A talk by Chris Whitelock
A Horticutural Consultant and Trainer 

The talk was an entertaining and thought provoking presentation on how soils and fertilisers that are applied to them help (and hinder) the growth of plants.

Chris started by telling us about soil, its texture, structure an pH; making the key point for us not to “abuse your clay”! Clay, Chris says, are some of the best media for plant growing becuase of their crystalline structure which is able to store plant nutrients better than many other type of soil. He also streesed the need for us to have a good understanding of pH the soil, particularly for growing vegetables

Chris went on to explain how fertilisers work on the soil particulaly the Phosphorus(P), Nitrogen(N) and Potassium(K) elements. He talked about various type of fertilisers that can be bought, but made it clear that using too much fertiliser is often counter productive.

Chris has kindly given us a copy of his presentation for those who wish to be reminded of his talk; click here, and for more about Chris please visit his website.

Chris kinly judged the “A single cut flower stem” competion and chose a beautiful Peony entered by Sue Rice-Oxley. Well done Sue!