2014 Gardening

Baby cucumber ("Passandra") has opened its firt flower today. Fruit behind the flower is about an inch long and starting to swell. Other plant is about 6" shorter but growing well. 6 baby fruits on the short one and 8 on the bigger. The toms in the conservatory are just about to flower on what will be the bottom truss. I nipped out the bottom 2 sets of buds to stop the trusses drooping onto the compost. Still got about 15 baby tom plants to get shot of but have a home for 3 or 4 of them next week. The label from the single chili plant got catted so I'm not sure what variety it is but it sems to be doing OK - 4 flowers so far and some paintbrush transferring of pollen between them seems to have ensured fruits - I won't know for sure until they've set though.

Outdoors, the courgettes seem to be doing well - got a fair few female flowers on the way and plenty of males. Might try some AI or just let nature take its course. The butternut squashes aren't doing quite as well yet - might need more warmth and light to help them on their way. Runner beans getting taller but not really expecting much until we get home from holiday. Been snacking on the nasturtium flowers as and when I pass a nice looking one with no beastie crap on it! Plenty of strawberry flowers and nascent fruits but none going red yet. Blackberry looking good and blooming well.

Pics taken but I'm on the wrong machine to shrink and post them!

Gary, can you remember who laid your "lawn"?
 
Ants are devouring my lavender :(
 
Nod said:
Gary, can you remember who laid your "lawn"?
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Yes, some bloke called Gary, that would of course be me.

The company who makes it is 2 miles up the road so i bought direct, 56sq at £18.50 a sq mt, also needed 4 ton of sand and 56 sq mt of weed blanket at 50p a sq mt from Ebay

I bought 2 rolls of 7x4mt lengths and joined in situ

Did it over easter weekend 2 years ago, also removed the top layer of grass but thats not a requirement but can save potential weed ingress headaches years down the line, 2 years later, no sign of a single weed growing through

Company is called playrite and are based in Liversedge, i bought Nearly Grass 40, i wouldnt go for anything with the "dead" grass in it as it looks terrible in summer, mine is just made of 2 shades of green, if you have dogs or kids or walk on it regularly i wouldnt go for the 15, 20, 25, or 30mm variants as they just flatten and cant be brought back to life so to speak

Twice a year with the pressure washer in the opposite direction to the pile and its like brand new, the pile can settle if in heavy traffic areas or like me the dog spends its whole life on it, washing also cleans off any doggy do do or wee wee residues which dont go through the inbuilt irrigation holes
 
I even have an offcut in the rear of the estate so the Dog feels at home, and an offcut as a doormat on the back step, best doormat ive ever had.
 
Cheers for that, Gary. I picked up a leaflet from the stand where we saw it on Friday but it seems to have vanished... I'll need to do a little terracing to get a couple of relatively level areas so we can shove the grow bags and other containers off the patio during the summer.

Do you get any weeds growing in it - I know some of them can get a roothold in any substrate, even clean gravel over black plastic.
 
Good to hear, thanks.
 
viv1969 said:
Ants are devouring my lavender :(
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I discovered a red ants nest between the gravel board and the fencing,
while "wood treating" earlier today.

They are now a dark brown colour as are the eggs.
I think they appreciated the make over :thumbs:
 
Things are going well in my greenhouse, the Chillis and Tomatoes are doing good. Got lots of buds coming through on the larger chilli plants and a few small toms coming through.

Load of chilli seedlings..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

So I perlited them up and chucked them outside with some variable shade to try and harden them off, leaving them outside now too..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

The big boys continue to motor on, must be doing something right as roots are starting to show right at the bottom of those 6L pots..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

But tonnes of growth going on, the biggest aji..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

And the choc bhut is getting pretty big..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

Following taking all the buds and lower leaves off the Romanos pretty much all of the regrowth has a bud in..
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

Starting to think I might need a bigger greenhouse.. :roll:
Chillis 25/05/14 by -neilgates-

And deployed some marigolds today to attract some preditor bugs..
Greenhouse 26/05/14 by -neilgates-
 
Neil, where is your greenhouse from and how stable is it in winds? If/when I get the back garden all fake grassed, I might get one for toms, chillis/peppers, aubergines and cucumbers.
 
It's from wilko, I think it was £39?

Its not been too bad in the winds, it gets pretty rocked about but it is anchored to the shed next to it. It comes with metal pegs to go through the floor poles and 4 large plastic pegs and guide lines to dig in too. I think the key is to not let the wind get under it, I folded the bottoms inwards and used bricks to hold them down.
 
Might have to see if they're knocking any out cheap in the Autumn!
 
Rather than hijack the chilli thread, I'll resurrect this one!

The automatic watering system worked well until a day or 2 before we came home, when it decided to pop the hose off the tap side of the timer, leaving the hose running for a while until the neighbour noticed his patio was getting rather wet and climbed over to turn the tap off. Expecting a hefty water bill! The sink/capillary matting worked until the plants soaked up all their allowance, looking a bit wilted by the time we got back. All seem to have perked up again though and since there were no fruits on the toms, I'm not expecting split skins on them. Had 3 6" cucumbers so far and there are 4 more that will be ready next week, with plenty more on the way. Plenty of toms on the way, just hoping that they taste as good as the mother fruit did! One chilli ready to pick and loads more on the way...

Outdoors, we've had a couple of kg of courgettes so far with plenty more to come. One was almost a small marrow but still tasted right and not too watery. Plenty of flowers on the toms and a few nascent fruits but they're a few weeks behind the indoor ones so we'll see how they do. Loads of runner beans on the way, I'll try to remember to put fewer plants in the planter next year since it's a bit crowded! Seem to be doing well though. Much better than the butternut squashes which are still alive but don't seem to have done much. Never mind, they're cheap in Lidl in season! Sweet peas are just about to explode! Love their scent and look forward to filling the house with it.
 
Nod, do you eat the flowers from the courgettes too? They're rather nice.
 
Not here - can never get the rice mixture right for stuffing them! Whenever we see them on a menu in Crete though, they're ordered. I'm very partial to Nasturtium flowers as a little snack. Leaves as well, although they seem to be the blackflies' food of choice so I'm letting them have them to keep them off the beans!
 
Nod said:
Not here - can never get the rice mixture right for stuffing them! Whenever we see them on a menu in Crete though, they're ordered. I'm very partial to Nasturtium flowers as a little snack. Leaves as well, although they seem to be the blackflies' food of choice so I'm letting them have them to keep them off the beans!
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Seems like a fair trade :lol:
 
Indeed! And if I feel the need for a leaf, it's easy enough to check it for wildlife before nibbling on it and I'm not vegetarian if I miss the odd bug or 2! Now the beans are on the verge of giving up their bounty I'm a little loath to use any sprays, even those designed to be used on edible crops. I should have brought some of the ladybirds that hibernate in Mrs Nod's studio home in Spring as they emerged!
 
Nod said:
Indeed! And if I feel the need for a leaf, it's easy enough to check it for wildlife before nibbling on it and I'm not vegetarian if I miss the odd bug or 2! Now the beans are on the verge of giving up their bounty I'm a little loath to use any sprays, even those designed to be used on edible crops. I should have brought some of the ladybirds that hibernate in Mrs Nod's studio home in Spring as they emerged!
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Runner beans?
 
Yup. Can't remember which variety though!
 
Even though it matters not a jot to thee, it was bugging me! Polestar is what it says on the tin. Silly me planted up the whole pack of seeds so I had loads to give away to friends as well as keeping a dozen or so for us - I reckon 4-6 plants would be enough to keep us in beans. Got the empty bog roll tubes ready for next spring's planting!
 
Just been out with my 3 year old twin girls and got our first pickings from the veg patch, carrots and french beans, to go with our roast chicken... yum. Sweetcorn and baby sweet corn doing well. Slugs and catapilers have been at the cabbage and what little kale came up this year so I sprayed them last weekend.
 
We've had about half a dozen 6-8" cucumbers so far with plenty more to come. A couple of kilos of courgettes and a similar quantity of runner beans. Several chillis used so far with 3 more fully ripe ones on the plant and several more well on the turn. Loads of tomatoes on the way but even the indoor ones are being slow to turn red. Not sure what weight the biggest toms are but they're almost 3" diameter and growing! Sweet peas are rather disappointing this year - probably too many in too small a container.
 
I've not made it onto the forum for months! Life has been chaos.

I've managed my plan of maintenance only. Next year i'll improve on the garden but this year has been spent weeding and keeping my little crawler from getting herself tangled in the roses.

We planted sunflowers in memory of my cousin who died too young. I'm definitely going to plant more next year, the bees have loved them and they've brought colour into the garden.

My 3 year old has enjoyed looking after his strawberries and feeding them to his sister.

I've weeded wherever possible.

2 bulk bags of bark were put down when kiddos were with gran and grandpa.

We have a decent batch of chillies, including some scotch bonnet growing well.

The compost bins and pile will hopefully be fully composted for the veggie patches next year. This year they were covered over because I knew I couldn't put the time in.

One question. I have 1 fully composted bin with a decent size frog in it. Mr Frog, as we call him, has been in there for well over a month and has grown well in that time. My 3 year old loves to go out to see Mr Frog. I tried to get him out but no luck. Do I just leave him/her in there or try and get it out again?
 
Oh and my worms have all survived in their wormery which is an improvement on year 1.
 
WRT the frog, while it's still relatively warm and assuming you want to use the compost this year, I would do the compost spreading now so he/she can find somewhere else to live before the cold starts. be careful digging the stuff out of the heap and spreading it about - probably best not to use a fork...

While we're at looking after the wildlife, leave the sunflowers on the plant so the seed can set and give the birds a treat.
 
Compost won't be used this year but it will be used in early spring. I'll pop a couple of the little fellas beach buckets in there and hope froggy sits inside one of them. If I was using the compost this year i'd just lift the bin off and make sure it hops off. It's one of the big pentagon shaped bins.

As for sunflowers, i've saved one for seeds and the remaining 4 will be left for the birds.
 
Since we're off on hols for a fortnight in a few minutes, I harvested all the toms that were red. Very few seeds in them (a good thing!) and tastier than any Brit grown toms I've ever had. Will certainly be bringing a tom full of seeds home again in a fortnight! Ended up cooking them with the courgettes and a chilli - very satisfying having grown almost all the ingredients of a meal yourself, although I'll admit that we haven't managed to extract oil from our home grown olives and the pasta was bought in dried spaghetti!
 
Gardening N00b alert. Wonder if I could query the assembled intellect?

Can apple trees be pruned yet? If not when?

Can anyone recommend slow growing (low maintenance) conifers that I could put in pots and arrange along the back of my pond to hide pipework but can be moved when I need to access bits?

Underneath said apple tree is pretty much in shade apart from this time of year when first thing some sunlight might get in past the surrounding hedges, walls, houses etc. Would crocus/bluebells/snowdrops grow if I planted some randomly under it?

The grass under the tree is in awful state is there a shade tolerant grass?

Thanks all
 
Gardening is the day job, which is why I'm posting this - given up due to rain unless it dries up this afternoon (not forecast)

Apple trees usually pruned early Winterafter apples harvested

Bulbs should do alright under the tree as their active season is largely over before a deciduous tree becomes active. As with your grass, the problem with a big tree in a small garden is that during a heatwave it sucks all the moisture out of the ground which is why it is difficult to establish anything else in the vicinity.

Yes, there are dwarf conifers - visit a graden centre, likewise shade resistant grass. Just make sure the conifer roots don't go through the bottom of the pot. I've seen a bay tree in a barrel where the barrel is mostly rotted away and the bay tree now very firmly rooted in the ground
 
kennethwfd said:
Gardening is the day job, which is why I'm posting this - given up due to rain unless it dries up this afternoon (not forecast)

Apple trees usually pruned early Winterafter apples harvested
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Thanks.

Bulbs should do alright under the tree as their active season is largely over before a deciduous tree becomes active. As with your grass, the problem with a big tree in a small garden is that during a heatwave it sucks all the moisture out of the ground which is why it is difficult to establish anything else in the vicinity.
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:thumbs: Is there anything else I could think of putting under the tree?

Yes, there are dwarf conifers - visit a garden centre, likewise shade resistant grass. Just make sure the conifer roots don't go through the bottom of the pot. I've seen a bay tree in a barrel where the barrel is mostly rotted away and the bay tree now very firmly rooted in the ground
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Thanks again. Didnt realise a bay tree was a conifer.
 
kennethwfd said:
Gardening is the day job, which is why I'm posting this - given up due to rain unless it dries up this afternoon (not forecast)

Apple trees usually pruned early Winterafter apples harvested

Bulbs should do alright under the tree as their active season is largely over before a deciduous tree becomes active. As with your grass, the problem with a big tree in a small garden is that during a heatwave it sucks all the moisture out of the ground which is why it is difficult to establish anything else in the vicinity.

Yes, there are dwarf conifers - visit a graden centre, likewise shade resistant grass. Just make sure the conifer roots don't go through the bottom of the pot. I've seen a bay tree in a barrel where the barrel is mostly rotted away and the bay tree now very firmly rooted in the ground
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I normally do our garden, but a combination of broken mower, being way too busy and needing it tamed a bit with a view to maybe selling the house next year, we decided to get gardeners this year. They have just been, in the piddling down rain and have still managed to take back a load of shrubs that had gone a bit wild, do the grass, etc - every admiration for them, I hid indoors :lol: I did make them hot coffee though ;)
 
We have a big overgrown apple tree which produces lots of lovely fruit, but is getting a bit too lanky with branches going everywhere. It has not been pruned for at least 6-7 years (possibly much longer).

Can anyone advise or point me to a good authoritative guide on pruning. Or is it best just to let it be?
 
PatrickO said:
We have a big overgrown apple tree which produces lots of lovely fruit, but is getting a bit too lanky with branches going everywhere. It has not been pruned for at least 6-7 years (possibly much longer).

Can anyone advise or point me to a good authoritative guide on pruning. Or is it best just to let it be?
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Get a man in, thats what I do. Just never sure when.
 
DorsetDude said:
Thanks.


(y) Is there anything else I could think of putting under the tree?


Thanks again. Didnt realise a bay tree was a conifer.
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soory for any misunderstanding, no a bay tree is not a conifer, just an example of what happens when a vigirous plant is placed in a disintegrating pot
 
I had a huge tidy up of the garden today. Lots of weeding and a bit of prepwork for getting stuck into it next year.

Mr Frog was also successfully released from the compost bin at long last. He was rather fat and is probably a toad. He hopped off in the direction of the neighbours pond.
 
Had a clear up of some of the outdoor stuff. Disposed of an out of control Fuchsia and hacked a honeysuckle right back to a couple of trunks as well as pulling the beans up and harvesting the few remaining pods on them for seed for next year. Also cleared the (disappointing this year) sweet peas from the bed and planter. Got a few toms slowly ripening on the outdoor plants as well as the last few courgettes. Quite a few more on the way on the indoor toms and cucumbers, although they all got a bit cramped and dark while we were away - might have to rig up a better watering system for next year. About a dozen chillies on the turn as well. Will save some seeds for next year. Very few seeds in the indoor toms - more space for the flesh, so a good thing! Forgot to buy an extra ripe one from the market on holiday (for seed) so picked the core out of Mrs Nod's last salad one and will use them. Biggest tom so far was a touch over 10 oz and delicious!
 
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