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etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #650 on: April 29, 2019, 07:11:57 PM »
I just placed some net on the leeks to protect them against the leek moth, and, insects are coming out of the earth.

Don't know what it is, but I opened the net to let them out.

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #651 on: April 29, 2019, 07:53:39 PM »
Etienne

It looks like in might be allium leaf miner.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=643

If it is and they are already infesting your leeks then it's bad news I'm afraid. We lost most of a crop to them a couple of years ago are are hoping to be successful this season with netting that's been in place for a couple of months.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 09:04:45 PM by silkman »

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #652 on: April 29, 2019, 09:11:43 PM »
Well I hope not. I was a little late with the netting, I was mainly scared by the leek moth that comes in May. I have already found the specific black "eggs" in leeks last year. Etienne

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #653 on: April 29, 2019, 09:31:33 PM »
The leaf miner flies are tiny (3mm). I couldn't tell from your pic how big your insects were.

I hope I'm wrong too. Leeks are a staple in our house.

Good luck.

https://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/leeks-growing/allium-leaf-miner/

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #654 on: April 30, 2019, 07:05:24 AM »
The insects are about 15 mm, so it is something else. But I saw one that was around the 3mm. We'll see.

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #655 on: April 30, 2019, 08:43:59 AM »
Some large Bibionid fly, likely. Some root damage may have happened for overwintering plants, though many species like composts and other decaying plant matter. Some species emerge simultaneously so large numbers may appear almost overnight.
See fe.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibio_marci
I remember seeing smaller ones around our compost and other composts.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2019, 09:16:13 AM by Pmt111500 »

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #656 on: April 30, 2019, 06:54:20 PM »
You're right, that's the rught insect. So it is not so bad.

uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #657 on: May 10, 2019, 04:20:59 PM »
I've been getting ideas from this thread for a long time so I think it's time to join in. Early fava (broad,field) beans are doing really well but so are the ants farming blackfly. I spray with a mixture of soap, neem and teatree to slow them down. Any suggestions? Early peas and spinach failed this year as did the flax for some reason. Fenugreek survived. It's a lottery.

A couple of pictures of the plot.
Top. Last years spinach. Beans to the right of hops in front of rhubarb and asparagus. The poly was a gift from someone moving.
Bottom. 2nd year we've tried potatoes in mulch. These are on top of 2years of alfalfa. BIG roots! Soon we'll put old hay on top (no straw here). Leeks, onions, garlic and brassicas above. We try no till but with my planning skills we mostly end up digging. You can just see the four sheep at the top keeping the field down (or gazing into space, chewing). 5 hens and a cock probably being naughty somewhere. It's never tidier than this.

El Cid

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #658 on: May 10, 2019, 07:12:36 PM »
Uniquorn, it does not need to be tidier than this!

As for digging, you really don't need to do that. I have a big black tarp (almost 50sqm) (actually a pondliner) and I partitioned my veggie garden into three parts. One part gets covered by the tarp in March-April, and I put the "summer plants" here in May (tomatoes, beans, melons, okra, peppers, etc). Then I move the tarp into my second section (that was planted by cover crops late fall). I mow the cover, water it well, and tarp it for 1-2 months. I put my fall plants (brassicas, peas, carrots, etc) here in July/August. The third part gets covered in September-October-November, and is clean by next March, ready for peas, radishes, salads, etc. All with one big tarp, no need to dig, and you get a mostly weedfree, soft soil to plant into. I found it to be the best solution. I usually put my homemade compost on the beds before tarping, sometimes after.

Fertility solved, weeding zero, I truly need only to sow and reap (and water!) lots of tasty veggies.

uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #659 on: May 10, 2019, 07:54:58 PM »
Thanks El Cid. We have black plastic that needs recycling. I'll try it on half a bed and see how it goes.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #660 on: May 10, 2019, 09:44:52 PM »
I never had problems with early plants like spinach and peas, exepted for the birds eating everything, but netting is here an easy solution. I also put the potatoes as early as possible because of the mildew. My problems start with the slugs. I hope this will stay that way in the future.
I tried garlic this year and it is working very well, I have been giving fresh garlic to all the neighbours. It has a stronger taste than expected. Leeks seem to be ok. The main problem right now is that plants are ready to go out, but we are not yet out of the freezing time.

Neven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #661 on: May 11, 2019, 08:44:05 PM »
Nice garden, UQ! Looks like plenty of space all around and no agriculture.  :)

Early fava (broad,field) beans are doing really well but so are the ants farming blackfly. I spray with a mixture of soap, neem and teatree to slow them down. Any suggestions?

We have the same problem over here in Austria as well. My wife has tried spraying neem etc as well, but now she removes the blackfly manually, asap.
The enemy is within
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uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #662 on: May 11, 2019, 09:30:45 PM »
Cattle farm nearby but next door is a hayfield so the fence only gets weedkiller once a year. Mostly the other side.
Black finger  :) I do that as well but when they are on the flower stems it's hard not to damage them.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #663 on: May 13, 2019, 06:57:11 PM »
Nice garden, UQ! Looks like plenty of space all around and no agriculture.  :)

Early fava (broad,field) beans are doing really well but so are the ants farming blackfly. I spray with a mixture of soap, neem and teatree to slow them down. Any suggestions?

We have the same problem over here in Austria as well. My wife has tried spraying neem etc as well, but now she removes the blackfly manually, asap.
I found margold under the appletree helpful in this context, but not during the spring, only once the flowers are open.

uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #664 on: May 13, 2019, 07:43:36 PM »
We've got calendular just coming out. I'll transplant a couple nearby. Ants are farming on the artichokes as well now.

El Cid

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #665 on: May 13, 2019, 09:38:00 PM »
We've got calendular just coming out. I'll transplant a couple nearby. Ants are farming on the artichokes as well now.

My ants like to "farm" my apple and apricot trees' leaves. I put sticky tapes around the trunk. That stops them. It only works for trees though....

VaughnAn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #666 on: May 25, 2019, 06:40:25 AM »
I've had a garden for 45 years, 46th year this year.  I recently retired from being a Horticulture teacher.  I have helped instill the thrill of gardening into many students over the years.  We had plant sales where we sold about 4,000 garden plants to community gardeners per year.  Any leftover plants went to people growing vegetables for food banks and small farms that specifically raised food for food banks.  I am very pleased to see so many people posting on this blog with a garden.
Mine is doing very well this year.  The pole beans (landerfraunen) are already starting to climb the poles.  Summer and winter squash plants look great.  Other things coming up.  May has warmed at least 6ºC since the 1970s.  I am concerned about July and early August being too hot for C-3 plants.
I have problems with deer and rabbits and put up temporary fences.  There used to be enough coyotes around to control the rabbits but not any more, sad.  I have a barn owl nest with 4 babies in my barn but they can only do so much. 
Hopefully more people will plant gardens.  Pesticide and herbicide contaminated food being sold in the grocery stores here in the US is rampant and organically grown food in usually very expensive. The orange buffoon is only making things worse.

sidd

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #667 on: May 25, 2019, 09:15:02 AM »
Re: problems with deer and rabbits and put up temporary fences.

in my experience, you need a pretty high fence to stop deer. I have a buddy with 8 ft fences, and he regularly has to shoo deer out of the enclosure.

15 foot seems to be the minimum to stop deer in the midwest.

sidd

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #668 on: May 25, 2019, 11:20:50 AM »
Time for a brief report on our small fruit and veg plot up here in NW England. It's been a pretty straightforward Spring with plenty of sunshine though we could do with a little rain right now. Fortunately it's a holiday weekend so we'll probably get some.

So things are on track. Potatoes looking good, brassicas making progress, peas and beans growing well and the summer fruit season just about to start. I picked our first ripe strawberry yesterday. We grow a range of pumpkins and squashes which we'll plant out soon. Amazingly, we're still eating last year's crop (Crown Prince, Barbara and Hubbard). They keep fantastically well if stored in cool, dry conditions. If we get a similar crop this year we might just survive Brexit!
« Last Edit: May 25, 2019, 11:27:45 AM by silkman »

VaughnAn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #669 on: May 25, 2019, 06:33:04 PM »
Quote
15 foot seems to be the minimum to stop deer in the midwest.

I have a 2' fence that keeps out the rabbits, of course, the deer just laugh at that.  I wrapped a 6' chicken wire fence fairly tightly around the pole beans(favorite food for deer) which seems to keep the deer out of them.  Peppers and tomatoes are secondary targets  Deer caused some damage to these last year but not too bad.  They eat the carrots too.  I am thinking of  chickenwire teepee covers for the carrots and peppers.  Most of the other things like beets, squash, corn, cucumbers, etc. deer don't seem to bother. I am not ready to put up a 15' fence...yet!

Right now I am waiting for a spat of cold weather to pass, 12ºC, which is too cold for cucumbers and melons.  Forecast for next week is 20ºC so I should be able to move those plants out soon.   :)

Neven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #670 on: May 26, 2019, 11:19:31 PM »
I've had a garden for 45 years, 46th year this year.

Thanks for that, Vaughn, that is awesome.

A couple of days ago, my wife planted 30 bean plants outside the fenced vegetable garden (no more room). I told her about what I read here about deer and beans, as we were massacring the slugs with scissors together. She sighed.  ;D
The enemy is within
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johnm33

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #671 on: May 27, 2019, 12:24:32 AM »
The only defence I have aganst slugs/snails is pellets which are placed under some old guttering either side of the row, no access for birds or frogs. Most years it's taken three plantings to get ahead this year's 1st looking good so far.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #672 on: May 27, 2019, 06:32:21 AM »
I belive that the mole eats slugs because things are much better this year. I hope it will continue that way.

VaughnAn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #673 on: May 27, 2019, 08:06:06 AM »
I know ducks like slugs; chickens probably like them too.  Except for the past week it has been very dry this spring so I have only seen a few slugs.  There is non-toxic slug bait(non toxic to humans and other animals) that dehydrates them.  Gardens are fun. ;D :D :)

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #674 on: May 27, 2019, 09:40:53 AM »
I know ducks like slugs
We've recently recruited a couple of willing volunteers to help in our slug war. They're frequent visitors to our garden from a nearby canal. The grandkids love them too. Francis and Vera Drake :)

sidd

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #675 on: May 27, 2019, 10:13:27 AM »
Moles eat slugs. Unfortunately cats eat moles or at least, kill em, ... so if you got a cat about the mole inventory takes a dive. Chickens and ducks are a better bet if you got cats.

sidd

Neven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #676 on: May 27, 2019, 10:54:33 AM »
Moles eat slugs. Unfortunately cats eat moles or at least, kill em, ... so if you got a cat about the mole inventory takes a dive. Chickens and ducks are a better bet if you got cats.

My neighbour has this device that he puts a bullet in, and when the mole touches it... kabaam!

We've recently recruited a couple of willing volunteers to help in our slug war. They're frequent visitors to our garden from a nearby canal. The grandkids love them too. Francis and Vera Drake :)

We once had wild ducks on our pond, and when I saw them, I fell on my knees and immediately started praying that they would stay and take out the slugs. The ducks flew away.  :'(
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #677 on: May 27, 2019, 02:13:08 PM »
I found a toad in the plot recently. I think he's been keeping the slugs down. Moles wrecked a couple of beds a few years back. The balance seems about right this year.
If only cats ate slugs...
Update on the blackfly. A few chilly nights and some red/black beetles and now there are only ants on the fava beans.

magnamentis

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #678 on: May 27, 2019, 04:40:05 PM »
when i was a kid and had a huge garden we used salt to keep slug population in check. later in life we always had a gardener hence i lost track but perhaps such old means got lost in time or forgotten.

one never gets down do zero that way but down to very few slugs from many before the treatment.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #679 on: May 27, 2019, 08:08:21 PM »
Do you remember what you did with the salt ?
I have also tried beer but didn't find it effective.

For the mole, I have tried garlic to keep it out of the beds and it seems to work. Garlic is very easy to grow.

magnamentis

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #680 on: May 27, 2019, 09:30:41 PM »
Do you remember what you did with the salt ?
I have also tried beer but didn't find it effective.

For the mole, I have tried garlic to keep it out of the beds and it seems to work. Garlic is very easy to grow.

whenever it was raining we kids got some salt from mom and were patrolling the entire garden row by row and distributed salt with 3 fingers over each slug. they die, don't procreate any further and were decimated heavily. since it was not a closed garden with wall around it with a farm next to us there was no way for a natural 100% treatment but it worked quite well to minimize the impact and certainly to avoid an invasion ;)

it's important to not throw the salt the way one would do for de-icing in winter because salty grounds are not good for the plants.

basically this way the slugs dry out (dehydrate), they shrink in size and look darkish brown, almost black and in the aftermath are mostly eaten away by other animals like birds and etc.

to avoid misunderstandings, i talk about a garden let's say 20 times 30 meters 500-600m2, not a field or anything significantly larger than that.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2019, 09:42:25 PM by magnamentis »

VaughnAn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #681 on: May 29, 2019, 06:02:58 AM »
Quote
Chickens and ducks are a better bet


I don't exactly have a good location for ducks and I have problems with bald eagles killing the chickens if they run loose.  I have known other people who have used ducks for eating slugs.  They had a pond a couple hundred meters from the garden so they used grain like barley and rye mixed with a little corn to bait the ducks to the area where the slugs were.  To a large degree that solved the slug problem.  Good luck; slugs can be a huge problem. 

Granular 1% iron phosphate + 99% inert material works pretty good too.  I've used it mostly in the greenhouse though and it does a good job on slugs there.  The label says it is approved for organic gardens.  In my professional opinion it does not have anything in it that would harm plants since plants use both iron and phosphate in their growth process.  I suppose if ducks or chickens ate too much of it that might not be so good.  It does say it is safe to use around "pets" if you consider a duck to be a "pet."
« Last Edit: May 30, 2019, 05:39:11 PM by VaughnAn »

Neven

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #682 on: May 29, 2019, 10:17:46 AM »
Rescue is on the way, and badly needed (I'm killing 200-300 slugs every day, but no visible impact so far):
The enemy is within
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b_lumenkraft

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #683 on: May 29, 2019, 10:22:21 AM »
awwww <3

kassy

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #684 on: May 29, 2019, 01:50:10 PM »
Ah you got modern baby dinosaurs. That will teach them!
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

ivica

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #685 on: May 29, 2019, 08:35:02 PM »
Jim Kovaleski inspires me, cann't wait for this rain to stop...   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFaW8yfG1BM&list=PLgXPC4KibNdr2schkHRdBxOlDFotKO7Og&index=13

(ducks are there as well)

El Cid

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #686 on: May 29, 2019, 09:20:22 PM »
Nice video though this technique is also pretty "ancient", see Ruth Stout for example.

I have a nice field full of clovers, alfalfa, grasses which I mow (although I must confess not manually), and put the cuttings around my trees for "nourishment" and to keep the weeds down.
I also transplant melons, squash, etc into this clover field. I mow 1-2-3 sqm, and put the cuttings in a small circle (20 cm deep) and plant into the middle of this circle like Mr. Kovalski. Kills the weeds around the transplant and gives it plenty of nutrients.

VaughnAn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #687 on: May 30, 2019, 05:52:53 PM »
Quote
Rescue is on the way, and badly needed

Baby ducks are the cutest; I like that solution.  They grow very fast and with a diet of slugs they will get "fat." ;) ;D

Hopefully one or both is/are female(s) so you will have duck eggs later this year or next.  The ducks will turn the slugs into edible food.  Nice way to turn the tables on the slugs; plus they mow the grass and potential weeds too.  ;D

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #688 on: June 08, 2019, 02:14:09 PM »
Etienne

It looks like in might be allium leaf miner.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=643

If it is and they are already infesting your leeks then it's bad news I'm afraid. We lost most of a crop to them a couple of years ago are are hoping to be successful this season with netting that's been in place for a couple of months.

Does anybody know if these allium leaf miners are always a problem  or only in the early spring ? I wonder if I still need to protect my plants. Furthermore I have a mix of free and infected plants, so I wonder what I should do.

Thanks,

Etienne

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #689 on: June 08, 2019, 09:55:40 PM »
Etienne

In the U.K. they have two generations a year. The adults are most active in March/April and October/November. I suspect it would be more or less the same for you. We cover our leeks, onions and garlic with mesh as best we can, especially in the Spring.

More info here https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=643

I hope that helps.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #690 on: June 09, 2019, 07:09:22 AM »
Thak you very much. So I will eat or destroy all what is infected and can let the other grow without having to worry about it until August.

silkman

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #691 on: June 09, 2019, 08:40:30 AM »
I think so. We've just set our shallots and garlic free of their cages :)

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #692 on: June 11, 2019, 08:48:38 PM »
Attacked plants are easy to recognise, and still eatable, I hope this helps to reduce the problem.

magnamentis

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #693 on: June 13, 2019, 03:49:18 PM »
Do you remember what you did with the salt ?
I have also tried beer but didn't find it effective.

For the mole, I have tried garlic to keep it out of the beds and it seems to work. Garlic is very easy to grow.

one other natural and good method that helps a lot is to use coffee ( used coffee grounds )

it has two major effects, it serves as an universal fertilizer and many animals like slugs and escargots don't like the smell and stay away.

the greatest advantage is that it is reducing waste, is fertilizing and there is no limit. plants love coffee for growth ;)

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #694 on: June 15, 2019, 09:21:23 AM »
Don't know why, but I have a wet year without slugs, my wife read somewhere that they don't like marigolds, and my garden is invaded by these flowers, and there is the mole... But birds are a terrible problem, they eat everything. The surprising thing is that they seem to be disappearing everywhere, excepted from my garden. My wife said yesterday that she sometimes feels like in an aviary, and she really enjoys it.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #695 on: June 21, 2019, 09:18:57 PM »
Hello,

My neighbour has been collecting grass clippings for years. In fact, he didn't want to bother taking it away. I am now allowed to use it, but am not sure how to handle this. It is not very well composted. I mixed it last week and it already helped a lot, some worms are now in it.

Is it a good idea to put it under a layer of earth, or to mix it with earth in the vegetables' garden ?

The amount is too important to put it with my normal compost.

Thanks, regards,

Etienne

Well, I am very surprised, but I spread the the badly composted grass clipping, keeping like 20 cm and planted potatoes. It didn't work, potatoes only grow around the former pile of grass clipping.

I aslo kept some of it for a pumpking, and it also doesn't grow well.

I talked of a Marigold invastion. That's the third picture. It looks to nice, even if it takes the place of the kohlrabi.

uniquorn

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #696 on: June 25, 2019, 10:14:11 PM »
Quote
My neighbour has been collecting grass clippings for years
Maybe he uses weedkiller on the lawn.
Update on the broad beans - they are fantastic this year. So many pods and the beans taste good. A few ants and blackfly but they can have some sap. Falafel here we come ;). Sheared the sheep today in time for the european heatwave. Only 4 but I'm totally knackered.
You can make a nice skin cream with marigold petals, beeswax and olive oil (well it's meant to be calendula)

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #697 on: June 27, 2019, 07:24:03 PM »
I have not yet reached the level of making cosmetics. Vegetables, syrup (thyme syrup is very good) and jam is enough for me right now.

etienne

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #698 on: June 29, 2019, 05:34:04 PM »
Some of my garlic has some kind of second clove above the ground. Is this normal ? Never heard of it.

Bruce Steele

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Re: Gardening
« Reply #699 on: June 29, 2019, 05:58:29 PM »
I recall seeing garlics that have those little garlics on blooms. Kinda like a sexual reproduction mixed with an a sexual one. Little clones. I think yours may be getting ready to bloom ?