Wildlife

Birds migrating to sunnier climes
Estuaries for the return of over wintering birds
Hedgerows for berries, late butterflies and small birds
Dragonflies and damselflies near water
Fungi appearing in woodlands and grasslands
Bats still on the wing

On sunny days on riverbanks and in areas of wetland, a real highlight of early September are the large dragonflies. Many butterflies are still on the wing from the second or third hatchings.  However they may well be ragged and this is their last month as adults. The male gatekeeper (a member of the brown family) sets up territories along hedges where the  nectar bearing plants of marjoram, mint, wood sage and bramble attract the adults.

The hedgerows are full of ripening berries with hawthorn haws and rose hips shining red, while sloes, blackberries and elderberries are midnight black. Some trees yield their seeds up with wings such as field maple, ash and sycamore.  Ivy is one of the few late flowering plants and the nectar forms an important food sources for bees and wasps. Where there is still wheat that remains unharvested the occasional arable weed such as poppy or scentless mayweed may still manage to flower.

From When to Watch Wildlife.

What's in Season This Month 

Artichoke, apples, aubergine, beetroot, bilberries, blackberries, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, chillies, chives, cob nuts, coriander, courgettes, cucumber, damsons, elderberries, fennel, figs, french beans, garlic, grapes, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce & salad leaves, mangetout, marrow, medlar, nectarines, onions, pak choi, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes (maincrop), pumpkin, radishes, raspberries, redcurrants, rocket, runner beans, shallots, spring onions, sweetcorn, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms.

From the website Eat the Seasons.

Recipe

Celery and Cashew Nut Soup


In the Garden

Now is the time to gather your harvest before frosts threaten, and save seeds before winter sets in. If you want to store fruit and veg, make sure that you choose only the perfect, non-bruised or damaged veg or fruit for storage. Cut herbs for drying and use throughout the winter.

Scatter windfall fruit around the garden as food for wildlife. Plums are a favourite of butterflies. Clear all weeds around fruit bushes and trees to prevent them seeding. Prune stone fruits (including plums and cherries) by mid-September to avoid silver leaf disease.

Parsley, rocket and coriander can still be sown this month. Early in the month, you can sow green manures to protect and improve any bare soil over winter. Empty the compost bin by bagging up compost from the bottom of the bin/heap. Store it ready for use next spring.

From Garden Organic.


In Brief

Zero Waste Week runs from 4th - 8th September. The website has lots of resources and ideas.

Microplastic found in deep sea creatures. A study found plastic in 48% of starfish and snails that live at more than 2,000m depth in the Rockall Trough, off the Western Isles of Scotland.

Tesco scraps single-use plastic bags. This month Tesco have discontinued their 5p carrier bags, to help reduce plastic waste. Customers who want a bag will be able to get a 'Bag for Life' for 10p. These are made from 94% recycled plastic, and will be replaced for free once they begin to wear out.

A third of UK universities have now made a fossil fuel divestment pledge. The movement to end fossil fuel investments is growing with the total value of funds being withdrawn by higher education institutions globally reaching £80 billion. A study by Oxford University researchers suggests that no new CO₂ emitting electricity infrastructure can be built after this year, if warming is to stay within a 2°C target, unless other electricity infrastructure is retired early or retrofitted with carbon capture technologies.

This petition asks Homebase to join other garden centres in getting bee-harming pesticides out of garden plants.

The UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network switched to 100% renewable energy last month.



Out and About