The gardening thread

[andysays]

I used hula hoops on my small beds and plastic water mains pipe on my larger beds. I got the hoola hoops for 10p each at the school jumble sale and the water pipe off a building site from some brickies who were sat in the tea hut one rainy morning

I made mine to take off and on. Will get a pic if I remember when I finally get down the plot (Visitors )

Great video. Hula hoops also sound like a great idea.

I think the thing I was remembering was a version of this

 

[friedaweed]

Great video. Hula hoops also sound like a great idea.

I think the thing I was remembering was a version of this

Yup that's the one I did

 

[gentlegreen]

It was been blowing a flipping hoolie out there all day yesterday.
Luckily I had things to do indoors.



I'm already near the limit of capacity, so I will almost immediately be getting the spare plants out into the plastic greenhouse I've assembled inside my glass greenhouse and the potted-on plants will follow as soon as possible.

------------------------

Meanwhile I finally got around to emptying my compost bin - assuming that there would be an active layer of worms at the top and thereafter just shovel-fulls of lovely worm poo, but the worms went all the way down - so though I took care, it was doubtless worm carnage.

I scooped off the top layer, harvested several bags of the more-or-less-processed stuff, and put the top layer back in.

 

[gaijingirl]

So I planted my tomatoes, various herbs and some window boxes. Quite pleased with myself. Just need to keep them alive. This year i'm trying the bottom of the garden, rather than the top, so see if this helps with things.

I have accidentally bought an aubergine plant.. this strikes me as way too ambitious.

Also.. courgette plants... how deep does the soil need to be I wonder?

 

[gentlegreen]

Courgettes definitely like it deep at the seedling stage - but my BIL used to grow them in growbags - I don't know what sort of success he had.
Marrows were traditionally grown on stacked turves ...

 

[Sirena]

So I planted my tomatoes, various herbs and some window boxes. Quite pleased with myself. Just need to keep them alive. This year i'm trying the bottom of the garden, rather than the top, so see if this helps with things.

I have accidentally bought an aubergine plant.. this strikes me as way too ambitious.

Also.. courgette plants... how deep does the soil need to be I wonder?

Aubergines are easy. They just grow. But they take a generous amount of space for the return they give.

Mine had beautiful veined leaves, so they looked good even before they fruited.

 

[gaijingirl]

Aubergines are easy. They just grow. But they take a generous amount of space for the return they give.

Mine had beautiful veined leaves, so they looked good even before they fruited.

thanks... do you knwo how deep they and/or courgettes need to be? I have a sort of wooden raised bed thing.. wooden frame, lined, filled with compost but it's not very very deep. Will go measure it now. Been googling but no one says!

 

[gaijingirl]

Courgettes definitely like it deep at the seedling stage - but my BIL used to grow them in growbags - I don't know what sort of success he had.
Marrows were traditionally grown on stacked turves ...

oh sorry.. missed this. Thanks.

 

[Sirena]

thanks... do you knwo how deep they and/or courgettes need to be? I have a sort of wooden raised bed thing.. wooden frame, lined, filled with compost but it's not very very deep. Will go measure it now. Been googling but no one says!

I grew my aubergines in a small/medium pot, so that's about four inches.

 

[gaijingirl]

ok.. my frame is 15.5 cm deep... what can I grow in that? - ooh hang on.. aubergines by the looks of it! Maybe courgettes?

 

[BoatieBird]

I've successfully grown courgettes in grow bags and pots gaijingirl, they don't need particularly deep soil, but you will need to feed them later on in the season.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Looking out at this just now. Not a lot of wind damage from the weekend. Planning, always planning...

 

[gentlegreen]

I've just ordered seeds for the handful of veggies I can accommodate in my garden - and combined the edible with the ornamental.

"Lady Di" runner beans.

A knobbly Italian courgette called Rugosa Friulana.
I used to grow "Gold Rush", but to be honest I don't think they tasted that nice.



"Sweet Dumpling" squash.



And some mixed salads - I'm thinking I ought to be able to come up with some sort of vertical automated growing system in the greenhouse ...
It'll be autumn - spring where I need to make it work.

 

[Treacle Toes]

So..recycling stuff continues to give me joy

You know those plastic boxes of varying shapes/designs that catering services put conference sandwiches in to transport them...Yeah I know, a ridiculous waste of plastic/packaging

However they do make great little seeding-tray-mini-greenhouses:

Nabbed this one from work last wek and put these seeds in on Friday:

 

[gentlegreen]

mixed salads ?

 

[Treacle Toes]

mixed salads ?

Yes.

 

[gentlegreen]

I only recently noticed that my neighbour has a lovely clump of bugle next door that would work very well in my blue corner - fortuitously it's sent a runner through a gap in the fence.

 

[Mumbles274]

Didn't do the weeding and maintenance I needed to at the weekend so hoping for better weather this weekend

Had a long day at work today and finished at 9, love coming home to this and like how the lights pick up different plants

 

[gentlegreen]

Anyone got old-fashioned marigolds in bloom now ?
I noticed the gardeners at work have planted them or something very similar on a sunny bank - I will investigate later.
All the seed people say "June".
I gave up on them because I once tried to recreate childhood memories by planting a whole 10 foot by 3 foot bed of "Fiesta Gitana", and they got hit by mildew in a big way.
Definitely worth a bucket or two ...

 

[Treacle Toes]

Am planning to have a good look through my flower seed draw today and make decisions.

 

[gentlegreen]

My garden is pretty well full up now. - or at least it will be if everything behaves.
Incidentally, my slugs laughed at the vaseline I smeared around the French marigold pots.

Spoiler: Youtube video

 

[Manter]

Rubbish collected from the garden today (took slightly longer than planned as the removal men loved the cat and spent ages fussing him!)

It looks like a garden again….

 

[gentlegreen]

I went and had a look and the orange flowers I saw this morning are calendulas - some are already setting seed - so I will definitely be giving them another go.
Before I pop my clogs I will most definitely have myself a hot garden with red hot pokers and every kind of crocosmia and marigold.

I have sown some rudbeckia "Rustic Dwarfs" for autumn colour.
Sadly the helichrysums didn't germinate.



Bloody Aldi seed compost.
I have tiny maggots in some of my pots - and I found a rehydrated slug.

 

[Mumbles274]

Have you tried copper tape round your pots for the slugs?

 

[gentlegreen]

I may well have to give that a go - after that I wire two parallel bands up to a battery.

 

[Ron Merlin]

...my slugs laughed at the vaseline I smeared around the French marigold pots.

As did mine

 

[davesgcr]

Anyone got old-fashioned marigolds in bloom now ?
I noticed the gardeners at work have planted them or something very similar on a sunny bank - I will investigate later.
All the seed people say "June".
I gave up on them because I once tried to recreate childhood memories by planting a whole 10 foot by 3 foot bed of "Fiesta Gitana", and they got hit by mildew in a big way.
Definitely worth a bucket or two ...

Yes indeed - some of last years seeds have come alive - I scattered a few seeds around the area on walking to the station , and they too have produced. There for ever now I reckon !

 

[Manter]

Garden looking more like a garden!

I started screening where the patio'll be,and that huge pile of earth will go in the beds on the left when I've built them, and level the bit in the middle. Progress...

E2a just taken one from one of the windows which shows the layout and what I still have to do better

 

[gentlegreen]

I scattered a few seeds around the area on walking to the station , and they too have produced. There for ever now I reckon !

Now there's an idea.

I will have to look out for some suitable spots.

 

[davesgcr]

Now there's an idea.

I will have to look out for some suitable spots.

Been dropping poppy , marigold , Hollyhock and similar seeds from home all around the area - walking to station and on bike rides. Deeplysatisying - as it may take a year or two for some of them to come to life - then I think - "Great - did that" - in the Autumn - conkers and acorns likewise - with some encouraging results. !!