This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[felixthecat]

Gloves, gentlegreen, gloves.

 

[tarannau]

Woo hoo. I spotted the first chilli growing this morning. They've been flowering sporadically for a little while, but there seem a lack of pollinators and I can' be arsed to manually paintbrush at this early stage of the growing season.

It's a jalapeno fwiw. Ajis, serranos, habaneros and thais still to go

 

[zenie]

Did anyone see the Gardener's World where Tony Buckland showed how to neutralise the static charge so the taproot doesn't get attracted to the side of the hole while you're pricking things out ?

Either that, or remember which programme it was ?

I have no idea what you're talking about but it sounds exciting.

I've got my sweet peppers sown and watered, fingers crossed!

Would anyone have any spare chilli plants? I would like to try and grow one, one last time.

 

[gentlegreen]

Gloves, gentlegreen, gloves.

I know, I really should .. I'm somewhat out of practice, gardening-wise, and my most recent bit of cultivation parallels slash-and-burn agriculture.

(chopping down and then digging out bamboo and pulling Virginia creeper that resembles something you would find in a jungle.)

 

[nicksonic]

Would anyone have any spare chilli plants? I would like to try and grow one, one last time.

hi zenie, i'm about to repot some seedlings so you're welcome to one of those. pm me and we can sort it out

 

[zenie]

That would be grand

 

[sheothebudworths]

I remember it gg - something to do with rubbing your dibber* first, so that the root sticks to that instead when you insert in, wasn't it?

I keep not bothering with gloves too - really not such a good idea </builders hands>







*Nudge, nudge, wink, wink

 

[gentlegreen]

I may have to come up with a high voltage dibber.

The weird thing is that since I'm handling the seedling and the "dibber" is my finger, the charges should all be equal ...

 

[sheothebudworths]

Google help!

And then another tip which I didn’t need ( am clearly not as ‘friends electric’ as a GW presenter) but worth knowing if you are – if there’s static in the air and it’s causing the fine roots of the seedling to cling to the sides of the compost rather than drop neatly and directly down into the dibbed hole, then rub a piece of bamboo or plastic dibber over your trouser leg to create your own static and then use the tip of that to ‘hold and guide’ the end tips of the seedling root down into the compost.

 

[gentlegreen]

That was the bit I'd forgotten - actually pointing a charged dibber at the roots.

 

[sheothebudworths]

 

[nicksonic]

i have a window box i'd like to grow some herbs in - chives, basil and rosemary to start. is it best to use a cell tray to start them off or can i just go straight to the box?

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Ive started rosemary in the pot I hope to keep at least one plant in... seems ok so far

The basil pack said sow in situ too, it hasnt come up just yet though.

My runner beans FINALLY went into the garden yesterday. Im going to do some more digging over and start off some french beans today, the last lot got nobbled by the frosts. That then kinda put everything on hold pretty much as I didnt want to lose any more
Ive also got shallots, onions and some other stuff to plant out

 

[sheothebudworths]

Just planted out my winter squash and some flower seeds for out the front (Marguerite and Lupins).

I put chives straight into the pot, but fuck all happened!

I think that was down to it being terracotta and on too dark a window sill though, tbf - don't think it's worth doing it in seed trays (prob just cos it'd be too tricky to move!).

Cheers for the reminder to do more though!

Yesterday I made my daughter 'Chief Cress Grower/Commander of Cress', so two pots of that done too, thanks to her.

 

[fogbat]

Rosemary grows really easy from cuttings - if you know someone with a big bush (fnar), it'll be quicker to take cuttings than grow from seed.

Get a nice long stick, take off the bottom few leaves, and leave in a glass of water, somewhere with some light, for a few weeks. Top up with water every so often. After a while, you'll notice it developing a nice root system, and you can plant it out.

I've actually just stuck sticks of Rosemary straight into compost and had them form roots, and grow into big plants, but IME this isn't as likely to work.

You can even do it with the pre-packed long sticks of Rosemary you get in supermarkets. A few weeks in water, and they'll form roots.

 

[fogbat]

Oh, and zenie - if you want any more chillies, I've got some spare seedlings you're welcome to, too.

 

[gentlegreen]

i have a window box i'd like to grow some herbs in - chives, basil and rosemary to start. is it best to use a cell tray to start them off or can i just go straight to the box?

Basil could do with some help.

Sow on the surface of small pots or cells of thoroughly wetted and warmed-up compost, don't cover - just firm them in. then put a polythene bag over them and put them somewhere warm and not actually dark.

And it hates being transplanted - electrostatic dibber or no.

A bit of help wouldn't go amiss with the rosemary too while you're at it.

I cheat. I start everything off indoors under lights.

 

[zenie]

What lights do you use?

Cheers foggy will take you up on that if you sure they're spare?

 

[nicksonic]

i was reading about lights earlier, apparently just basic fluorescent bulbs work well...

 

[zenie]

I think I'd be a bit worried the feds would come crashing through the windows and arrest me

 

[Biddlybee]

Oh, and zenie - if you want any more chillies, I've got some spare seedlings you're welcome to, too.

Could I get one off you if zenie doesn't nab them all?

Good tip about the rosemary too... I need to get a cutting from someone, mine is looking very unhealthy.

 

[fogbat]

Certainly, Biddly. I'll PM you my list.

 

[gentlegreen]

i was reading about lights earlier, apparently just basic fluorescent bulbs work well...

25 watt ones - four for a quid at Screwfix.

Six to a seed tray works well.

 

[nicksonic]

25 watt ones - four for a quid at Screwfix.

how do you set them up gg...?

 

[zenie]

Could I get one off you if zenie doesn't nab them all? .

No, fuck off

Good tip about the rosemary too... I need to get a cutting from someone, mine is looking very unhealthy.

I'd like some too, so when you find someone with a big bush, rob some for me please.

 

[Dan U]

I'd like some too, so when you find someone with a big bush, rob some for me please.

got some in my garden if you want some

stuff has gone a bit mad in my garden lately

notably potatoes gone well bushy so i've had to cover them with more soil. and strawberries flowering with loads of leaves plus lettuce is finally doing something after looking rubbish for ages

got to thin out carrots asap

 

[gentlegreen]

how do you set them up gg...?

Get some old computer cables.

Strip the insulation off of one of them and daisy-chain the light fittings (but in parallel) - pass through holes in plasterboard, or attach batten holders to plywood or MDF (the bases get quite hot).

Alternatively, find some cheapo clip lights in the pound shop ...

It makes things amazingly easy - plants get through their critical phase right in front of your eyes and the growth rate is amazing - full summer sun with no clouds.

 

[free spirit]

I accidentally killed a friend the other day, which may seem an odd thing to write about on this thread, but you see the friend was a hedgehog who I'd not realised was living in the garden. Thinking about it, my prickly little friend probably was the reason I'd been finding less and less slugs around. Anyway, I think my friend must have been gorging himself on my slug filled beer traps, and basically drunk himself to death.

He was alive when I first spotted him, but gave me this pitiful look as if he was trying to say 'you go on, I'm done for, someone's spiked my dinner... can you make me better?' as he didn't even flinch as I tried/failed to get some water in it's mouth. I then tried giving it a slug to eat, but even opening it's mouth just seemed like too much effort, so I left it to hopefully sleep off it's hangover in the sun.

Later on when evening came I meant to check if my friend was ok, and put a blanket over him to keep him warm, but to my eternal shame, I forgot, until I'd was lying in bed about to go to sleep, when I jumped out of bed and went into the garden a sinking heart, and alas my friend the hedgehog was by then sleeping the long sleep.

RIP my little spikey friend... I promise not to put any more beer traps out in case any of your friends happen to stop by.

 

[gentlegreen]

(((((free spirit))))) (((((hedgehog)))))

How did he get his snout in a jar ?

Surely mildly alcoholic slugs wouldn't harm a hedgehog ?
I expect he died of natural causes.

Anyway if the jar needs to be raised to protect beetles, perhaps a perforated lid would keep hedgehogs out ?