Minnie's Gardeners' Question Time - help for the new gardeners

[Minnie_the_Minx]

ok. mine are very big even though I have only had about 7 or 8 red tomatoes from a total of 3 plants. I think we've been able to eat 4 of them.
And then I have 3 cherry tomato plants which have been doing excellent and I pick about 8-10 tomatoes off those every other day.
I think I might need to get one of these and gently place it around the big plants.

Looks like a good idea. Don't think I could get one of those to stick in a pallet though. I think I'll just let my plants fall over

 

[Miss Caphat]

yeah but then you'll have my problem, which is that the tomatoes will grow sitting on the dirt or other hard surface and they'll be like this

like mine were. Not very appetizing

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

yeah but then you'll have my problem, which is that the tomatoes will grow sitting on the dirt or other hard surface and they'll be like this

like mine were. Not very appetizing

Yeah I know, but I never wanted them in the first place! They're leaning on the fence and wall to stop them falling over. Need to find some longer poles to support them but haven't seen any around.

 

[Miss Caphat]

Poles seem hard to find, or expensive.
I got cheap skinny ones but they just couldn't handle my plants.

 

[newme]

Poles seem hard to find, or expensive.
I got cheap skinny ones but they just couldn't handle my plants.

Just get bamboo sticks from a garden centre. We have like 6 tomato plants here and there holding them up fine.
Besides if 1 isnt strong enough, get three and put them in like a triangle formation and lean them in at the top against each other and lash together with something, way stronger.

 

[newme]

Just had to dig about 10 kilos of potatoes out, harvest more garlic and dig the base for a greenhouse, then another 8 by 6 foot area to dig out soon for another veg plot.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Just get bamboo sticks from a garden centre. We have like 6 tomato plants here and there holding them up fine.
Besides if 1 isnt strong enough, get three and put them in like a triangle formation and lean them in at the top against each other and lash together with something, way stronger.

I will do that eventually, but I'm trying to avoid going to garden centres at the moment (too much temptation)

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Just had to dig about 10 kilos of potatoes out, harvest more garlic and dig the base for a greenhouse, then another 8 by 6 foot area to dig out soon for another veg plot.

Yeah yeah, so you've got loads of space

 

[newme]

Yeh just went and checked, we've got a single bamboo cane for each plant. Maybe 8mm to a cm thick, handling 4-6 foot plants no problem.

 

[Miss Caphat]

Just get bamboo sticks from a garden centre. We have like 6 tomato plants here and there holding them up fine.
Besides if 1 isnt strong enough, get three and put them in like a triangle formation and lean them in at the top against each other and lash together with something, way stronger.

that's a great idea...like a teepee. thanks

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Yeh just went and checked, we've got a single bamboo cane for each plant. Maybe 8mm to a cm thick, handling 4-6 foot plants no problem.

Not sure what I've got, don't take much notice of them. Will take a photo of them tomorrow and you can tell me how they're doing

 

[newme]

Yeah yeah, so you've got loads of space

Well not me, unfortunately Im currently back at me mothers temporarily so she has and Im the designated dogsbody whose now trying to catch them up on 3 years of projects and gardening they couldnt quite manage for various reasons.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Well not me, unfortunately Im currently back at me mothers temporarily so she has and Im the designated dogsbody whose now trying to catch them up on 3 years of projects and gardening they couldnt quite manage for various reasons.

ah I see, well at least you've got nice weather for it

sort of

 

[newme]

ah I see, well at least you've got nice weather for it

sort of

Definitely, in Cornwall right by the beach, tis blazing sun out there atm.
Got myself quite the tan

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Definitely, in Cornwall right by the beach, tis blazing sun out there atm.
Got myself quite the tan

oh rub it in, why don't you

 

[newme]

oh rub it in, why don't you

Its about my only win about being currently stuck here lol, so yes I shall, there may even be pictures of large garden areas you dont have and a view out across the bay soon

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Its about my only win about being currently stuck here lol, so yes I shall, there may even be pictures of large garden areas you dont have and a view out across the bay soon

oh, if you must

 

[starfish]

View attachment 12964

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiopogon_planiscapus

Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens (Black Lily Turf)

Apparently related to aspidistras, yuccas and agavaes etc ...

EDIT :-

I see you already found it was something else ..

I think we had that one. Didnt take though, was possibly too wee. Will try again with it as its a nice looking plant.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Here's a strange one.

Today I noticed that my Sundew carnivorous plant had little things swimming round in the water. I sit it in rainwater rather than tapwater and today noticed lots of little things swimming about. Any idea wtf that's all about?

 

[gentlegreen]

nature abhors a vacuum ....

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

nature abhors a vacuum ....

huh?

 

[gentlegreen]

Some teeny fly or other has spotted a "body of water" and laid its eggs in it ... quite likely something that lives out the rest of its lifecycle in your mini-bog.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Some teeny fly or other has spotted a "body of water" and laid its eggs in it ... quite likely something that lives out the rest of its lifecycle in your mini-bog.

I'm emptying them out tomorrow. They can go and swim in the drains insteads

 

[gentlegreen]

 

[campanula]

grats on keeping the sundew alive tho' - all my carnivorous plants have met a sad and sorry death.

 

[wtfftw]

Ringo - yep, thyme needs as much sun as possible, no extra feeding and let the pot dry out between watering - it is a plant which thrives on benign neglect in freedraining soil with lots of sunshine.

ah. I've possibly been watering mine too much. It's looking rather brown and dead now (after some vandalism) and I chopped most of it off.

stupid herb question. Is the general idea to chop bits off and then they grow more? My sage is looking thoroughly pathetic and I've been leaving it alone. Should I really chop bits off and then it'll sprout new bits?

I've got no idea.

 

[campanula]

yes, with sage, you just take the top few leaves off each stem - this stimulates the plant to grow new shoots - usually from where you cut the leaves off. If yours looks a bit sparse, It would be a good idea to give the sage a last feed of the season to help harden the stems for winter - use a tomato food. I would be reluctant to cut now though as new growth is likely to get hit with early frosts - just a tidy up to remove any dead leaves or stems

It always seems weirdly counter-intuitive to cut in order to actually increase size -In the words of Fred Loads, an old gardener 'growth follows the knife'.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

grats on keeping the sundew alive tho' - all my carnivorous plants have met a sad and sorry death.

Maybe it's enjoying the moths I'm feeding it

Oh, and I bought some rooting hormone stuff today, but I don't know what to cut off my giant fuchsia. All the longer stems have flowers due to open on them, so I think I'll have to wait 'til those flowers are dead and then chop something off. Same with my New Guinea impatiens

 

[campanula]

yes, it is a bugger when all the stems have little buds on them. Grub around underneath or at the base of the plant. If it is impossible to find a non-flowering bit, then use a cutting with a bud - just nip it out.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Has anyone got a parrot impatiens? Looking for tips on how to care for them (and yes, I know there's tips on the internet but I'm looking for any firsthand knowledge from you lot).