|
Source: (consider it)
|
Thread: Happy Gardening 2014!
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
I transplanted all my plants to the far end. That should give them a couple of hours' grace before the molluscs change direction and start moving back up the plot. Can't keep doing that though, obviously.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
In the past, I have been moved to song about them - parodying a whale hunting song.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Tom Day
Ship's revolutionary
# 3630
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Sometimes potatoes flower, sometimes they don't. It doesn't seem, IME, to correlate to the amount of actual spudlet.
We got our first new potatoes today - grown in bags in the back garden. They were not massive but looking forward to having them for lunch tomorrow. They hadn't flowered either.
This is my first year growing crops with a greenhouse and I have loved it! In fact, this year I have got a surplus of almost everything as everything sprouted... I think next year I have learnt to be a little more sparse in my sowing!
--------------------
My allotment blog
Posts: 6473 | From: My Sofa | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ethne Alba
Shipmate
# 5804
|
Posted
Help! Something is eating my mint...down to almost top-of-the-pot level.
What?
Why?
Why nowt else in the garden eaten?
We have luscious annuals that could be eaten instead.........
Posts: 3126 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
|
Posted
I have just come across this recipe for a non-beer trap, and have just mixed it up and placed in a strategic position.
2 cups of warm water
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of yeast
...and mix well!
Will report results!
--------------------
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
I've just bought an enormous tub of daggy wool pellets!
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
I've done my bean trench and made the second raised bed, so tomorrow things get in the ground. I'm much too late this year.
My grandad made his own soil with compost and leaf mould and so on. I go down to the garden centre and buy it in bags, special offer for four. His has been built on, the back garden and the allotment. (Half of the last garden is still worked, though.)
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I've just bought an enormous tub of daggy wool pellets!
If they really are daggy, they should work well. I assume you know what dags are?
--------------------
Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.
Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
From the smell, and the colour, and the texture, I assume that the wool from which the pellets are derived have been sourced from the back end of the sheep, and contain faeces. Is that the correct derivation of daggy? (I just enjoy the word!) The garden currently does not smell of the roses and the philadelphus, but of a shearing shed.
[ 11. June 2014, 18:14: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
From the smell, and the colour, and the texture, I assume that the wool from which the pellets are derived have been sourced from the back end of the sheep, and contain faeces. Is that the correct derivation of daggy? (I just enjoy the word!) The garden currently does not smell of the roses and the philadelphus, but of a shearing shed.
Exactly.
--------------------
Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.
Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
Very oddly, the word surfaced on Radio 4's Today programme this morning in a discussion on Australian slang. After it was dropped into a list of tinnies, eskies and so on, people obviously called in and they returned to it about an hour later with a description, and the information that it was originally an English word. I was quite unaware of the slang meaning when applied to people! Which would not have seemed appropriate for the stuff I've been scattering with abandon round the garden.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Harvested my first kohlrabi this week. Three actually. One for me, two to share. I haven't tried the leaves yet, but the bulb was tasty. Peeled and shredded it, mixed it with an egg and some flour, and fried up some kohlrabi fritters. I'll be planting more of those. Yummy!
Swiss chard is ready, loads of green tomoatoes, a few sweet pea pods have formed, and the cucumber, squash, and zucchini are going crazy. I'll have enough cucumber to feed the neighborhood. I think I see a few deliveries to the local food bank in my future, and that's after I seal and freeze as much as me and mine can possibly eat. I'm really looking forward to the watermelon in late summer.
I'm amazed at how much food a small plot can provide.
[ 13. June 2014, 16:25: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Cabbage will not be making an encore appearance in my garden next year. I returned from vacation to find that the cutworms have returned. 1 cabbage was gooey and rotten down to the stem, so out it came. I pulled 4 more that were eat up with cutworms. I managed to get 1 grapefruit-sized cabbage that was not rotten/wormy so that got chopped up and eaten last night. I have 2 more that I need to examine, so I may pull them tonight. The cabbages spread out so much that they crowded out and have virtually killed my rosemary, thyme, dill, and leeks.
On a positive note, I harvested my first turnips, yellow squash, and black cherry tomatoes last night. The turnips and squash went into the wok with the cabbage and a kohlrabi for a terriyaki vegetable stir fry. Yum.
I was previously unaware that some kinds of tomato plants need to be pruned or they keep growing. Mine are that kind, so they had gotten a little unruly (about 2m high), but I think I have them under control for now.
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pearl B4 Swine
Ship's Oyster-Shucker
# 11451
|
Posted
Determinate and Indeterminate are the key words to look for when you chose tomatoes. They're two distinct 'natures'.
Determinate types only get so tall, and tend to be bushy; Indeterminate keep on vining until they die in the Fall. They also vary in their timetable of setting fruit and ripening.
Trimming back the indeterminate ones might cut off the flowers, and end fruit production. Experiment with a couple of plants. See what happens.
Cant wait til "real" tomatoes come in. Mmmmm.
--------------------
Oinkster
"I do a good job and I know how to do this stuff" D. Trump (speaking of the POTUS job)
Posts: 3622 | From: The Keystone State | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Thanks Pearl. Mine are the indeterminate kind. I had to trim back some of the flowering stems, but most of the flowers are still there.
Are you saying that trimming any of the flowering stems will stop production in the whole plant?
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Hmmm....it looks like maybe I should have left them alone and folded the upper stems back over (they're still flexible) and redirected them downwards instead of cutting them. Oh well. This is my year for learning anyway.
The reason I can't let them keep going up is because I have bird netting over the whole garden to keep out birds and rabbits (and 'possums, skunks, and squirrels). The netting is about 6' high and the tomato plants were pushing against it and growing through it. I'll try to rework the netting to give them more space and set more stakes to tie the plants to redirect their growth.
[ 27. June 2014, 13:50: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pearl B4 Swine
Ship's Oyster-Shucker
# 11451
|
Posted
Pruning tomatoes
This is good info, despite the annoying cartoon-like illustrations.
And yes, You can coil the long stem loosely around a stake or cage. No, you won't stop the plant from flowering. That bit was poorly written. Sorry.
Good bread, mayonnaise and thick slices of tomato. What bliss.
![[Angel]](graemlins/angel.gif)
--------------------
Oinkster
"I do a good job and I know how to do this stuff" D. Trump (speaking of the POTUS job)
Posts: 3622 | From: The Keystone State | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Thanks! That's helpful. I had read about removing the suckers, but now know that I can remove some of the extra flowering/fruiting stems too. They're getting unruly.
[ 27. June 2014, 18:27: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Chamois
Shipmate
# 16204
|
Posted
My tomato plants are getting unruly, too. Just when I think they're under control I find one of them has sprouted another side-shoot or two. The dratted things seem to appear overnight and grow to six or nine inches long before I spot them. However, can't complain, the plants are all setting fruit very well. We'll just have to see if the weather stays good enough to ripen it. I'm growing heritage tomatoes this year and I'm not sure how good they are about ripening in an English summer.
I picked the first lot of plums today. I've got 3 plum trees which ripen at different times. The first to be ready is the Czar which has big, purple, juicy cooking plums. Plum crumble for lunch - delicious!
I love the garden at this time of year. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
--------------------
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
Posts: 978 | From: Hill of roses | Registered: Feb 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
|
Posted
Well, it's rained in the UK. Sorry, it's rained in the UK! Three days of thunderstorms, adding lots of nitrogen into the system, hopefully a few things will catch up that didn't get going soon enough owing to other stuff going on...
Adrain
XXXX
--------------------
"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
daisymay
St Elmo's Fire
# 1480
|
Posted
I had to wet all my things that are at the back of me. they did not seem to have anything wet and many died.
--------------------
London
Flickr fotos
Posts: 11224 | From: London - originally Dundee, Blairgowrie etc... | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Long sleeves if I'm just going out to pick a few things. If I'm going to be a while, I'll spray exposed skin with All Terrain Herbal Armor. The citronella scent is strong in this one, so if you can't stand that, don't try it. If I get to my gardebn and realize I forgot to spray myself, I'll just rub my arms against my citronella plants. That seems to work pretty well. It doesn't last as long as the spray, but it works for a quick reprieve.
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Chamois
Shipmate
# 16204
|
Posted
With mosquitoes I find it depends on the person. There are some people they find extremely tasty and irresistible, other people who are less attractive and a few people they don't bite at all, ever. If you happen to be super-mosquito-attractive there's not a lot that sprays and repellants will do. Face veil and complete body armour, maybe, like a bee-keeper?
We're having lovely hot sunny days at the moment and my heritage tomatoes are beginning to ripen. Very exciting! I've got one stripy one which is almost ready for picking. Can't wait to find out what it tastes like!
Posts: 978 | From: Hill of roses | Registered: Feb 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
|
Posted
The research done in Canada shows that repellants containing DEET work, with concentrations up to 30% being increasingly effective, but no benefit with higher. These work for everyone, and we sometimes spray the dog as well.
The bane of our north. Here's a youtube which shows how bad they can get, at 51 sec you get the picture pretty well: Mosquito Swarms Ravage Arctic Wildlife. It is why we generally avoid going into the bush in July, the worst month, and also why some of us like it to frost overnight, which frequently happens in August.
--------------------
Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged
|
|
no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Chamois:
With mosquitoes I find it depends on the person.
They bite everyone, but some people don't react and don't feel itchy.
--------------------
Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged
|
|
Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
|
Posted
Have been pretty slack in the garden this year. But hallelujah some lettuce and radish seeds I planted a few days back have germinated (others didn't).
Now just to keep the bastard slugs and snails off 'em. My war on that front continues.
In other news, the unlabelled tomato plants I bought at a fair have turned out to be bush varieties. Which means I've planted them in a completely awkward position. Ah well.
--------------------
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
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
The cabbage worms and cutworms are under control. They did some damage, but I found that a mix of water and BT sprayed on the plants did remarkably well at killing them.
I have found stink bugs on my squash, brussel sprouts, and kale. Not too many. Removed and smashed and removed the eggs. Just need to keep an eye on them.
Now if I could just find a solution for this problem. Does anyone have a good recipe? ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
It chews holes in my netting and makes itself at home. I'm thinking of installing a nice picket fence around the garden and attaching metal mesh "contractor's cloth" to the inside of the fencing.
[ 25. July 2014, 15:10: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
On a positive note, the cucumbers ahve been coming in well. Plenty to share with co-workers. I cut up and vacuum sealed some zucchini and squash last night and I'm eating black cherry tomatoes like candy...which is good because it keeps me from eating actual candy.
My black diamond and moon & stars heirloom watermelons are growing. I have 1 the size of a honeydew and several more ranging from golf ball to grapefruit sizes.
I'll be dehydrating a load of basil, rosemary, and oregano early next week.
This gardening stuff is fun!
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
|
Posted
Ssshhhh, don't tell the slugs & snails but I have some salad leaves and radishes in that they don't seem to have spotted yet.
Also planted some runner beans a couple of weeks ago. Rather late but again, sssh, they seem to have survive and are now about 1/2 foot all so with any luck I may have beans in the autumn.
--------------------
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
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
The Cabbage White butterflies have discovered a way in to my brassicas, which are covered in a tent of horticultural fleece. The intelligence in those tiny heads is amazing.
The year before last I watched as one wandered among the veggies, settling briefly on anything glaucous green, the peas and the leeks, before realising that they were not cabbages, and moving off. I didn't have any brassicas that year. Last year I used an old net curtain and some plastic domes. Still had a couple of the smaller species' caterpillars. I thought I had a good idea in planting mustard green manure around as a distractor, but they didn't go for that - not glaucous, and I assume that the mustardiness is a repellent.
Watching them sauntering around the tent and finding tiny crevices to crawl in through is amazing.
I think I will have to take the stuff off and resort to soap spraying or something.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
|
Posted
They must have moved on from my garden. The brassicas have been decimated, along with the peas. All the potato leaves have holes in them, like paper doilies.,
--------------------
“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
I've got peas, but not many. The leaves have been attacked by lacemakers, but nothing visible. I planted more than last year, but still only have enough to titivate a salad with. I have hopes for the runner beans - they usually crop well.
I am giving away blackberries. The strain is a good one, sweet, and with flavour, unlike the supermarket stuff. It came from the communal garden in the flats I used to live in, where it sprang up from the fertiliser someone brought from the local sewage works. Along with huge quantities of fruit on not many canes, it produces two sorts of adventitious stems. Normal ones, and ones as thick as my thumb, which I am sure an observer could see growing if they waited through an afternoon. No need for stop motion photography. Vicious thorns, as well.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167
|
Posted
Your blackberries sound like mine - large, delicious but oh so vicious and fast growing.
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
|
Posted
Can anyone tell me why my 'dwarf' runner beans have reached 6 foot?
No, they're not growing in a confined space with only overhead light, and I haven't given them a lot of fertiliser or feed. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
--------------------
Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
Heat and light. Lots of both recently, more than they're used to.
Or else they put the wrong seed in the packet.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
|
Posted
There's a reason they're called Runner beans. Usain Bolt wouldn't be in it.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
|
Posted
The peas have nearly finished, but the courgette and bean glut is just getting under way. Heaven only knows what we'll find when we get back after three days away!
On the other hand the spuds are dying back nicely of their own accord, so I shouldn't have to worry about blight this year.
AG
--------------------
"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
|
Posted
Since my last update, the cucumbers have succumbed to wilt spread by stupid cucumber beetles.
The cabbage worms and cutworms appear from time to time but are quickly handled by a spraying of B.T.
Squash bugs and stink bugs have been eating on the yellow squash and zucchini. So far, manually removing them and their egg clusters seems to be working. They haven't done any critical damage yet. I'm planning to dust them with some diatomaceous earth to finish them off. Right now I'm more concerned with the cucumber beetles and fear they may spread their wilt nastiness to my watermelons.
The black-cherry tomatoes are still coming in like crazy. I'll definitely be planting that variety again next year.
--------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Chamois
Shipmate
# 16204
|
Posted
Originally posted by L'organist:
quote:
Can anyone tell me why my 'dwarf' runner beans have reached 6 foot?
Originally posted by Ariel:
quote:
Heat and light. Lots of both recently, more than they're used to.
Or else they put the wrong seed in the packet.
FWIW I think Ariel's second explanation is right. One of my pink-flowering runner beans came up this year with red flowers and I'm sure it was a "stray" seed. It's a wonder it doesn't happen more often.
Both colours of beans are doing well, as are the courgettes, and the carrots are nearly ready. I'm not sure what's happening with the potatoes as the local foxes keep sitting on them so it's difficult to tell whether they're dying down naturally or just getting bruised and flattened.
Pesky animals. We hates them, Precious.
--------------------
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
Posts: 978 | From: Hill of roses | Registered: Feb 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Can anyone tell me why my 'dwarf' runner beans have reached 6 foot?
Lots of warmth and wetness?
Everything in my garden is super-sized this year. I have to fight my way through giant pumpkin & courgette leaves where they are growing across the paths, and some of the 'one person' sized pumpkins will feed a family of four.
I think six foot is fairly dwarf for a runner bean - I need a step-ladder to pick mine, even in a 'normal' year.
--------------------
Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?
Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
|
Posted
Aaaaaargh, the glut, the glut! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
On Wednesday I clear-picked the beans and the courgettes. When we came back on Sunday, we picked a trug full of both. Thank goodness for willing victims for my horticultural efforts!
AG
--------------------
"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
|
Posted
I've not been to my allotment in weeks now - just haven't had the time or energy to spend there. I'm thinking about giving it up. It's been fun, but such hard work - all I seem to have done is firefighting, trying to keep weeds and pests and slugs under control, that is, when it hasn't been flooded and a sea of mud.
I suppose that's what gardening is about, but it hasn't felt particularly rewarding this year.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
|
Posted
I'm sorry to hear about the allotment. But gardening's like that. After the mammoth job of clearing up after our big gean fell a couple of years ago, I don't feel I can keep up with garden any more. The tree used to effectively dominate, and nothing got too rampant in its shade. But now there's too much needs active cultivation. I probably need to return a lot to grass. Even so, what are laughingly referred to as the borders are a lot more militant.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
The tree used to effectively dominate, and nothing got too rampant in its shade.
I'm having major problems with rampant weed growth in what used to be a dry, shaded area under our big flowering cherry.
It had to be felled 18 months ago and the wet winter and sunny summer have given vigorous life in previously unproductive ground beneath its canopy.
As I've been unwell this year the normal weed growth was beyond me, let alone this excess!
--------------------
Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?
Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
|
Posted
My problem exactly. On the plus side, there was a lot of forget-me-not, poppies and camomile among the couch grass so viewed from a distance, it looked a bit cottage gardeny. Plus the borders so unkempt and the montbretia going mad all over.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Chamois
Shipmate
# 16204
|
Posted
At least with a garden you can return it to grass and low-maintenance shrubs. An allotment is a different kettle of fish altogether. I've always admired people who take one on, I know I couldn't keep up with it.
When we lived in central London we had a very low-maintenance garden laid out by the previous owners. A central lawn, with borders full of shrubs like forsythia, winter jasmine and different sorts of viburnum which looked lovely in flower and didn't go out of control. I used to mow the lawn once a week in the season and trim the shrubs once a year, and one good go of weeding a year would usually do it. The only problem was watching out for sycamore seedlings and not letting them get established, as there were several sycamores in our block of gardens. It was a great garden for working people who didn't have much time.
--------------------
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
Posts: 978 | From: Hill of roses | Registered: Feb 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
I've not been to my allotment in weeks now - just haven't had the time or energy to spend there. I'm thinking about giving it up. It's been fun, but such hard work - all I seem to have done is firefighting, trying to keep weeds and pests and slugs under control, that is, when it hasn't been flooded and a sea of mud.
I suppose that's what gardening is about, but it hasn't felt particularly rewarding this year.
Allotments can be hard work and an estimate is an hour per week per rod. I don't think I spend the estimate, and I don't get as much harvest as my retired neighbours who are there for 8 hours a day but I get enough for me and some to give away, without having a glut.
There have been years like you have been having when I thought of tarmac-ing over my plot. Some management teams are stricter than others, which can be unhelpful - I know of one that gets tetchy if the path edges aren't perfect, but thankfully where I am is happy as long as our weeds are not out of control.
Would it help to try to focus on one small area of your plot and get that looking nice, and cover up anything so the weeds are suppressed so you can tackle a bit more next year? This approach worked for me in tricky years.
Posts: 3184 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
|
Posted
That conversion site is amazing - I can now express the rod in megaparsecs should the fancy take me!
If it's allowed I'd second the suggestion that you do what you can and cover the rest. Depending on the landlord you might be able to rent as little as a quarter plot, which would be much more manageable.
AG
--------------------
"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
Printer-friendly view
