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Post by anne on Jul 4, 2010 20:40:46 GMT
Your front garden sounds wonderful, Sam, I think planting in raised beds and pots often produces better plants, it's easier to drain and fertilize. How big is your courgette plant? Take care because they grow huge, so don't let the lettuce get shaded too much. Afraid our courgettes always ended up as marrows ;D Call your back garden a 'wildlife garden', which it probably is. I don't know too much about bedding plants I'm afraid, but think perhaps you could get ready for a nice show of Autumn bedding rather than buying up Summer bedding - although fuschias are quite tough ... don't know if other people agree with me? Pour salt on your slugs. The little blue things you buy in garden centres are poison to hedgehogs, and you want to keep those - there are safer ones available I believe. The holes could be slugs, or leaf cutter bees, or quite a few things ... shall we see who can research quickest? I shall try the BBC Gardening pages, good old Beeb
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sam
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by sam on Jul 5, 2010 10:19:34 GMT
Yeah, the leaves are already pretty big. I currently have four smallish courgettes to about 8 leaves, so they're behaving for the time being. The lettuce are perfect, although when I tried a few leaves the other day they tasted a little salty. Any idea why this might be? Could it be the organic fertiliser I am using?
Well I can't see anything on the lilies. I'll try and take some photos so you can see what I mean. One plant is thriving, whilst the other one looks like it's being grated. Hmph.
Well this morning I am extremely pleased with the work I did yesterday. And my neighbour has just given me two bay-leave trees because she no longer wants them, which I am delighted about. Off to research what sort of requirements they have now.
Honestly, I really do love gardening but I can honestly say I'm in a bit below my depth!
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Post by anne on Jul 6, 2010 9:05:50 GMT
Salty? I'm not sure - perhaps they are a variety you can't buy in the shops, so you aren't used to the taste? Certainly fertilizer makes a difference to taste ... think of those supermarket cucumbers that taste a bit fishy? That's the fish, blood and bone fertilizer that's used on them, I reckon. Same with tomatoes. I think gardening should be a bit of an adventure, just try things out and enjoy yourself! - are you registered with BBC Talk? It's worth signing up, although their boards are nothing like the forums we are used to ... but you can ask questions of gardeners .. www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening/F2759007You could post a link to a photo of your damaged leaves using Photobucket, Flickr, etc Be careful when researching on the net - try to use UK pages because the States (for example) have different kinds of bugs to us.
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Post by suze on Jul 7, 2010 14:13:01 GMT
for bedding you can still just get whatvever looks healthiest at the shop --- I reckon gup's is right about fuschias, they last well .. but they're not exactly a spash of colour ...
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Post by mumndad on Jul 12, 2010 20:55:11 GMT
Sue my orchid you gave me for Mothers day, the flowers have now died,the card said cut the stem at the first joint do they mean the top or down by the leaves, ask B.
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Post by suze on Jul 13, 2010 10:19:47 GMT
Hmm, I dunno mum, I think we generally just get new ones when all the flowers have gone! LOL
will ask her, though.
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Post by anne on Jul 13, 2010 10:51:28 GMT
I think the first joint would be the first one that grows, so it would be the lowest one. All the growth hormones are in the joint itself, so cut just above it, not through or below it.
Mind you, I've kept an orchid going for about three years now, and I simply cut off the flowering stem once the flowers had died, but I expect it's better for the plant to cut it above the joint so it can make some new leaves as well.
My parents had a plant nursery, not orchids though, but this is the general principle of what to do
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Post by suze on Jul 13, 2010 11:28:09 GMT
nice one, anne!
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Post by anne on Jul 15, 2010 9:29:18 GMT
How is your garden this week, Sam?
I'm really pleased we have had some rain, everything is shooting up (including the wild flowers/weeds). Our new shrubs are doing well, suze; the 'false holly' is growing taller and the Winter honeysuckle is shooting out sideways while the rock rose and small spirea are almost twice the size they were on purchase, and flowering too.
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Post by mumndad on Aug 9, 2010 16:03:06 GMT
Hi Anne thanks for the tip for my orchid, did as you said seems O.K. so far. The toms have a few flowers now. The lawn is as dead as a Dodo, just crying out for rain.We did get a drop last Thursday but not enough to revive the lawn.
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Post by suze on Aug 9, 2010 20:25:00 GMT
our lawn looks fine, neighbours say it's been quite wet here while we've been away!
our garden here looks ok, interested to see how shed's pots have weathered without us
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Post by anne on Sept 23, 2010 13:40:36 GMT
Reviving this thread Garden's looking a bit messy at the moment but the hydrangas and penstemons are still going strong. Every year I mean to freeze my mint and never get around to it .. ..I've bought some seeds of Basil and coriander while they are still on sale, and plan to drop a few into windowsill pots over the coming months, clipping them while young, as soon as they are needed. Anyway. Ginger. I had an inch or so piece of ginger lurking in my vegetable trolley and it sprouted a thick stem with an emerging leaf - so I popped it into some water and it's growing into a proper ginger plant ... try it
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Post by mumndad on Oct 11, 2010 20:37:32 GMT
What a carry on we have bunches of tomatoes and they just will not go red. They were a whole week without water while we were living it up in cheshire, they seem to have kept going, I thought they would all be dead. Did a bit of hedge tidying up today, must be the virus I have because I didnt half feel tired. Nice and warm again today with plenty of sun, did a quick tidy up on the front the other day after Joe had cut the lawn, so it looks smart.
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Post by mumndad on Oct 11, 2010 20:42:24 GMT
Anne what I got on here to say Ive missed out, the orchid is looking very healthy no new stem yet but two new leaves have popped up so keeping my fingers crossed.
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Post by suze on Oct 12, 2010 8:51:20 GMT
gosh. that sounds a good tip with the ginger! I have to eat loads of it, too!
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