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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Heaven: The green blade re-riseth (gardening thread anew)
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Wet Kipper
Circus Runaway
# 1654
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Posted
from that site :
quote:
Prune these hydrangeas only in the summer BEFORE August (to be safe). Some experts believe these hydrangeas may be pruned even into August, but this might be risky.
so am I too late ? it could be risky ? risky of what ?
quote:
If those stems are removed (pruned) in the fall, winter, or spring, the bloom buds will be removed, and there may be little or no bloom the following June/July.......or the vast majority of hydrangeas, pruning after about July will result in fewer blooms the next summer.
well that sounds like a risk I'm more than willing to take ![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif)
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- insert randomly chosen, potentially Deep and Meaningful™ song lyrics here -
Posts: 9841 | From: further up the Hill | Registered: Nov 2001
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
I discovered 4 courgettes and a cucumber yesterday when looking around the garden (not on the same plant, you understand!).
We shall have the courgettes tonight with the first leeks (they're a bit small, really), parsnips and runner beans from the freezer to go with our salt marsh lamb and nice bottle of merlot (is the the recipe thread, the gardening thread or the family food favourites thread?).
And we picked the last of the tomatoes yesterday - still nice but not as sweet as they were, not surprisingly.
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Emma Louise
Storm in a teapot
# 3571
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Posted
Thinking of courgettes...
I should soon be moving to a place with a garden!!! (finally!)
Im very much excited about the prospects of courgettes in particular but also other easy to grow veggies and plants...
I expect to be moving about end of december so will ask then what I should be doing in a scraggy garden in winter!!
Posts: 12719 | From: Enid Blyton territory. | Registered: Nov 2002
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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34
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Posted
If you have some outdoor space just now you could plant up some pots and then take them with you when you move. I have a couple of pots by the front door. I planted some variagated shrubby stuff in the middle, and a trail of ivy dangling over the edge. Then I scattered some bulbs, covered them with potting compost and then planted some winter pansies on top.
This gave me a lovely pot during most of the winter, and then in spring as the winter pansies were dying off the snowdrops started peeping, afterwards crocuses and daffs appeared.
It took maybe about 2 hours to buy and plant the tubs, and they gave colour and interest for at least 5 months. This summer I put in some fresh compost and shoved in some pelargoniums.
Posts: 13287 | From: Cottage of the 3 Bears (and The Gremlin) | Registered: May 2001
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Emma Louise
Storm in a teapot
# 3571
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Posted
Sadly Im in a first floor flat... hence why Im so excited about moving to a place with an Outdoors again ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
First time in nearly 3 years ..... ![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif)
Posts: 12719 | From: Enid Blyton territory. | Registered: Nov 2002
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Siegfried
Ship's ferret
# 29
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Posted
We had hard freezes Wednesday night and Thursday night, which finished my annuals off. Even the valiant fuscia, which had surivived the earlier frosts met it's end alone in the night. Today I will clean up the signs of the carnage and see if the rosemary can be brought in or if it's too far gone. Ah well.
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Siegfried
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Posts: 5592 | From: Tallahassee, FL USA | Registered: May 2001
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Flausa
Mad Woman
# 3466
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Posted
Our tomato plants just will not quit. I thought we'd got the last, but one of the silly critters has started popping out 3 more toms. The plants are looking quite scraggly and I've been willing them to die for a couple of weeks, but they just keep producing. Not bad for 20p and some space in our living room window.
Posts: 4610 | From: bonny Scotland | Registered: Oct 2002
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Ferijen
Shipmate
# 4719
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Posted
*bouncing this up for a new season*
So, green-fingered shipmates, what have you been up to in your garden? Since moving last summer, the garden here has been mostly ignored (although the bulbs I planted last september have come in wonderfully in the front and are a riot of dwarf irises, crocii, with daffodils growing hard and even, in a sheltered pot, the first brave peeks of a tulip. I saw daffodils out today (early even for my south-coast location) so I hope we don't end up with a sharp frost to ruin things.
Anyway, on to the back garden. We've dug over and prepared a veggie patch about 1.4 x 2.4 m - not huge, but certainly enough (we hope) to get something edible out of the garden, and I've been persuaded by a friend to turn my pots to produce-bearing too. I can't resist seeds, and I've done a swap with that friend, so we've got multiple varities of carrots, tomatoes, courgettes, peas, beans, peppers chilli and "normal", onions. calabrese and other delights. I'm thinking about investing in link a bord to make some raised beds over our plot - so we're going to end up with 1m x 2.5m, I think. Whilst the soil is OK at the moment, the lumps of clay within it are just waiting to turn to brick come the first real sunshine and I think a raised bed should get over some of this problem to start with (I hope so, at least)
So any tips for an almost-first time veggie grower? What's peeking through your garden?
Posts: 3259 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2003
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gizzie
Ship's interpreter
# 11715
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Posted
Excited to see this thread again, makes me think that spring is coming.
This weekend is the first time I have been out in the garden since December when I was still planting bulbs.. Just been clearing up and planting a few polyanthus and some lovely mauve miniature irises in flower.
Yesterday I started getting my fuchsias out of hibernation. I had quite a large specimen of ´Checkerboard´which I plant outside in the summer and train to climb up a fence. Well when I got it out and watered it, I really wondered whether anything had survived. There were no shoots at all on it. I went back today to look at it and there were about ten tiny pink shoots about a quarter of an inch long! Ive never seen a fuchsia grow that quickly!
Posts: 381 | From: UK | Registered: Aug 2006
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RainbowKate
Shipmate
# 9331
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Posted
I used to have two small palm trees in large pots out on my balcony. They died last winter, and never did well on the balcony anyway since I get very little sun.
It gets very hot and humid here (Virginia, USA) in the summer, 90's or so from late June-September, but my balcony is largely in the shade. A bit of afternoon sun, but that's it. I'd like to plant some kind of bulbs out there, but before this place I'd always lived in places were I got lots of direct sun so my experience is with sun loving plants.
Anyone have suggestions?
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Coffee is the answer
Posts: 1227 | From: Left at the loophole | Registered: Apr 2005
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daisymay
St Elmo's Fire
# 1480
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Posted
Really, really pleased to find this thread instantly, when I was about to check where it had travelled to.
I was fighting with my jasmine yesterday: it's been trying to take over the whole yard, spreading everywhere, and so I was pruning it like mad. I filled a whole black bag with it, and planted some in the "garden" across the road where there are trees and the council has not planted anything for two years... I hope it will grow there as much as it's been thriving with me.
It attacked me and poked my eye with a strong stick yesterday - feels sore, but it only jabbed the white bits of my eye. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I've also decided I need to throw out my two old clematis plants and scrub their pots and plant new ones...
Can't give advice though..
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London
Flickr fotos
Posts: 11224 | From: London - originally Dundee, Blairgowrie etc... | Registered: Oct 2001
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mertide
Shipmate
# 4500
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Posted
Rainbow Kate: Have you tried Clivia Miniata? They do very well in dry shade.
Posts: 382 | From: Brisbane | Registered: May 2003
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Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
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Posted
Another question rather than any answers I'm afraid.
My flat is one of two in a converted house. The garden likewise had been split in two - I got the bit that was nearest the house, paved with a couple of tiny beds. However I've just bought the other half off my neighbour. I need to pull down the fences, move the shed, lift up paving stones, remove some concrete and then I can start thinking about creating a garden! (Anyone wanna come and help???)
Anway, most pressing questions are:-
- how do I get rid of a number of Buddleia that are growing through the paving stones? They must be about 20' high. Is chopping and digging up roots the best/only option? I suspect that once a garden's got Buddleia they're hard to get rid of and I know they grow ferociously fast - anyone got any experience?
- how does one go about moving a garden shed?
- there's a beautiful white climbing rose that will really need to be moved. It's got very very straggly as it hasn't been looked after for years. Is there an optimum time for cutting it back and digging it up for moving?
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Arthur & Henry Ethical Shirts for Men
organic cotton, fair trade cotton, linen
Sometimes I wonder What's for Afters?
Posts: 2022 | From: the smallest town in England | Registered: Sep 2003
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Yangtze:
(Anyone wanna come and help???)
Yes, if you want - though I'm better at plants than I am at paving stones. Or sheds. Or anything remotely approaching DIY.
quote:
how do I get rid of a number of Buddleia that are growing through the paving stones? They must be about 20' high. Is chopping and digging up roots the best/only option?
Yes.
If you cut it back really hard it will grow new shoots two to three metres long in the first year - which might be OK of course if you can cut it back every year you are in the garden - and will smell really nice.
Though you need to keep an eye open for new plants growing from seed in disturbed ground (like the place underneath where the paving stones now aren't)
You can also kill it by painting the leaves with a glyphosate-based poison on a dry summer day, and repeating once or twice till you know it is dead. You probably don't want to do this if it s a big bush in a small garden.
For slightly more work you can cut it back to a stump, then paint the cut end and anywhere buds used to be with some glyphosate mixture.
quote:
- there's a beautiful white climbing rose that will really need to be moved. It's got very very straggly as it hasn't been looked after for years. Is there an optimum time for cutting it back and digging it up for moving?
It depends. When does it flower? Do you know if it is grafted into a rootstock or if it is planted straight into the ground? Is it a climber or a rambler?
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
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Posted
Thanks Ken. Seeing as there are at least 4-5 buddleias growing up through paving in the middle of the garden, (and no doubt lots more seedlings cooking away) keeping them isn't really an option. I'll have a go at chopping and digging then.
I can go and look at the rose and see if it's grafted onto rootstock. But how do I tell the difference between a rambler and a climber? It flowers from late spring throughout the summer as far as I can remember.
[Edited for spelling - it's buddleia not budlia, I knew something looked strange!]
[ 05. February 2007, 13:55: Message edited by: Yangtze ]
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Arthur & Henry Ethical Shirts for Men
organic cotton, fair trade cotton, linen
Sometimes I wonder What's for Afters?
Posts: 2022 | From: the smallest town in England | Registered: Sep 2003
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obble
Shipmate
# 10868
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Yangtze:
- how does one go about moving a garden shed?
The easiest method is to get half a dozen strong people to help you, and pick the shed up and move it in one piece, assuming it is strong enough to take such treatment without falling apart. It helps if you have a clear path between the two locations.
If it was originally supplied as a flat-pack shed, it may be possible to take roof off and then take the walls apart and then bolt them back together again in the shed's new location, provided the screws and bolts aren't rusted up too much - a can of oil is useful here! Again, borrowing someone else's muscles is recommended.
If it's like the shed on my dad's allotment, made decades ago from scrap timber and patched up ever since, it can probably only be moved by taking it apart completely and rebuilding it a plank at a time.
Whatever method you use, put it up again on a solid surface (bricks, concrete, paving slabs etc), and not directly on the earth as this will almost certainly cause it to rot. I would also take the opportunity to treat the underneath of the shed with a wood preservative, while you can get at it.
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Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 1700 | From: Some other planet | Registered: Jan 2006
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Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by obble:
quote:
Originally posted by Yangtze:
- how does one go about moving a garden shed?
The easiest method is to get half a dozen strong people to help you, and pick the shed up and move it in one piece <snip>
That can be done?! Fab. Do sheds really not have anything other than their own weight securing them to the ground then?
Now then, just need to organise a Shipmeet with my back garden as the location!
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Arthur & Henry Ethical Shirts for Men
organic cotton, fair trade cotton, linen
Sometimes I wonder What's for Afters?
Posts: 2022 | From: the smallest town in England | Registered: Sep 2003
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Yangtze:
- how does one go about moving a garden shed?
The first step is to inspect it to see how it is built. Wood floor or bare earth? Metal or wood? Any foundation involved?
We have a large wooden shed for the tractor that I have moved several times, about 2.5m x 3.5m with heavy timbers under the floor (to support the weight of the tractor.) I can move it by myself if necessary, although an extra person makes it easier. If your shed doesn't have a wood-framed floor you can place some long planks under it.
My moving method (that I use for other heavy items as well) requires the use of two ancient discoveries - levers and rollers. First look for rollers that are appropriate for the ground you have to pass over - if it is rough then round logs 10 to 25cm in diameter may be the best choice. For smoother ground I've gotten steel tubing perhaps 5cm diameter cut into shorter lengths for me at a metal disposals. Plastic water pipe might work if the shed is light or you use enough of them. I got a number of 12cm logs intended for fence posts and cut them into 1m lengths because the shed only touched the ground on the two long sides - sometimes something that goes all the way under the shed is better (depending on what is under it.)
Next for the levers - some 5cm thick planks about 2m long should work. You need an assort of fulcrums of differing heights - I used a stack of short pieces of board, logs, bricks and other handy items. Ideally something that you can stack to various heights as needed. Work the end of the lever under one corner or side of the shed, insert a fulcrum under it, and push down on the far end. Hopefully the corner raises enough so you can get a small piece of wood or a brick under it. (This is where it is really good to have a second person - holding down the end of a lever while inserting a wooden block 2m away is not always easy.) Repeat all around the outside until the shed is off the ground, then keep raising it a bit at a time, stacking more boards under the shed and for the fulcrum as needed. Eventually you should get it high enough to slip the rollers underneath instead of the stack of blocks/bricks.
Once you have the shed on rollers it is easier to move. Sometimes. Actually, things tend to slide on the rollers more often than rolling, but either method is much better than trying to carry it or slide it over the ground. You can use the lever again hear by putting the end slightly under the back of the shed and prying up - that should nudge it forward a bit. The same method applied to the sides will slowly steer it around a corner. Just keep track of where all of the rollers are to make sure that the shed doesn't fall off, or that one gets lost underneath where you can't reach it to pull it out. You'll have to move them from the back to the front. A half-dozen strong blokes wouldn't hurt to push it, but make sure they don't push it too fast and off the end of the rollers.
Then just take it slow and do a little bit at a time, and you will be amazed what you can move.
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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geroff
Shipmate
# 3882
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Posted
I have just started a thread in All Saints about the possibility of a garden based meet in the UK sometime this summer.
I would post a link but I am not sure how to do this within the Ship!
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"The first principle in science is to invent something nice to look at and then decide what it can do." Rowland Emett 1906-1990
Posts: 1172 | From: Montgomeryshire, Wales | Registered: Jan 2003
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Siegfried
Ship's ferret
# 29
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Posted
Well, before our temperatures plunged the night of January 29th (last day we were above freezing--in fact, we've only gotten to 20F once since February 2nd), the crocus and daffodils had started to emerge. As they're now buried beneath 5" of snow, I haven't a clue what's happening. Once we get a thaw, I need to cut back the clematis from last year and pulls back some of the leaves I let cover the beds along the driveway so the lily of the valley can emerge properly.
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Siegfried
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Posts: 5592 | From: Tallahassee, FL USA | Registered: May 2001
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Siegfried
Ship's ferret
# 29
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Posted
After the blizzard we had last Tuesday, and the Alberta Clipper that came through overnight, everything is now buried under 18" or so of snow. I can barely see the tops of my azaleas and lavender. I really want it to be spring now.
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Siegfried
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Posts: 5592 | From: Tallahassee, FL USA | Registered: May 2001
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bush baptist
Shipmate
# 12306
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Posted
Spring? It's full summer here, and our garden is producing its head off, with a special effort in the tomato line, and capsicum, zucchini and pumpkin also rolling in. But the heat and the dry have crushed any hopes we might have had of green leafy things, even good old silver beet, the most forgiving vegetable I know.
Posts: 1784 | From: drought-stricken land | Registered: Jan 2007
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ferijen:
What's peeking through your garden?
A sunny morning, just above freezing, gave a good opportunity for a brief walk in the garden before the impending storm. Weather has taken its toll this year - heavy wind and rain as well as cold and ice. Several eucalyptus and conifers had to be staked, and at least one shrub is sill laying on its side with roots exposed. The melianthus, echium and romneya look dead - we’ll see if they recover or not.
But there is new life, too. The crocus are starting to bloom in purple, orange and lavender, the hellebores are out in pink, purple, mauve, yellow and chartreuse. Viburnum and mahonia have been blooming for a while now, the lonicera purpusii is covered with fragrant blooms, and the kniphofia sarmentosa and jasminum nudiflorum are well under way. A few flowers on the rosemary, some hebes, primroses and cyclymen along with colourful foliage on euphorbias, choisya and phormiums help liven things up. The buds are swelling on the magnolias, michelia sechuanensis, daphne tangutica and acacia pravissima (which has been budding since November but has yet to flower.) The usual bulbs are up now, but only the snow drops and smallest daffodils are blooming yet. Also up are feral elephant garlic and some surprises: plants that have come up in unexpected places, either by seed, root, or from recycling “dead” pots into landscaping fill. And, of course, plenty of weeds and debris.
Lots of work to do in the garden, but for now I’ll just sit inside where it is warm and dry.
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ferijen:
What's peeking through your garden?
On a quick trot round the garden between showers yesterday I spotted the following in flower:
The last single bloom on a winter aconite
Viburnum bodnantense "Dawn"
Winter Jasmine, nearly over
Clematis cirrhosa 'Jingle Bells', which has been flowering since the end of November, and has about a week's worth of flowering still to do.
Christmas Box
Snowdrops, various varieties
Spring Snowflake
Cyclamen Coum
Sweet Violet
Lenten Roses-many pink & purple shades, and white
Crocus, various varieties
Primula
and, to my surprise, a few flowers already out on the Forsythia.
The only veg out there at the moment is Rainbow Chard, which has lasted through from last year.
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Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?
Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
Just popped in to post that my Christmas Cactus, which is a contrary thing, has finally decided to bloom. I think it is a Lenten plant. It gets later every year.
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Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Siegfried
Ship's ferret
# 29
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Posted
Still 2 or 3 days minimum before the snow melts off the garden beds. Snow drops and crocus had begun sprouting prior to the blizzard--I'm hoping they'll be ready to bloom in the next week or two.
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Siegfried
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Posts: 5592 | From: Tallahassee, FL USA | Registered: May 2001
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Ferijen
Shipmate
# 4719
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Posted
We've now finished assembling our vegetable plot - 2.5m x 1m, so hardly huge, but enough (I hope) to get out a decent crop of salad and a few peas for the year. I've also got chillies and tomatoes on the windowsills of my home, but its still a bit cool to prompt germination.
The long term forecast is for relatively mild weather for the next month. I think, therefore, its time to turn my conservatory into an impromptu greenhouse for the year (being leaky, and in bad need of repairs/rebuilding, its not much use for anything else). Hopefully next weekend I'll start planting up my flower seeds - I have some petunia, salvia, and some rather lovely looking nastusiams ("Summer Carousel"). But our new house has shady, tree-dominated gardens and extremely clay-like soil, so there's a lot of groundwork still to be done.
Posts: 3259 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2003
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PeaceRose
Shipmate
# 11586
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Posted
We have great soil, but a terrible problem with moles - which is a new one for us (rabbits, squirrels, and all the usual invertebrates, but never moles). We have a couple of sonic mole repellent thingies, one of which sems to be working, but the other one has three beautiful fresh molehills right up against it. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
We're not bothered about having a perfect lawn, but parts of it are starting to look like a ploughed field. Any suggestions (bearing in mind that I am a complete wuss, and wouldn't want to actually hurt them. Just send them next door ...)?
[punctuation]
[ 25. February 2007, 20:02: Message edited by: PeaceRose ]
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Kindness is underrated.
Posts: 299 | Registered: Jun 2006
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
Daffodills, crocuses, and at least some of the street cherries are in bloom in London now. Photos tomorrow
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Emma Louise
Storm in a teapot
# 3571
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Posted
When I moved into the house (about a month ago) it was wildly overgrown - so far we have dug up the rubbish and spent ages digging the soil/ adding compost/ removing old bits of things and it looks just ripe to plan things...
Ive put some "instant colour" annuals in and a few shrubby things(cikle ones)
The herb garden didnt get off to a good start as Id used herbs from tescos which i think were designed to live on the windowsil rather than outdoors.... so either ill have to go to a garden centre or sew seeds for the basil and things that didnt like being put outside.
As Ive got an (almost) black slate Im thinking of gradually building it up each season over time, as theres nothing there now to base it around.
We have family visiting for The Wedding from ozzy land around last 2 weeks august/first week of september...
Any ideas for things i could buy/plant now that would look lovely then? All ideas welcome - whether its from a garden centre ofrom seed - only criteria is that I can get hold of plant now/soon or plant it now/soon and that it will look good *then* ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posts: 12719 | From: Enid Blyton territory. | Registered: Nov 2002
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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167
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Posted
The helebores in my garden are really doing well, giving pink and white flower colour in contrast to the daffodils. I love this time of year when the flowers show us a promise of what's to come.
Also, I was pleased to see that when I planted another helebore (addicted, me, never!) yesterday that the soil under a horrid leylandii hedge (not mine!) is beautifully rich and full of worms - it might be the "tea" from my wormery that I've been feeding that bed with to help give it back the nutrients taken by the hedge. Hopefully the summer will bring stronger plants there than in previous years.
Now counting the days before planting my pea and bean seeds..... 3 days to go....
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
The moles are visiting you for a reason--probably lunch. I'm not certain what moles eat, but vaguely remember hearing that they like Japanese beetle grubs (you know, the kind that live in and under lawns and just beg to be dug up?). You might look into it. If you do have a lot of grubs, you can get that organic Bt stuff (bacillus thuringiensis) to spread that gets rid of them for years to come. If that's what's attracting them, the moles will probably move on, too.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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obble
Shipmate
# 10868
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Posted
I believe that moles like eating earthworms best, but will eat any other small creatures they come across.
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Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 1700 | From: Some other planet | Registered: Jan 2006
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PeaceRose
Shipmate
# 11586
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Posted
I'll look into the BT stuff, but we have done a fair amount of digging, and there doesn't seem to be anything odd in the lawn soil - the soil is really lovely, which I suppose suggests that we might have a goodly population of earthworms.
I think there must be a massive mole community around here in general too. When we go out we see vast numbers of molehills. We have a pleasant, if repetitive, conversation that goes, 'They have far more molehills than we do. And their soil's worse, too.'
More than anything, I'm concerned about the potatoes I'm about to plant. The potato bed is alongside the worst patch of molehills, and it really won't do them any good to be tunnelled through. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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Kindness is underrated.
Posts: 299 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by daisydaisy:
when I planted another helebore (addicted, me, never!)
Me too! They seed themselves so freely, and I can't bear pulling them out, so my garden is gradually being taken over by them. It's a good job they look good for so long!
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Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?
Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005
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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167
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Posted
To deter the moles have you tried something like a windmill in a half-buried bottle? Aparently the rattling puts the moles off.
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006
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Ferijen
Shipmate
# 4719
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Posted
Emma, I went to a garden centre today and suddenly there are HUNDREDS of seed varieties around. I've just planted some indoor trays today which should (will) flower June-September. I had some pretty Petunias the other year which were dead easy to grow from seed. Do you have a sunny wall where you could grow some Sunflowers? Or sweet peas? Or marigolds? I've found those all easy to grow and great for colourful niceness in the garden.
I think I'm going to plant some radishes this week...
Posts: 3259 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2003
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PeaceRose
Shipmate
# 11586
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Posted
I think I'll try the windmill idea - it should look interesting anyway. I hope I'll be able to figure out which way the runs go, given the mass confusion of the molehills.
Borage is really easy to grow from seed - throw it anywhere, and it'll grow - and the flowers are beautiful. You can put them in Pimms, too, either frozen in ice cubes or just on their own. I love multi-purpose plants.
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Kindness is underrated.
Posts: 299 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by PeaceRose:
I think there must be a massive mole community around here in general too. When we go out we see vast numbers of molehills.
...
More than anything, I'm concerned about the potatoes I'm about to plant. The potato bed is alongside the worst patch of molehills, and it really won't do them any good to be tunnelled through.
The moles (or, more likely mole) won't eat the potatoes - they are carnivores. They make lots of tunnels then patrol them to see what tasty worms, insects or other things end up in them. They are not social animals, which is why I suspect that you are infested by just one. A single mole can easily cover an area 50m square. In fact, I can look out the window and trace the route of one that came 200m up the hill through the neighbor's field towards our garden.
The only damage we had with moles in the potatoes was that they burrowed right under the soaker hose where digging was easiest - this went right through the roots of the plants and exposed them to the air, which they didn't like. After we removed the mole the voles used the tunnel and chewed on a few potatoes, but there was no significant damage to the crop.
Mole control: one approach is to kill all your earthworms, but that surely does more damage to the soil than the mole does. I've tried most of the various deterrants such as noise makers and euphorbias: they might discourage building a new tunnel nearby, but doesn't really chase them away once they get established. The only approach I've had success with is trapping them. And because moles have a very keen sense of smell and rarely come to the surface, they aren't very cooperative.
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
Re the grubs--my understanding is that they aren't in the soil, they're on top of it, right under that nice little carpet of grass thatch. Basically, if you peel back your turf, you may see some. Or you may not. Don't know which to hope for!
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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Dormouse
Glis glis – Ship's rodent
# 5954
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Posted
I'm sort of sneaking in here with a confession of sorts.
We have recently been offered a large piece of land to cultivate. We plan on doing this with friends. Mr D is already getting quite excited about his potatoes and leeks, his fruit trees and his raspberry patch. All I can do is think "It's all going to be Very Hard Work" The patch is overgrown, and although the soil is good in places, it's fairly poor in others. I know I will be expected to aid and abet in this venture, but I can't get enthusiastic. I'm sure I will love the veg & fruit, but the digging and weeding...aargh.
How can I enthuse myself to this task? I know I can think of the rewards, and that may help, but does anyone really like weeding? I want to love it, like the lady on Grow Your Own Veg (or Grow Your Own Prog-Rock, as Mr D called it, on account of its soundtrack) but I can't get excited.
Although I am looking forward to the chickens that we plan on getting....
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What are you doing for Lent?
40 days, 40 reflections, 40 acts of generosity. Join the #40acts challenge for #Lent and let's start a movement. www.40acts.org.uk
Posts: 3042 | From: 'twixt les Bois Noirs & Les Monts de la Madeleine | Registered: May 2004
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PeaceRose
Shipmate
# 11586
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Posted
I think you need to set up some job definitions. If he's really excited, then the heavy digging should clearly be his!! The chickens, however, could possibly be your job. Do this while he's still excited.
Then get yourself a book like Bob Flowerdew's 'The No Work Garden'. It's a lie, of course, but he does talk a lot of sense about the things that do and don't need doing. And he has a lovely pony tail. If your aim is good, tasty fruit and veg, then weeds will only need removing if they are going to interfere with the things you're growing.
The best way to get real enjoyment out of the garden is to put on a wide straw hat, hold a little trowel in one hand and a cool drink in the other, and tell the man where to dig.
Charles Barr
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Kindness is underrated.
Posts: 299 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Dormouse
Glis glis – Ship's rodent
# 5954
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Posted
I've just spent 2 hours raking over the ground already dug by Mr D to find weeds. It was actually rather pleasant being out in the hot sunshine.
And our gardening neighbour gave us some leeks and 2 fresh eggs. Which was nice!
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What are you doing for Lent?
40 days, 40 reflections, 40 acts of generosity. Join the #40acts challenge for #Lent and let's start a movement. www.40acts.org.uk
Posts: 3042 | From: 'twixt les Bois Noirs & Les Monts de la Madeleine | Registered: May 2004
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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439
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Posted
Dormouse, I've found that raspberries are very difficult to rein in once one gets them established---in all likelihood your problem will be how to deal with a superabundance of raspberries!
We've got hyacinths and gregii tulips poking their tips up along the front walk. It is supposed to get up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit today---marvellous!
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Bad Christian (TM)
Posts: 3069 | From: near a lot of fish | Registered: Oct 2001
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Ferijen
Shipmate
# 4719
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Dormouse:
I've just spent 2 hours raking over the ground already dug by Mr D to find weeds. It was actually rather pleasant being out in the hot sunshine.
And our gardening neighbour gave us some leeks and 2 fresh eggs. Which was nice!
Is it helpful to think of the exercise? I mean, two hours in the garden with the warm sunshine is much nicer than two hours of "deliberate" exercise.
I like seeing things grow. I'm getting a real kick out of seeing things I've planted shoot to life. But I didn't have to do much weeding to start off with, seeing as I'm doing the raised bed lark...
Posts: 3259 | From: UK | Registered: Jul 2003
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by PeaceRose:
The best way to get real enjoyment out of the garden is to put on a wide straw hat, hold a little trowel in one hand and a cool drink in the other, and tell the man where to dig.
Charles Barr
This quote is prominently displayed in the Carex household!
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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ReginaShoe
Shipmate
# 4076
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Posted
First, a praise report - my specially-ordered Spanish Roja garlic is starting to sprout! I was cheering tonight when I saw the first shoots coming out, as I had been really worried about whether they would. First I had let the cloves sit too long before I planted them last fall and they got rather dried-out, then right after I planted them we started one of the snowiest winters in recorded Colorado history, then my husband got the bright idea of putting an "ice skating rink" on a tarp right on top of them. Man, I love growing garlic - it really can take some punishment and keep on going.
Second, a question for the folks here; has anyone tried solarizing your soil? If so, any particular tips, such as where to get the clear plastic? Basically, we love growing Romano beans but our soil now has a bad infestation of fusarium root rot fungus, and solarizing the soil is the only way we can get rid of it. (We're doing it on half the garden per year so that we can still do some growing - we just planted winter rye on the half to be solarized so it won't be too ugly between now and summer.)
Finally, Dormouse, the real thrill of gardening is hard to describe, but it has to do with watching living things respond to your care. (Though I tend to pick things that don't need too much.) Tending a thriving plant goes beyond the satisfaction of a job well done, such as a well-written report or a delicious homemade meal - it's more like that warm feeling you get when your kids make you proud. That's my experience, anyway.
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"If you have any poo, fling it now." - Mason the chimp
Posts: 598 | From: Colorado | Registered: Feb 2003
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Ethne Alba
Shipmate
# 5804
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Posted
The past two years has seen me gardening in five different gardens.
We now have:
Back:
Bare.
Badly grassed ( think Very badly grassed).
White painted concrete fence bases.
Ruddy red, wooden, fencing all round.
Side path to rear gate.
Front:
Bare.
Badly grassed ( see above)
Walled, but so badly it Will need to be redone, esp as it's alongside a pavement.
Drive
And a place where gate could go, but it's in wrong place.
So far the pots that moved with us have been planted out with cheap-and-cheerfuls- just in order not to be humiliated by the abundance of colour and style from the rest of the street!
To add to the mix we have a dog.
And the gardens ( front and back) are small.
Questions?
Where should we start?
Should we be thinking about raised beds?
At what point do we replace the front wall?
manythanks.
my enthusiasm is tiny and the project appears daunting!
[ 14. March 2007, 08:20: Message edited by: Ethne Alba ]
Posts: 3126 | Registered: Apr 2004
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PeaceRose
Shipmate
# 11586
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Posted
If you can think about raised beds, do!! Especially if you are prone to back ache. It is sooooo much easier to pull a few weeds as you go along if the beds are higher.
If the area in the back that is badly grassed is fairly small, level it and put down turf, then just make sure it doesn't dry out until it's well-established. It's a quick and easy (ish) job and will give you a real boost because it shows immediate results.
I've filled lots of gardens in the past with the cheap shrubs from Woollies, Morrisons, Wilko* etc - as long as you check they're alive before you buy them, and put them in straight away, they tend to do pretty well - and they're so cheap that if you decide you don't like something in the future you can take it out without too many qualms, but in the short term the garden will fill up nice and quickly.
The wall probably needs doing as soon as you can - it will be harder to do if there are plants you want to keep growing up against it, and, anyway, it will give you another boost if it looks nice.
* Not sure if you're in the UK, but I expect there are equivalents everywhere!
Oh - and my early clematises are covered with big fat buds, the wisteria has little tiny flower buds, and there is a bullfinch eating the flower buds on one of the damson trees.
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Kindness is underrated.
Posts: 299 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Emma Louise
Storm in a teapot
# 3571
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Posted
hmmmm. M garden is looking much prettier now, but still a lot of hard labour to be done. Ive got sweet peas planted in a pot with canes tied up, which should be nice, and some seeds planted.
Whats the difference between a rose climber and a rose rambler?
Im wanting somethings to cover my back wall and looking at rambling/climbing plants with wires and sticks and things...
As im poorly I wont be doing much for a while - but its fun to get excited about the warmer weather
Posts: 12719 | From: Enid Blyton territory. | Registered: Nov 2002
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