# Gardening Chat!



## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Everyone,

Thought I would start the ball rolling with a thread for gardening chat. 

We can share tips and give advice!

Let's start with a bit about our gardens or allotments or plots...

I have a small back garden (too small for me now) about 40 ft, in fact my front garden is bigger at about 50ft. They are both stuffed with all sorts of plants and laid to lawn.

This year I am going to be growing vegetables in containers on my patio and am new to this so will be looking for tips.

Laine x


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

Hurrah! Thanks Laine and Tony  

I have no front garden - (it was paved over for parking) but to make up for it we have a large back garden - about 100ft long and 40ft wide. its open and sunny with a large patio by the house and around a conservatory. Its mostly lawn with a wide border, shed and cherry tree down one side and as of last year a veg plot on the other side. we started small so this year plan to make the plot bigger and try some different veggies. last year we grew: 
potatoes (grew fine but odd texture) 
carrots (great success) 
runner and french beans ( great success too)
onions (ok but a bit small)  lettuces (successful but didnt grow enough) 
tried outdoor cucumbers but they didnt do anything and also tried red peppers but they also just stopped growing as soon as I put them outside  

since last year we have been taking an organic approach to our garden and didnt use any sprays or even slug pellets (did torchlight patrol every night!) it wasnt as hard as i imagined tho the roses have suffered from blackspot so will prob remove them now....

am obsessed by pots and have 41 of various sizes and shapes - i like playing with grouping them and am constantly re-inventing areas of the patio - last year I had a mediterranean corner for a while and then moved it all around to make a cosy eating area nearer the house!

i did 2 terms of gardening eveing class last year which was great fun and I learned loads, still feel like lots of things are trial and error though!

would love some tips on companion planting and also crop rotation....

Laine - i grew carrots in a patio pot one year - a dwarf variety and it was easy as anything! 

am REALLY looking forward to Spring as i love everything coming through, esp daffs. tho lots of mine seem to think its spring already   they're gonna have a shock if we have a harsh feb!

looking forward to more chat  

kimj x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Laine - what a wonderful idea - gardening chat! 

I eat, sleep and breathe gardening. Its my job as well as my hobby!!

I teach gardening to evening classes and adults with learning disabilities, as well as doing a couple of gardens for people.

My own garden - small (26ft by about 20ft) and surrounded by a huge laurel hedge which drains the moisture out of the soil. Its south facing with a red hot patio and my latest addition - a cotinerie (think about one side of a pergola and you've got it) for roses etc. I've just built a folly at the bottom (so called cos it makes me laugh!!) - just somewhere to sit out of the sun and covered in clematis and honeysuckle.

I've got an allotment about 50 yrards form home where I grow all manner of things. 

You must try pink fur apple potatoes. Gordon Ramsey makes one chip form each tuber and charges about £50 per portion!! They are great and tasty and have lots of leaf which keeps down the weeds underneath.
Also I worked out last year - if you want to grow parsnips(highly recommended) warm the ground up with some plastic sheet for about 6 weeks before planting and then cover the seed until it comes up. Guaranteed success.

Kimj - what are you growing re companion planting and rotation? Re the blackspot - if you don't want to get rid of the roses make sure you take off all the leaves in the autum and clear up any that fall to stop the fungal spores (yuck) overwintering on the plant or on the ground. Also put a large dollop of manure around the plant in early spring to stop the spore splashing up the plant when it rains.

Phew,

Looking forward to lots more chat

LOL
Cathy


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Meant to add - don't know about you but gardening has been my saviour while on this IF roundabout. When I'm in the garden I have NO problems.

Should be available on prescription!!

Cathy


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

cathy - agree with you - a wander round the garden severing heads off with my secataurs is very therapeutic!! (heads off plants I might add  )

so we have a resident expert on board - hurrah!!!

thanks for the advice but I think the roses have had it - they have had blackspot for years, have sprayed them many times with roseclear etc -  i'm sure the spores are all over the place as i never rake up the leaves even tho I know I'm meant to ( forgot to add in my intro that I am essentially a lazy gardener and things that are too needy I just get rid of!) 

re crop rotation - i'm a bit confused cos i know you should have a 3 yr cycle - but as i'm not growing anything from the brassica family i'm really only growing 2 types of veg, therefore can only do a 2 yr cycle - is this ok   

companion planting - i grew marigolds all around the outside of the plot last year, and grew onions near the carrots, what else can i do to encourage the beasties we want and discourage the ones we dont -like ants for example. we netted the carrots so didnt get root fly, but the lettuces did get a bit of greenfly and the french beans got nibbled by something but not sure what ( did mostly eat the leaves not the beans tho  )

by the way, i just read my neighbours Gardening Which? magazine and it was brilliant - highly recommend it - almost wish i had a subscription to that instead of Gardeners World....

laters all you green- fingered ones, wherever you all are 

kimj x


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## Leanne (Jan 24, 2004)

Oh goody, some more gardeners to talk to!!

We are moving to a bigger house at the weekend but it has a tiny garden. Last summer i grew most of my plants from seeds (dh said house looked more like a greenhouse!!) and my garden looked so lovely and colourful. Most were in pots as the garden was mainly paved.

My question is:

My new garden is mainly lawned so i want to put lots of hanging baskets on the fence. Which plants are the best trailing flowers? Flowers that bloom early would be a bonus as i am not going to have much spare time on my hands in the summer.

Any ideas?

L xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi greenies!

KimJ - re crop rotation - yes you can do a 2 year rotation but it would be better to do a longer one eg if you grow potatoes every 2 years in the same patch, it may not be long enough to discourage the nasties. Ususally it goes potatoes, legumes(peas, beans), brassicas, roots. So why dont you put some salad veg that can go anywhere in, in place of the things you don't grow to give the soil time to rest from the 'heaviy' crops.

When I was studying I copied a load of companion planting stuff from old Bob Flowerdew. I'll look it out and pass on anything useful.

Tequila - I tried those hanging basket sweet peas last year - very nice and smelly. Or what about those surfinia petunias - they just get on with it (providing you water them!!  ) Those plastic hanging bags that you put busy lizzies in always look good and once they have grown together they look like they are cascading. Good for shade too. Finally (!) what about an early flowering clematis? You would have to make sure you kept it well watered and fed and try to stop the basket from getting too hot, but any climbing plant will trail if you want it to whic gives you a longer flowering season to think about.

Phew. Gonna get out and prune my roses this weekend (David Austin - just the best roses) and then give them a big dollop of manure (horses in the field just behind me - very useful!!) 

Tip of the day - Don't forget to feed your clematis soon with Sulphate of Potash if you want heaps of blooms later.

Going now before you get fed up with me!!

Cathy


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## Fee (May 8, 2003)

Hi
Laine - just found this, so I posted my gardening stuff on "living child free" This is great to have this here.

We have a small back garden, which I tend to ignore in winter and then spend hours cutting back every month in the summer. I'm not great at this garden because I don't love it. I do think you need to LOVE a garden. I had a wonderful garden in our old house which I made from nothing, and I loved it. Because our current garden was established when we moved there I don't feel so attached. But I do feel attached to certain plants in there. 

Our main passion is our allotment. We grow early and main crop potatoes, root crops such as carrots and parsnips, leeks (although these were tiny) and peas and beans. I've discovered that the reason our peas may not work is that we are OVER fertilising. Peas like a bit of rough apparently.

Laine - re grow bags. Sainsbury's are doing small patio gro bags which are great cos I can lift them. They are perfect for toms, herbs and lettuce etc that you just want to grow by the kitchen door. 

Cathy  I LOVE David Austin roses - I always love their display at Chelsea. 

Fee xxxxxxxx


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## Leni (May 14, 2003)

Yay a gardening thread. Thanks Laine.
Well we have a very small yard, but for the past couple of years I have managed to grow, various lettuce, broad beans, tomatoes, minature carrots, strawberries,(were rubbish last year, not enough sun) Sweet peas, various bedding plants, lavender and herbs. How I fit it all in sometimes I wonder. I plant strawberries in hanging baskets and the tomatoes just get stuck anywhere, tumbling toms in baskets too, I have loads of pots too Leanne 

Anyway, last Sept we took over an allotment. Just got back from doing some more clearing on it today. It had been abandoned for the past 12 months so it needs quite a bit of work. Might lose some of the weight I put on over Christmas with all that digging 

Umm enough rambling from me. Great to share some tips and brilliant we have a professional expert too! Have made a note about the clematis.

Leni


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## Cherub75 (May 22, 2003)

Great, this is just what I need for some motivation and ideas to sort out my.... hmmmmm...... wilderness, non-garden type bit of land  

We live in ground floor maisonette in a cul-de-sac, and are lucky that we have a corner plot therefore have half of the side and the rear garden.  At the moment the garden has no character at all and I hate it, it basically needs a complete overhaul and landscaping.  It was negelcted by the previous owners and I've not had the time or money to be able to do anything with it in the 7 years that we've lived here.  The side garden is about 20ft x 40ft and has neglected conifers down the outside edge and a brickwall seperating the side garden and back garden.  There is a border down the wall edge but I don't really have an awful lot in it, brought a few small low laying conifers and a couple of bushes and put some bedding plants in during the summer (which never look nice).  There was also a tree in the centre which we cut down to a stump for fear of Daniel climbing it due to the low branches.  Because of the tree the lawn area is very uneven as the roots are mainly ground level.

As for the side..... Lawn area, again uneven as has never been raked or looked after properly, crazy paved area (horrible) with a border of a strange shape, took up another area of crazy paving a couple of years back, at the end of the garage, with the intention of re-paving, but have never got around to doing it.  We then have another border along the neighbours fence with nothing in it.  

You've got the idea now, my garden is horrible and  I hate it.  I want to sort it out this year so Daniel has a nicer place to play in during the summer, but we're also hoping to move next year so want to tidy it up and encourage potential buyers, without spending an absolute fortune as we have things to do inside aswell.

Ooops sorry to ramble on there.  Just hoping that you might be able to give me some ideas on what I could do tidy it up and brighten it up.

Thanks ladies

Emma xx


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## Rachel (Mar 10, 2004)

Hey gardeners!









I love gardening and like to have lots of colour with bedding plants etc.

My garden is 3/4 acre and alot of it is laid to lawn thank god!! I hate mowing and can usually get someone else to do it! (dh hates it too but does it when he has to!)

I like to have lots of tubs and hanging baskets with colour in them as my garden is surrounded by huge trees and is very green otherwise!

I would really like to grow vegetables and have a greenhouse in the field but its no good for growing as theres so many weeds!  My fil grows enough veges to feed the whole country so we have his instead!

One problem I have is keeping colour all through the summer right through in to Sept. Has anyone got any ideas on plants that will last a long time?

lots of great advice already posted! Thanks girls 

Love, Rachel xx


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## ~ Chux ~ (Apr 8, 2003)

Oooohhhh, just the thread I need, not because I'm into gardening but because I'm terrible at it and I need to pick someone's brain!!

Last June I was given an exotic orchid which I didn't kill, but didn't ever get any more flowers on it than the two that were on there already. Once they fell off I cut the stalks down as it said on the info that came with the plant, and have watered it once in a blue moon since. But what do I do with it now?? Will it just come back on it's own and if so, when?

Any advice would be gratefully received!

Chux xx


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## sas jane v (Aug 7, 2003)

Hi girls -great thread

we have a 100ftby40ft garden - pretty keen gardeners dh and me and have loads of shrubs/grasses/palms/acers/camelias,a pond with newts and sunny patio full of pots which I change each year
...am waiting for my narcissi/crocuses etc -they seem to have slowed down

anyway this year we are planning a shed for dh-will move him out there and funds permitting summerhouse of some sort by the pool for cups of tea/alcohol as desired

my tips for colour are shrubs/grasses long flowering annuals -we tried nicotiana/cosmos last year filled in all the gaps and flowered into Oct
and for autumn colour we had lovely acers/asters/grasses etc

thanks for tip on clematis Cathy -might well do that this w/e

        Sarah x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi greenies,

Gardening therapy on the FF website - just what we need!!

Late summer colour - some perennials like heleniums (sneezewort), echinacea (coneflower), rudbeckia (rudbeckia!!!). Quite a few daisy type flowers are good in autumn. Add the grasses and you've got a prairie garden - very fashionable!

the orchid should come back. Start to water it once a week from about March. stand it in water for a couple of hours rather than watering it. You can add a bit of feed, but add MUCH less than you would normally or you'll just get more leaves. I'm waiting for mine to flower again. Apparently they thrive on neglect and get killed by kindness!

Cherub - I think all you can do is keep the grass mown and add some pots if you like. You can move these with you but they'll give a bit of colour/interest. You can feed your lawn every 6 weeks or so in summer (from about April onwards) to keep it green so it can look better than it actually is! Look out for a liquid lawn food at the GC. I did that the first year here and my green keeper friend thought my lawn looked great (it was actually so bad you couldn't call it a lawn)

Off to Potato Day on sunday at Ryton (the HDRA organic garden near Coventry). 120 varieties of seed pots to choose from! Could be a long day!!

Cathy


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## ~ Chux ~ (Apr 8, 2003)

Thanks Cathy for the advice. If it thrives on neglect I should definately have an orchid to be proud of!

Chux xx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello,

I'm a gardener too! I have a tiny garden - a postage stamp-sized front garden and a back garden of 5m by 15m. I long for the day when I can have a huge garden and a greenhouse. The back garden is looking a bit sorry for itself at the moment; roll on summer....
I also have an allotment. There's not much happening there at the moment apart from some purple sprouting broccoli which is just about to sprout. I have grown masses of daffodils there to put in the house; a few weeks off yet though.
I'm doing the RHS exam in March too. I'll be glad when it's over really so I can get on with gardening!

Emma


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Great name emma daff!!

Good luck with the exam. I know a few people taking the same one. I did that one about 3 years ago. I did my RHS advanced last year and will be attempting the diploma course in Sept!!    (I must be mad - 7 hour practical exam at the end!!)

Whats with the allotment theme. I thought it was all old men with flat caps (except me of course!). I LOVE my allotment!

Cathy


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello again everybody,

It is great to talk and think about something other than ttc.

Cathy - or anyone else who has done it - would you recommend the RHS advanced course? Is there a lot of science involved? I've struggled with that side of things on the general course.

As for my name, it is because when I first had to come up with an internet name I was staring at daffodils outside the window!

Emma


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Girls,

Wow what a great response to this thread! All our greenfingers will soon be busy busy and I can't wait!

Cathy - I would love to do your job. It must be great to teach and see the rewards at the end. I love the HDRA website, tons of info on there for us organic gardeners. I visited the Kitchen Garden at Audley End and was mesmerised. Good for you on taking the advanced and diploma.

Emma (Cherub) - Last year you told me you were going to get out in the garden and sort it and never did - no excuses this year eh?

Rachel - what a huge space you have, I would be out there forever if it were mine. You should grow the vegetables and reap the rewards.

Emma (Daff) - Snap I am taking the RHS exam in March too and have been busy revising for it. So much to take in bit have throughly enjoyed the course and learnt tons of stuff.

Sarah - Your garden sounds fab too. Summerhouse how lovely. I have found my gardening has helped with learning to live childfree, it take sme to a different place, hope yours does too.

Fee - Thanks for the advice on the grow bags. Bet you can't wait to get back to the allotment. BTW how long did it take you to get one?

Leanne - Hanging baskets are my passion...this year I am doing my mils and mums too, just love planting them up. I go to a nursery to get my plants. It pays to add water crystals to the soil in case of really dry weather.

Kim J - What a lot of pots! Expect mine are going to increase with the veggies. I just love cherries, how old is your tree? Do you get good yields from it?

Chux - Hi - hope the orchid is ok.

Leni - Would love an allotment, so what are you going to grow in yours then? How did you go about getting the allotment?

Do any of you subscribe to any gardening magazines? Who watches Gardeners World?

Aside from venturing into vegetable growing this year, I am also going to add a small pond to the garden. My dad is excellent with ponds and is going to help me do it. Roll on springtime.

Laine x


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## Hun (Jul 14, 2003)

Hi Greenies!

Just wanted to drop by. My garden is my sanctuary, and is where  go to reflect on just about everything. We moved to our house about 2 years ago, and the garden was completely overgrown - loads of old roses and good shrubs but completely neglected. We have spent about 2 years trying to salvage and renovate it, but this year - whilst I am on my maternity leave I really want to get stuck in!

We have about 150ft by 50ft, and its split into two bits by a Viburnum and Lilac hedge. Its stuffed full of roses of all varieties, and I planted an New Dawn last year in a dodgy corner as its a fast grower and very pretty. Half of the garden (the bottom bit) is given over to our five hens - Clarissa, Nigella, Deila, Betty and Fanny. They live in a cute blue henhouse, but eat just about everything, so finding chickenproof plants is a bit of a challenge - any advice gratefully recieved! Veggies are out - they would have a great time! 

My jobs for this year are new picket fencing, and new path (want it to have lavender either side - any advice on varieties?), getting rid of a huge lonicera hedge that has gone bonkers and is all dead underneath. We also have an old vine, which is under an old plastic shelter which we'd like to take down - anyone know how frost resistant vines are, as we would like to replace the plastic with a new uncovered pergola his year too.....?

My IVF babe henry was born last November and I would also like to build him a play area at some point (where he won't get covered in chicken poo!). He sits out in his buggy and watches me on warmer days. Hopefully he'll be an outdoor kid!

I am trained as an environmental scientist (spent a lot of time during my degree at HDRA! Love it!) and I know quite a lot about ponds and pond plants. I am also a master composter! Maybe these skills might help someone out!

Love this thread 

Hun and henry xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi Hun - what do you have to do to be a master composter? Sounds very interesting. I'm giving a talk to a garden club on thursday called 'Black Magic' - all about soil and the wonders of compost!

Emma - if you liked the RHS General you'd probably enjoy the advanced. The only thing I would say is that it looks at everything from  a commercial point of view ie larger scale. There is a lot of science but it basically builds on what you learned for the General. I have spent a bit of time working at the nursery of a local garden open to the public to get me head out of hobby gardening mode and into mass production. After you've potted up 250 Salvia such and such followed by 200 Geranium whatsit and taken hundreds of cuttings you soon see things differently!  

   to you both - Emma and Laine (Is it March 16th?)

Ryton gardens were heaving yesterday for potato day. We bought loads of different seed potatoes and met King Edward! Just hope we know which potato is which!!  

Just had a thought - anyone got a daffodil out yet? Where will they come out first?

LOL
Cathy


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

Hello fellow gardeners ! 

Gardening is what keeps me sane most of the time !  It is the best therapy.  I suffer with SAD so the time out in the daylight really helps me.

I bought the house we live in now because it had a large garden and I wanted to devote more space to growing vegetables !  Last summer I grew
Salads, tomatoes, carrots, PS brocolli, cabbages, french beans, runner beans, celeriac, sweetcorn, leeks, sweet peppers, cucumbers, beetroot (which was crap!), and swiss chard ! ! ! ! !  What a lot !  The week before Xmas I cut the last of the red peppers even though my greenhouse is unheated, they lasted really well.  I took up the last of the leeks yesterday.
Does anyone have any recipes for the chard ? - I have loads of it but don't know what to do with it !

HUN !!  Hello!!  I also keep chickens, Polly, Penny, Betty, Fiona and a gorgeous minature cockeral called Jermaine !! (my ds named him after a footballer!)  They live in a childrens wooden cottage with a little paned window and door !  I have planted a beautiful climbing scented red rose which is trained over the roof - I'm hoping the smell will be better than the chickens in summer !  We get fresh eggs everyday which are lovely.  Chickens are a great source of entertainment - we love them.

I have a subscription to the magazine "Kitchen Garden" which is absolutely fab - It has taught me all I know about growing veg as I am just a beginner.

Great to read about all your gardens 

Love
Jennifer xx

ps - my picture is of the view at the end of my garden, there is no fenced boundary, just a ditch then fields !


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## Rachel (Mar 10, 2004)

Hi greenfingered gals!









Cathy - My daffs are coming up but none out yet!! Will let you know when the first comes out 

Hun & Jennifer - I would love a few hens for eggs. My aunty has them in Scotland and when I stay with her I love getting up in the morning to see how many have laid that day!!  How sad am I!! We have our own business which happens to be poultry farming but unfortunately we don't do eggs!! If we did there would be thousands a day!! Perhaps I wouldnt be so excited about collecting them then! 

Laine - your pond sounds lovely. I had a pond at one of my previous houses and loved sitting by it watching the fish swim, very theraputic! Dont have one now but I do have a small pebble fountain on the patio which is right under my bedroom window! When the window is open in the summer the sound of it makes me want the loo!!  Are you going to design your pond yourself? When do you plant up your hanging baskets? I am never sure and they seem to take ages to start getting going!

I must get out and do some tidying this week! The garden looks a bit wind swept at the moment! Will get more incentive as someone is coming to sort out the messy bits that the builders left last year when they built the extension! I am hoping they might move the greenhouse into the garden from the field so that I can use it without having to weed constantly!!

Rachel x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

where is everyone? Are you all busy in the garden?? 

A question - if you could only have one plant in your garden what would it be?

I'll kick off with (after much thought and hair pulling) clematis and if you make me pick one, then clematis cirrohsa 'Freckles' - its evergreen, flowers between Nov and Feb (although mine began in Sept) and is just so lovely to look at in the miserable winter. Everyone wonders what it is when they see it.

Go on... your turn!

LOL
Cathy


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

I would have grass because my lawn would look awful without it !  

No, I think it would be a scented red rose.  Some of them are just so beautiful and who can resist sticking their nose in a freshly opened bud !

Jennifer xx


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

my one flower would be cornflowers - i just love them - they were my wedding flower. i always grow pots of them every year

i have spent the day extending my veggie patch and putting  turfs across the middle in a cross so that now i have 4 separte beds with grass paths between - am knacked! might extend it a bit more but that'll do for now..

question for all you hen-keepers - i would like to keep hens for eggs and have the room, but we have LOTS of urban foxes that are in and out of the garden day and night (stupid council wont give us wheely bins so they come for the binbags) obviously this would pose a threat to hens (just slightly ) but if i had a big enough run would they be okay - i would rather have them run free but this wouldnt be practical. or am i mad to even consider it? also do you have to have a licence to keep them?

kimj

ps have a daff almost through....


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

Kim - When I got my chickens I was living in a house on an estate in Bracknell, Berkshire !    Only one of the neighbours complained but frankly, cats were more of a neighbourhood nuisance than my chickens.  We live out in the middle of nowhere now and have foxes.  As long as they are shut in at night (ours are in a childs playhouse!) then you should be fine.    As far as I know you don't need a licence - we don't have one anyway !  Get some, chickens are great company and they do a great job of removing slugs and snails from the garden. 

I cleaned out my greenhouse yesterday - very satisfying.  I found some new potatoes which had grown in a pot which i had forgotten about last year !!  They are in perfect condition and so i'm going to use them as seed potatoes in a few weeks !  Free potatoes !

I sowed some salad yesterday too, inside.  I will transfer them to grow bags in the greenhouse in a couple of weeks.

Happy gardening everyone !

Jennifer xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi KimJ

I don't keep chickens ... but i know a man who does .. on our allotments, which are in the country where there are plenty of foxes.

He shuts them up at night and in the day has a HUGE wired off area for them. The wire must be 6ft high and dug well into the ground. You know what chickens are like for brains - the run is so big they probably think they are in the open fields!

Cathy 

PS can I change my plant to Iris reticlata? Mine have just opened in my window troughs and they are scrummy. Almost makes washing up a pleasure (not)!


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hi Greenies,

My one flower would have to be a rose....I have 26 of them in total!  All types and I just love them.

Have been so busy with the revision for the exam in a few weeks time.  My head is going round and round with soil!!!

Managed to get out and do some final pruning and tidying up.  Still lots to do before spring.

Laine x


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## Rachel (Mar 10, 2004)

Hi Girls  

I have been out in the garden today doing some general tidying pruning etc. Tidyied the borders and beds too. Still have quite a bit to do but I have made a great start!

The grass really needs a cut now as its quite long and messy but its still suite wet in places   Have to wait another couple of weeks I think. 

Having to chose a favourite plant or flower is very hard as I like lots!! 

I love roses too and have lots of different varieties. Some of them have been here since the house was built and I haven't a clue what they are! I have an A-Z of plants and flowers so will start to match them up if I can. I have one called Remembrance. I planted after I had my mc. 

I like Lavendar too. It smells so lovely in the Summer evenings. I cut it and have it in the house, mmmm.

In the Spring I like Forsythia and Daffodils. My favourite colour is yellow and when the daffs start to bloom you just know the winter is over and theres a lovely Summer to look forward to.  

Going to try and get out again tomorrw in between painting! 

Love to you all, Rachel xx


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## Rachel (Mar 10, 2004)

Forgot to say. I have a daffodil nearly open! Anyone got one out yet?


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi Rachel.

I'm like you - one daff nearly open but it's a bit shy just yet! Theres one in the field near me showing off though!

Anyone got Hellebores out? I've just decided i must change my fav flower from Iris to Hellebores. You see i change my mind like the wind!!

Cathy


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

I've got hellebores!! and i'm dead chuffed cos for once i got organised LAST Autumn (before we went travelling) for THIS winter so actually have some winter interest and colour for a change! its been a very long wait from planting to seeing flowers but its worth it! wish i'd got more than one hellebores - its so pretty

kimj


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## keemjay (Jan 19, 2004)

me again  
does anyone know the best thing to do with indoor hyacinth bulbs after they have finished flowering so that they flower again inside next winter? 

kj


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Keemjay - they won't! They've been forced to flower indoors using heat treatment which makes them knackered afterwards. the best thing to do is plant them in the garden and let them come back to flowering naturally - might take a year and then buy a new one for indoors!! (same for amaryllis)

Cathy


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## freespirit. (Nov 24, 2004)

Hi there green fingered peeps ,
I just wondered if anyone could advise me , as the local garden centre can't !
I have a 14 yr old Labrador ***** , who  obviously pee's on our small garden alot . I have noticed over the last couple of years that this is turning the grass yellow , then it dies . I was wondering if there was anything i could put on it to neutralize it ? Its normally bad in the summer , even though i water it often , but now because of the mild winter I've noticed it getting patchy again already .
I do rake it quite often too , and also use a scarifier every now and then ,
Any advice would be gratefully received ,
Thanks ,
J x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi J,

Its a hormone thing again! You need to water in as soon as shes done it for it to make any difference. If you feed your lawn spring and autumn it will be a bit stronger and withstand a bit of weeing but after a while it will give up the fight. Sorry.


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## Fone (Dec 4, 2004)

Cathy - I am so impressed with your knowledge on this gardening stuff    - will have to pick yours and anyone elses brains!!!

I love gardening and became quite besotted with it over past two years.  We only have a medium/smallish garden which is the only thing that will move us from our house eventually!  Before we had our BFP we had started looking for smallholdings as this is our eventual dream - we want the self sufficient life.  I have been taking an organic gardening correspondance course which I am loving - got a bit stuck with the biology of soil, but should be soon moving onto veggies which should be more interesting.

This year we are planning on building some sort of raised self contained flower beds right down our drive way which seems like a lot of space which could be put to use (for carrots, peas and tomatoes - got hooked on Golden sunrise and gardeners delight last year - nothing like the flavour of home grown tomatoes!! ) Wondered how deep these would need to be?

Also I have just ordered some tomatillo seeds to try - do you know any tricks on how to get these going?

Sorry for the long mail,  

Love Fone xx
Our daffodils were out at the end of January in the front garden, some are already on the turn!!


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

Morning everyone !

Well it snowed here last night - only about a cm settled but it makes it difficult for me to get out and garden coz we are on soggy clay 
I suppose I could potter in the greenhouse !

J - I heard that giving the dog a squirt of ketchup on their food helps to neutralise whatever it is that makes the grass die.  We do it with our dog when we remember and it does seem to help..  Worth a try i reckon.

Fone - Veggies are great to grow - I grow loads.  Only started 2 years ago with a couple of things amongst the flowers and shrubs in our small garden but now have a bigger garden and a large patch dedicated to food !  Sweetcorn is dead easy, as are beans.  I have a fab way of growing leeks too - I start them off in pots, sown quite thickly.  When they are about 8/10 inches or so tall, I poke a hole in the ground, about 7 inches deep, with a thick cane and drop in the baby leek.  I don't fill in the hole, just water down it.  Within a couple of days, the leek has rooted in the bottom of the hole and has filled in on its own.  That way I have nice blanched leeks without the bother of earthing up or messing about.  

I cut my first spears of purple sprouting brocolli last week - yummy !

I am a lazy gardener though and often forget what I should be doing with different crops !  Just shows that anyone can grow veg !

Has anyone else got any veggie tips ?  

Jennifer xx

ps - Thank Goodness Spring is just round the corner - I can feel spring coming and I feel soooo much better for it !


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi greenies,

I was going to post that my little tete a tete daffs are out but you've beaten me to it Fone! Glad you're enjoying your course - thats how I started and then got totally hooked! Glad you're organic - it really makes sense.

Never grown tomatillos - good luck. I can recommend tumbling tom tomatoes which grow in hanging baskets. we got pounds and pounds last year - lovely little cherry tomatoes - so sweet! another thing that was really good for us last year was squash - and so much leaf - great for keeping the weeds down!

If your beds will have open bottoms you could probably get away with about 6'' high . If they are closed containers and you want to grow things like carrots you'll need about a foot or you'll have stumpy carrots!

Jennifer  - never heard the ketchup one - will try it on my dog. He can't decide if he is a boy or a girl so he kills the grass and the borders! Ahh bless!  

Cathy


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

My dog has gender confusion too !  He squats like a girlie !  My Mum always laughs at him !  He has learnt to stay off the borders though !

We are going to try pumpkins this year !  Got a nasty patch of weeds so maybe they will kill them off !


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## Fone (Dec 4, 2004)

Jennifer - thanks for the veggie advice, leeks sound like a good bet.  I wanted to grow some purple sprouting broccoli, but missed the month to plant - think I was preoccupied with some sort of fertility tx or something!!!

Cathy - thanks for the advice on the carrot growing.  The containers will not be open bottomed, so will go for the deeper option.  Great idea about the tumbling toms.  I do these flower bags along the south wall of our house, I might alternate flowers with tumbling toms - just can't get enough of them!!  How much room do you need for a squash plant?  Not sure we have the space, I have this idea that they are like triffids and take over any ground cover they can lay there leaves on? Or am I thinking of pumpkins?

No problems with dogs, just cats - we have three and they don't seem to be able to spot the difference with garden they are allowed to "use" and garden they are not allowed on!!  If anyone has any tips please let me know.  I have taken to covering my newly seeded areas with old pyrocanthus branches, covered in spikes!

Love Fone xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Fone theyre both like triffids! But you just chop off the bits that get wayward! I have seen Sarah Raven grow pumpkins in big baskets so the pumpkins hang down. You'd need to water lots and lots and make sure you didn't sit underneath them!!

Cathy


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## Fone (Dec 4, 2004)

Thanks Cathy, I'll remember the tip about not sitting underneath them!!  

Love Fone xx


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## jellybelly (Oct 19, 2004)

Hi all,

Have a query over my seed sowing !!! I have an unheated greenhouse and last year i sowed some seeds for bedding plants.  My problem is I can't remember when I sowed them.  Is it early March I should be doing them?  Last year I grew marigolds, petunias, lobelia, etc.

Any advice would be gratefully received

Jelly
xxxx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi Jelly,

Yes, March would be good - hopefully it'll be a bit warmer by then. If you want to get going a bit sooner, a north facing windowsill indoors will do. Cover the trays with a clear plastic bag till you see the seedlings - then uncover them and then pop them in the greenhouse in March (unless its still v cold). You'll get earlier flowers the earlier you sow them. things like marigolds can be sown outside in the ground from about mid march if you don't want to faff about potting them on etc.

I miss my greenhouse!    

Cathy


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## jellybelly (Oct 19, 2004)

Thanks Cathy - that is exactly what I wanted to know.  Will be off to the gardening centres soon I think.

Sorry about your greenhouse - they are wonderful - i can lose myself down the garden for hours on end.  Last year my DH said that he wanted to take it down to patio the area it was on !! I was mortified !!  Any way I won the battle !!

Thanks again

jelly
xxx


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## Lucy Lou (Oct 19, 2004)

Hi gardening girls,

can i join you? - i'm a very keen armature, answering Cathy's question earlier, my favorites are peonies and clematis.

Just started vegi gardening last year, going to be a bit more adventurous this year, already got some iceberg lettuce coming through in the greenhouse!

Has anyone grown sweet corn? - i love it wrapped in tinfoil with butter on the BBQ, but dont want to grow masses, i know i have to plant in blocks? - but would block of 4 be enough for fertilization??

gardening has definitely helped me through the last 18months, my dh is not so sure, he says his dinner is always late in the summer and all he sees is my backside
at the weekends! but he is very complementary about my efforts, especially when he's eating them.

love to you all

Lucy Lou xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi again Lucy,

My dh hates sweetcorn so I never bother with it (shame) I think 4 or 6 would be fine. You may only get a couple of cobs that ripen in time on each. Apparently the red indians always grow squash underneath - makes best use of the space! You see - a mine of useless information!!!

dh helps me on the allotment but hes a slash a burn gardener - likes strimming, pruning, shredding but never wants to plant anything. Were just like Jack sprastt and his dw!

Cathy


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

Hope everyone is doing o.k?

I have been really revising hard for the RHS exam in March - so much to learn arghhhhhh.

Cathy - Any revision tips welcome!

Laine x


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## casey (Sep 26, 2004)

can anyone help!
i've pruned my clematis and roses but now it's gone freezing cold & snowy - will this affect them
Also most of my sweet peas grown from seed have died - the rest are on their way out- any tips on resusitation
I love my garden - I grow herbs - currently trying to grow chamomile and fever few
my fave flowers are passion flower and tulips
i've just bought a month by month gardening book but i tend to just  have a go and hope for the best 
bye for now
Casey
CaseyX


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## Lucy Lou (Oct 19, 2004)

Hi Casey,

Cathy will correct me if I'm wrong, but your clematis & roses should be fine in this cold weather. Don't prune lower than the last green shoots appearing on your clematis. If you are going to be technical i think there are 3 types of clematis, all need different types of pruning, but i am of the "chop them all back each spring" school of thought, and all mine flower each year!

cant help you with the sweet peas, I've never grown them!

I've just bought some of the "gardening expert" books, just like an idiots guide to vegi gardening, roses, etc. Perfect for me! i can highly recommend them

Lucy lou xx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi greenies,

You're right Lucy the clematis and roses should be fine. The reason you don't want to do them in autumn is exactly this. The new buds might spring into life if the weather is warm and get nobbled by the cold, but while its so cold the new buds will stay tucked up until the sun comes out!

I don't know whats the matter with your sweetpeas - are they in the ground or in pots - out or indoors? Could be another case of the killer dog? Never had any probs and always grow them. Have they wilted or vanished?

Laine - and the best of luck to you!! Any tips - apart from don't panic and remember that you actually do love gardening - it always seem to me that there were some figures that keep cropping up - like most shrubs/ hedging need to be planted 45cm apart, mulches need to be about 10cm thick and you add 100g fertilizer as a base dressing and 50g as a top dressing. Keep a few of those type of facts up your sleeve and chuck a couple into your long answers and i don't think they read the rest!! Not much help sorry.

OOh the other thing we were told was in the long answers do bullet points rather than wordy essays, so that they can see the wood for the trees (no pun intended!)

TTFN
Cathy


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

Cathy - Your dog looks scrummy - just thought i'd say !


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Jennifer

I wish you could meet him. Hes like a big white teddy bear and he gets away with blue murder!

Should I be starting a furbaby board?

Cathy


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Thanks Cathy!!!


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

My garden is too wet and cold to garden in.    I want the sunshine to come and dry up all the rain !  Then I can get out, do some planting, weeding and generally make myself feel much better.  These cold damp days do nothing for my mood.  I am not even dressed yet today and its 12.40 !!


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Jennifer31 said:


> My garden is too wet and cold to garden in.  I want the sunshine to come and dry up all the rain ! Then I can get out, do some planting, weeding and generally make myself feel much better. These cold damp days do nothing for my mood. I am not even dressed yet today and its 12.40 !!


Jennifer....couldn't agree more!


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## casey (Sep 26, 2004)

thanks for advice about clematis and roses.
my sweet peas are brown and wilted - time to call my dad - he's great for rescuing any poor plants that have suffered my attention. I'm trying to get the energy to go out and have a tidy up, but its just so COLD!!!
bye Casey


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello again gardeners,

Haven't posted for a while, I'm afraid. How are all the other people taking the RHS exam doing? A week to go and I'm getting quite nervous. I just can't remember the latin names for things or planting distances! Can't wait to get it over with now and have some time again for real gardening.

Casey - I'm no expert but I would abandon the sweet peas. There's still plenty of time to some some more!


Good luck next week everybody,
Emma


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Re the sweetpeas - it might be rot because of the wet weather in which case as Emma says - ditch them and start again. 

Feeling for you RHSers - Emma just try to remember a few latin names of plants you grow - you'll soon find you've got a few shrubs, climbers, annuals etc up your sleeve. as for planting distances 45cm seems to crop up quite often - unless you're talking seeds of course!! Just remember you're a good gardener and trust your instinct. Then you can sit back until about July trying to forget you ever took the exam!!

My garden is looking cold at the mo but the oriental and Christmas hellebores are doing fab as are the minature daffs - Jetfire.

If you want a real treat and you can get there either Cambridge Botanic Garden or Anglesey Abbey not far from there have Winter gardens that take your breath away.

TTFN and happy swotting
Cathy


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Hello, Ive just found this bit,  Yay garden talk.  We moved to our old house in the country almost five years ago and since then Ive spent lots of time digging.  I havnt found anything more theraputic than digging.  I even like weeding.  The best thing about my garden is discovering the things that have been neglected for years by previous owners.  Ive found borders with good stone edging that had been grassed over, heaps of perennials that had survived being mown for years and rasps, strawbs and currant bushes in a patch of nettles.  Im fed up with the weather as im dying to get out there but it keeps snowing.  Im way up in the frozen north so it will be ages yet before i can get seed sown.  Like others have said, my garden is the thing thak keeps me sane (well ish).  Im looking forward to garden chats in the future.  

Bye 

Cloudy


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

Cloudy - Welcome!  I can't wait to get out in my garden either.

Emma - Feeling nervous just like you are and can't seem to remember anything!  My brain has gone to mush with all the revision.  Let me know how you get on next week.

Hi to everyone else.

Laine x


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Hi 

The sun came out and i spent the whole day outside in my wellies.  Horay for spring


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Me too, isn't it wonderful!
I've been pruning my honeysuckle and weeding. 

Emma


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Just wanted to wish Emma and Laine   for Wednesday!    .

Cathy


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## Lucy Lou (Oct 19, 2004)

Hi Gardening Girls,

just has to write & tell you about yesterday! - after vile Mothers Day lunch with MiL and rest of DH's family, 10 adults 4 babies! My DH must have been feeling sorry for me because as we drove back from Gloucestershire we passed the Burford Garden Company, i have always wanted to stop there & he always says he "just wants to get home" Well yesterday we did stop and it was FAB !!! As i didnt get a valentines prezzie & DH was away that night on business he said i had £50 to spend, well i was like a kid in a sweet shop, i have never seen such a range of clematis etc, got 3 new ones and a black night delphinium, a pretty lupin and an unusual peony - white wings. And a dibber thingy for when i plant out my leeks!

Now all i need is some nice weather so i can get outside & plant!! - sorry its abit of a me post! can you tell i am still excited about my trip!! (and it was a great distraction as i am in the middle of my 2 ww!!!)

Good luck to you clever girlies taking your exams this week

Lucy Lou xxx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Good on you Lucy! Over on the IUI thread we've been talikng about little treats - glad to see you're following our advice!

Cathy


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Cathy - thank you!

Laine (and anyone else) - Good luck! 

Lucy Lou  - I've driven by there countless times and always thought I should stop and have a look. You've convinced me to stop next time! Sounds fab. What a sweet dh you have.

Emma


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Cathy - Thanks!

Emma - Just wanted to wish you good luck for tomorrow xx

Laine x


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Well the RHS exam went as well as it could, considering I had never heard of some of the ?'s on the short question paper!  Mind you that's bound to happen with such a vast topic.

Emma - How did you get on?

Went and bought some more packets of seeds today, mainly annuals and veg.  Now the exam is out of the way, going to start sowing!

Laine x


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello gardeners,

Laine - I thought it could have been worse. Like you, there were a few short qs that stumpted me - two we'd definately not covered on the course, a couple of others in areas where my revision had been a bit lacking!  I'm sure I've passed but not expecting great things. Noone even seems to know when we get the results. I heard it is normally 6 weeks later, but last year was much later than that. 

Spring seems to be just about springing in my garden today. Lots of buds have begun to appear on things.

Emma


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## Lipgloss (Jul 20, 2004)

Hello there gardeners!

I'm really sorry to gatecrash, but I am a total novice gardener and need help! he he...

Basically, dont want anything to ambitious to start off with, but wanted to start some nice window boxes...does anyone know where I can buy some smart ones? i wanted something a little unusual!

Also, are there any good books you would reccommend to someone like me...I've never gardened before, but we bought our first house last year and I want to start getting into it!

Many thanks
Love Kate xxx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello Kate,

You can get some great window boxes and containers from Crocus and Digit (both have websites). They are a bit more modern and funky than traditional terracotta. I have wooden ones that I got from my local garden centre; they don't dry out as quickly as terracotta and look much nicer than plastic. You can get some really nice metal ones, but they just don't look right on my Victorian house. I don't know where in the country you are, but I can recommend a few good garden centres in London or in Herts.

I liked Gay Search's book 'The Impatient Gardener', which is more about choosing plants than gardening techniques. It is ideal if you are getting started and don't want to wait years for things to grow or flower. For gardening techniques you can't beat the RHS guides. There are zillions of them for all levels. Personally, I would stay clear of those 'Expert' guidebooks (Dr Hessayon). They are very dull and dry in content, and so full of doom and gloom (about pests, diseases, soil problems etc) that they make you want to give up before you've begun; I know plenty of people who swear by them though.

How big is your garden? Is it a neglected wilderness or a blank canvas? You've certainly picked the right time of year to get started!

Emma


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## Hun (Jul 14, 2003)

The Chickens are eating my Bluebells!!! 

Hun xx


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

I wanted to get out in my greenhouse today and start some things off but its soooo windy I'm scared the glass may blow in  

I desperately need to spend some time outside, it really helps with my depression.  Normally this time of year I have started with the veggies but weather is holding me back  

Please God - Give me some sunshine      

Hun - My chickens are eating pasta with garlic and cheese !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi Laine and Emma - glad you've survivied. I think you may have a bit of a wait as it normally the back end of June before the results come out. So put it out of your mind and get growing!!

Hi kate - books - well i have a few and maybe a few more!! Whatever you think of old Alan Tich his books are lightheated and easy to read and give you some good basic advice. I don't have the How to be a Gardener ones but i gather they are good. 

Give me some Sunshine too!      I want to plant my parsnips!

Cathy


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

Emma - The RHS have said the results will be end June, so Cathy is right there.

Kate - Oh how exciting for you, everything is new and you will love it.  The one book I would recommend is The Complete How To Be A Gardener by Alan Titchmarsh - fab for every level.

Jennifer - I couldn't agree more about getting outside helping with depression.  I wanted to get out today but it is so windy and cold brrrrr.

Hun - oh dear!  My bluebells aren't even out yet!

Cathy - You will soon be playing wiht your parsnips.

I am already to go with my seed sowing ...

Laine x


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## Wizz (Nov 6, 2002)

Hi greenies!

i've come to join with the chat. 
Last year we didn't do very well with the garden as we were building an extension and the place looked like a builders yard for most of the spring and summer. This year we've still got a lot to do as far as building bits of the garen structure wise - but am determined that we'll have enough veg to keep us from having to buy much - or any at all!

I am also a regular visitor to the discussion on www.rivercottage.net (developed from the hugh fearnly whittingstall TV programme & books) though i don't join in the chat much there. They have a seed swop forum so have just swopped some tomato seed. am really excited by it! think i might have over done the tomatoes though this year, as i have now sown about 7 varieties!!!     I've got a fairly standard size greenhouse & a potting shed - hope i'll manage to sort out enough space to get enough crop to compare all the different types! 

Did i see that there are also some fellow chicken keepers? We have chucks too! We started with 4 but unfortunately lost Margo last year, and penelope died last weekend and we're down to 2 now (Babs - light sussex & felicity - Welsummer) so will probably get another couple at some stage soon. 

anyway better dash and get the tea sorted out

take care 
wizz


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Hi Wizz,

It's great not having to buy veg. I always feel very superior at the supermarket!

I love Hugh F-W and river cottage. I could really live that life but i'd have to be veggie!

Are you going to call your next chickens Tom and Gerry - can just imagine you calling for Gerry in your best Margo voice!!


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## sas jane v (Aug 7, 2003)

Hi girls
Cathy -know what you mean about Hugh FW - my parents live in Dorset -i think they met his mum somewhere (scary lady!) but doesnt he eat sooooo much meat (I am veggie too so havent tried out his recipes)
...my garden is coming on too -put some lovely white narcissi in two tubs and have been flowering since Jan and underplanted them with short stemmed tulips which are coming up slowly -been going out each day to count how many I can see
...my dog thinks Im crazy !!!

well done to those taking exams laine and Emma we know where to come now and of course Cathy too

        sarah x


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## Wizz (Nov 6, 2002)

Hi greenies

What a glorious sunday we had! the weather was really sunny. the greenhouse is filling up with trays - never mind the windowsills! Just impatient to see green shoots!
  
cathy - well naming new chucks will be a bit of a big decision!  not sure about tom and gerry cos they're boys names.. (have been tempted to bring home a boy to keep the girls in order (and produce the next generation!) but not sure about the noise & neighbours) have considered Miss Mountshaft... then again might start another name theme... the rivercottage site had a thread discussing chuck names a while back!      We've come to the conclusion that should we ever get more serious about "living the life" we'd have to dispense with names...  In the meantime we have become a lot more careful about buying meat. 

kate - my favourite books are the HDRA's encylopaedia of organic gardening and monty don's  the complete gardener - but they're quite weighty volumes! Keep meaning to copy a few key pages (like a chart showing when to sow veg through the year) and pin them up in the potting shed but haven't got that organised yet!

Laine & Emma Good luck!

Anway hope all is well 

wizz


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## Lucy Lou (Oct 19, 2004)

Hi girls,

just popped in to say hello, am leaving work early to go and play in my garden!! - this sunshine is fab, forecast is good for the weekend too.

For all you vegi growers, i'm sure Gardeners World tomorrow night has a bit about Vegi gardening?

Cathy, saw you were planning on playing with your parsnips??!! can i ask, did you warm the soil up first, or did you just plant straight out? i am hoping to do mine this weekend.

These 2ww put abit of a stop to anything too strenuous in the garden so i feel i must dig like a mad woman this weekend while i can!!

happy gardening all

Love Lucy Lou xxxxx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello gardeners,

What a wonderful sunny day. I spent all morning at my allotment planting seeds.

Lucy Lou - one of the few good things about the 2ww is getting my dh to do all the heavy lifting and digging at the allotment while I potter about!

I wish we could keep chickens but my garden is tiny (and i have 2 dogs who would eat them).

Happy gardening this weekend,

Emma


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

It is a lovely Spring day here and I have been in my garden too.  LOVELY!

Lucy Lou - Yep you are right, GW has a bit on growing veggies in containers, which is exactly what I am going to do this year.

Emma - I would love an allotment.  Going to have to investigate one.

Wizz - Going to be sowing seeds at the w/end.  My dad is going to look after them in his greenhouse for me (result), although I will miss seeing them grow.  

Hi everyone else, enjoy the weekend gardening and sunshine  

Laine x


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

Hi all,

Been meaning to join in here for a while but have not made it till now.

Was wanting to ask those of you who did the RHS exam recently, was it the General Certificate you did? I did this last year, and was completely terrified beforehand as my tutor put the scaries on about how tough it was. I almost didn't do it, I was that worried! They were also a month late in sending out the results for some reason and I was a nervous wreck by August  . Amazingly, I passed with a merit, so if I can do it...

I have not been allowed to do anything outside recently, due to the 2ww and all that. DH was having none of it. I have decided now is the perfect time to dig over that grotty border of mine, to take out the stuff I dont want and move the rest around. And now I have a volunteer to do it for me!  

Jo x


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

Shupa !  Willing volunteer or just volunteer !

I am going to Scotsdales Garden Centre in Cambridge this afternoon with my friend.  Its an excellent garden centre and I always get a bit carried away in there !  Naughty me !

Looking forward to a whole weekend of gardening and then a whole Bank Holiday Weekend of gardening next week !  Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !

Love to All, Enjoy the sunshine everybody
Jennifer xx xx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello gardeners,
Shupa - it was the general certificate. Well done on you merit! 

What do people plant their seeds in? I got seeds from Chiltern Seeds (I'd strongly recommed their catalogue, by the way) and the instructions that came with them said they should go into Levington seed compost, which my nearby garden centres don't sell. I've always used John Innes seed compost. Is Levington any better? Would the results really be any different if I just used any old multi-purpose compost? 

Emma


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## Wizz (Nov 6, 2002)

Be interested to hear responses re seed compost - am afraid i tend to use bog standard multi purpose but often wondered if i should be fussier and go for a proper seed compost
wizz


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

I've just sowed some seeds today: cherry tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes. I always use bog standard multi purpose compost for mine, although this time I have mixed in some vermiculite. 

As for my volunteer in the garden tomorrow, he is actually willing to do it, he always tells me to just point in the place I want digging and he just does it! Lovely! 

Jo x


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Hello

Ive been reading the about daffies and even bluebells on here for a while now but im so far north that it has taken untill today for me to get a daffodil.  It was snowing here last friday and today is lovely and warm so im hoping to get out this weekend.  Dont sow seed for another month though.  Any ideas on how to stop a cat pooing on my grass?  Its my cat so id rather keep it alive .

Cloudy


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

How about using a water pistol to persuade the cat not to poo on the lawn? I don't have that problem, my cat goes into the park over the back fence to do his thing!

Jo x


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Thats what anoys me about my bloomin cat.  My house is surrounded by ploughed fields so why she likes to go on the grass i dont know.  I will get a water pistol and give it a try.  

Im trying to grow some poppy from seed.  Ive got them in a propogator in a warm sunny window but would be grateful of advice.  Ive tried growing from seed before and usually get germination ok.  The problem is that the tiny seedlings usually then die off from the bottom.  I know its something fungal, and i know that its something to do with humidity but what can i do to stop it this time?  

Thanks

Cloudy


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

Jo & Cloudy - Welcome to the thread!

Jo - Ditto Emma re RHS - Well Done you on your merit.

Cloudy - One of my fur babies poos on my grass but only when it seems to be long!  Not sure how to stop it either.

Jennifer - My bessie friend is always telling me about Scotsdales and how fab it is, try not to spend too much.

Emma - I am going to use peat free general purpose compost for my seeds, don't feel it is necessary to use anything else really.  Was thinking of adding some perlite but am not even going to do that now.  

Enjoy the gardening this weekend everyone.

Laine x


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

Hi All

Quick Question is this the right time of year to lay turf?

And if it is, do you have to water it daily? and for how long?

I wish i was as knowledgable as you greenfingered lot  

Kim xx


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

*Cloudy*, sounds like you have had a classic case of Damping Off, a fungal disease. The books recommend clean trays or pots, sterilised compost, sowing thinly and do not overwater. Try moving the propagator out of the sun, cos as you already know, high humidity will encourage damping off. If you only have some affected seedlings in the tray, remove them and water the remainder with Cheshunt Compound. You could also water with Cheshunt Compound as a preventative measure if starting from scratch. Hope you have better luck next time

*Kim*, the best time to lay turf is October to February, and the next best time is March to April, so if you get in quick you will be ok! I would not worry about watering it daily cos the ground will still be damp and if left to get on with it, the roots will make more of an effort to go looking for water than if you did it all for them! But you will need to water well in the summer to help it establish. It will be more vulnerable to drought in the first year.

Jo x


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

Hi All

Thanks Jo - Oh Goody, all i have to do now is twist DH's arm to do it  

I've been out in the garden today and it looks so much better, feeling all pleased with my little self    The first time i've been out there this year, and i've noticed a lot of cat poo too   the dog does hers on the grass which i'm used to but the cat does hers either on the earth between the plants or actually in the plant pots!!!! How she balances on them i dont know   Good fertiliser though!

Are Geraniums Annuals or Perrinials (excuse spellings   not used to these long words) which one means that they come back every year?  I've cut all the dead off but there is still quite a bit of life in it really and it still had flowers on it up until November!!  
I really hope it does come back, looked lovely last year and i have a scented one too  

Oh another question (sorry  ) How do you get things to grow in balls ie round.... I have a daisy plant which i brought last year (another one i hope will come back) which was round but then i got it home and i just couldnt keep it like it   ended up hacking away at it and it didnt look half as nice as when i brought it   I've also got another green shrub type plant (sorr cant remember the name of that one either) which i'd like to train into a ball too.................................

Hope you've all had a good greenfingered weekend too

Kim xxxxx


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Kim - I'd agree with Shupa about turf. You are just about Ok to do it now. You have to get the turf just before you want to lay it and keep it watered and covered if you can't lay it at once. A good idea is to prepare the ground where it is going (weed, level etc) then leave it ideally for a couple of weeks. This allows any residual weed seed in the ground to germinate. You can hoe this off and then lay the turf. It means you'll have fewer weeds ruining your lovely new turf later. Once laid, water fortnightly in dry periods. It is better to give it a really good soak every couple of weeks than bits of water more often.

Geraniums are perennials. Are they 'real' geraniums (often blue/purple/white flowers) or pelargoniums - which we all call geraniums - the pink or red flowers that you see everywhere, typically in pots and winddowboxes, that flowers their socks off? If they still show signs of life they should be fine.

Emma


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

Thanks Emma - The turf we are hoping to lay is for the front garden, there is erm grass   there now (more weeds than grass) but its patchy and dry and just horrid, so we was hoping to replace it easter weekend. ie clear it all away and level it one day and lay the turf the next...   Will this be ok to do?

Not sure what Geraniums they are, they're all different coloured flowers, Red Pink White.... The scented one is Lilac/Pink flowers tiny ones...  I think it should be ok though.  I love watching things grow and come back to life after their long sleep......

Any idea on the ball thingy ??

Also another point to make about the cat poo thing is i would rather my cat do it in our garden than the neighbours   Its not nice when your neighbour is yelling at one of your moggies for taking a **** on their prize lawn   unless you dont like your neighbour  

Thanks for the tips girls    I will warn you i'll be on here asking loads and loads this year   be prepared.................................



Kim xx


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

Kimmy, you are going to have to give us a few more clues on the ball thingy...  Do you just mean a ball shaped bush in the pot? It should just be a case of trimming it to keep it in shape. 

Your Geraniums sound like Pelargoniums, but no one ever call them that for some reason. Try doing a search on yahoo, type in either name, and check the box that says images, and you should get pages of pictures up. You can compare your flowers with those!

As far as the turf goes, Emma has described the correct way to do it. I am far too impatient to wait though, and would want to do it all in one weekend too. You could do it this way, but be prepared to have more weeds appear. Much as I hate to say it, taking the time really is the better option...  But have fun however you do it!!!

Jo x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Kimmy - re the ball thingy. Could you get a small hanging basket (wire one), turn it upside down over the plant and use it as a guide. the wayward bits should stick out of the gaps and give you a shape to work to. Stupid idea?

You can tell whos just done their exams - text book answers girls!!

You can borrow my dog... he wouldn't let the cat poo in the garden!!

Well off for 2weeks now so should be out there already - you gilrs sidetracking me! The front garden gets it this time - a complete new look. Cornus and grasses for a low maintenance winter interest type thing. (and maybe a few red hot pokers amongst the grass for a Piet Oudolf type prarie!)

Must dash... happy gardening.

Cathy


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

cathyA said:


> Kimmy - re the ball thingy. Could you get a small hanging basket (wire one), turn it upside down over the plant and use it as a guide. the wayward bits should stick out of the gaps and give you a shape to work to. Stupid idea?


Excellent  I'll try that one for the shruby type one but that wouldnt work forthe daisy one  If i just trimmed it to a ball i'd be cutting all the flower heads off  I think i have to experiment and see what works 

Kim xxxx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Kimmy - I think you might need to give it a good firm haircut before the flowers come.That way it might not need one while it flowers. Of course once some of the flowers begin to die off you could do a little trim to encourage some more flowers later on. If you do that feed it after the trim for a bit of TLC! Don't cut into dead wood though - always make sure theres some greenery below where you want to cut.

Does that help?


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

Thanks Cathy  

Cant wait for the long weekend to get outside again!  Dh has said he'll do the turfing as long as its not raining, he doesnt mind it being overcast but refuses to do it if its pouring   He's just not game for a laugh is he!  

Can anyone suggest some nice plants for some hanging baskets?  Is it too late for those winter pansy flowers, i think thats what they're called   actually i think they may be primroses    

I really must learn my plants, trouble is there are so many and so many different variaties of each one  

Anyone else any garden plans for this weekend?

Kim xxx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Yes... me! Trashing the front garden this weekend and replacing lawn and tiny border full of heathers with grasses, red hot pokers, sneezewort, dogwoods, elephants ears and ivy. Phew! the idea is that it will be sort of prarie style, quite low maintenance and good in the autumn/winter.

Wish me luck!

Happy Easter gardening greenies!

PS you must get some 'tete a tete' daffs in the autumn - mine are just fab and small enough that they don't get blown about and crash over! Bloomin' marvellous!


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

I have big plans for DH this weekend  
We have a 2' drop between our garden, and the one next door, and the pillock who lived here before built a retaining wall of scaffolding boards   Of course now they have rotted and earth is collapsing onto the garage wall (no damp proof course) next door. So the whole lot has to be dug out and replaced with a brick wall. Gawd that will be a job and a half  He has been digging out the few shrubs that I want to save and now the real work starts...

Jo x


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## clairelh1 (Sep 8, 2004)

Hi, 

First post on this gardening thread!   

I've not had a chance to read through all the previous posts, so sorry if you've already talked about this, but I'm looking for some of your expert advice.  

I've got a large flowerbed in the back garden which has lots of mature shrubs and trees at the back, but a large part of it is pretty sparce and I'd like add some more colour/flowering plants to the front part.  However every year the ground gets covered with a variagated mint type plant.  It completely takes over and because of it I've been unable to get any new, young plants, bulbs or seeds established there. It also makes the soil really difficult to dig/work with.  I could happily get rid of it, but it just seems impossible to erradicate.  We've tried digging it up, but because of the other plants already there, which we don't want to get rid of, we've never completely got it all and it just comes back.  Any ideas of how to control it or simply what I can do to improve the bed?

Thank you
Claire
x


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

My favourite garden remedy is WEEDKILLER!!!!!! Buy a bottle of Round-Up or any glyphosate based weedkiller, and use it when the plant is growing well. It will probably take a few applications over a few months. Mint is well known for being totally invasive and I would only ever have it in a pot in my garden. Any bit of root that is left when you dig it up will regrow like mad. Good luck!!!

Jo x


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## clairelh1 (Sep 8, 2004)

Thanks for your quick response Jo

I'm a bit reluctant to use weedkiller as there is a pond at the edge of this bed and I'd hate to contaminate this - I'm quite fond of my froggies.  Are there any safer/natural weedkillers which I could use that would also be wildlife friendly? 

Thanks again
Claire
x


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## Jennifer (Jul 22, 2004)

I planted a chocolate mint at my previous house not being aware of how it would spread.  I rent the house out now to a non-gardening tenant !  I fully expect to go back one day and find the whole garden full of it !  Whoops !  But it does smell lovely, just like After Eights !  

I agree with Shupa, Weedkiller !  I love the stuff and with all the nettles and brambles in my garden, I need it !  A word of caution though, only use on a still day (I once killed my whole front lawn spraying weeds in the wind !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I was so stupid !)  Also, cover all the plants you want to keep.

Anyone else done anything really silly when they first started gardening ?

(Claire, we must have been typing at the same time !  Just read that you have pond.  You can buy a wax stick weedkiller which won't contaminate the pond.  Not sure how good it is though.  Or maybe cover the ground with black polythene and mulch till the stuff dies ? )


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

Hi Claire,

I just read the info on the back of my bottle of Bio Glyphosate Ready-to-use Systemic weedkiller and it does not say it will contaminate ponds. This stuff breaks down in the soil with no nasty residues, and it says that pets and kids need not be excluded from the treated area. Sounds safe enough to me! I think you will be fine to use it, I would just avoid going too close to the pond.

Jo x


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Just to chip in girlies...!

Glyphosate weedkiller works on the inside parts of the plants (it goes through the cell walls and kills from the inside out) and is deactivated if it touches the soil so it couldn't get washed into the pond. BUT I wouldn't spray it close to the pond or let it drift cos it will work on any greenery it touches. Do it on a still day (as Jennifer says) and maybe cover the pond area just in case. 

PS you will need a glyphosate weedkiller if it is mint so that it gets into the roots - anything else will just kill the top growth and mint is strong enough to come back again and again and again. Having said that you may need to do it a few times to really beat every last bit.

PPs remember to dig up anything you want to keep before you spray so that you can put it back when the ground is clear BUT wash the roots of the plants before you put them  back to make sure that you're not putting any tiny bits of mint back! Phew!

Good luck!

By the way - I used to prune my Deutzia religiously every year and wondered why it didn't flower - the reason was cos I used to prune it in spring, just before it should have flowered!!


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Hi

Do not spray roundup if it is likely to get into the pond.  Ive got the pesticide guide book through work and it says ' Harmful to fish or other aquatic life.  Do not contaminate surface waters or ditches with chemical or used containers'.  Saying that, as long as you are careful it should be ok and i wouldnt expect you to lob the empty container in the pond .  The stuff that you can buy from the shop is pretty weak so it might be worthwhile to get a professional in to spray it as they can vary the strength of the chemical to deal with different weed problems.  I would only expect them to have to spray roundup once if they get the rate right.

I cut my grass last Sat and so far no more cat poo so fingers crossed.  

Does anyone know what might have done for my lupins?  Last year they all withered and died for no obvious reason.  Other plants nearby were fine but two clumps of lupins died.  The roots seemed to rot.  I love lupins and have split some remaining clumps but ive not put any back in the same positions as the ones that died just incase.

thanks in advance.


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

Hey Greenies,

Claire - Welcome - tough one on the mint.  I garden organically and would not use weedkiller and especially near a pond.

Cloudy - Sounds like slugs have eaten the roots of your Lupins.

Been busy in the garden this morning.  My lawn is in need of repair (weeds/moss) and I have spent two hours sorting it as much as possible.  Talk about back breaking lol.  Feel completely exhausted now.

Enjoy Easter everyone.

Laine x


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## casey (Sep 26, 2004)

hi all 
just to say that like you laine, i've been sorting my lawn out- raking, spiking, feeding and mowing. i've weeded all my borders and mulched and now i've got aches where i'd forgotten i had muscles. I can't wait to start planting my flowers - i've been growing poppies from seed since Oct.
i've just planted 2 ornamental grasses - one black and one rust, 2 thyme and some red hot pokers - i know its abit early but these are pretty hardy plants aren't they.
anyway bye for now
casey


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Laine

Not convinced it was slugs.  I had hostas near one of the clumps and they were fine.  It looked more like a disease thing to me but dont know what lupins are likely to get.

Casey 

I know what you mean about aches and pains.  I got way too excited yesterday that it was sunny and stayed outside all day.  Sat down to eat at about 8 and could hardly get back up again.  Zimmer frame teritory.  I had a medicinal brandy and went to bed early.  Thank goodness it was raining today 

Cloudy


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## wynnster (Jun 6, 2003)

Hi All

Well as it wasnt raining today i've managed to drag DH outside and the front garden has now been turfed  

It looks so much better already, but i just hope he's done it right   He started at 10 this morning and is just finishing now!  I thought it'd be a two day job but he says its all done!  Neither of us have ever layed turf before    He had weeds to pull up before he layed the turf and i suspect that the weeds didnt all come up   

Mustn't grumble though!

Hope you all had fun weekends 

Kim xxxx


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## cathyA (Oct 14, 2004)

Cloudy - there is something called Root and Foot rot that can affect lupins. It's a fungal disease that likes poor drainage and soil low in nutrients. It particularly affects members of the pea family cos it gets in through the root nodules. You shouldn't grow lupins there again for about 4-5 years and in the meantime try to improve drainage and nutrients. does that help?

Casey - I'm just about to plant grasses and red hot pokers and heleniums - theyll be fine but if you've planted them in very wet soil a bit of grit in the bottom of the planting hole would help keep them well drained. We'll have to compare notes in late summer!

Just having a break as I'm done in! I've spent all morning removing turf in the front ready for the grasses etc. Just at the 'why did I ever start this' stage!

Happy gardening greenies!


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## mrs cloudy (Feb 1, 2005)

Hi all

Im so excited.  It was supposed to rain all day and it is lovely and sunny.  Im off out to dig or something.
Hope its sunny where you are.
Cloudy


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## emmadaffodil (Apr 7, 2004)

Hello gardeners!

Just wondering, does anyone else have a passionflower plant? If so , has it started growing this year (new buds etc)? I have the one with the white flowers (the hardier variety) which stays outside all year in a frost free spot. It doesn't look dead as such but there is no sign of new growth at all yet. Is it just too early or is it dead? Everything else in the garden has new buds and seems to be growing like crazy.


Emma, xx


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## shupa (Jul 14, 2004)

Emma,

I had one of them in my old garden and every year I was convinced it was dead. It always started into growth really late, but I can't remember when! I hope yours eventually does the same too.  

Jo x


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## Laine (Mar 23, 2002)

New home greenies...

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,26545.0.html


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