Tussiemussie's Outbox

AG Magazine, now I RECCOMEND OTHERS HERE FROM OTHER SITES - WITH CONFIDENCE.

AG mag - now I recommeng it to others with confidence.

Here is a link to RHS on deadheading

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0700/deadheading.asp

should cover whatever you haave in mind

Thank you BuffrIddler, I will give it a try, a late frost blackened all it's first leaves early spring, but it sprouted again and seems intent on making up for lost time.now.

Apicture here -
http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/1265-greenhouse-f1-female-cucumbers/member/Tussiemussie

They can be grown in greenhouse or outside, all female flowers or male/female, prickly or smooth long, or short which produce earlier. They are heavy feeders, I have some in the greenhouse, some outdoors some on top of a completed compost heap, that are doing well. Stagger planting or you will have a glut then nothing.
If you let them grow up a cane cut the leader when it reaches the top, then put the cutting in water and it will root in a few days, making another identical to parent plant. You can use that technique with strong tomato sideshoots too to make new plants.

Any early crops can go in they are early cos they are quick maturing, french beans, early peas,( but not in the same place, rotate), spinach, if you are lucky it will overwinter and sprout in spring, mooli, spring greens, salad crops oriental greens/brocoli

Best non chemical protection is envirofleece , but you may need more than one to cover them as they grow tall., you have been visited by cabbage white butterflies, look underneath the leaves and rub off any eggs and pick off caterpillars, they will sprout again if you leave them, long growth period.The butterflies also like nasturtium, next year plant under fleece and if you plant some nasturtium they will be attracted to those instead. A pond would encourage predators like frogs.

Peg the runners into wet compost and sever as soon as they root then it won't drain the parent plant I bought three Pandora strawberry plants and am making loads of new plants from runners, once rooted I will have them in rows
and I generally mulch round the rows early spring with a bag of manure old well rotted, not fresh and hot, or I use compost.Keep them well fed each year and you will get bowlfuls of lovely strawbs. Straw around the plants helps to keep the fruit clean. Plants need replacing about every 3 years, planting in a different spot to avoid virus problems
I plant a few runners in thegreenhouse for an early treat..

Also comfrey leaves can be used this way,there are two kinds one can be invasive but ok if contained.
Butterflies lay their eggs on nettles if you like pretty butterflies in your garden don't cut them till the caterpillars have finnished with them.

Wow, sounds like quite a storm Marguerite. I do remember that great storm Spritz it was a hot wind blowing off the sea and one boat was blown right up our street damaging cars and the roof of a penthouse flat was blown away into the local park

Thank you Wohlibuli and Marguerite, Yes i compost most of mine, and the worms invade the compost, but I do bury the fish, that can get maggotty if it goes in the compost. Fortunately my dog hasn't tried digging it up........... yet!!!!!

Don't despair leave it, mulch it, see it has adequate water and it may sprout again.

Wondering if it is self fertile, apples need a pollinator, not sure about lemon varieties. I bought one from a nursery and it produced flowers and fruit in the first year, even though something found the leaves tasty.lol

The jet stream has moved and is above us bringing in a lot of cloud formed elsewhere by warming. The cloud is blocking the heat. If we don't want worse than this then we need to cut our emissions by about 60%. When the sun does finally shine we will probably wish we had the cooling effect of the cloud. LOL I love all my grandchildren and want them to inherit a world worth living in. Here is a great link to help us cut emissions

http://www.biggreenswitch.co.uk/

Looks like a cane fruit of some sort, the growth it makes this year will fruit next year, the canes can get very long. Train them where you want them the leaves drop then sprout again in spring, if you cut them down again this autumn you will sacrifice next years fruit, In spring mulch with compost and keep well watered and you will have lots of lovely soft fruit next year. It could be a tayberry or a cultivated blackberry, loganberries are thornless. To make new plants pin down the tip of the cane on the soil and it will root

Irish, Spritz and Peter, thank you for the good wishes.

I grew this before in another garden, a pergola is ideal as the flowers come under the leaves and the bees will be able to pollinate them more easily, you can have five or six female plants to one male plant, have you got both as both are needed for pollination, in UK mine fruited just before christmas and it softened indoors just in time for christmas. I have also just planted the smaller leaved self fertile variety that is making rapid growth after recovering from losing all it's leaves to a late frost.
I am planting one male and two female Kiwi plants this year over a large arch.
Do you know if and when to prune?

I am growing some of these this year, + sun gold and other red ones, we have had a lot of cloud and rain they are nearly all still green except the early cherry toms

It all looks wonderful, are you using heritage seeds?

Organic tomatoes and non fat dry milk

What does one do with the non fat dry milk? Love the lack of uniformity in the organic ones, and the flavour is usually far more interesting than supermarket clones. lol.

Better to rotate crops or you might get a build up of pests disease You could grow potatoes in a large bin if you have no other space, plant near the bottom and keep earthing up. Remember to feed plants.( Comfrey liquid, did better than chemical fertiliser in trials and once you have the plants it costs nothing.)

A few suggestions, aphids carry things like mildew and viruses. Is the plant waterlogged or too dry? liquify some garlic and wash tree this will deter aphids, check for ants they farm aphids. Compost mulch the tree to build up it's strength, even if all the leaves die it might shoot leaves again next year.Good luck.

Some need an acid soil eg blueberries, all need feeding mulch with compost in autumn, and see they have enough water in drought conditions,especially just after planting mulching helps conserve moisture. Some fruit on new wood some on old so check this before pruning.
Cane fruit, takes very little ground space and can be grown against a fence eg loganberries, and cultivated blackberries, they need sun to sweeten, but looganberries will grow in part shade, thornless varieties are easier on the hands.If you are not in a hurry only buy one plant the tips of the new canes root to make new plants very easily if pegged to the ground or inserted into a pot of compost. Canes that grow this year fruit the following year, cut canes to the ground after fruiting and they will shoot new canes each year from the base.
Before planting bushes check how much space they need, jostaberries can put on a lot of growth some other fruits are more compact.
I'm growing passionfruit and early strawberries and cape gooseberries in the greenhouse, and melons too.
If your garden is small make sure fruit trees come on dwarfing rootstock, they are easier to pick. If space is limited buy a triple variety of apple, three varieties grafted on to one tree.
Try to pick fruit that harvest at different times
you don't want it all cropping at the same time. Rhubarb comes first then early strawberries then early raspberries . blackcurrants and cane friuit
Trees cherries, plums, pears, apples.vine Kiwi and bush cape gooseberries make a good late crop, I have picked them late and had fruit at Xmas.
Keep freezer space empty or get some kilner / jam jars, or purchase a drying machine, to store any glut of fruit.

Your blog reminded me of this poem

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

Written on a stone tablet found in my garden
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952

Hi Spritz , Caring for Mum is hard work now.also the wet weather has made everything in the garden shoot including the weeds!

Have patience with organic methods it takes time for nature to strike a balance. Composting, manuring will improve the soil structure and provide nutrients for strong plants.
Garlic liquidised and sprayed on the plants does deter blackfly and greenfly
companion planting helps deter pests too.
If you have a nettle patch near you soak till leaves are liquid in a big bucket and hey presto - free fertiliser.
grow comfrey and it can be used in the same way, be careful not to get the invasive type.

There is a new disease affecting leyandii leaving it in might affect the others if it is diseased rather than lack of light.

I guess a compost heap does generate some heat but not as much as fresh manure and soil under cover, as in the link,
Some pumpkin seeds sprouted early on my compost heap, I covered them with a glass bell but that last snowfall killed them off. Spring has been like a yo yo this year, now you see it now you don't!!!!!

Hi Buzzbee.What a hoot that was mean't to be hotbed ! The link in my blog was what inspired me, but it sounds a bit complex to do it right.Apparently it needs fresh horse manure and needs to be turned to avoid hotspots.

Looks like you are not going to need my offer, I hope we have a good summer, too much rain last year