Neighbours & Friends

[Lynn]

Yesterday I spent some time in the garden firstly cutting back the Pyracantha (Firethorn) and removing two wall planters that were becoming overgrown. As the hedge is not too thick I checked just to make sure no nests were in there. When the weather permits it will be bagged up and taken to the tip.
I did notice on a lot of the pieces I cut back that they are covered in aphids so the sooner it’s taken away the better.

I then started to strengthen the planter John made with more stakes and sectioned one part off. With the soil from the potato bins I managed to fill the first section and purchased some New Guinea Impatiens. When I took them out of the pots which proved difficult I realised why as the root ball was massive so here’s hoping they will enjoy the rich soil and freedom to grow.

The ivy I bought the other day is growing quite well and that should not take too long to get a foothold onto the wall, shortly after the photo was taken I put in a small fuchsia plant that needed a home.

The next planter section needs more wood, then soil. In that one will go some Gazanias I rescued for 50p from the garden centre, all they needed was watering and are coming on a treat. More fuchsia cuttings need a home so they will have to go in as well.
It’s non stop rain today so it’s doubtful I will be able to get out there.

During all this activity I walked into the thistle bird seed feeder twice and my head was covered in them, so if I have missed any off and it starts to grow I may need something a bit more substantial than hair dressing scissors!

Excuse the cat, he wouldn't stay away [smilie=hammerit.gif]

[Barney]

How are the new plants settling in, Lynn? And the thistles: is this going to set a new fashion, to have thistles growing in one's hair? Is it very uncomfortable?

I've spent the day in the garden and have done a lot of catching up with weeding and clearing. I've cleared all the first-flower spikes of delphiniums now and trimmed back the rest of the hardy geraniums, dead-headed the dahlias and other plants, and cut an overgrown euphorbia right back to new shoots. That took ages and I had to come in for gloves as the sap from that is very irritant.

I weeded under the hedge, tided up the plants in troughs and pots and then had a late lunch. After that, I weeded and trimmed and tidied in the Secret Garden before picking 3.5 lbs of redcurrants.

Dinner was rather late and I'm now in need of my bed as I have seriously overdone things! But its the first day that we've had weather decent enough to do any proper work out there and it was badly in need of TLC, and there is still a lot to be done to catch up.

[Lynn]

Quote:

Barney:
How are the new plants settling in, Lynn? And the thistles: is this going to set a new fashion, to have thistles growing in one's hair? Is it very uncomfortable?

The plants are doing really well considering the amount of rain! The ivy seems to be taking off so I am well pleased with that.

Yep new fashion statement called 'the thistledom look' They are a bit itchy to start with but you soon get used to it

[Lynn]

John pulled up the onions we set, they are salad ones it said but they are so small? A bit like pickling onions Do we have to let them dry out as with bigger onions?

[Barney]

Yes, if you want to keep them.

[Lynn]

Thanks for that Barney, I think eating them sounds like a good option really nod.gif

[Lynn]

Well after a long wait my composter has finally arrived! I have put it at the back of the garden but I do have a few questions.

Should it have a bottom on it? this one hasn't.

I know I can only put in raw foods but is there stuff I can't put in?

How often do I have to turn the stuff over?

I have my jug ready for the 'you know what' to go in, when do I start to put that in

That's all the questions for now....




On another note I thought I would show you the fuchsia I rescued this year, it was looking very sorry for itself having been left to it's own devices. A good prune and undoing of the mass of roots, plus new soil has brought it on a treat.

[Barney]

Compost bins don't have bottoms in.

Wasn't there a leaflet with your composter?

You can put in any raw fruit / vegetable stuff, grass cuttings, any garden waste - dead-heads, trimmings, etc. Don't put in any twiggy stuff that you can't cut with scissors as it won't rot down in a small bin. You can put in tea leaves (empty the teabags as those bags don't biodegrade) and smashed up egg shells.

This site has some very simple guidelines, but I wouldn't put the 'browns' they mention in your type of bin as even though the writer says you can, they don't rot fast enough.

As for the urine? When your bin's about half full, mix your early morning wee with the same amount of water and sprinkle it on. Once a week should do the job, so long as you also give the compost a bit of a stir with a garden fork as you add stuff - especially grass cuttings - they need to be thoroughly mixed in. I usually give ours a stir about once a week in the summer - less often in the winter as there's a lot less going in.

Don't worry about the little flies that appear after a few weeks. They don't bite and they do help to make your compost. You'll also find lots of little dark red worms. They do a lot of the work. No-one knows how they arrive in a new bin. They just do! When I use my made compost, I tend to take these out and drop them into the next bin.

[Lynn]

Nope, no leaflet at all. It was left in the hallway upside down with the lid in it. It took me a while to work out it was upside down as I thought they had left me a lid that didn't fit and was too small. thud1.gif

I have bookmarked the link, thanks Barney nod.gif

[Lynn]

Well hubby sowed some Brussels in his planter but now they are covered in caterpillars and stripping the foliage bare so my questions are:

Will they survive, the Brussels I mean?

How do I get rid of the caterpillars?

Do I have to throw the plants away, or compost them?

If I have to pick off the caterpillars how do I do that?!

I don’t think I have forgotten anything.

[Barney]

Lynn @ Mon 27 Aug, 11:35 wrote:

Will they survive, the Brussels I mean?

They may do. If they do they may produce a smaller, later crop, and for that reason I'd be inclined to leave them.

Quote:

How do I get rid of the caterpillars?

Pick them off with your fingers! Or if you are squeamish about that, pick them off with tweezers. Put them in a jar with some leaves and with some holes in the top and then next time you are out, release them somewhere green and leafy.

Quote:

Do I have to throw the plants away, or compost them?

If you decide to dig them out, check the leaves for caterpillars / eggs and take them off as ^^^ then break the stems into smaller pieces and put them in the compost bin. If you decide to let them grow on, when you've picked all the brussels, again break up the woody stems into smaller pieces so they will compost more quickly. BTW The same applies to any woody stems.

[Lynn]

Thanks for that Barney.

<Toddles off in search of Tweezers> ech.gif

[Lynn]

Err I did that, it was awful. There are soo many of them! They are all different sizes and some so small I couldn't pick them up without hurting them, plus there is two really big ones, I assume they are the parents. What do eggs look like? There are lots of little black blobs all over the place. Not much brussel leaves :sad:

They are all in a container with lots of lettuce but the tiny ones could easily crawl out of the holes, ooh it makes my flesh goose pimply

[Val]

Me too Lynn, I dont like creatures! other than butterflies!
Can anyone tell me what to plant in the half barrell that the beetroots and carrots are growing in, they will soon be ready, so I was thinking about some onions, maybe turnips for winter stew. Will I have to put new compost in for this?

[Rosie]

This reminds me of something funny that happened when I was a kid. Me and my brother used to eat dinner in the front room, while watching kiddie TV - while my parents ate their dinner in the kitchen. One time my dad brought us through our dinner and I discovered fairly soon that the brocolli (home grown) was wrapped round with lots of dead caterpillars. So I toddled back through to the kitchen with my plate to show mum and dad - to see their empty plates. Once they saw the caterpillars on my plate they went a little green and said they'd eaten the lot without noticing.