can be enjoyed by future generations and there will be a plaque put next to it to commemorate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. The children (including Thomas) put the top soil around the tree and sprinkled wildflower seeds around the base.

Thomas and the Jubilee Tree

Thomas has been on the Eco Committee this year and has thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the Eco work at school as well as providing his own input with regards to the wildlife that is in the school grounds. The School has put up bird boxes one of which has a camera, a bird table for feeding the birds, a nesting material holder, fat ball feeders and other bird feeders as well as insect houses.

Pembroke Nest Box

The school gardening year has come to an end and preparations have been made for the summer holidays. All the young plants in pots have been planted in the ground, climbing plants have been tied in and supports provided, and the raised beds have been weeded and covered with netting to deter unwanted visitors.

Enviromesh Netting

During the holidays Thomas and I will make regular checks to keep the garden ticking over until September this ties in well with feeding the school chickens as Thomas has been put on the ‘chicken rota’ again which I have to say I enjoy doing as much as he does. We are both looking forward to those super fresh boiled eggs!

Click here for our top 10 tips for caring for the school garden during the holidays.

Love your environment and enjoy your holidays

Gill

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A Simple Guide to pressing Flowers and Leaves

Pressing flowers, leaves and grasses is easy and fun, follow some simple steps to get the best results, and then enjoy making pictures, cards and bookmarks. Pressing flowers is a great way to preserve flowers and can be done throughout the year to record the Seasons, why not stick them in your Wildlife and Nature Diary or a Scrapbook.

A Flower Press

Firstly, you will of course need a Flower Press!

Before beginning we advise that only flowers from the garden should be picked and pressed. It is against the Countryside Code to remove plants from the countryside and wild flowers should always be left for the enjoyment of everyone.

Garden flowers ready for pressing

1. When selecting flowers to press always choose those that are looking their best, and are clean.
2. Removing moisture is the key, so begin by collecting the flowers when they are dry. Wet flowers can go mouldy.
3. Press your flowers as soon as possible to avoid them drooping or wilting.
4. Lay the flowers flat face down on the blotting paper. Take care to arrange leaves and petals as you want them to appear when the flower is pressed, try pressing flowers on their side to get a different effect. 
5. Place another piece of blotting paper or flower preserving paper on the top.
6. Place the two pieces of paper between two pieces of cardboard.
7. Place the layers into a flower press as follows, cardboard, paper, flowers, paper and cardboard.
8. Depending on the press you may be able to fit in several layers like this.
9. Tighten the wing nuts and leave to dry for a few days, longer if you use large, thick flowers.
10. Alternatively place the flowers between sheets of blotting or flower preserving paper and place inside a large book such as the phone book and leave for a few days.  Be careful to use enough plain paper sheets to protect the books from staining.
11. Experiment with different types of flowers. Pansies and violas are particularly easy and tend to keep their colour well. 
12. Note if the flowers turn brown during pressing it may be because they are taking too long to dry out  

Stunning yellow pansies

Pressing flowers the traditional way can take time and lots of patience but if you want faster results flowers can be pressed and dried in the microwave. Repeat the process in the same way as above but if you use your flower press you will need to remove the wing nuts/bolts and secure the wooden boards with wide elastic bands 2 or 3 along each side, if you use a book check that it has no gold embossing and remove any staples. Place in the microwave for two minutes on medium heat, allow to cool then have a look at the flowers to see if they are dry if not return to the microwave for another minute and check again, keep repeating until the flowers are completely dry. This method may need a little experimentation.

Pressed flowers loose their colour if exposed to light so avoid direct sunlight or humid rooms when displaying them.

Love your environment

Gill

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Watch and help Nature during the Half Term Holiday

If you enjoyed taking part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in January this year or maybe you missed out why not take part in the RSPB’s ‘Make Your Nature Count’ Survey next week from Saturday 2^nd June to Sunday 10^th June.

To take part all you need to do is to watch which birds and creatures visit your garden or local park for one hour during those dates and record the highest number seen at any one time then send in your results before 2^nd July 2012.

Square Ground Bird Table

This survey is a bit different than the Big Garden Birdwatch as creatures e.g. Bagdger, Grey Squirrel, Slow Worm, Muntjac Deer, Hedgehog, Roe Deer, Mole and Red Squirrel and Blackbird, Robin and Song Thrush chicks can be included. Only record the birds that land in your garden or park with the exception of Swifts and House Martins as these are most likely to be seen in flight. To help you to identify the species there is a Counting Sheet available to download.

Hedgehog Snack Feeding Bowl

By taking part in the UK’s largest garden wildlife survey you will be helping to build a picture of the wildlife that visits green spaces in summer.

This is a great free half term holiday activity that all the family can take part in, all you need is a pencil, paper and if you have some a pair of binoculars plus a little bit of patience!  If you are watching the birds on the park why not take a picnic as well.

We will be taking part too, Thomas can’t wait.

Happy watching

Gill

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Quick growing crops for children

I had an ‘Ask the Expert’ enquiry this week from Natalie who wanted some advice on which seeds to buy from our website that she could grow at her son’s nursery garden. She wanted to grow things that the children could eat at their snack time but the only draw back was that they had to be able to pick them between now and the end of June before they break up, here was my advice:

As you are limited for time (approx. 9 weeks before the end of June) the quickest things to sow/grow/harvest would be vegetables/herbs that are grown for their leaves rather than their fruit (tomatoes) or roots (carrots, beetroot).

Mustard and Cress

Mustard and Cress are perhaps the easiest and quickest to grow and can be eaten in approx. a week, these can be sown little and often, sow indoors not too thickly on a thin layer of moist compost or moist tissues, cover with a piece of paper until they are 1”(25cm) and then cut when they are about 2”(50cm).

Salad Leaves (Red & Green mixed) are very quick to mature and their different coloured leaves look attractive.

Coriander

Herbs fit nicely into this category and our Herb Variety Pack contains:

Coriander, Basil, Dill, Rocket

Basil

available to buy separately is Parsley (this can sometimes be slow to germinate)

Essential Propagator

 

To get them all off to a good start I would sow them in Pots/Trays in a Propagator or on a warm sunny windowsill. When they are big enough to handle re-pot them into Larger Pots/Trays with more space to grow, again returning them to the windowsill until they are large enough to plant outside when the weather if favourable.

 

They can be planted into Containers, Hanging Baskets, Wall Baskets, Window Boxes or Grow Bags. They are ideal for planting into Raised Beds, Salad and Herb Beds, Corner Raised Beds or Mangers.

It is advisable to protect them with Fleece if any frost is forecast until they are well established.

Salubrious Salad and Herb Bed

For best results they should be in a warm, sheltered and sunny position.

I hope that Natalie and all the children enjoy sowing and growing their seeds and they enjoy eating the lovely fresh leaves too.

Happy Growing

Gill

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Why not keep chickens in your garden or at school

Waiting for food and water

Back home from our Easter break one of our first duties was to feed the school chickens, pupils can volunteer to be put on ‘The Chicken Rota’  to look after the chickens during the holidays and at weekends, we were down for four days during the Easter holidays.

Mini Swiss Chalet for Chickens

The school has four Warren chickens and they live on the school field in a very desirable chicken house with a large run. They were always very pleased to see us, I am sure they must miss the children during the holidays. We topped up their food and gave them clean water and straw for their nest boxes and were rewarded with four lovely fresh eggs each day, they were all different sizes and colours and some were still warm, I don’t know who enjoyed looking after the chickens the most my son or me!

Chicken Run

We then took a detour down to the river to see the Sand Martins they have just arrived back from the South Sahara and they make their nests (burrows) in the sandy bank on the opposite side of the river, there was also a Mallard Family with their two young ducklings these are the first ones I have seen this year.

'Pleased to see us'

Back home we had the best ever boiled eggs for dinner!

Keeping chickens in your garden is becoming very popular and I can now understand why. They are easy to look after, fascinating to watch, friendly, make brilliant ‘pets’ for children, take up very little room and will ‘recycle’ a lot of your kitchen scraps into delicious eggs.

Have you got room for chickens in your garden?

Gill

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Plant a tree for the Jubilee

This year the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee and a fantastic way to celebrate this historic event, which will provide a lasting and truly environmental tribute, is to plant a tree or wood. The Woodland Trust is helping millions of people in the UK to come together to plant 6 million trees. The aim of their Jubilee Project is to create hundreds of Jubilee Woods and 60 special Diamond Woods, which will transform our landscape in a generation. Individuals, communities, schools and families are being invited to take part to plant thousands of trees in their gardens (trees in pots count too), playgrounds and community space. Schools and community groups can apply for free tree packs.

All types of trees can be planted e.g. Fruit Trees (Apple, Plum, Pear, Cherry), Trees with berries (Hawthorn, Rowan), Trees with Nuts (Hazel, Cob Nut, Oak), Native, Deciduous or Evergreen Trees, Trees for Autumn Colour or Blossom, or Trees to attract wildlife. Before choosing your tree you will need to consider where you are going to plant it, how much space is available and how big your tree will grow when it is mature.

Trees are an essential part of our environment and provide an invaluable habitat for wildlife. Their leaves and bark provide food and a home for insects and larvae which in turn are food for birds and animals. They provide nest sites in their branches and holes in their trunks for birds and animals. Underneath their canopy they provide a unique habitat for many woodland plants and wildflowers. Trees provide fruits and food for wildlife as well as ourselves. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and their leaves act as a filtering system absorbing harmful pollutants and intercepting the damaging particles in smoke and dust and in return they produce oxygen. Over a year two trees are capable of producing enough oxygen for a family of four.

So why not take part and make your tree count as one of the 6 million planted in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it’s something that my family will definitely be doing and I will let you know how I get on.

Love your environment.

Gill

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Gardening with Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are considered the gardeners friend, but we may not be that friendly towards them as our gardens can contain many hidden dangers. Here are some ways that we can reduce these hazards.

Slug Pellets

Many slug pellets contain Metaldehyde (commonly the blue ones but check the ingredients on all slug pellets) and will not only kill the slugs but can also kill the hedgehogs (and birds) if they eat one of these victim slugs. Try alternative natural slug deterrents such as Slug Gone and Copper Slug and Snail Tape that are safe to all wildlife.

Recycled containers

We are all being encouraged to recycle but empty food cans, yoghurt pots, plastic cups etc. are a real danger to inquisitive hedgehogs and small animals which can get stuck in them head first and die of starvation or suffocate, to prevent this squash all cans, and cut up containers before putting them into the bin. Wildlife can also get caught in the plastic rings that hold the cans together and the different sizes of holes in them can trap different types of animals, each circle should be cut up before putting them in the bin. These have been banned in America we hope that our government will ban them too.

Water Features/Ponds

These attract wildlife to our garden but if there is no escape route anything that falls in will be unable to climb out and drown. Hang some plastic coated wire over the side and into the water to make a ladder, half submerge some rocks around the edges or make a gentle slope on at least one side of your pond. Keep ponds topped up, especially in hot weather so that hedgehogs are less likely to topple in. Children’s paddling pools and sand pits are also a danger when filled with rainwater.

Netting

Keep all pea-netting a foot above the ground so the hedgehogs can go under it and will not try to go through it and become stuck.  The same applies to tennis nets, children’s football nets etc.

Bonfires/Compost Bins

Before burning accumulated rubbish in the garden or before emptying or turning your compost bins check that a hedgehog has not made a home in it, the best time to spread the heap is October/November.

Strimming

Take care when mowing long grass with mowers or especially strimmers, when cutting long overgrown areas cut initially to about a foot high and then check for hedgehogs and other wildlife before cutting any lower. 

Provide a safe home for our friends

We should all leave an area of our garden to go wild for nature, and this would be an ideal place to put a hedgehog house these provide a safe haven for hibernating hedgehogs and also for females to have their young. Ideally place the house somewhere quiet against a bank, fence or wall and out of prevailing wind. We have the perfect Hedgehog home at The Recycleworks the Hogitat it is an attractive natural home and safe retreat for hedgehogs which will comfortably nestle into any garden.

• It features a sturdy, rust-proofed steel frame
• A waterproofed roof with an attractive natural finish
• A predator defence tunnel
• Lots of room for a family of hoglets and the mother

 So let’s do all we can to help our adorable prickly friends.

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Feed the Hedgehogs – especially during the drought

Our latest competition winner Ryan Cinato wrote about wanting a hedgehog to come into his garden and it got me thinking about how special and unique these little creatures are. Hedgehogs are a gardener’s friend and a welcome visitor in any garden.

Everyone knows what a hedgehog looks like but did you know that there are approximately 5,000/7,000 spines on an average adult hedgehog each one is 25mm(1”) long, they are really modified hairs and are absent from the face, throat, chest, belly and legs where they are covered with coarse, grey-brown fur. Something that I did not know is that hedgehogs have a small tail.

Hedgehog Food

If you want to help hedgehogs and encourage them to your garden why not start by putting out some Hedgehog Food for them. At this time of year, end March beginning of April, hedgehogs should be emerging from their winter hibernation and will be very hungry. A hedgehogs natural diet consists of earthworms, slugs, beetles caterpillars, snails etc. these become harder to find in cold or dry weather but to supplement their diet during these difficult times and when they need it most (after hibernation, when they have young and prior to hibernation) we can help them by putting out food do not put out milk and bread as the hedgehog cannot digest the bread and cows milk gives them very bad diarrhoea, many hedgehogs die because of this wrong diet.

At The Recycleworks we love hedgehogs and have some ready mixed Hedgehog Food, it is similar to a hedgehog’s natural diet and following trials with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society our improved recipe includes chopped peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, sultanas and dried blackberries. As the food contains dried ingredients, be sure to put out a bowl of fresh water as well. Any food should be placed somewhere where dogs and cats cannot get at it, especially if it contains raisins and sultanas as if eaten even in small quantities these dried fruits can cause cats and dogs serious kidney problems.

Food should be put out in the evening and ideally in a hedgehog feeding station so that only the hedgehog can get to it, the easiest way to make one of these is to place a paving slab on some bricks, leaving a gap as an entrance hole and put the Feeding Bowl in the middle underneath the paving slab with the Water Bowl outside.

For your little or big Hedgehog enthusiast why not treat them to a Hedgehog Field Guide this four page guide includes lots of facts and information on feeding and encouraging hedgehogs to your garden.

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