Search found 3270 matches

by PLUMPUDDING
Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:34 pm
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: WORMERY ANYONE ?
Replies: 83
Views: 62022

Hi everyone, This is extremely informative. I've had a Wiggly Wigglers wormery for about 3 years and like everyone else find the compost excellent especially for topping up pot plants, but not much of it. I use the liquid diluted for all my indoor plants and they never seem to stop flowering. I leav...
by PLUMPUDDING
Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:19 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: TALL PEAS
Replies: 15
Views: 7596

A very good tall pea is Robinson and has lovely sweet tasting peas, they don't go floury quickly if you forget to pick them for a few days. I got the seeds from the Heritage Seed Library and can let you have a few of the seeds I saved if you would like to try them - Mail me.
Pat
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:32 am
Forum: Tools and Machinery
Topic: Replacement wheel for wheelbarrow
Replies: 5
Views: 4751

I think B & Q sell them, but you need to get the right size. I'm afraid to say I have two wheel barrows out of use because they have terminal punctures and I've been going to get new wheels for them for over a year now. My excuse is that I can't get the nuts and bolts undone to take the old whee...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:28 am
Forum: General chatter
Topic: RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Replies: 10
Views: 3354

We take part in the RSPB bird watch most years and hope for a bit of bad weather that weekend so more birds come into the garden. My bird feeders are in a tree in front of the bedroom window, so I can bird watch while I have my cup of tea every morning. There are large numbers of all the finches, gr...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:13 am
Forum: Weeds, Pests and Diseases
Topic: enviromesh
Replies: 26
Views: 17814

With Enviromesh you get much better air circulation and so less chance of mould and rot. It gives some protection by filtering the wind, and keeps pests out. Fleece is a closed fabric and better for keeping frost off in really cold weather, but unless you have it raised above your plants is more lik...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:30 am
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: Buff Sussex hen not laying
Replies: 6
Views: 5622

One of my first hens was a Buff Sussex called Ginger and she seemed to lay for about 16 days then have a rest and then start again. She usually laid between March and October and just the odd one during the winter, but she kept this up for about six years. She was 8 when she died. Buff Sussex are a ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:55 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Currant bushes
Replies: 7
Views: 2987

Hi Di, Recipe for Red currant wine: 3 lb red currants 3 lb granulated sugar 6 pts. boiling water Pectic enzyme Campden tablets Wine yeast (general purpose is OK, but Bordeaux is better if you can get it) Yeast nutrient (Just multiply up the ingredients for larger quantities of fruit in the same prop...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:31 am
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: CAPISCUMS
Replies: 10
Views: 5210

All unripe peppers are green and they ripen to yellow, orange, red, purple, or chocolate etc. depending on the variety. They can go through a range of colours while ripening, but the usual one is green to red. I over-wintered a chilli pepper last year and have been picking fruits until last week whe...
by PLUMPUDDING
Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:16 am
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: Octavia rasberries
Replies: 1
Views: 1986

Hi Mark, You are lucky to be given these they sound really good. They should be treated like the usual summer fruiting canes - cut out the canes that have fruited and tie in the new ones for next year when they are large enough.

Pat
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:49 pm
Forum: Weeds, Pests and Diseases
Topic: Composting healthy potato plants
Replies: 4
Views: 4918

If there is no sign of disease I compost everything (except the potatoes themselves) I've never had blight on potatoes or tomatoes and compost the lot. I'm gardening on the same land my father tended for 60 years and either I'm very lucky or the composting process kills all the nasties off. I don't ...
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:33 pm
Forum: Weeds, Pests and Diseases
Topic: enviromesh
Replies: 26
Views: 17814

I've been using Enviromesh for years. I too bought a huge roll of it from Kays and cut it into lengths to fit the different sized beds also using the water pipes like lots of you do for hoops. I also protect the carrots by stapling it to one long side of the wooden raised beds and weighting down the...
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:57 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: sarpo mira
Replies: 7
Views: 4172

I grew Sarpo Axona last year and got a very good crop of huge potatoes too which was a nice surprise as most of my other varieties were on the small side. I like the flavour too and no slug damage even though I left them in the ground until late October, waiting for the tops to die down, but they we...
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:49 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Planting by the moon
Replies: 5
Views: 2516

I've always been rather sceptical about this, and don't always know what day it is, never mind what phase of the moon, but my father used to use it for the best time to sow seeds and thought it worked.
by PLUMPUDDING
Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:41 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Currant bushes
Replies: 7
Views: 2987

Currant bushes

You might like to grow some new bushes from the cuttings you take, they root very easily. Just take healthy shoots about 9 inches long and stick them in a trench. Mark them so you don't forget and in a few months you will have lots of new fruit bushes. If you don't mind not getting a blackcurrant cr...
by PLUMPUDDING
Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:13 pm
Forum: Birds, Animals and Livestock
Topic: Grass for chickens?
Replies: 34
Views: 14572

You can keep the yolks nice and yellow by feeding plenty of greens - cabbage, kale, or any brassicas if you haven't any grass. My hens have killed all the grass in their large run in the orchard in about a year. I've only ten hens but they always scratch everything up. I've tried fencing sections of...