This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[zenie]

This morning I discovered that something has chopped all of my bean plants down. I know not how or what but they are all gone.

Probably been ground up and sold as 10 bags near me.

We have some red squirresl and some black squirrels. They have little squirrel race wars. What is the world coming to when even the squirrels are wearing gang colors?

Piccies please!!

returning to chillies, i'm currently watering the cell tray seedlings daily and keeping the compost moist. when i transfer to 10cm pots should i do the same, i.e. make sure the compost is slightly damp and not dry...?

*takes notes*

 

[gentlegreen]

returning to chillies, i'm currently watering the cell tray seedlings daily and keeping the compost moist. when i transfer to 10cm pots should i do the same, i.e. make sure the compost is slightly damp and not dry...?

It's always a quandary when they're really teeny and you're keeping the top layer of compost moist with a sprayer, and when pouring water on would wash them away, but once seedlings are growing well, you should water really thoroughly, then allow to almost dry.

It's one of the reasons for not using overly large pots at any particular stage of growth - you don't want too much water hanging about preventing oxygen getting to the roots.

Not in dribs and drabs ..

The very act of watering in one go creates a piston of water that forces CO2 out through the drainholes while drawing oxygen in from the top.

The principal advantage of hydroponics (which takes this principal further) is getting more oxygen to the roots, not water or nutrients In fact the ultimate form of that technique is called "aeroponics" where the roots are suspended in a fine mist.

 

[nicksonic]

thanks for an answer that as usual contains lots of bonus info gg

 

[gentlegreen]

thanks for an answer that as usual contains lots of bonus info gg

Just don't ask me about roses or taking hardwood cuttings

It's a very big elephant, gardening ...

 

[nicksonic]

Just don't ask me about roses or taking hardwood cuttings

i have a hell of a long way to before i get to that stage

 

[felixthecat]

What's up with my tomato plant?

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Planted peas straight into the ground today... Courgettes and french beans seeds into pots, transplanted tomato plants into a little window box ( only 4 came up) but will plant some more. My basil has started appearing despite the frosts recently and the parsley is flourishing. The strawberry plants munched into almost nothingness by the chickens ( now confined to barracks) are starting to recover but Im not that hopeful
First lettuce of the season seems to be ready

I mowed the front lawn today and wound up with a bloody blister on my hand so no real digging got done apart from planting the peas, my palm is too sore. I really wanted to get the onions and shallots in.

The soil in my garden is really hard and has masses of stones in. Im picking them out as I go and adding compost when I plant as well as trying to dig it all in well... Is that gonna be ok ?

The runner beans are looking OK since I planted them out like that. The one which came up from a stray seed planted later than the others seems to be doing better so I added a couple more straight into the ground in case that improves the chances of getting lots of decent plants

 

[gentlegreen]

What's up with my tomato plant?

The brown patches look like water / light damage (water beads acting as lenses).

The general patchiness looks like hunger. If they're old leaves at the bottom of the plant, possibly magnesium because the veins are remaining dark... though low temps can cause problems, as can iffy watering. Where are they planted and what in ?

Most likely not much to worry about.

 

[felixthecat]

The brown patches look like water / light damage (water beads acting as lenses).

The general patchiness looks like hunger. If they're old leaves at the bottom of the plant, possibly magnesium because the veins are remaining dark... though low temps can cause problems, as can iffy watering. Where are they planted and what in ?

Most likely not much to worry about.

Cheers m'dear. I've just posted up a seperate thread about it! Its one of my indoor plants, in a large pot with good ol' miracle gro compost. Its in front of full length french doors, so gets lots of sun. I don't normally wet the foliage. Anyway, I'll feed it and see what happens.

If its any help, the light patches are almost translucent.

 

[gentlegreen]

The soil in my garden is really hard and has masses of stones in. Im picking them out as I go and adding compost when I plant as well as trying to dig it all in well... Is that gonna be ok ?

Don't go overboard with stone removal - in hard soil, small stones play a role.

Soil improvement is something that takes time - unless you spend silly money. In my case, pretty well all my soil improvement has come from years of digging in old compost that has grown tomatoes and stuff.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Soil improvement is something that takes time - unless you spend silly money. In my case, pretty well all my soil improvement has come from years of digging in old compost that has grown tomatoes and stuff.

I remember watching a "master gardener" on television talk about how he got such great soil. He carted in peat and covered his raised beds a foot deep. (I believe his garden covered 2 acres.) Anyone priced peat lately?

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Peat!!??? its ridiclously expensive and its damaging to the environment too.

Im just gonna perservere and dig in some bags of ready done compost this year as I plant stuff out. Mines coming on nicely in the composter as far as I can tell but wont be properly ready until the spring of next year I suspect. Im digging in old stuff which has come from pots too. fingers crossed it all grows ok, if it doesnt it will be a shame but its all a learning experience eh?

 

[fogbat]

The brown patches look like water / light damage (water beads acting as lenses).

The general patchiness looks like hunger. If they're old leaves at the bottom of the plant, possibly magnesium because the veins are remaining dark... though low temps can cause problems, as can iffy watering. Where are they planted and what in ?

Most likely not much to worry about.

I think I read somewhere that the water / light thing was a myth.

Though I'm happy to bow to your far superior experience

 

[gentlegreen]

I think I read somewhere that the water / light thing was a myth.

it needs to be intense light.

I just found this :-

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/water-drop-burn-leaves-100110.html

Strange News
Water Drops Magnify Sunlight and Burn Leaves

By LiveScience Staff

posted: 10 January 2010 07:00 pm ET

Many gardeners swear you should not water in the midday because water droplets on plants can magnify the sun's rays and burn leaves. But the idea has never been rigorously tested, until now.

"This is far from a trivial question," said biophysicist Gabor Horvath at Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary. "The prevailing opinion is that forest fires can be sparked by intense sunlight focused by water drops on dried-out vegetation."

Horvath and colleagues used both experiments and computer modeling to figure out the physics that goes on. The results varied depending on the type of leaf.

On smooth surfaces, such as a healthy maple leaf, no leaf burn occurred.

But on leaves with small wax hairs, such as those of the floating fern, the hairs were able to hold water droplets above the leaf surface, creating a magnifying-glass effect that gave the leaves a noticeable sunburn — though no open flames resulted.

Could the same effect on a dry leaf start a forest fire?

"If the focal region of drops falls exactly on the dry plant surface intensely focused sunlight could theoretically start a fire," Horvath said. "However, the likelihood is reduced as the water drops should evaporate before this, so these claims should be treated with a grain of salt."

However, hairy human skin might suffer the same effect, enhancing sunburn, the researchers speculate.

"In sunshine water drops residing on smooth hairless plant leaves are unlikely to damage the leaf tissue," Horvath and colleagues conclude. "However water drops held by plant hairs can indeed cause sunburn and the same phenomenon can occur when water droplets are held above human skin by body hair."

The findings are detailed in the journal New Phytologist.

 

[invisibleplanet]

The chives I planted in a windowbox last week have poked up through the soil

 

[BoatieBird]

Peat!!??? its ridiclously expensive and its damaging to the environment too.

Im just gonna perservere and dig in some bags of ready done compost this year as I plant stuff out. Mines coming on nicely in the composter as far as I can tell but wont be properly ready until the spring of next year I suspect. Im digging in old stuff which has come from pots too. fingers crossed it all grows ok, if it doesnt it will be a shame but its all a learning experience eh?

That's the approach we're taking. We got a few bags of manure/mushroom compost mix to dig in as we go along. It was recommend by the garden centre and it was only £2.25 a bag so not too draining on resources.
As you say, it's all a learning curve - and one I'm really enjoying at the moment.

 

[Biddlybee]

Can someone tell me what a seaweed-based feed is?

 

[gentlegreen]

Can someone tell me what a seaweed-based feed is?

It's green-washed fertiliser

 

[Biddlybee]

And that is....

 

[gentlegreen]

I was being somewhat flippant.

It doesn't hurt to feed plants with complex organic compounds in order to promote life in the soil, but it's of questionable value in the case of fast-growing plants in containers.

If one lived by the seaside and it was a readily-available material, it would be a shame to waste it.

 

[Biddlybee]

I don't think the herbs I've got are very fast growing (thyme, rosemary and sage)... but they aren't looking very happy so think I need to up the nutrients in the soil... I'll have a look for some organic plant feed or maybe tomato feed

 

[gentlegreen]

I have to admit I'm tending to reach for organic fertilisers these days. I bought some pellets in Aldi a while back which probably have a bit of chicken poo in them - it seems to do the job.

In the case of herbs, I would look at the root conditions. I used to have a spectacularly health rosemary bush in my front garden in very sandy soil that never ever got fed.

 

[Biddlybee]

Was it in a pot though?

 

[gentlegreen]

Was it in a pot though?

If having trouble with a perennial pot plant, I would tend to refresh the compost a bit at the same time... maybe go up a size or divide the plant ...

How big is the pot in relation to the plant ?

 

[Biddlybee]

I don't think they need repotting. This was in November and since then the sage isn't looking great and nor is the rosemary... thyme is fine.

I'll give em a feed and see how they go.

 

[gentlegreen]

I would definitely look at whether that window box is being used to maximum effect. Are the plants in their own pots ?

 

[Biddlybee]

No... they're all in the window box.

 

[tarannau]

Is the soil a bit too moist Biddly?

TBH I've never found nutrients really necessary for any of those 3 - rosemary and thyme in particular seem to thrive on the worst and driest soil. I do find all three of then a little sporadic in growth though - they do go through periods of inactivity before perking up again.

 

[Biddlybee]

Don't think so... I only give it a water when I remember. The thyme is doing really well. Maybe they're just getting to grips with the sun and heat after all that snow?

I haven't added new topsoil for a while though, so a little worried they've got nothing left to feed on.

 

[BoatieBird]

My rosemary (which was in a pot) died over the winter. Apparently they don't like prolonged cold, and I think the winter we've just had can be classified as 'prolonged cold'. I chucked it and bought another one from the garden centre for a couple of quid.