The gardening thread

[campanula]

This looks a bit like a pendulous sedge -
I wonder if a bird pooped it.
It's sprung up from nothing in months,,,
It would be nice if it was somehow a crocosmia from years ago and actually flowers ...

View attachment 373776

'Sedges have edges' (rushes are round, grasses have knees which bend to the ground)...
looks sedge-y to me

 

[friedaweed]

Took my pretty flower to Biddulph Gardens today. Stunning gardens. Saw this



Is this Japanese Snowball? A viburnum or a hydrangea?

iona campanula

It was in the China garden.

 

[campanula]

Viburnum for sure. Years ago, when I first started gardening for customers, whenever I was asked what a particular shrub was (and I had no idea), I would confidently state 'viburnum' cos there are bloody loads of them. Having said that, not really certain what yours is friedaweed but not, I think, v.plicata. (although there are shedloads of cultivars). Possibly v.macrocephalum. Hard to get the scale.

 

[campanula]

So, I have been attempting to do some allotment pics for bloody ages - either I forget my phone, or it isn't charged, or it's raining or I have fucked up the settings or (the last time, I had it on fucking video) but I managed to remember to take a few, sadly at the end of the day and mostly after the fabulous tulips display has finished. If I manage to do this, will have to be in another post cos I can only do it on my phone and I can't write with it (cos teeny little letters and fat stabby fingers). So, possibly, some pics may (or may not) be forthcoming. And if they are, they will be a bit shit cos I can only get a fraction of the plot in a shot, am also rubbish at this and it doesn't really look very allotment-y either. Forgive.
Edge of potato bed and meadow, general views and such. last one, hopefully, start of new gravel/alpine bed

 

[campanula]

Couple more

 

[friedaweed]

Viburnum for sure. Years ago, when I first started gardening for customers, whenever I was asked what a particular shrub was (and I had no idea), I would confidently state 'viburnum' cos there are bloody loads of them. Having said that, not really certain what yours is friedaweed but not, I think, v.plicata. (although there are shedloads of cultivars). Possibly v.macrocephalum. Hard to get the scale.

Thanks green fingers. It was in a Chinese garden in Biddulph Grange. The garden's originally a Victorian collection. Plant app tells me its plicatum or fortune so I''ll bet you're bang on the money.

Looking to buy one for my wife for our anniversary so thanks for the reply. X

 

[sparkling]

Still in the discovery phase of this new to us garden and finding tons of ground elder. What are others methods of dealing with this very invasive plant and has anyone used Hori Hori knives successfully?

 

[two sheds]

Had some in one garden and dug it out which was relatively successful but a pain.

 

[Saffy]

I'm interested to know how to deal with ground elder as well. I have loads and the grass is being taken over by it. I've been told it can become even more vigorous if it's pulled up and broken and it might be best to blast it with some kind of weedkiller. I'm really hesitant to try that though because of other things around it and wildlife.

 

[two sheds]

Dealing with Ground Elder | BBC Gardeners World Magazine

Find out how to get rid of invasive ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria), by organic or chemical means, with advice from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.

www.gardenersworld.com

suggests digging up and getting rid of all the root. Hadn't heard about digging it up making it more vigourous - that's true of japanese knotweed which is the only thing I use roundup on - individually per stem which does work.

 

[two sheds]

I tell a lie I've also used roundup on bamboo that I mistakenly put in too near a shed again though cut stem soak corner of paper handkerchief and a bit of plastic bag tied on top. That works too

 

[iona]

Ground elder is an absolute cunt and once it's got going, it'll grow right through any other plants and be impossible to get rid of without digging them all up and picking every tiny bit of root out of the soil. I don't like using chemicals but it's one of the things I will get roundup-happy with if someone really wants rid.

Hori hori knives are the best thing ever. I got one on campanula's recommendation and now almost all my gardening customers have their own too. If I could only take one tool to work with me, it would be that.

 

[two sheds]

Ground elder is an absolute cunt and once it's got going, it'll grow right through any other plants and be impossible to get rid of without digging them all up and picking every tiny bit of root out of the soil. I don't like using chemicals but it's one of the things I will get roundup-happy with if someone really wants rid.

Hori hori knives are the best thing ever. I got one on campanula's recommendation and now almost all my gardening customers have their own too. If I could only take one tool to work with me, it would be that.

useful for digging out cinquefoil for example? Has long tap root 6 inches deep or more that regrows if you don't get it? That and spanish bluebells are the main problem I have - also 6 inches deep or more to get to the bulb. Plus brambles of course.

 

[cesare]

Does a weed wand prove effective?

 

[iona]

useful for digging out cinquefoil for example? Has long tap root 6 inches deep or more that regrows if you don't get it? That and spanish bluebells are the main problem I have - also 6 inches deep or more to get to the bulb. Plus brambles of course.

I use it for that but the soil needs to be the right consistency, wettish and not too compacted. (Pulling out six foot long chains of creeping buttercup with all their roots intact after a heavy rain is really satisfying!) Otherwise you just end up chopping through the roots instead of levering them out of the surrounding soil.

Does a weed wand prove effective?

Do you mean like a weed burner? I know a couple of places who love theirs but I've heard the electric ones aren't as good because they don't get so hot. Mostly they seem to be useful for preparing a bed ready for planting, then keeping it watered enough for all the weed seeds to start germinating so they can be killed before planting out what you want to grow. Not sure how effective they'd be on bigger taprooty stuff, they just kill with heat on a quick pass over rather than actually burning anything (at least that's the idea, I've seen a couple of near misses with woodchip paths...)

 

[iona]

Getting to play with a flamethrower is always fun though so I'd definitely advocate getting a gas weed burner for that alone

 

[cesare]

Getting to play with a flamethrower is always fun though so I'd definitely advocate getting a gas weed burner for that alone

I have an electric one which gets very hot. I ummed and ahhhd about gas v electric but got a bit nervous of giant flamethrower

 

[iona]

I have an electric one which gets very hot. I ummed and ahhhd about gas v electric but got a bit nervous of giant flamethrower

That's probably wise tbf What's been your experience of it, any good?

 

[two sheds]

I'm a bit disappointed with my gas flamethrower, it takes 15-30 seconds to do anything to a single weed really and now the piezo lighter doesn't work. Good for lighting bonfires though.

Also - where do you get rid of the cannisters? There's still gas in there but not enough to give a good flame.

 

[iona]

I'm a bit disappointed with my gas flamethrower, it takes 15-30 seconds to do anything to a single weed really and now the piezo lighter doesn't work. Good for lighting bonfires though.

Also - where do you get rid of the cannisters? There's still gas in there but not enough to give a good flame.

You don't need to visibly burn them, the shock of such intense heat on a quick pass over is meant to do it.

Cannister wherever your local Calor (or whatever supplier it's from) place?

 

[two sheds]

no it's only small canister

 

[cesare]

That's probably wise tbf What's been your experience of it, any good?

So far I've used it mainly on the patio but I'm going to have a go at the three-cornered-leeks (as I now know they are) with it. It's very hot! Seems quite effective.

 

[Elpenor]

Help. I’ve realised I really need to cut the grass in my front garden as it’s getting very long.

It’s about 200mm long minimum now. I don’t have a lawn mower or anything like that. What do I need to buy? Am I better off strimming it to get rid of the length, before using a mower. It’s about 10m x 3m long, with a small patch about 3x3m at the back which is less long.



Should I be thinking cordless (I would only need one battery I think if I got both of them)

 

[campanula]

This sorry bunch cost me over £60. They are going back as I have never seen such shit. Angry and upset. Looks like they have been dug out of a field (they have no root systems barely), are falling out of their pots and are in woeful health - damaged, diseased and chlorotic. Feels like they are using mail order to get rid of all the old crap they would never put on display for the public. Very upset as they masquerade as a serious nursery...not some shoddy garden centre. O, for future info - avoid BallyRobert nursery like plague.

 

[two sheds]

This is really interesting and I need to go through it again and take notes.

Ditch your spade, forget fertiliser, listen to the weeds: Alys Fowler’s guide to laid-back gardening

Itching to whip your flowerbeds or veg patch into shape now spring has finally arrived? Not so fast! Life’s much easier when you work with nature rather than against it

www.theguardian.com

And links to this:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG7DSSI_DlHlkD4JRhGxRWA

Any thoughts people? I'm not sure how I'd view having loads of cardboard on the ground but since I've stopped using the rayburn I do have a lot that needs getting rid of (although bright colours I think mean chemicals). I'm also a bit concerned that after a year I'd have a garden full of brambles and cinquefoil

 

[bimble]

fucking slugs, i hate them the absolute bastards have eaten pretty much everything all my baby seedlings that i put out the other day, some theres stumps left some not trace. Fuckers.

 

[Leafster]

This is really interesting and I need to go through it again and take notes.

Ditch your spade, forget fertiliser, listen to the weeds: Alys Fowler’s guide to laid-back gardening

Itching to whip your flowerbeds or veg patch into shape now spring has finally arrived? Not so fast! Life’s much easier when you work with nature rather than against it

www.theguardian.com

And links to this:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG7DSSI_DlHlkD4JRhGxRWA

Any thoughts people? I'm not sure how I'd view having loads of cardboard on the ground but since I've stopped using the rayburn I do have a lot that needs getting rid of (although bright colours I think mean chemicals). I'm also a bit concerned that after a year I'd have a garden full of brambles and cinquefoil

I've tried to embrace 'no dig' and low intervention gardening but I admit I'm not always happy with it. Not digging unnecessarily is relatively easy to accomplish for someone as lazy as me but I think I'm too impatient for some of the other aspects.

I try to compost stuff so I have something nutrient rich to provide the plants but my garden isn't that large. I have two traditional compost bins and a hot composting bin but everything takes so long to break down that I have accidentally ended up with a make-shift compost bin for the overspill. Even then, I still end up putting more in the council green waste bin than I should. Perhaps, it's the mix of waste I put in them which slows the process or more likely the fact they are all in the sun (very little shade in my garden) and they dry out too frequently and I forget to water them. I've visited a neighbour's garden which is open under the National Garden Scheme and although their garden is a little larger than mine they must have had a dozen or more compost bins on the go. I simply won't give up that much space to composting.

I accept that bare soil for any length of time isn't good for the health of the soil but I don't like to see cardboard or weed-supressing fabric everywhere. I did it when I moved in and had to clear the garden properly but now I think it just looks untidy. I can't resist the urge to do a bit of light forking on the bare patches so they look 'neat'. I accept this is probably down to coming from a family of avid gardeners (including one professional one) so I've grown up with equating freshly tilled soil with a well-kept garden. The habit is hard to break.

On the subject of bare areas of earth I try to fill my borders with as many plants as possible in the hope that this stops the weeds coming up but with mixed success. I'm still not that good at working out how well certain plants 'do' in my garden and sometimes they overwhelm other plants and then it just looks unkempt. On the other hand, my ground cover plants only seem to disguise the hoards of sycamore seedlings which appear every year and it seems easier to have bare soil to deal with the nascent forest which I appear to be (just about) keeping in check.

Every year I try to wait for the good bugs to out-compete the bad ones but it always seems too late. I get aphids on the lupins, artichokes and runner beans but the ladybirds etc., always seem to be slow to deal with them. I don't kill the leopard slugs but they don't seem to control the other slugs. I have slow worms, the odd frog, the occasional newt or toad but they don't seem to keep the slugs in check either. I see the odd thrush with a snail but they don't seem to tell their mates of the smorgasbord they are missing out on so I have far too many snails. We don't have any hedgehogs and my neighbour says that's down to the badgers. Although my cabbages are covered so the pigeons can't get at them, the slugs and snails appear to revel in the protection of the covers and feast on the cabbages instead.

I do leave most of the leaf-litter from the surrounding trees on the borders but with a mix of sycamore and beech this doesn't seem to decompose as quickly as I'd like so it forms a mat and then you end up with some early plants wearing leaf hats or collars.

I appear to have ranted a bit so it's time I got back to work.

 

[Leafster]

Oh, and following the mantra 'bare soil is bad' I let the 'weed' seedlings in the vegetable garden stay and this is what happened.



I didn't have the heart to pull them up when I actually needed the space so the same thing is happening this year!

 

[iona]

I love no dig because I'm very lazy and also probably dyspraxic - hand tools are fine but I'm cackhanded as fuck with a spade or big garden fork. It does have its limits though, some weeds really do need to be dug out (though I prefer to just do the minimal amount of digging needed to loosen that plant's roots only) and with some soils you do really need to dig for some uses like root veg unless you can afford / have access to enough compost etc to be growing just in what you've piled up on top. Rather than leaving weeds be I'll hoe those off and sow cover crops instead - lamb's lettuce is one I like as it's fine through winter and picked fresh it's completely different to the weird-textured shit you get in supermarkets.

When you say traditional compost bins do you mean the plastic dalek type or wooden bays or what Leafster? Do you add garrotta to the not-hotbins? What are you putting in them, kitchen waste as well as garden?

 

[Leafster]

I love no dig because I'm very lazy and also probably dyspraxic - hand tools are fine but I'm cackhanded as fuck with a spade or big garden fork. It does have its limits though, some weeds really do need to be dug out (though I prefer to just do the minimal amount of digging needed to loosen that plant's roots only) and with some soils you do really need to dig for some uses like root veg unless you can afford / have access to enough compost etc to be growing just in what you've piled up on top. Rather than leaving weeds be I'll hoe those off and sow cover crops instead - lamb's lettuce is one I like as it's fine through winter and picked fresh it's completely different to the weird-textured shit you get in supermarkets.

When you say traditional compost bins do you mean the plastic dalek type or wooden bays or what Leafster? Do you add garrotta to the not-hotbins? What are you putting in them, kitchen waste as well as garden?

The traditional compost bins are wooden like this (about a metre square in my case).



I don't use Garrotta. The only time I've ever contacted one of the radio gardening shows (BBC Radio Surrey) was to ask about using something like Garrotta and they said don't bother.

I'm only putting kitchen waste in the hot bin.