Landscape Juice

Revealing the waxcap fungi

A Defra funded project at Kew Botanic Gardens called the Waxtongue is carrying out phylogenetic research on some fungi, namely waxcaps and earthtongues to find out how many and what types are established in Britain.

The waxcaps are unusual enough to be a factor in classifying a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI). If there are 18 waxcap species at a particular site it is considered for SSSI status.

Natural pesticides: can we learn from Leaf-Cutter Ants?

I've always believed that there are natural remedies for most things: whether that's using plant extracts to treat illness or companion planting to ward off pests as disease - the problem is, we just don't seem to understand enough or there's too much derision of cultural methods to attract funds to conduct wide-scale research.

Also, all the time the chemical and pharmaceutical companies are making so much money I do not see a major shift toward upping the cultural stakes in the short term - I'm certain in my mind that there is an awful lot we don't know yet that could be of huge importance in moving toward less reliance on chemical methods.

As managers and operators, we've long been hooked on cheap remedies as a way of controlling our weeds and disease and now it's in our culture to blanket spray to achieve our goals: we know we are not doing the right thing; it's just a vicious circle.

Lathraea clandestina Purple Toothwort growing on poplar roots

We have a stream in a meadow on the border of our land; several mature poplar and willow trees grow on the stream's banks and every year, at the beginning of April, Lathraea clandestina - purple toothwort - flowers and thrives in sheltered full sun.

Purple toothwort is a parasite that lives on the roots of the host tree - usually poplar and willow - and it is also totally devoid of chlorophyll.

Is RHS advice on treating Honey Fungus wrong?

I wonder if I can ask you a question - do you think that the Royal Horticultural Society is correct when by advising that there is no control for Honey Fungus - Armillaria mellea?

This is what the RHS says on the control of Honey Fungus: "There are no chemicals available for control of honey fungus.

"If honey fungus is confirmed, the only effective remedy is to excavate and destroy, by burning or landfill, all of the infected root and stump material. This will destroy the food base on which the rhizomorphs feed and they are unable to live and grow in the soil when detached from infected material."

Woodland Trust walk and wood finder

I bet you are itching to get out and about this weekend: another minute closed in with dogs and kids is enough to drive anyone to distraction.

If it's fresh air and exercise you are looking for then why not devise a long walk - before or after a hearty Sunday roast - at one of the Woodland Trust's hundreds of woodlands across the United Kingdom?

There are over a thousand sites to choose from - from rich ancient woodlands with gnarled tree roots to brand new plantations.

Bee crisis debated in the House of Lords

Lord Colin Moynihan 'Moved for Debate' the plight of the Honey Bee and its continued decline.

In a statement set out to the House of Lords on the 22nd May 2009, Lord Moynihan told how the honey bee - Apis mellifera - has come under attack from more than one devastating condition that threatens the existence of the species.

The varroa mite, protozoa, viruses and bacteria as well as colony collapse disorder that has left the plight of the bee population in 'an uncertain world'

How to make wild nettle soup

I am going to give the credit for this post to Francoise Murat because she has posted her recipe for making nettle soup on the Landscape Juice Network.

I thought that it would be a good idea, while the topic was still fresh and of course while the nettles were in tip top shape, to have a go at making the soup, trying it for lunch and letting you know, in my honest opinion, what it tasted like.

Unusual deep red clover - Trifolium pratense

I have found what I consider to be a fairly unusual deep red clover growing in a meadow close to my home and I wonder if there are any wild flower experts out there who could let me know if this is a one off or a regular occurrence?

Yesterday I discovered a very small patch - less than a metre square - of this perennial deep red clover in a field of approximately three hectares. Ordinary red clover is present in very large areas and in the lower part it dominates.

Landshare - linking growers with spare vegetable plots

The first (Escape to) River Cottage started in 1998 and in my opinion, was the best. It is one of my favourite programs and a couple of Christmas' ago, I spent a whole day watching the repeats on television.

The Original Victorian cottage in an idyllic location with a stream passing the door and set in the middle of the Devon countryside.

When does the Morel mushroom season start?

Wild fungi foragers, especially Morel enthusiast, might well be getting crabby and irritable as they await the Morel season that starts roughly about the beginning of March.

Visit Nigel Frith's excellent Wild Mushrooms on-line blog.

The Morel season varies on your location; it can be as early as March,running through April but can sometimes be as late as June - will not last long in any one spot and they are hard to find.