VILLAMARV Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 The other thing was the stuff we'd throw away - like half a bag of salad left in the fridge and that sort of thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 So the last couple of weeks have been all about the tomatos. Been picking a few every day and eating them with everything. Made a pasta sauce with fresh toms just to use a load up the other night. Reckon there's about 100 odd still outside but they're ripening pretty quickly so I'd call it a roaring success all in all and proves that even with a late start it's worth it. My 1 courgette is nearly worth harvesting and eating. There's a few cucumbers growing but not very long. 1 looks about big enough to harvest and still got lettuce and rocket on the go so definitely going to get a whole salad on the go this weekend. Oodles of Kale now. More potatos to get out the sacks and see what's in the soil. Still cutting most of the Chard back to try and see off the leaf miners. Pretty close to giving up on them tbh. Haven't really been all that bothered with the slug hunting. As a result my chinese leaves took a battering and a whole load of lettuce seedlings wiped out. Eat a few of my carrotts too so I'll be putting some more of them in I reckon now. Radishes growing ok but nothing off them yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 On 20/09/2018 at 14:29, snowychap said: It's easier said than done, though. I've had a compost bin at the bottom of my garden for yonks and have never had much luck (it does the composting but it's either too wet or two dry and often just seems like a giant ant hill). I realise I have a 'passive' system But just from general tidying the garden plenty of different nitrogen and carbon bits on top of the food waste we chuck in there and while we've been here it's all our gardening has really ever entailed - a bit of tidying up in the spring - but I'll bag up my dried leaves and chop up wood into chippings and stuff quite happily and mix it in as we go through the summer. With the growing stuff this year I've obviously become a bit more aware of the idea of controlling the diseases or ph and all that, which I was reading somewhere the other day would require keeping the soil at a constant temperature of 60 celsius for 3 days to kill off any unwanted pathogens. Seeing as it's not really a hot box this plastic bin of mine it's a bit of a stretch but I've been wondering ways of heating it up. Be nice to be self contained if you like. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 3 hours ago, VILLAMARV said: Seeing as it's not really a hot box this plastic bin of mine it's a bit of a stretch but I've been wondering ways of heating it up. Be nice to be self contained if you like. There was an old boy at one of the Malvern shows who did a talk on composting and he insulated his plastic compost bin with old carpet (and put some on top inside the bin, too). I'm sure I picked up a leaflet he did which ought to be somewhere in one of the drawers. If I find it out, I'll see if he had a website or I may be able scan it and wang it over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 So seeing as it could be a bit frosty this week Ive harvested all the tomatoes. My cherry toms got attacked by late blight so I'm seeing if I caught them early enough to save them. a few rotted so I'm not all that hopeful. kept them all seperate though from the rest. The moneymakers are all over the table. loads of them if they all ripen. Checking out how to preserve them in jars atm. Just feels good looking at them all laid out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 First prod of the ground this year. Not as depressing as I expected it to be, I'd presumed it would be back to natural jungle given the weather but it was reasonable. One hour of digging and I'm knackered. Same tomorrow, then probably leave it until about May if previous years are indicators of future performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 1 hour ago, chrisp65 said: One hour of digging and I'm knackered. The No-Dig Method Quote No Dig method of cultivation can be used for two purposes: to provide a rich soil to grow in, and to clear a weed-infested growing area. Both instances require a great deal of surface mulch (well-rotted manure or compost). In principle, by avoiding digging you will not be disrupting the soil life, nor will you be exposing the soil to weed seeds. Instead the existing weeds are in darkness, which causes them to weaken and die... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Yes, we had a strategy meeting about that once I started whingeing about all the sticky mud sticking to my boots and sticking to the fork and sticking to my glasses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Well two pieces of good positive news this morning. One, I've tidied the garage right up, everything back in order and in its place after a winter of rushed and messy working. All in aid of trying to find the battery and charger for the strimmer. it had to be in there, found the strimmer easy enough so it was just a question of a methodical hour tidying and looking and tidying and looking... Two, I have now found the charger under the stairs in the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Been out hunting slugs between the rain showers. The radish sprouts are a bit of a magnet atm. Had a good clean up last weekend. Toasted a few marshmallows round the fire with MrsVM too (not a euphamism). The Kale Forest is loving the slightly longer days. Got about 30 in various bags and tubs around the back door and the purple sprouting broccoli is starting to look like broccoli (well one of them is). Rocket and Mustard leaves have also survived the winter and perking up a bit. Not pulled up my 8 carrots in a tub yet. Split my clump of garlic chives up into 3 and they're all liking their new homes among the kale and mustard leaves so far No sign of either peas or parsnips yet but they've not been in long. The radishes and spinach are starting to sprout though and I'm planning on sowing some more peas and lettuce next week. Cut back the rosemary outside the back door and have ended up with loads of cuttings currently rooting in the kitchen in a glass of water. Starting a few herbs indoors on the window sills. Basil, dill and coriander like last year and a bit of sage and thyme for the first time along with trying a bit of lemongrass. Also got some leek seedlings and a few sweet peppers starting early on the windowsill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 On 03/03/2019 at 01:10, VILLAMARV said: The Kale Forest is loving the slightly longer days because loads of it is bolting now it seems.... Ah well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Kale tops are nice though Also eat some purple sprouting broccoli as I cut the top off the one that's grown well and that's also nice hopefully the side bits will grow out now as the kale finishes. Need to find some bags/containers to chuck some more red onions in Not sure if I'm going to bother with potatoes this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbauer24 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 I'm going to put this in the gardening thread because I couldn't find a 'how to kill billions of spiders' thread... So before anyone starts, yes every animal is special and yes every animal serves a purpose and yes it's wrong to kill them... but I hate them and I want them all dead. Fairly balanced argument me thinks. So, this isn't about one or two spiders. This is about hundreds of the things. There is a pebble/gravel border around my lawn and the ground literally moves with the sheer number of them if they are disturbed. The spiders are about a centimetre big and fast little buggers. What can I do to at least control the numbers?! I can't even see any obvious food source, there's only a largely unhealthy lawn and a few potted plants. How can I kill them all?! The garden is unusable at the moment as sitting down on the lawn results in a The Mummy/scarabs type scene! Please help me carry out mass pesticide! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted April 16, 2019 Moderator Share Posted April 16, 2019 6 hours ago, jackbauer24 said: I'm going to put this in the gardening thread because I couldn't find a 'how to kill billions of spiders' thread... So before anyone starts, yes every animal is special and yes every animal serves a purpose and yes it's wrong to kill them... but I hate them and I want them all dead. Fairly balanced argument me thinks. So, this isn't about one or two spiders. This is about hundreds of the things. There is a pebble/gravel border around my lawn and the ground literally moves with the sheer number of them if they are disturbed. The spiders are about a centimetre big and fast little buggers. What can I do to at least control the numbers?! I can't even see any obvious food source, there's only a largely unhealthy lawn and a few potted plants. How can I kill them all?! The garden is unusable at the moment as sitting down on the lawn results in a The Mummy/scarabs type scene! Please help me carry out mass pesticide! Let the birds eat them, double win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Scrunch up a load of sellotape in to a ball and dab them up on that. Oh, I don't think you mention what type they are, but if they're the fast little ones that live in gravel, then they've been laying eggs in your bed for weeks now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbauer24 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 2 hours ago, blandy said: Let the birds eat them, double win. No birds around. Cat stops them coming near the garden, lack of trees in suburbia also means numbers are low. Thought about hiring some chickens... 2 hours ago, chrisp65 said: Scrunch up a load of sellotape in to a ball and dab them up on that. Oh, I don't think you mention what type they are, but if they're the fast little ones that live in gravel, then they've been laying eggs in your bed for weeks now. Are you insane?! I'm not touching them other than the bottom of my shoe! Flame thrower is my main thought at the moment (no, not really) There must be something that can destroy them. Game of Thrones wildfire-esque... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Pulled the first ever carrots I've grown. Couple of them are white. the others quite pale orange. Nicely formed roots and everything, just the colour thing. Anything I've done wrong there? Pulled them up too early too late etc? All from the same tub, so same soil, same seed etc. Some pretty big radishes came out today as well. Pulled up all the Kale so I've got a fair bit of space back just in time to start some stuff off and transplant some bits off the windowsills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Matter of fact Irish neighbour: "You know how to deal with snails? Jeyes fluid." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Missus is well into gardening at the moment. Been slowly doing ours up and you wouldn’t recognise it from when we first moved in. shes just starting up her own little gardening business to keep her busy part time. Mowing, pruning, weeding, planting etc.. for people who can’t or don’t want to (mainly elderly ladies at the moment) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) Just had a thunderstorm here. It rumbled away as I was making a cup of tea and then a load of water starts pouring off the roof. MrsVM just got a stand to put up one of the walls outside and we had all our Tomato and Pepper plants along with a few herbs and some Leeks on it. I assume the gutter is blocked on the upstairs flat or the wind and amount of rain just blew all over the place but basically it just channeled all that rain like a big waterfall all over the place. Had a few bigger tubs with Tomatoes in too. So I ran out to try and save them. Just squeezed out my top over the sink it was so wet. Anyway. Soaked to the bone and I'm assuming loads of early seedlings lost Edited June 7, 2019 by VILLAMARV 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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