Search found 8062 matches
- Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:37 am
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Eyjafjallajökull
- Replies: 50
- Views: 9610
Re: Eyjafjallajökull
Clive - I imagine there will be a shortage of quite a lot of fresh things if this situation goes on for much longer, especially the UK now imports a large percentage of its foodstuffs. When you think back to the Second World War this country was effectively blockcaded for 6 years and long term we ha...
- Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:37 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Know a good source of sheds (for bikes)?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3446
Re: Know a good source of sheds (for bikes)?
I can't recommend anything but in our neck of the woods, thefts of lawn mowers and bikes from sheds is becoming a rapidly increasing and frequent crime, so maybe a strong metal shed would be a safer option if you can find one with some decent security features build into it.
- Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:35 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Eyjafjallajökull
- Replies: 50
- Views: 9610
Re: Eyjafjallajökull
By now we've had almost three days of blissful silence - not an aircraft in sight, and clear blue sky with no vapour trails; it's almost eerie. I'm starting to realise that I'm temporarily living in the quiet kind of world that my grandparents would have taken for granted when they were children. I ...
- Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:27 pm
- Forum: Best practices
- Topic: When germination fails.....
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3013
When germination fails.....
I imagine most of us have suffered this problem at some time or other. Half my courgettes and half my cucumbers have failed to germinate this spring and I always have the dilemma of wondering how long I leave it, once the first few seeds have shown their shoots, before deciding that the others have ...
- Sat Apr 17, 2010 10:32 am
- Forum: Best practices
- Topic: How to deal with a mature grape vine
- Replies: 8
- Views: 3860
Re: How to deal with a mature grape vine
Lucky you to have such a find ! I echo the recommendations of the others in that you probably need to wait and see what happens to it this current season to find out what type of grapes it grows, etc. before taking too much drastic action. It's probably far too late now to do any drastic pruning as ...
- Fri Apr 16, 2010 10:53 am
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Eyjafjallajökull
- Replies: 50
- Views: 9610
Re: Eyjafjallajökull
I seem to remember some correspondence on year about a year ago regarding a volcanic dust product which was supposed to add extra fertility to the soil. I wonder if anybody actually got round to giving it a trial? If not, maybe if we all wait long enough we'll all get a thin free layer of it to tria...
- Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:19 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: A nice crop of plastic bags
- Replies: 15
- Views: 4315
Re: A nice crop of plastic bags
We have a public footpath near us which is often used by the pupils of the local secondary school as a shortcut to the local Fish & Chip shop in their lunch hour. During term time it is continually littered with polystyrene chip trays and Coca Cola cans disgarded by pupils. During the holidays, ...
- Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:02 pm
- Forum: Seasonal tips
- Topic: Tomatoes - non germination
- Replies: 9
- Views: 3395
Re: Tomatoes - non germination
I wonder if there could possibly be some infection in your potting compost? Was it fresh, or left over from last year. I used some 1 year old seed compost at the bottom of a bag last for my courgettes and none of them germinated so I had to resow them all. . Apart from that I can't think of anything...
- Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:56 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Eyjafjallajökull
- Replies: 50
- Views: 9610
Re: Eyjafjallajökull
I can't remember seeing volcanic dust before but I do recall one particular occasion years ago when there was a very violent sandstorm in the Sahara desert and we awoke in the morning to find our car, windows, (and washing which had been left out all night) totally covered in a layer of bright red s...
- Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:48 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Manure & the origin of the "S" word
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1992
Manure & the origin of the "S" word
Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by sailing ship and it was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at se...
- Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:26 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Brilliant veg patch news!!
- Replies: 15
- Views: 4793
Re: Brilliant veg patch news!!
Great news Piglet. I didn't tell you, did I, that I'd secretly "put my witches influence" on him to bring him round? Maybe he's decided that giving you a vegetable patch in the garden would be better than you running off to an allotment and getting friendly with all those nice hunky fellow...
- Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:18 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: thompson and morgan
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3836
Re: thompson and morgan
I think applying a standard postage and packing charge for seeds is a bit of a swindle and I only order seeds by post if I can't find what I'm looking for in one of our local garden centres. I've never been particularly keen on T & M seeds. For some reason I seem to get a much lower germination ...
- Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:07 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: (NYC) Community Garden Back!
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2147
Re: (NYC) Community Garden Back!
Hopefully now Spring is here and there's the chance to feel some warm sunshine on your back, you'll get your enthusiasm back. There's nothing like sowing a few seeds and watching them grow for bringing some pkleasurable anticipation back into your life. Can you get Bright Lights variety Swiss Chard ...
- Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:57 pm
- Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
- Topic: Swallow
- Replies: 79
- Views: 22705
Re: Swallow
No swallows here yet. I've been keeping a look out for them when I've been out in the garden and love to hear that first joyful screaming overhead as they fly in to seek out their accustomed nesting sites in the village. What amazes me is that they're wheeling and diving around like the Red Arrows a...
- Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:54 pm
- Forum: General chatter
- Topic: Vacuum cleaner fluff
- Replies: 15
- Views: 5731
Re: Vacuum cleaner fluff
Mine always goes onto the compost heap. I usually seen to end up emptying it around springtime (which shows how little I tend to vaccum !). The birds often seem to like it for nesting material so I'm not sure how many nutrients actually end up in the compost.