Search found 3270 matches

by PLUMPUDDING
Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:28 am
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Halloooooo!!
Replies: 7
Views: 2528

Hi there, We've not had fog, but it's been -4C two nights running and the ground if frozen. Typically the strawberries, blackcurrant and gooseberry I had ordered came yesterday. I managed to dig a hole and put a bit of warmish compost out of the greenhouse in so their roots didn't get too much of a ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:19 am
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: UNWANTED GUESTS
Replies: 6
Views: 3071

When my hens had scaly leg a few years ago I mixed some vegetable oil with a teaspoon of lavender and a teaspoon of tea tree essential oils and stood the hens in it. I worked it well into their legs so it went under the scales. I did this a few times and it cleared it up. At about the same time I bo...
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:36 pm
Forum: Growing places
Topic: Aluminium or wood GH?
Replies: 13
Views: 6235

I've inherited Dad's 8' x 10' Alton greenhouse which is well over 30 years old. It's been unbolted and taken from the bottom garden to the top and reassembled. My son replaced a couple of rotten pieces and we've put a few stronger clips to hold the glass in and it is still in very good condition. On...
by PLUMPUDDING
Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:22 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Tea Bags? !
Replies: 4
Views: 2523

I don't think tea bags are particularly acid. They have a high tannin content. I dug lots of pine needles into the soil and then added rhododendron, ericacious, (acid) compost before I planted my blueberries and they are very happy. It has been a very wet summer which they like, and you must never l...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:19 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: Raspberry Canes - before planting out
Replies: 3
Views: 1941

Hi SB, It is called "heeling them in" and just protects the roots until you are ready to plant them in their proper positions. Sounds like a good offer. What variety are they?
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:20 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: PESKY MICE'S
Replies: 10
Views: 3708

I would think twice about getting a greenhouse cat as they usually like to make a bed out of your seed trays. I had a tray full of newly germinated streptocarpus that never recovered from the cat sleeping on them. If you are only using plant pots, then a cat might just do the trick, but I think the ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:00 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Hairdressers!!!!!
Replies: 46
Views: 9984

I've just stopped colouring my hair after about 30 years. I had very straight dark auburn hair, but started going grey quite early. It took a few months of having it cut very short to get rid of the colour, but it is quite liberating to just be me. It is a dark silvery grey, which was a surprise as ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:57 pm
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: Escaping hen
Replies: 4
Views: 1919

Hi there, It's always eventful keeping livestock isn't it. Apart from the fox, my other worry was that she would roam a bit further along the waste ground and end up behind the Chinese takeaway. I think that is where the last one to escape ended up as it was never seen again.
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:43 pm
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: Escaping hen
Replies: 4
Views: 1919

Escaping hen

I've had a very energetic two days. I went to give the hens their tea the other afternoon and noticed that one was missing. So I did a tour of everyone's gardens, round the back of the flats, across the road, all round my garden and hen run and everywhere I could think but couldn't find it, then on ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:19 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Pea shoots for salads and stirfries
Replies: 26
Views: 8283

Hi Alan, I saw these mentioned in my Sarah Raven cookery book and just picked a few nice looking shoots off the mangetouts. These were very nice, but you had to make sure you only got the most tender or they were a bit chewy. But growing them specifically for young shoots should be much better. Peas...
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:00 pm
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: S.O.S. - Save our Sparrows
Replies: 14
Views: 4383

When Dad was alive we had hundreds of sparrows. They would wait for him to go indoors and then dive out of the hedge and eat all the pea shoots and have dust baths in all the seed beds. They have gradually decreased until this year we have only three pairs. Still, I can grow peas without having to c...
by PLUMPUDDING
Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:22 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Global warming, or not...
Replies: 15
Views: 5298

Funny, I thought you would disagree Johnboy. I've seen the destruction of the rainforest in Borneo and it is devastating. Ancient forest has been cut down and grubbed out as far as the eye can see in order to plant palm for palm oil. We drove along an almost straight road for two hours and that was ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:38 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: apples or nuts
Replies: 9
Views: 3680

I just wondered if you have room to put in something tough and fast growing to make a wind break and then try some apples in the lea of this?
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:44 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Global warming, or not...
Replies: 15
Views: 5298

We don't need global warming to cause mayhem, we are doing it ourselves. There are far too many people using up all the earth's resources, destroying forests, driving many other species to extinction and causing pollution. If we care about the planet we should be doing whatever we can to use less an...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:24 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Puncture proof tyres for wheelbarrows
Replies: 7
Views: 2978

The squirty stuff sounds a good idea, I think I've seen it advertised for car tyres, but thought it sounded a bit expensive. There are all sorts of things out there, it is just knowing what is suitable and what works when you need it. That is why this web site is so useful. I've got arthritis in my ...