Gardening: Hints and Help!
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If you lost palm type plants this year there is hope. We had two big Torbay Dazzlers in pots (cordylines) both died a horrible death in the severe cold earlier on. We chopped them off at the base and left them (neglected!!) We've just noticed signs of life. A few years back when disease killed off everyone's palms we followed RHS advice and did the same. Our larger palms grew back and survived this winter. You might be able to spot the new shoot in the pot. And our old trees are still doing well.
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An interesting article here about enriching our gardens and ‘managing ’ pests.
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When we had chickens and ducks, we never had a slug problem. Flattened flowers, maybe🤣 Got slugs and snails now though, despite having a garden full of birds. I just collect them and dump them into the wild part of the garden. Used to use beer traps, I wonder if birds would get drunk eating a drunken slug🤔
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Yes, I think that’s the attitude we should all take. Just been to a national trust garden and they are keen to let visitors know that no pesticides, herbicides are used on there premises. Just hard work and allowing nature to redress any imbalances. Greenfly problems are just hosed away with a jet of water. Judging by the displays they seem to have it right! They had information about posters around the place and this struck home regarding their efforts..
38 million birds have vanished from our UK skies in the last 50 years, 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s, and a quarter of all our mammals are at risk of extinction. We’ve lost so much, we’re now in the bottom 10% of countries globally in terms of nature we have left.
There was a similar one about bees and other pollinators.
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This is a peak time for birds to pick off insects to feed their young so greenfly don't get hosed off here (mind you it's not much fun being a greenfly...)
The weather has pushed everything forward in the SW we're going to have to use more water than expected. We bought a new water barrel but didn't get it connected in time to catch the last lot of rain. Hoping to see some rain at the weeken!
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This is the one with flowers now, so it did make it Albeit I planted it early. The ones in pots are not far behind.
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Has anyone grown Red Hot Poker seeds they have collected? If so, what kind of results did you get. I have some and want to give it a try. Only Red usual ones, nothing more exotic, although I do have an acid lemon colour I might try as well.
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My Dahlias ( in pots ) have now been battered by the strong winds and rain.
should I now cut them down and lift the tubers ?
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If In pots, best to do that HH. Let them dry out, store in some sandy loam. I have quite a few in the ground that seem to be doing ok each year, but I do sort of mulch over them. 🤞
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Although we don't particularly like it we have gone over to peat free compost. One of the worst things about it, we have found, is the infestation of compost flies. This is particularly bad and noticeable where we have brought some plants inside to nurture on our kitchen windowsill. Has anyone found a 'good' peat free compost yet?
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No 😡.
I do hope someone has and can tell us what it is.
I confess to buying some with peat ready for next year. Local garden centre have them on offer. I've got them stacked in the garage ready for next year.
I do feel guilty BUT
- It's already dug and bagged so hardly expect it to go back to source
- I'll probably mix it with some of the non peat rubbish 'stuff' purchased this year
- I'd like to know who we all lobby to get some decent growing medium. One lot I bought last year was like blackbird feathers left behind by a preditor
Our DIL has had tonnes of compost from the council composting system for the farm. First lot, earlier this year, 2nd not anywhere near as good. So consistency isn't there either....
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I posted on this same topic early in the year. And I did the same as you Baker2. But I purchased a couple of bags of peat compost on offer the middle of this year, but unfortunately I’ve just used them on my Hosta re- pots. I did find one that wasn’t too bad at Home Bargains store , but it’s disappeared now to make way for Trick or Treat and Christmas items.
of course no one does gardening in Winter …..baaaa
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Just started my Dalia tubers yesterday. Wondered if anyone else had started theirs ?
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I left all my Dahlias in the garden this year. We usually have coolish but dry Winters, but I fear for some of my tubers this year with all the wet. I have just had a pleasant hour outside at Mum’s, and it’s great seeing lots of things coming back to life. I do wonder if my Musa Basjoo (Banana) will be ok. It’s well wrapped up and rain is diverted away from roots, but going to be interesting. I haven’t even had time to give my greenhouse a proper sort out yet this year. We use it to store and dry wood for our stove over Winter, but that’s elsewhere now, so need to find some time.
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My two Wisterias are coming into bud, but a couple of pigeons are feeding on them . So possibly no blooms this year .
Anyone heard of this ?
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Yes, sparrows will devour them and I’ve heard finches too, particularly bullfinches. Not heard of pigeons doing so but I see no reason why not. I found that keeping the bird feeders well stocked was an easier source of food for them, well this appeared to do the trick. Had some years where we had beautiful displays and others not so. Late frosts were more of a problem for us.
I would not advocate that black cotton as advocated above mind, there are numerous accounts every year of birds getting tangled up in this and perishing. Painful and cruel.
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I usually have loads of blooms on two of my Wisteria, but never seen this happen before this year.
Yes the above link does state this happens
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On the subject of compost again. Just bought some seed compost today when opened it’s terrible stuff , just the same as peat free multi compost, which is really not possible to sow seeds in .
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Just purchased two of the above compost, these are now not the same quality as last year. Its the same rubbish stuff as in most peat free bags
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Perhaps one for Hostahousey. I have two Hosta's in my back garden both in pots. Not sure of the variety but one is a more compact plant and its leaves are constantly getting eaten by something. The large more vigorous plant seems to be growing rather nicely with no evidence of being eaten, they are about 10 feet apart!
David
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HH will be the expert, but all I can say is that Hostas are notoriously delicious to slugs and snails. Our hostas, all in pots have never looked better than this year, and I think it might be down to getting lots of moisture, but this of course brings out the slugs and snails. Mine are in pots, but up off the ground in a hay rack pinned to wall, and a couple on an old pig killing slab affair again a foot or so off the ground. Close to bird feeders as well, so it’s a brave slug that tempts our resident blackbirds🤭 Check around the munched one for slug and snail trails, then if these are the culprit, decide how to deal with them.
(The pig killing slab you ask🤔 It was in an old outhouse when we bought the house 40 years ago. The first owners of the house, newly built in the 1860’s were successful local butchers. One of the outhouses was where pig carcasses were bled out on the shallow sink, and then I presume butchered for the shop. We demolished the old outhouse, but kept the rather lovely stone sink, quite large, but only shallow, as a garden feature. It was an alpine plant area for many years, but we moved it, without plants, to another area, and I now keep potted plants on it instead. At some point, because it has a proper drain plug, I have dreams of another water feature, but it’s very very heavy. Potted plants do well because it’s up off the ground and the pots can drain well via the plug hole!)
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Inundated with slugs this year, I’ve bought new plants, put them in the garden and within 2 days they are stripped. Hostas are in pots, on the decking, pots in trays with water in, (hoping slugs can’t swim) copper tape around the top, grit and eggshells around the base of the plants, checked every day and ok so far, fingers crossed. I saw on another site that someone had put a ring of 2p pieces around their plants. I had some waiting to be exchanged at the bank, so I’ve now put rings around newly planted plants, where I can’t put copper tape 🤞 so far ok.... Maybe the pennies will grow 😂
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It’s a bit of a bad year for some things. I’m not doing too bad with slug damage, but it’s been so wet, I have “rust” on some of my roses for first time ever. Just going to roll with it if I can, I sprayed for other rose nasties last week, and they seem to be budding up wonderfully. I even have one or two fully flowering. I am having an afternoon pottering, just tidying up a few pots, cutting back a few things, hoping to lay some bark in some areas. It’s clouded over here, we are right on the edge of the Amber thunderstorm warnings, so hoping we miss out.
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Yes slugs and snails are a problem with Hostas. I use horticultural grit around my pots, the main problem with slugs 🐌 and snails is they lay their eggs below ground and these lay dormant until the following year. They then hatch in the Spring and unfortunately eat fresh new growth and carry on eating over summer. A good way that can help in Autumn when the plant is starting to die off , remove from pot or ground and wash all the roots clean and repot in new compost and re-grit. This is time consuming but might be worth a try on a couple and see what result you get .
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Quite a fright last night, it really took me back. I had just finished my usual 30 min torch light slug hunt and was about to come in when I decided to return to one spot near the back door where I have just planted some new climbing plants which have been getting decimated by slugs. All seemed ok and then I pulled back the leaves on one plant, to jump backwards. I’m used to very large slugs in our garden but this one! Slithering across the ground was the biggest slug I’ve ever seen, about 8inches long and thick and round as well, it must have just come under the fence from next door, at first I thought it was a snake, much, much bigger than a slow worm. After recovering I did dispose of it but it really shook me. I looked it up and apparently it was a leopard slug, which does eat other slugs but also carries parasites so best gone. I don’t want to find anymore.
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That sounds a monster😱 I think it is the little ones that do the most damage though. My Sis loves Pistachio Nuts, so I have been collecting the shells to use as pot toppings, another one to try. I used to have a Slug Pub as well, not sure where that is🤔 Intoxicate them until they drown.
I will be waging war on Lily Beetles next though, spotted a couple this week😡
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Yes Lilly Beetles….they can strip lilies in a day , terrible things.
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I am rather enjoying growing plants from seed at the moment, and all the more so as I don’t actually buy most of them. You do need to be around at regular intervals (every couple of days) to make sure they get a good start, watering, pest control, thinning, etc… and it can be a bit time consuming pricking seedlings out into pots, but it does give an abundance of plants. I collect seed from everywhere we visit if I can, throughout the year, with permission, and collect seed from my own garden in the Autumn as well. I was given some Black Ball Scabious seeds by Head Gardener at Renishaw Hall last year, and delighted that they are doing very well. I have various colour Hollyhocks from a variety of locations up and down the country, Pink from a shop garden in Avebury, white from the White Garden at Barrington Court, red from Belton House, light pink from somewhere else! My oldest HH’s are from a lovely campsite we used to use at Bodinnick, near Fowey. The farmhouse always had a good stand of the very dark (black) HH’s, and I collected some seeds and brought them home, keeping at least a couple of the offspring going from over 30 years ago. I love plants that remind me of places we have visited😁
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(Much more concerned about bindweed throttling everything...
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