The gardening thread

[iona]

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

View attachment 374130

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.

Wedging a load of cardboard down all the insides of the wooden bins will stop them drying out, it's basically invisible and in time it'll just rot down into the compost at which point you can add more. I don't usually cover heaps but I had some of those in one work garden, in full sun, and it helped. I assume it's only those that dry out and not the hot bin? If rodents aren't too much of a worry you could try switching to putting some kitchen waste in those bins (it tends to be wetter) and adding some drier, less bulky garden waste to the hotbin instead. You're actually meant to add a specific amount of shredded paper and woody material (they even sell special partially composted woodchip for this ) per amount of kitchen waste with the hotbins but my gardening customer who has one never bothers, and I've managed to get his bin working well by adding lots of thinner twiggy bits of wood and dry, dead plant matter (I also had a separate bin for leaf mold there - running a lawnmower over a heap of some of the tougher leaves like beech really helps them to break down quicker).

I've never done a proper controlled experiment but I do think garotta seems to help, personally. A bucket of really really wormy almost-finished compost from a healthy heap will do the same ime.

 

[Leafster]

Wedging a load of cardboard down all the insides of the wooden bins will stop them drying out, it's basically invisible and in time it'll just rot down into the compost at which point you can add more. I don't usually cover heaps but I had some of those in one work garden, in full sun, and it helped. I assume it's only those that dry out and not the hot bin? If rodents aren't too much of a worry you could try switching to putting some kitchen waste in those bins (it tends to be wetter) and adding some drier, less bulky garden waste to the hotbin instead. You're actually meant to add a specific amount of shredded paper and woody material (they even sell special partially composted woodchip for this ) per amount of kitchen waste with the hotbins but my gardening customer who has one never bothers, and I've managed to get his bin working well by adding lots of thinner twiggy bits of wood and dry, dead plant matter (I also had a separate bin for leaf mold there - running a lawnmower over a heap of some of the tougher leaves like beech really helps them to break down quicker).

I've never done a proper controlled experiment but I do think garotta seems to help, personally. A bucket of really really wormy almost-finished compost from a healthy heap will do the same ime.

Yeah, it's just the traditional bins which dry out. The hotbin actually works quite well although a little slower than they advertise. It came with some wood chips but I tend to put shredded paper in there instead (I run a business from home and it's seems the best way to deal with confidential stuff).

I don't think rodents would be a problem if I were to put kitchen waste in the wooden bins but we do have a problem with foxes so that's why I've tended to put the kitchen stuff in the hotbin. Plus, I put fish skins and scraps of chicken on the bone (wings and thighs) in the hotbin which would be too much of a temptation out in the open. I've cut back on the stuff with bones recently as they don't really decompose.

I do the trick with the lawnmower too on a lot of the garden waste - it's a lot cheaper than buying a garden shredder.

I'll try the cardboard down the sides - that would help, I think. Another problem I have is that I started off with three wooden bins side by side so I could use them in rotation. As the garden started to develop I was running out of space so had to move them to different parts of the garden. I also had to make two taller ones from the three I had. I tend to put fresh garden waste onto which ever one is closer or the one I can balance more on top. I suspect that if I actually tried to empty one I'd find some decent compost at the bottom of it. It's just with limited space I've nowhere to turn out the un-composted stuff at the top.

I'll have to bite the bullet and give it a go.

 

[iona]

I'll try the cardboard down the sides - that would help, I think.

And either stick some on top weighed down with a brick, or use a bit of old plastic or carpet or something, or make a fancy pretty wooden lid if you can be arsed. And do jump up and down on them to compact stuff if they tend to dry out rather than get too wet!

My work garden with the same bins had ended up in a similar situation to yours when I started there and emptying them out was a fucking palaver but they have a really good system going now, with a hotbin and two wooden bays that break stuff down fast enough to empty one and then turn the other over into it every year

 

[Leafster]

Bloody typical! It's been a lovely day today while I've been sat at my desk working. Having thought about the compost bins I decided that when I finish I'd go and make a start on turning one out.

The sky has just gone very dark and it looks like rain. I've just checked the Met Office forecast and, yes, it's going to piss down when I finish work!

 

[iona]

always the way. At least you won't have to worry about them drying out for now!

An idea - some old compost sacks (or a cheap pack of the tough rubble sacks if you don't hoard old compost bags ) would even do to start turning out the heaps if you don't even have space to lay down a small piece of tarp

 

[Leafster]

always the way. At least you won't have to worry about them drying out for now!

An idea - some old compost sacks (or a cheap pack of the tough rubble sacks if you don't hoard old compost bags ) would even do to start turning out the heaps if you don't even have space to lay down a small piece of tarp

Hoard old compost bags?!!!

Of course I do.

Now there are rumbles of thunder.

 

[newme]

Push mower is actually starting to work very well now its not insanely long grass, the hedges are full of bluebells, pink flowers of some kind and white wild garlic or that thing it gets mistaken for a lot (I'm shit with plants I cannot consume in some manner), plus the apple tree is in blossom and the gunnera is now about 8ft square and its barely getting started, seems the split I did has worked. Even the clumping bamboo has spread out a few more feet now I cleared the way for it. Composty flood barrier wall has rotted down well to 2 foot high (its like 40ft long) and theres loads of straw, grass, partially rotted cardboard, mulch and logs to potentially go in the raised bed (once I get round to it and pick a spot) bought loads of seeds which are probably wrong but we will see what happens lol its covered anyway. Maybe make a Hugelkultur too, materials suggest I make one but I don't like anything non covered if I may be eating it since we have miles of fields over a very small wall with associated rats and they got into both sheds recently so I am somewhat annoyed at them

 

[Leafster]

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.

View attachment 373967

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

Lovely buttercup 'lawn' you've got there!

Would you have a long term use for a strimmer? I have one but now the garden is kept in check, I rarely use it. I guess it does come in handy from time to time but it may not be a priority except for dealing with your current situation.

Could you possibly borrow a strimmer as a one-off and then buy yourself a decent lawnmower so you can keep on top of the grass cutting? I don't think you'd necessarily need a cordless one so long as you've got a nearby power supply but check the length of cable a corded one comes with just to be sure. I've got a Bosch with a 32cm blade and it's lightweight and lasted well. I don't think you'd need anything bigger - my lawn isn't much bigger than yours. It was my late mum's so it's got to be at least 10 years old.

If you do go down the cordless route and go for a strimmer and mower combo I'd check to see if the battery would be compatible with both. I would have thought the one on the mower would be bigger.

Oh, and if you want to put off dealing with it for longer you can always claim to be doing no-mow May.

 

[gentlegreen]

I know parkers are a bit crap but at least they wrap things up properly.
They'd run out of Voodoo fuchsias so I resorted to Fothergills...
I wish I'd taken a photo.
5 tiny plants rattling about loose in a cardboard box....
Maybe they've established that they can guarantee get them to you without them drying out ...

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Blossom on my apple trees, morning glory looking okay after being out in the Scottish climate for a few days, and some actual gooseberries forming on my gooseberry bush (since following advice on dealing with sawfly).

 

[two sheds]

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.

I've done really well today after reading that article. Three or four years ago I cleared a small area of ivy and built a small cornish hedge style retaining wall. I was actually expecting half of it to fall down but it hasn't . It's overrun by cinquefoil though - long tap root which the author said meant the soil is lacking nutrients. I've pulled the tap roots as far as I can go and then added compost to the bare patches and added a creeping jenny and phygelius that cost 50p each from a neighbour's outside table. I'll add some more to the other bare patches.

I've got lots of annual 'weeds' which she said means not enough carbon in the soil. I bought a bag of bark fines to pot in the magnolia wot I bought and I've still got loads left so will use them similarly as a bit of a mulch when I take the weeds out and then put plants in. I presume that's carbon rich as opposed to compost which will be balanced nitrogen/carbon?

I've also been digging up spanish bluebells for the last week there had to be a thousand or more they're all over the bloody place. It's taken an age so today I decided I should just concentrate on picking the flowers so at least they don't seed. Just as well because at previous rate half of them would have seeded. It's nice - there's now whole areas of the garden that don't have the flowers. I'll go back and get any bulbs I can but most of them I'll just have to pull the leaves to try to take energy out of the bulbs.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Re: weeding, I only much bother with what I consider 'defensive' weeding now, e.g. clearing the immediate area around plants I care about. More than happy to have a number of wild patches, some with just what's already there, some strewn with bought wildflower seeds. I have lots of ground elder, but it's never going to go away, as it's also in neighbours' gardens.

 

[campanula]

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

The role of brambles...as 'nurse' plants did resonate for me for sure. I plant my new tree saplings next to a bramble - they are surprisingly accommodating as they have small and not very intrusive root systems, throwing around 4 new canes every year, leaving a woody framework which does indeed deter deer. I never have anything like enough compost to use as a weed repelling mulch, but I do trash mulching, leaving pulled weeds on the surface, using grass clippings and comfrey foliage to maintain moisture levels and no, I don't dig. The idea of no-dig has been gaining traction for a couple of decades with small scale farmers (such as my neighbour) using drills (instead of ploughing and harrowing) and a rotation system such as the Norfolk 4 course system.

Norfolk 4-Crop Rotation System – The People's Food and Farming Alliance

the-pffa.org

I have never used cardboard because of not having enough compost to cover the boards. I do use a living mulch (clovers, tares, buckwheat) between my permanent crops, especially the fruit trees and bushes. On my allotment site, almost everyone now keeps a winter covering - the old practice of turning over the autumn soil, waiting for frosts to render the soil friable, has been re-evaluated...especially on lean sandy soil - I certainly delay any spring clear-up because of over-wintering larvae and pupas, especially on grasses and dead leaves and as I have long, thin beds, they are never stepped on or compacted. When I do remove perennial weeds, I use a slender daisy grubber or hori-hori, loosening and pulling the weeds without disturbing the soil surface...which also discourages new weed seeds from rising to the surface and germinating. There are a couple of old school double-diggers but I would say that there is a lot more awareness of the role of pollinators, the complex relationships between flora and fauna, symbiotic bio-feedback mechanisms and most notably, a recognition that soil is a precious and finite material which hosts a skein of interconnected life.

It is worth getting to know your weeds and dealing with them accordingly. They can and do perform a valuable service, aerating the soil, protecting the surface, adding nutrients and even repairing soil imbalances (phyto-remediation and hosting wildlife. I try to manage my weeds rather than eradicating them (although I am frequently caught off-guard).

 

[two sheds]

I rented the field next to my place for a few years and put trees in there - it's now covered in brambles which I generally approve of. I saw today someone wants to know about sweet chestnut trees in the uk. I put a couple in there but I can't actually get in to check how they're doing because ... it's now covered in brambles.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Planting this little lot today.

 

[May Kasahara]

bimble the slugs have eaten my green bean seedlings as well. What is the fucking point, I ask you.

 

[cesare]

Slugs got my dwarf sunflowers too, grown from seed

 

[clicker]

Jolly Roger looking jolly.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Slugs got my dwarf sunflowers too, grown from seed

Wildlife friendly barrier slug pellets work well IME for defending the occasional plant. You do need to use a fair amount tho.

 

[cesare]

Wildlife friendly barrier slug pellets work well IME for defending the occasional plant. You do need to use a fair amount tho.

Thank you! I'll have a look into those.

 

[newme]

New raised bed/mini greenhouse with dog tax.

 

[Elpenor]

Landscaper has just finished, having rejigged my back garden. Quite a simple job, patio put in at the back where the most sun is. Existing wall rendered and topped with the same slabs. Excess soil removed for patio transferred to the bottom part of lawn (it sloped quite heavily) which has built up the level by a foot or more and reseeded. I should probably cover it though to stop the birds eating it? Forgot to ask him.

Quite happy with how it looks.

Before


After


from tomorrow I can use it, will start by moving my sunshine loving plants up there

 

[TopCat]

As the weather finally warms up there has been a lot to do.

I planted out aubergines and tomatoes. The toms are two deluxe Lidl varieties Valentina and Picolo. I also grew a posh Waitrose purple winter tomato that cost over a pound each.

The latter was about to go in my gf’s salad till I had the seeds out and away.

I have a lot of spare plants. Time to share with friends and neighbours.

My beans have been slow to start, ditto peas and sweet peas. I keep pushing more seed in the ground hopefully.

The broadbeans are doing very well. I had ant traps out very early on to thwart their black fly farming on my broad beans.

Early potatoes are well on their way.
Garlic sown last autumn is looking good, I am never sure when to pull it up though.

I picked Spring rhubarb, a bit for rhubarb fools and the rest is chopped up in sugar to make wine from.

A lot of flower seed is in. The lawn got a good feed.

Let’s hope for a good summer.

 

[friedaweed]

Definitely my favourite part of the growing season.

 

[friedaweed]

As the weather finally warms up there has been a lot to do.

I planted out aubergines and tomatoes. The toms are two deluxe Lidl varieties Valentina and Picolo. I also grew a posh Waitrose purple winter tomato that cost over a pound each.

The latter was about to go in my gf’s salad till I had the seeds out and away.

I have a lot of spare plants. Time to share with friends and neighbours.

My beans have been slow to start, ditto peas and sweet peas. I keep pushing more seed in the ground hopefully.

The broadbeans are doing very well. I had ant traps out very early on to thwart their black fly farming on my broad beans.

Early potatoes are well on their way.
Garlic sown last autumn is looking good, I am never sure when to pull it up though.

I picked Spring rhubarb, a bit for rhubarb fools and the rest is chopped up in sugar to make wine from.

A lot of flower seed is in. The lawn got a good feed.

Let’s hope for a good summer. View attachment 374885

That looks rocking mate.

 

[friedaweed]

Landscaper has just finished, having rejigged my back garden. Quite a simple job, patio put in at the back where the most sun is. Existing wall rendered and topped with the same slabs. Excess soil removed for patio transferred to the bottom part of lawn (it sloped quite heavily) which has built up the level by a foot or more and reseeded. I should probably cover it though to stop the birds eating it? Forgot to ask him.

Quite happy with how it looks.

Before

View attachment 374758
After
View attachment 374759View attachment 374761

from tomorrow I can use it, will start by moving my sunshine loving plants up there

Wow.

 

[clicker]

Every day more colours emerge . Nature never clashes.

 

[smmudge]

Not the garden as its a house plant but I'm hoping I can get some advice from green fingered people

I saw this in the garden centre and couldn't help myself. Reduced all the way down to £1. It's already lived a life. Can I.. "save" it? Not sure what I expect it to do, maybe not just die would be good. Its on the windowsill and i put a support in for the stem but not sure of I should



I mean look! How could you not take pity on it

 

[Idaho]

A solid day of allotmenting. My 12 year old Makita strimmer finally needs a service. Winter after winter it lies in a pile in a cheap plastic garden storage unit. Spring after spring I fish it out, pour in whatever old crappy petrol I've got left, half the time without the 2 stroke oil because I can't be arsed. Usually starts with a half dozen pulls the first time, then first time after that. Even with the finger pump split, and a few stalls from pressure loss, it did the whole plot.

Berries are all looking good, except the goosegogs - which are coming to the end of a long life.

Redcurrants


Tayberries


Blueberries


Blackcurrants

 

[Idaho]

Everything else is going pretty well. Peas have had low germination again. Mange tout used to be a banker for me, but getting diminishing returns year on year for a while. All three varieties of spud are very vigorous. 3 varieties of beans are up and running and looking nice. Sweetcorn and chillies and some fill in lettuces mark the final planting of the season.