The gardening thread

[TopCat]

I’m doing a smashed cucumber recipe in a bit with charcoal grilled pork chops and new potatoes. Chili and salt and garlic plus red onion and parsley in the dressing.

I’m quite excited. Running out of room for pickles and the plum tomatoes are starting to ripen so pressure!

 

[TopCat]

Lush. As the chilli burnt my mouth the cucumber quenched. Repeat for lots of mouthfuls.

This is good as people are worn out with my jar begging. Lots of salad in the next weeks is good.

 

[RubyToogood]

mango5 has a good cucumber salad recipe which involves slicing, salting and draining them so you don't get a puddle of juice. Then I think you add vinegar, salt and sugar. Sort of fresh pickle.

 

[Idaho]

Chillies loving this dry warm weather. Definitely going to be making a vat of hot sauce.

Aubergines better than expected. Although they are temperamental things. Some have a few decent sized fruit, others a couple of weird shaped ones, others sweet FA

 

[Idaho]

About to experience tomatogeddon. Been picking off fair few early ripening ones every day for a few weeks. Following a YouTuber suggestion of picking them orange and then giving them a few days in the ripening bowl before transferring to the fridge. A couple of weeks of this (all the while eating lots), I have plenty in the fridge, a full ripening bowl and 15 cherry and beef tomato plants about to launch into full production.

 

[newme]

Managed to knock out 100l of wood chipping mulch already and more cut and drying way more plus another much larger pile ready for chipping. Still more to cut back if I fancy it, strimmed the edges, mowed and have stripes despite it being nearly 50% clover now. 4 more loads of grass/clover on the pile, hot composter is looking good now I have carbon to add as needed. Beetroot, huge courgettes, rainbow chard and tomatoes still going.

Seem to have (giant?) St Johns wart of some kind growing all over according to plant id things and google lens. Could do with some colour/interest out the front tho to replace it tho, also have a 12x16 ft area to put pretty much anything in thats different in some way, if its harvestable/compostable/good for the clayish ground then even better, some is close to a foundation tho. Know some council did a wildflower pack that came up different colours at different times of years without a lot of height so that would be ideal. Just overgrown grass, brambles and nettles currently so anything thats better then that being mowed and strimmed back. Is using well trimmed sycamores as a fence cover a bad idea? Got loads that have sprouted from 1-4ft tall and could be relocated along the boundary line, privacy and some noise dispersion would be useful especially if its free. Put thousands of wild flower seeds down the edges but nothing really took apart from some poppies. Bonus for anything brightly coloured in general, purple or blue in particular but anything very colourful thats not a Hydrangea, especially perennials.

If you had a falling down shed and couldn't move the thing, does a large poly tunnel over it all sound a bad idea if I can reuse it over the above ground pool later and keep some heat in. Looking at something like a 2.5m tall, 3m wide, 5m long arrangement so it gives space to work in and easily covers the pool later. Could cover some raised beds with it but it would block the view from the kitchen.
Still looking at converting an old trampoline into something useful but one pole broke and I am not sure how to work it, did have climbers I couldn't deal with this year however so a walk in mostly circle with poles to climb sounds a good idea for later on. Especially looking at other peoples neatly ordered tomatoes versus my huge nest of the things andseems good for strawberries too. Have 400l or so water storage to collect and setup driplines or whatever but thats another task, have to attach it all to begin with.

Anyone used old bins for anything before? About to have 3 x 100lish ones with no lid. Sounds like that should be useful for something? Went to compost but maybe some winter veg work in it?

 

[Idaho]

Anyone used old bins for anything before? About to have 3 x 100lish ones with no lid. Sounds like that should be useful for something? Went to compost but maybe some winter veg work in it?

Poke some drainage holes and you can get very good potato yields using them.

 

[Ron Merlin]

Anyone used old bins for anything before? About to have 3 x 100lish ones with no lid. Sounds like that should be useful for something? Went to compost but maybe some winter veg work in it?

I used an old wheelie bin to replant my bay tree a few years ago. I just sawed it in half, drilled some drainage holes and shoved in some compost. Don't know if these photos help much but they're all I could find.

 

[iona]

transferring to the fridge

You monster

 

[TopCat]

Tomatoes are starting to ripen and quickly too. Going to be busy preserving them.

 

[Idaho]

Beautiful!

 

[cesare]

10 of our sunflowers are out (not all in shot)

 

[Elpenor]

We had a sunflower growing contest at work, someone got theirs to 247cm high!

 

[cesare]

We had a sunflower growing contest at work, someone got theirs to 247cm high!

That's a good idea We grew these from seed, most are deliberately selected dwarf ones but a couple of the tall ones snuck in

 

[Elpenor]

That's a good idea We grew these from seed, most are deliberately selected dwarf ones but a couple of the tall ones snuck in

Think mine got taken out by a storm at about 50cm. Maybe I’ll do better next year!

 

[cesare]

Think mine got taken out by a storm at about 50cm. Maybe I’ll do better next year!

Oh no, that's a shame. They are a cheerful crop aren't they. Fingers crossed for next year.

 

[Elpenor]

Oh no, that's a shame. They are a cheerful crop aren't they. Fingers crossed for next year.

Yeah I definitely planted it in the wrong part of my garden!

it’s a shame as they provide a lot of lively colour.

 

[newme]

Mine got mixed in cos labels washed off and oddly combined with the tomatoes and beans. Which would have been fine if both of them weren't in 3ft poly's. Clipped the apple tree back a bit, collected about 25kg of apples to leave at the Ukrainian donation box stall thing thats up to £5k after I had to compost more than half of what I could reach. Have plans to climb the tree and shake with two huge plastic sheets underneath but I did that last year and now its nearly a foot tall of compost. Pond had dried up so its heavily dredged now after 25 years of never being cleared properly. 2ft section of Gunnera root fell off and was basically made of compost too. Thinking of adding a solar pump thing, oxygenates and no real problem I would assume. Only like 10 x 8ft but any suggestions on starter plants? Know fish need a while.

Also is a sycamore based hedge feasible?

 

[Callie]

Also is a sycamore based hedge feasible?

I would say probably but don't do it sycamores are absolute bastards, helicoptering their babies all over the shop. You'll be sick of the sight of them fairly quickly. Also not sure how well they take to being kept smallish.

 

[StoneRoad]

I would say probably but don't do it sycamores are absolute bastards, helicoptering their babies all over the shop. You'll be sick of the sight of them fairly quickly. Also not sure how well they take to being kept smallish.

Long time since I tried that ... you can do it, but you need to keep them well & frequently chopped back to control them to under mature ie flowering height / size. They can be vigorous and sneaky. Only advantage - free plants if you already have a mature female tree.

 

[newme]

Long time since I tried that ... you can do it, but you need to keep them well & frequently chopped back to control them to under mature ie flowering height / size. They can be vigorous and sneaky. Only advantage - free plants if you already have a mature female tree.

Yeh I already have like 100ft of them along a hedgeline, have maybe 40ft of it cut short (like 15ft) repeatedly to make a kind of hedge but its on top of a cornish hedge anyway. Have so many spare 1-4ft saplings it seems daft not to use it for privacy so long as its trimmed back regularly. Managed the other standing inside a hedge! Sprouting very close I got like WIllow style vertical lengths of wood, great for chipping for mulch. Now have way too much brown v green for compost. The opposite of before.

 

[Idaho]

It's a race between peak tomato and blight. We've had two conducive blight days, and tomorrow is touch and go. Fridge and ripening bowls are full. I thought this looked like an AI picture:

 

[TopCat]

So I need to start picking the toms yes?

 

[Idaho]

So I need to start picking the toms yes?

Mileage may vary. I don't know how readily blight appears where you are. Down here it pops up quite soon after a few days of damp weather.

The blight watch website is no longer funded but this suggests that London and the East are on full alert.

blightspy

blightspy.huttonltd.com

So personally, I'd get as much picked as possible and ripened indoors.

 

[TopCat]

Mileage may vary. I don't know how readily blight appears where you are. Down here it pops up quite soon after a few days of damp weather.

The blight watch website is no longer funded but this suggests that London and the East are on full alert.

blightspy

blightspy.huttonltd.com

So personally, I'd get as much picked as possible and ripened indoors.

Thanks. I just got busy. This is the first pick.

 

[StoneRoad]

Mine are nothing this year - too dark & cold, even in the greenhouse ... although the Bramley is doing quite well and I may get some decent blackberries.

However, I can get decent "home-growns" from the petfood supplier.
In the past I've used bananas to assist ripening.

 

[bcuster]

Invasive, fast-growing plant threatens homes, property prices as it spreads across the US

The plant — which can grow as tall as 15 feet — has been known to shoot up several inches in a day.

nypost.com

...homeowners in the UK must disclose if Japanese knotweed has taken up root on the property when selling the home, with the potential to be prosecuted if it spreads, per the Journal. There’s even knotweed insurance available for regular maintenance, although it still is a detriment to the values of their homes.

 

[StoneRoad]

Invasive, fast-growing plant threatens homes, property prices as it spreads across the US

The plant — which can grow as tall as 15 feet — has been known to shoot up several inches in a day.

nypost.com

...homeowners in the UK must disclose if Japanese knotweed has taken up root on the property when selling the home, with the potential to be prosecuted if it spreads, per the Journal. There’s even knotweed insurance available for regular maintenance, although it still is a detriment to the values of their homes.

Yup. We've [the UK] had that dammmmm plant for several decades at least. It was originally imported as a "pretty garden plant" ... the dammmm thing is so invasive that attempts are made to eradicate it when it is reported.

Although you can "burn off" above ground growth with weedkillers, the roots will usually re-grow quite readily, requiring repeated treatments - although young growth can be more susceptible to the poisons. If the plants do spring up again, the re-growth often develops resistance to the weedkillers. As a result, it's quite common [required] to dig out the roots and remove the "contaminated" soil.

[Had some experience with trying to eradiate this [not at home, fortunately] - and now they've banned one of the weedkillers that was fairly effective at eliminating Knotweed]

 

[newme]

I have a completely empty pond, well except a Gunnera which dips into it on one side, nothing big like 6x4ft or so? Theres a rock build to get out for anything that requires it. Just dried up, need to sort out rainwater collection. If I want it to attract things like dragonflies and frogs again where do I start apart from getting some water in it?

Also thinking of doing the opposite of neighbours who turned front garden into a car park by getting some privacy hedges/bushes/trees whatever in. Not fussed if it takes a few years to grow in. Want something maybe 6ft high (or to be trimmed to that height. Then actually bordering the front garden, so some is in rather shallow soil currently. Have stuff I can use but very deep roots will find concrete. Neighbours have a palm tree up on one side, other side if a cornish hedge with sycamores I trained to grow almost strraight up so its an effective block thats easy to deal with and get more mulch.

Trying to remove all dandelions without using anything anti dog since well we have one. Pulling them takes ages but seems to have taken. Is there any particular grass/clover I can put in now to crowd it out and reduce for next year? Saw some clover mix cover crop rididuclously cheap for a huge amount but some of it looks taller. Having done red clover as a huge patch this year it now looks dreadful so suggestions for that too.

Plus I have multiple raised beds waiting to be planted but all I can find is Brassica, I hate brassica. Any other ideas?

 

[Ron Merlin]

Plus I have multiple raised beds waiting to be planted but all I can find is Brassica, I hate brassica. Any other ideas?

If you've got good drainage, then garlic can go in about now. Autumn-planting onions too. I'll be putting these in my repurposed recycling boxes soon.