'Grow Your Own' info cards to download- veg, frui...

[just thrifty]

With so many of us having applied for the seeds from the BBC Dig In thread and other links, these downloadable info cards are a great idea (especially for novices like me!)


http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/grow...wing_cards.php

Link to all the cards including the veg: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/grow.../all_cards.php

Handy, quick-reference Growing Instruction Cards - all the information you need to start growing your own veg, fruit, herbs, edible flowers and green manures.

Another link to download group/family gardening activities & games: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/grow...activities.php

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[Pip26]

Ha! - just what I need .... seeds (hopefully!) are on the way and now I'll know what to do with them.

There is loads on here!!!!!!!! and I've always loved the idea of edible flowers.

Thanks for this!

(Wonder where [or what!!] green manure comes from?)

[kevanf1]

Originally Posted by Pip26

(Wonder where [or what!!] green manure comes from?)

It's not as horrible as it sounds Green manure is plant material, often but not only comfrey, that has been put into a container and topped up with water then left for about 12 months to rot down. Comfrey stinks to high heaven but it is a very, very good liquid plant feed and free. You can also use ordinary grass clippings or, as I do, when I dig up invasive roots such as vetch otherwise known as couch grass they go into the pot rather than be burnt. You are best off keeping all light out of the container if you use roots. At the end of the 12 months you should be left with a lovely 'tea' for your plants that is full of nutrients.

Hope this answers your question.

Take care.

Kevan

[aandpsclare]

I don't know about the growing info cards but I do know that you can often find gardening books in Charity Shops at very low prices.
Athough I am a novice gardener I have learnt a few things since I retired from payed work:
Aways open your seed packages carefully, cleanly and with dry fingers and in a dry environment. Try to sow your seeds evenly and sparsley, perhapes mixing your seeds with some dry course sand. Water the area before sowing as watering after often washes the seeds away from where you wanted them to grow. Re-seal the seeds as tightly as you can and always store them in a dark cool place best places are in the fridge or freezer, but again kept dry.
Finally: I agree totally on the benefits of Comfrey however the instructions I have read advise that it is only neccassary to ferment for 6 or 7 weeks. Also at a question & answer session with several BBC Gardeners Question Time experts I was advised not to bother using liquid Comfrey fertilsed left over from the previous year as its and benefits are reduced with time, this applies to all forms of nutrients in both liquids and solids i.e. bagged fertilisers and composts. However I started a Comfrey brew last September and have been unable to transfer to old milk containers for subsequent usage. I intend to bottle this very late bre this spring and await the results.

[kevanf1]

There is a very good bargain at the moment in WH Smith. Alan Titchmarsh's book 'The Kitchen Gardener' by BBC Books is down in price from £20 to just £6. I bought this last week in my local branch at Wolverhampton. I imagine it will be a nationwide offer. It is a very good book full of information about many vegetables and actually goes into more detail with a wider variety than many other books I have seen.

[kevanf1]

Originally Posted by aandpsclare

Try to sow your seeds evenly and sparsley, perhapes mixing your seeds with some dry course sand. Water the area before sowing as watering after often washes the seeds away from where you wanted them to grow. Re-seal the seeds as tightly as you can and always store them in a dark cool place best places are in the fridge or freezer, but again kept dry.

I keep mine in an air tight cheese cracker box. It's not a metal one but plastic so it snaps shut tightly. Try a good sandwich box. I'm not so sure about keeping seeds in the freezer though as some do say to keep out of frosty areas. Too much cold can put seeds into a permanent dormant state. Check the packet though as all seeds are different. Just to be awkward there are some plants seeds that need to be frosted or 'stratified' to give it the proper term before they will germinate. I've never come across this with purchased seeds though. A tip for picking up individual seeds is to use a small paintbrush with the end very, very lightly moistened. You'll be able to pick up the seeds one at a time this way.

Originally Posted by aandpsclare

Finally: I agree totally on the benefits of Comfrey however the instructions I have read advise that it is only neccassary to ferment for 6 or 7 weeks. Also at a question & answer session with several BBC Gardeners Question Time experts I was advised not to bother using liquid Comfrey fertilsed left over from the previous year as its and benefits are reduced with time, this applies to all forms of nutrients in both liquids and solids i.e. bagged fertilisers and composts. However I started a Comfrey brew last September and have been unable to transfer to old milk containers for subsequent usage. I intend to bottle this very late bre this spring and await the results.

Hmm, who am I to argue with the experts though, it is the first time I've heard of the 'brew' being used that soon after it has been mixed. When I use dug up roots it takes around 12 months for them to properly rot down in the water. It could depend on the PH of the water I suppose?

Take care.

Kevan