Gardeners Thread

[fizzycola]

This is a lovely thread!

I've tried and tried with broccoli and cabbage over many years to stop the darn things from bolting and mulching and keeping the soil cool fairly works for me.

Be very aware that on a really hot day you HAVE to water them at least twice. But not when the sun is shining directly on your beloved plants as the sun/water combo will scorch them.

I've got super lettuces so far, pick the outer leaves again and again and it will stop them from bolting. Strawbs have millions of flowers on them so looking good...

I'm fair chuffed with my garden/greenhouse this year. Tatties are in the garden as are the leeks and onions, mange toutes and peas.. beetroots are still not there yet...but looking good in the greenhouse tho

Still have a prob with the cucs tho...the 2 really big ones have droopy leaves (F1 all female hybrid) I can see the lil cucs on the plant developing, the lil plants are not droopy yet. I got these super pots you plant em in that have a ring about them so you water the ring and it goes into the soil...so preventing stem rot.... trying this out this year for the first time.......

fizzy

[omnipleasant]

Right - I've finally decided to make my own compost (because everyone says I should - personally I think it's better to just buy the bloody stuff, but hey)

It's in an old plastic dustbin with the bottom cut off. However, it's absolutely full of fruit flies. A proper cloud of the little beggers every time you go near it.

What do I do?

[mango]

Jun 2, 2009 11:06:19 GMT @omnipleasant said:

Right - I've finally decided to make my own compost (because everyone says I should - personally I think it's better to just buy the bloody stuff, but hey)

It's in an old plastic dustbin with the bottom cut off. However, it's absolutely full of fruit flies. A proper cloud of the little beggers every time you go near it.

What do I do?

I don't think they're really 'fruit flies'
if you google composting I think they refer to them as little sugar flies (I remember googling this when I had them in my composter) apparently it's all part of the process. When it gets going & generates some heat they'll either leave or be cooked.
- meanwhile you might want to cover each layer of fruit peelings etc with a small shovel full of soil or a layer dry leaves / pea hay / shredded paper.... or whatever you're using as carbon

[omnipleasant]

Ah Ok. Nice one, I will do that. Dunno wtf pea hay is, but I'll do the soil and newspaper thing.

Do I keep the lid off unless it's raining? Is that right?

[mango]

well I do the opposite - I keep the lid on most of the time, but occasionally take it off if it's raining to get some moisture into it - not too wet though
or just water it with the watering can
(I've heard some people wee in it...)

small print:- 'some people' isn't me btw

[omnipleasant]

I've heard that weeing in it is a really good way of getting it going too.

The only time I'll be bold enough to wander up my garden and do that is after 8 pints down the pub, though. And I can't imagine that'd do it much good.

My sweet peas are flowering by the way. Very exciting. And I've started harvesting my early pots - had them with lamb chops and lettuce and radish (from the garden, natch) the other day. And my stir fry last night involved spring greens and mangetout from the garden.

I love it!

[mango]

don't forget to empty your vacuum into the compost too

163 Things You Can Compost

www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

some on there you might not think of - but there's a lot I
wouldn't add
milk, cheese, yogurt for instance, no way
'melted ice-cream'? I don't think so

[mango]

'lint' from the tumble dryer is a good one from that list

[omnipleasant]

Milk and cheese?! Why not just go the whole hog and put rat food in there?

Though with the phalanx of felines roaming round my garden, I probably don't need to worry about rats.

[omnipleasant]

Compost update: fly population seems to be receding. Thanks to Mango for the advice.

Here's one for veg growers - my maincrop spuds (King Eddies, planted in late March) are 4 foot tall. I've had to support them with bits of string running along the edges of the bed. Have I made some schoolboy error somewhere? I'm sure they shouldn't be that tall. Too much nitrogen or summat?

[Deleted]

Four foot tall?! Bloomin' 'eck. You put nitrogen on? Have you earthed them up? Spuds are quite hardy so you could probably cut them back to about two foot, but I'd tend to leave them alone and hope for the best. If you haven't too many, nip out the flowers - that helps the roots to expand. You could always dig one up carefully, see what's happening underneath, then put it back, watering well. I actually dug one up, took the biggest spuds then put the whole thing back with the tiny pea-like spudlets and it regrew.

[omnipleasant]

I didn't get a bucket of nitrogen and chuck it on there, but I did throw a couple of handfuls of multipurpose fertiliser on. I mention nitrogen because I've heard too much of that makes plants go foliage crazy.

I'm worried that I've made the soil conditions too good, so the roots aren't having to do any work. If I cut the plants back wouldn't they just concentrate even more on the foliage and not on the tubers?

Pinching the flowers out sounds sensible though - I'll try that.

[minge tightly]

I pee on my compost. Helps the decomposition process. Urine in general that is, not just mine. Pee in an empty tin can and then pour that into your compost if you don't want to be seen.

And get another compost bin.

Dunno about your spud problem, sounds like you didn't earth them up to begin with and allowed the foliage to go ape. I dump the grass cuttings from the lawn on mine which works fine. Dig one up and see what's happening

[Deleted]

You can't make the soil conditions too good for spuds. But they need plenty of humus or soil with heart, not just fertiliser. When did you plant them?

[omnipleasant]

I got the soil into tip-top nick before I planted them. Put my back into it properly, didn't just dump fertiliser onto it. I earthed them up like mad too, but they soon out-paced my soil capacity.

That's the thing - I think I've done everything absolutely by the book. Perhaps they are just really healthy and I should stop worrying. To be fair, it's not just the spuds that are growing like crazy this year - my brocolli have nice, perfectly formed florets already.

[minge tightly]

'my brocolli have nice, perfectly formed florets already.'

Bastrad...

A non-veg question for y'all - I have some ferns which I want to put into the ground but the soil in my garden is gash (A thin patchy covering of grass & weeds over thick clay with tons of rubble underneath), so what sort of compost can I buy that will be good for them. Humus rich is recommended. Can you get that from Homebase or Dobbies???

[Deleted]

Just dig a hole and put general cheapo compost in. Then plant 'em.

A good organic fertiliser is nettles chopped up and put in a bucket of water for a week or so until the mix stinks. Don't use seeding nettles. Then dilute the liquid with water and pour onto the soil around whatever it is you want to give a boost to.

Now I've a question: we're inundated with flea beetle, eating the young cabbages; any organic answers as to how to get rid of the little, er, things?

[omnipleasant]

I think ferns are pretty unfussy aren't they? Chuck em in with a bit of compost to improve the soil structure sounds right to me.

OOTLG - soap spray might get them. And most organic solutions seem to involve planting smelly stuff near your veg - chives or tagets.

Are your cabbages netted? That's probably the best bet.

[justmyopinion]

Where are all the ladybirds this year?

[Scooby Do]

Comphrey, get some, stinks like hell, but excellent, Keep bees? wrinse your hands in water thats had it soaked in, keeps them from sting you.