< Previous20 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY FUTURE PROOF SOLAR Q&A Solar has been around for a long time but isn’t all that common still. How viable is solar energy now, and why should people consider it? Due to electricity prices increasing, it is the perfect time to invest in solar energy. Solar energy has many benefits that could help you and your energy needs. Solar energy is environmentally friendly and switching to a natural renewable energy source shows you are committed to doing your bit for the environment. This has many advantages such as: - Cheaper to run - Reduces harmful greenhouses gases - Get paid for generating your own electricity Switching to solar energy can also help you save money on your overall energy bills, this is due to the photovoltaic cells using sunlight and providing energy to power the electricity in your home. Another advantage of solar energy is the payback you could receive after having your system fitted. Investing in solar offers a great long-term benefit. After your solar system is installed and running you can expect savings in the next few months. However, to regain your initial investment can take between 4-7 years. Q&A Saving with solar Solar energy is nothing new and yet with soaring energy prices and more and more people looking to go green, is it time to rethink the idea? We shared a coffee with Zara Grundy of Future Proof Solar to find out how much has changed. © stock.adobe.com/Beton Studio 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:44 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 21 FUTURE PROOF SOLAR Q&A What do Future Proof Solar do that is different from any other provider? Future Proof Solar focuses on the satisfaction of our customers and offering the most competitive quote. We are professionals in the renewable sector, installing solar systems and air source heat pumps across the UK. Are solar panels really a good option in Lincolnshire with our weather? In the UK, solar panels work through all four seasons of the year in any weather conditions. However solar energy is produced less throughout winter months due to the days becoming shorter, meaning fewer hours of daylight. Having a battery included in your solar system can help in these winter months by storing energy to use when needed. How many solar panels does a home usually need, and how difficult is the installation and maintenance? For every 1000kWh you use, you need 1kW worth of panels. For example if you use 4500kWh a year you will need a 4.5kW system consistent with 12 solar panels. Our team of specialists will be able to advise you on what size system you require based on your energy usage and roof size. Our installation team takes around 5- 6 hours to complete the process. The systems require very little maintenance. However you should inspect your panels’ efficiency and check they are clean and nothing is blocking them from absorbing the sun. Future Proof Solar offers a maintenance and protection package which includes: - Solar Panel check up - Solar Panel cleaning - Inverter Testing How much does it cost to install solar panels and is there any way to get some of it back? Your overall cost depends on the size of your system as well as how many panels you have installed. The payback of your solar panels can take up to 4-7 years. This varies depending on the angle of your roof, what size system (how many panels), your energy usage, and the area in which you are based in the country. To find out more about having solar panels installed to your home visit www.futureproofsolar.co.uk or call 01777 712647 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:44 Page 222 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE dream Chasing the Sometimes the journey to become an artist can be just as exciting as the work created – Rob Hefferan takes us on his. R ob Hefferan was born in Manchester in 1968 and was a free spirit from the beginning. Despite facing discouragement at every corner, Rob was desperate to follow an artistic career and found support from his school art teacher. He went on to ignore the advice of his elders and study illustration at university, only to feel constrained by the limitations of the course and set out on his own on his dream to become an artist. It took Rob a year to put together a portfolio and set out to find work utilising his design skills to finance his dream of becoming an artist. In that time, his exceptional versatility saw him winning many major contracts from high profile advertising campaigns to artwork for children’s books, all of which enabled him to 22-23.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:35 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 23 ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE THE LITTLE RED GALLERY Love art? Then we’d love to meet you, please call in for a cup of tea and a chat. The Little Red Gallery are feeling ‘Love’ with a fantastic range of pieces and perfect gift ideas. make money doing something he enjoyed. Others might have stopped there and continued to get by, but Rob never allowed his considerable success to deflect him from his true dream, and he spent much of his spare time painting. Rob’s artwork is ever evolving and changing, and he is always on the lookout for new styles and techniques to explore and absorb. His latest figurative pieces are beautifully composed depictions of day-to-day meetings and conversations, each image a fascinating blend of intricate foreground detail with broader brush strokes used to create an atmospheric back drop. These have been greeted with acclaim at the fine arts market, confirming his place as a rising star on the contemporary art scene and justifying all the hard work and risks taken. If you’d like to see Rob’s work for yourself, head down to Lincoln’s Little Red Gallery 22-23.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:35 Page 224 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY M Pinterest are filled with inspiring pictures of gorgeous, blooming, and colourful borders. Some of our clients do not necessarily want to completely overhaul their garden but they would like to amend their borders to create an outdoor space with all-year-round interest. If this is something that you feel could lift your garden, then there are a few things to consider. Initially the best thing is to think of a word to describe how you want your border to feel. Maybe it is bold, colourful, or romantic. This will help you to keep focused on the final look. Next you need to plan, by firstly measuring the area, marking all existing plants and marking the ones you want to leave in their present position. If you plan to alter time to draw up any changes. Take note of where the sun rises and sets at all times of the year, as this will help you ensure sun- loving plants get the sun they need, and shady spots are filled with plants that will thrive there. The best tip is to plan for the future. Plan the spacing right for the overall mature size of the plants you choose. Position larger plants at the back of the bed or centrally as a feature, with smaller plants at the front. It is all about layering. Do not get distracted in the garden centre and focus on what you are aiming to add to your border. Remember your initial word(s) you had to describe how you wanted your border to feel. Try not to pick random plants just because they look good now, stick to your long-term plan. © stock.adobe.com/ dean Ed Fuller from Fullers Landscaping highlights how to improve your borders to create a beautiful garden throughout the year. borders Beautiful Beautiful 24-25.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 12:54 Page 11. Prune Wisteria 2. Deadhead flowering plants regularly 3. Keep watering containers and new plants 4. Feed containers, and even tired border perennials, with a liquid tomato food each week to encourage them to bloom into the early autumn 5. Collect seeds from favourite plants 6. Inspect chrysanthemums for the first signs of white rust and take immediate action 7. Harvest sweetcorn and other vegetables as they become ready 8. Continue cutting old fruited canes on raspberries 9. Lift and pot up rooted strawberry runners 10. Most perennial weeds are best dealt with when in active growth. Apply a weed killer containing glyphosate 11. Keep ponds and water features topped up 12. Feed your soil with green manures LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 25 FULLERS Call 01522 868717 or 07867 510544 landscapinglincolnshire@gmail.com www.landscapinglincolnshire.com GARDEN ADVICE Pruning is an easy way to bring an overgrown shrubby border back to its former glory. Firstly, remove any dead, damaged, and diseased stems, as well as crossing stems rubbing against each other. Next, stand back and look at the shrub to work out how you can make it more balanced. This will transform a bulky shrub into a real feature and let in more light and air. You will be left with more space to introduce newer planting also to complement the border. New planting will not come into true fruition for two to three years and a few years longer still for shrubs and trees. So, do no worry if it is not looking quite how you expected after making your changes. But you can make annual adjustments if something is not quite right. Moving plants is better and more reliable when they are younger or newly planted. © stock.adobe.com/ JulietPhotography © stock.adobe.com/dean Specialised Service in Garden Design and Landscaping Backed by a highly-skilled and experienced team, we’ve built our reputation on an ability to provide our clients with professional, tailored gardening and forestry solutions Around the garden 24-25.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 12:54 Page 226 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS G rowing your own fruit and vegetables comes with a great sense of pride, while offering delicious, fresh ingredients and snacks. Though the enjoyable activity has a plethora of further benefits, from cutting down food bills to having a positive impact on mental health, many don’t know where to start. Here, Lincolnshire Today breaks down all you need to know. First, decide what you want to grow, perhaps simply selecting the produce you commonly eat or choosing some of the easiest fruits and vegetables to establish such as lettuce, herbs, beetroot, peas, runner beans, potatoes, onions, garlic, strawberries, tomatoes, blackberries, and raspberries. Alternatively one might base the choice on the time of year, looking at garden growing calendars to see what you can grow and when. For example this month (August), though it is more known as a time of harvesting, one could look at sowing lettuce indoors or cabbage and onion outdoors. Considering soil is the next important step when forming a patch for fruit and veg, and may impact what you grow, as growing produce isn’t quite as easy as plopping seeds on the ground. Different types of soil host different types of nutrients best for certain plants, with most fruit and vegetables preferring soil that is rich, moist, well-drained, with neutral acidity. If planting in the ground at your home, you will need to seek out fruits and vegetables suited to it, but soil can be adapted by adding organic matter, like vegetable peelings and manure, compost, leaf mould and mineral solids, like sand and clay. Soil will need to be further prepared by removing weeds and stones and digging it over to improve the structure. You can alternatively use a planter/container and fill it with the appropriate soil. Planning out your vegetable patch is also vital to get the best harvest. While a huge area is not necessary, you will want to make sure you do not crowd your produce, so be mindful that different fruits and vegetables require different amounts of rewarding endeavour. space to grow (how much is called for is often on the seed packet). The plot will also require a good deal of sunlight and one should think about plant supports for your climbers and creepers which will add great visual effect to your garden. Once you have decided what to plant and when, and prepped the space for it, it’s time to start planting. If using seeds one can begin indoors in pots and trays, or outside - depending on the hardiness of the plant. When sowing outdoors, sprinkle seeds directly in the soil. Making a straight line across the soil, create a ridge with the end of a hoe, as deep as the seeds must be sown, and water the groove to moisten the soil so seeds can germinate. Then sow the seeds based on their packet instructions. Push soil back into the hole and press the surface gently. Plants that are easily damaged by frost will need to be sown indoors before being planted out into the garden when established, once again following the packet’s instructions. These will usually be moved to the garden in late spring or early summer, although before doing this set With a wealth of benefits, growing your own fruit and vegetables is a rewarding endeavour. 26-27.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:37 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 27 GARDENS © stock.adobe.com/encierro www.mjp.supplies • MJPSupplies mjpsupplies For the purpose of importing and selling Algifol™ biostimulant products to farmers and growers of specialist crops Watch your profits grow Special offer on 1 litre bottles bought direct from our website Suppliers of a range of liquid storage tanks for: • Oil • adblue • Water • Fertiliser KEVIN JOHNSON “For those times when you need a helping hand on farm or on land” 4 Church Road | Wittering | Peterborough | PE8 6AG Tel: 01780 782924 | Mobile: 07860 608825 enquiries@kevinjohnsoncontracting.co.uk www.kevinjohnsoncontracting.co.uk •Fertiliser Spreading 12m to 36m •Lime Spreading •Maize Drilling •Grass Mowing with Triple Mowers ensure to acclimatise plants to the outdoors, by putting pots outside during the day for a week or so. If you don’t want to start from the seed, plug plants can be bought instead, ready to go straight into the garden. After you have planted your fruit and vegetables there are still a few things to do throughout the year to promote a bountiful crop, including watering regularly (check if plants need watering by poking your finger into the soil to see beans. Furthermore, where growing fruit and vegetables year after year, it is wise to look into rotating crops and replenishing the soil with fertilisers to avoid starving the ground of certain nutrients and prevent building up pests and diseases. Fun and rewarding, get prepping your garden for fruit and veg now! Or if you don’t have outdoor space, make your windowsill your patch with a tray filled with microgreens. if dry), adding further organic matter once or twice a year, removing weeds and fragile or dead stems and leaves, and keeping an eye out for pests, such as slugs, caterpillars and aphids which will eat through leaves or suck out the sap from plants, stunting growth. Move the critters away from your garden or spray aphids with water. You might also consider adding companion plants by your produce to deter pests. Marigolds for instance keep aphids away from © stock.adobe.com/DiedovStock 26-27.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:37 Page 228 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY T his month’s article was prompted by a recent charity bookshop purchase of Simon Jenkins’ beautiful book England’s 100 Best Views, but I found not one was in Lincolnshire! So, here’s my Lincolnshire selection; naturally it’s an entirely personal one! But, is scenery part of our county heritage? We would certainly think so about (say) our national parks such as the Peak or Lake Districts. Therefore, I think, “heritage” can include the influence of our landscape and scenery, both built and natural. Geology affects what we build with and where, land usage, farming practices and where we live and work. In Lincolnshire this results in contrasting landscapes from the fens to the Wolds, our coast, towns, villages plus countryside and urban areas. I quickly found my initial list was far too long to include them all; but here - without counting too closely - is my personal “list” - and in no particular order as regards to favourites. We’ll start in the fenlands around the Wash with three great viewpoints. Firstly, at Frampton Marsh where the extensive views include the outflow of the Boston Haven and the River Welland (especially if you walk along the Haven bank from the RSPB reserve). There are similar views from Frieston Shore and Cut End on the northern bank. In nearby Boston there is a wonderful fenland panorama from the gallery of the famous Stump tower and the Stump itself from the river below. Moving across to Lincolnshire’s southwest there are lovely views along the Grantham Canal and especially from the hilltop above Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir across the Vale of Belvoir. We mustn’t forget Lincoln with views both within the city itself and of Lincoln from the surrounding countryside. One of the best is the grand panorama of the city and cathedral across the Witham Gap from the Viking Way on the crest of South Common whilst, to the east, another from Five Mile Bridge has the cathedral silhouetted on the skyline with a foreground of the River Witham. The best cityscape of Lincoln however must surely be that of the cathedral and Castle Hill from the castle walls or the Observatory Tower. At Scopwick, to the southeast, one could easily imagine oneself in the Cotswolds at Bourton-on-the Water (but without the crowds!) whilst strolling beside its crystal-clear stream amongst honey coloured stone cottages. And two purely natural locations must be the spectacular springtime bluebells of Dole Wood at Thurlby near Bourne and the dramatic autumn colours of the woodlands around We use the word “heritage” this month in its broadest sense as we make a grand tour of Lincolnshire’s scenic beauty spots. Lincolnshire explored BOSTON VIEW FROM FOTHERBY TOP 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:45 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 29 Woodhall Spa and at Hubbard’s Hills, Louth. But this is not just about our natural scenery; there are some fine man-made contributions too within our urban areas. In the far north at Barton-on-Humber the view from the bank of the Humber from beneath the Humber bridge is quite awe inspiring. Whilst a few miles away the historic Thornton Abbey is approached along perhaps the grandest abbey entrance in England - let alone Lincolnshire! A similarly historic building is the magnificent Tattershall castle whose rooftop battlements provide 360-degree views extending south to Boston Stump and north to Lincoln cathedral. There is a wonderful townscape too from the rooftop of the Hub Arts Centre in Sleaford and I must include the wonderful vista along Louth’s Westgate with St James’s church and its glorious spire. And as townscapes go, they don’t get any better than the Georgian streets of Stamford; here among the many delights, the best (I think), are down the beautiful Barn Hill and the skyline of some of the town’s many church spires seen from The Meadows by the River Welland. And finally, of course we cannot forget the Wolds, Lincolnshire’s very own Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Many of the best views can be seen from the Viking Way long distance trail but even then we can find considerable landscape variety; compare the golden ironstone used for building in the north to the “green” Spilsby sandstone in the south. Let’s start in the north. There are two fine viewpoints at Nettleton; both accessible on public footpaths. Nettleton Top looks west to the Trent valley (on clear days as far as the Peak District) whilst at the head of Nettleton Valley, arguably one of the finest scenically in the Wolds, and only two fields away from Lincolnshire’s highest point, there is a fine view back down the Viking Way. Also, near Lincolnshire’s highest point is Normanby where from the Wolds’ western slopes there are again fine views to the west and down to Claxby. A little further south there are extensive Wolds landscapes revealed from the “Ramblers” church at Walesby and also when approaching Tealby on the Viking Way past Castle Farm. By contrast away on the eastern slopes of the Wolds there is the classic view across the “Marsh” as far as the coast from Fotherby Top or from the porch of the little Georgian hilltop church of St Margaret’s, Well Vale, with the hall and lake as a foreground. And finally, to the northern and southern extremities of the Wolds. I must mention the panoramic views from Alkborough over the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Trent, here combining to form the mighty River Humber, and looking across to neighbouring Yorkshire. At the southern tip of the Wolds is the fantastic view from the hilltop churchyard of St Helen’s at West Keal encompassing Boston, the fens and Norfolk across the Wash. Back where we started in fact! I leave readers now to ponder their own favourites, many of which will surely be different from mine. So why not get out and explore? Visit some of my favourite places or re-visit your own! by Hugh Marrows DOLE WOOD NEAR BOURNE VIKING WAY NEAR TEALBYAUTUMN AT WOODHALL SPA LINCOLN FROM SOUTH COMMON 28-29.qxp_Layout 1 15/07/2022 14:45 Page 2Next >