Tussiemussie's Outbox

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

There is an old garden quote - One years seeding, seven years weeding, if the allotment had been neglected before you.there will be a lot of seeds in the ground, invest in a good stainless steel sharp hoe easiest way to get rid of the weeds between rows, also if you hoe before a sharp frost you will kill off snails eggs and similar pests exposed to the frosts.

If you are growing vegetables I would dig out paths and put the extra soil in raised beds, lay bark on the paths and you won't be squelching between beds. Raising the beds will help the drainage problem.
If you start a compost bin or two with all your kitchen waste weeds etc
use it to mulch the soil in late winter and the worms will dig it in.
My son got me a nice tiller machine from Liddles, It was just under £40, that might save some back breaking work and help break down the clay. Once you have the soil in good condition, keep mulching with compost and it will retain nutrients better than a sandy soil.

I had the same problem with cabbage white butterfly, this year I am covering them with fine enviromesh which I bought in an organic garden centre, that should solve the problem, it looks quite strong and should last from year to year. Can you let me know how the marshmellow cropped
and if the flavour and texture was good please, are they a new variety?

Spring is in the air and now they are fanning out their tail feathers
preening and twitching their wings, sort of a courtship thing though there
is no drake. LOL

Wide-mouthed frog
croaker
Hoppity
Swampy

It is early for most things but I have planted early peas which are just showing, and garlic and shallots and plan to plant some things in the greenhouse ready to plant out when the ground warms. Also remember some things can be planted in autumn this year to give you an early start next spring eg broad beans, onions etc. If you plant some purple sprouting broccoli this spring it takes 10 months to mature but it fills the lean gap now when not much else is available, and I am still picking leeks which went in last spring too.

Beer traps work , also there is now an organic snail slug pellet. If you build a wildlife pond it will attract frogs, they have quite an appetite for them. Keep ducks they love eating them! Hoe just before a frost and it exposes / kills their eggs. Lay some plastic guttering upside down they will collect underneath this making collection easy Use crushed eggshells as a barrier round tender plants. Nematodes watered on seems to work but is expensive especially for large areas Don't throw them over the hedge they have a homing instinct! LOL

Yes they do wag their little tails and they are such cute characters, I'm not surprised you have fond memories. Smiles.

If you can tease the roots apart without breaking them that's a good idea, if my memory serves me right I think they are acid loving plants and need an ericaceous compost when you transplant them.

Just a suggestion if you have itchy green fingers and outside is still inhospitable try sprouting seeds indoors, really nutritious. afalfa tastes of peas, mung is good in stir fries, peas sprout sweet and tender, and there are many more.to try.

http://www.primalseeds.org/sprouting.htm

Hi Raquel, even those of us with larger gardens use containers too, I have blueberries in containers to give them an acid soil and a lemon tree so that I can bring it insde in the winter, I used the first two lemons this week. If you have sunny balcony you could try some fruit, a strawberry stack perhaps, or might others be tempted? LOL. Welcome and enjoy the site.

. Sorry to hear about your bad day Spritz. My partner is a city fella and death to my plants, he burnt my climbing roses that were to act as a screen by lighting a bonfire too close, let the chickens out and they ate my clematis, even a lovely full bin of black gold - compost was not safe, he used it to fill a hole in our admittedly uneven garden, before siting the new compost bins he made over it LOL Good job I love him!

Hi David, sorry, no I haven't emigrated, the wild mallo only grow about 18 inches by the way, not like the nursery mallows.

Lori, the only snow we had was like a light sifting of icing sugar. Have fun planning with the catalogues.

Perhaps if you live in UK East Sussex, not sure what a bumble bees range is!!!!!

Like Spritz I find this site helps my record keeping, my garden feature holds a lot of information that I will add to and refer to next year, reading the blogs and questions is fun and it's so friendly, fun to give and get help
The new seed exchange looks promising too. Love all the wonderful photos, nice to see and it gives me inspiratin for my garden..

Love these, quite shy, they come to my garden too, usually early am.

Pleased it was helpful

If you can reach into the beds to weed the centre that's fine, treading heavily compacts the soil, use a board to spread weight if you have to
walk on it. Clay can be heavy, add plenty of organic matter eg compost,
manure, and leaf mould etc then the worms will work it for you.

What a stunning magnolia.

Thank you, for all the hard work you put into this site.

Some cold weather forcast for next week, hopefully will put a stop on caterpillars.

Thank you Ajay

Hi Casper, Easy peasy, just plant seed on edge in all purpose compost in a pot,
plant out in a rich soil manured the previous autumn after all danger of a frost has passed, if in doubt cover with a cloche or goldfish bowl at night!
They need space to ramble and will tolerate shade quite well. Protect from slugs and snails.while young and tender, they are sluglicious. lol

Thank you Dibber for that tip, they are particularly hard to peel. grins