Googie's Inbox

you could be forgiven for thinking your walking down the steps at the eden project, this is beautiful

I'm with you on this one Goringfolly.

J.

I always leave manure as long as possible. I mix it with other compost materials and leave it in the bin for at least a year. This will give it a chance to break down and the heat will kill any weeds and promote the growth of worms and other useful things. The longer you can leave it the better will bethe result.

Hi Googie. As everybody says, usually if there is no smell then it has probably already rotted. But unless you are certain I would leave it for a few months, in or out of the bags.. You can kill an awful lot of plants with fresh manure.

The way to tell old manure is not necessarily by the smell. That is one of the first things to go. If it looks crumbly then it is definitely old but if it still has a shiny look then it is still full of harmful nitrites. Put on an old pair of gloves and you could try rubbing it between your fingers to see if it crumbles easily. The strange thing is that what is harmful is not the fresh pooh in itself but the fact that it also contains urine and that is what has to break down. Not a lot of people know that - lol.

If it is still on the fresh side then you can always soak some in a large barrel or bucket of water and use that as liquid fertiliser in only a few weeks if you are in a rush for some.

John.

Sounds like its ready to use now in any way you choose.

If it has no smell, it usually means that it has broken down and if it was mine it would be spread accross the veggie patch to over winter and be dug in in the spring. if its for anywhere else in the garden I would leave it in the bags until spring anyway

The fact that your manure has no smell means it is old. Leave it in the bags and use it in the spring.

Googie I've been looking for a certain plant for over 40 yrs and found out it's name after I joined GOY. I've made lots of friends too.

whatever stage of gardening you are at, this site has someone to share with - I learn something new every day. You are right, Googie, it's wonderful to have someone to ask when you just don't know!

Hi, there's a Arthur Bower's one on sale on the internet at £2.99, dont know what the postage cost would be - here is the website address: http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/ASP/dept_id.30207/pf_id.991145/referer.US7NA79JPS5K8MU93X3H34BA7JSC5MNE/qx/gg_shop/product.htm

Regards, Dawn

we have a few old chimney stacks dotted around the garden. i push a wooden stake into the ground so the pot sits on this and just clears the top .this way the pot dosn't get 'jammed' onto the stack..........steve

For a more permanent planting that relies on foliage colour rather than flowers, I have two pots on pedestals planted with phormium 'Platts Black' (a dwarf variety) in the middle and the golden form of creeping jenny hanging down the sides

I have several chimney pots - some short and one tall one. I do exactly what Cheryl suggests and keep (empty) flower pots aside which fit in the top of the chimnies, ready to be planted up. I do change the pots each season. Sometimes I have the 'replacement' pot already planted up so that the previous 'finished' one can just be changed quickly with a fresh planted pot. There are lots of trailing plants that keep the flowering ones company and flow nicely over the edge, the ones that you'd buy for hanging baskets. Dwarf bulbs are in mine as well as the top plants at the moment.

What ever you choose in the end the plant could need 'potting on' and it my be difficult to get it out due to the hight of the stack, I would find an ordinary plant pot just the right size to fit inside the stack and sit neatly on the top maybe and then you could change the contents according to the seasons. Regards Cheryl

The classic plants are things that trail over the sides like ivy or nasturtiums. Then whatever ypu like to go with them. You pays your money and takes your choice I suppose.

John.

Just remember that the plant grows from the stem not from the tubers, they are only storage organs and have no growth points on them.

Adding to what Drbob says, that's the way I've been taught. I wouldn't doubt that Inverglen's method works too. There are no clear cut answers in gardening.

The one thing I would add is that a VERY sharp knife is useful.

John.

I am sure the first answer is the best advice. For years I have wrapped mine in newspaper put them in a closed cardboard box and stored them in the garage and they have always been fine. I take them out when frosts have finished in the spring. You can plant it again like this or divide if you want to.

Leave as they are now, store in a box of dry peat, in the dark in a frost free store.
Bring out in March, take the peat off the top and water. When the shoots start to grow, divide up where you can.

This is a good idea as any seeds in the manure will germinate by the spring before you dig it in.
The high Nitrogen quantities will be reduced and the remaining quality will be oxidized by the changing temperatures in the weather, giving a well balanced medium in which to plant your plants.

Hi Googie glad you like being with us all. also find members of GOY are so helpful, and caring folks, if GOYwas to finish for some reason or other i'd really miss everyone.

Hi Googie - we are all learning all the time and it's such a friendly site that I know someone will try to help on any queries or problems that I have. I enjoy discovering a new plant that I've never heard of before. As you say, you don't always find someone in a GC to help you - so ask away! Someone will know! I'm glad you are re-discovering your love for gardening, too. :-)

I'm glad you've been encouraged and helped. I think one of the main benefits of GOY is the feel of community and support thst sll the members give freely to each other.

Hi Googie, welcome to GOY, you will always find someone to help out with your queries, some members are also NGS Yellow Book standard, so plenty of experienced gardeners! Welcome!

I use my chicken manure pellets when I plant anything - mixed in with my compost. I don't put it in the compost bin, but do add a layer of horse manure in there occasionally.

Hello.
With compost it's important to get the mix of "greens" - eg cut grass, kitchen peelings and "browns" eg cardboard, small/shredded wood fairly balanced to aid faster decomposing.
I have found that the local council gives out leaflets on this which are very helpful.
Also, covering the heap with a cut-to-size piece of old carpet is good, it keeps in the heat.
Not sure I'd go down the chicken manure route, but who knows?

I found Growmore compost activator helpful and I believe chicken manure is good too - yes, it should speed up the process.

Hydrangea macrophylla do not normally need any pruning other than to remove the old flower heads as suggested.
Hydrangea paniculata may be cut back to a few inches above ground in February.
Ditto H. arborescens.
All the others need no pruning except to remove dead branches and old flower heads.

Leave until the spring, cutting back anytime before April promotes growth which will get frosted in the winter.
The only thing I would do is to clean out the old leaves from the shrub, leaving old flower heads on (when you have some) this protects the undeveloped flower heads for next year.

Did you prune them and then tie in the new growth horizontally? This stimulates the rose to produce new shoots which then flower. Hope this helps with next year's flowers!