Yes wet soil oop here..... they have taken over most beds..... as we were at the vineyard recently..... I have just weeded the veg beds and tried to take out the tubers...... Not sure about using weed killer on beds?
Can't add much more than OFH. Where I have weeds in tricky places I mix up a solution of glyphosate/roundup and using a paint brush paint the leaves with the solution. Another method is to have a roundup spray and direct the spray right onto the plant using a tube so it does not carry to other plants. Some manure I put on my allotment this year was infested with the stuff so I will keep hoeing.....
Thanks......I will give this some thought... Does it come back again from the same tuber..... or is it the tubers it creates this year on the plant that are the growth for next year
Roundup will kill the roots or tubers but may need more than one application. It can take a few weeks before you see any effect though.
Giving some outdoor cucumbers a try this year for the first time. The seed packet says you can either let them roam around on the ground, or train them up a framework. I now have some sturdy plants and today constructed an equally sturdy framework for them. Unlike some greenhouse ones it tells you leave all the flowers on as they will self pollinate. Not quite sure yet how to deal with them when they threaten to take over. Anyone tried to grow these?
Yes, in my greenhouse though. Keep them watered & well fed/manured. You can always stop them by pinching out the growing tips but they will send out side shoots, but it will keep them in check a bit. Don't know how many you have planted but I usually grow 3 plants and give lots away as once they get going they are very productive and they will like your warmth. Worth the effort, taste great.
Cheers Scullion. Used to grow them in the UK in the greenhouse along with the tomato plants. I used to split the house with a sheet of polythene as the cucumbers preferred a much higher degree of humidity.
Just dug over a patch of shallow soil under trees. It's got quite a few roots going through it. I've built it up a bit with leaf mould, compost and a little horticultural sand. I'm thinking of putting ferns and maybe something like foxgloves in it as it won't get much Sun. Any other suggestions?
You could try Comfrey, it's very popular with Bumble Bees, is edible and can also be brewed into an excellent fertilizer. With powerfull roots up to 2 metres deep (which will also wind their way around any existing roots) it will also loosen up the soil nicely. If you eat it make sure that you can differentiate the leaves from foxgloves.
12 reasons to plant comfrey! http://www.permaculture.co.uk/video...symphytum-officinale-your-permaculture-garden
I'll look into the comfrey possibility, Cologne...thanks for that. Scullion, the trees are next doors, very tall and very dense. An additional problem is that there was a hard tennis court underneath perhaps 30 years ago so the soil is not very deep. I haven't tried taking a pickaxe to it but it resists spade or fork. The two patches of ground are only small (4x1 metre and 2x1 metre). They get an hour or two of sun at most and then only really on the front half.
I think I would try early spring bulbs that like shade bringing a bit of colour to a dark place. Snowdrops, crocus and winter anemones should do well. I have grown some in my woodland and they have done well. There are also a selection of hellebores that flower from late winter through into early spring. There is quite a selection of colours and they enjoy shade.
Thanks, Frenchie. We have some hellebores elsewhere, growing under a silver birch. Spring bulbs and winter anemones both sound possible.
For good ground cover and pretty white flowers in Spring, try Pachysandra Terminalis. It'll grow anywhere - especially in deep shade.
I have the annual problem of ants. They seem to enjoy the hot dry conditions we live with and attack salad crops. There are gels to stop them coming into a house, but never seen anything to keep them off a garden. Any ideas?
We get a lot every year. The only things that seem really effect are Antstop bait (the ants take it back into the nest and it finishes the nest off), though these are not cheap, and drowning them with litres of water (which of course is not so available in hot weather).
The One Show tonight (BBC1, 7pm) has a feature on the fight to save Terrace Farm Allotments (behind the Rookery Stand) from the developers. Apparently the government's been breaking its own laws and, dependent on the editing I suspect that Watford's MP is not going to escape unscathed. Westminster, duplicitous and underhand? Never! AHEM!!! A must see for anyone with an interest in allotments and their redevelopment.
