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Grow house for wintering plants
I'm starting to think about wintering plants differently this year. We don't have room for a full green house, and last year I wintered the majority of my potted plants in the conservatory. There were a couple of issues with that; 1) making sure the cats never snuck in behind us and 2) several plants seemed to bloom…
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Bottom filling planter
Hello everyone, I have dug up some of my lawn in order to lay a path. My question is: can I break up the redundant sections to bottom half fill a large deep trough planter; and then top half fill with compost? Or will my new plants die and I’m left with a planter of newly growing grass? Thanks and best wishes.
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Neighbour's ivy and conifer has destroyed our fence
Hi everyone. I'm not sure if this is in the right topic area (please advise me where else I can post if not). Our alcoholic neighbour's wife left him a few years ago. Since she's been gone, he has done very little to maintain his property and his lack of effort is plain to see. He hasn't been pruning anything in his garden…
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Keeping pesky wasps at bay
I think this is the best forum. I live in an an area where there are loads of flowers, and trees and plenty of places for wasps to make their nests. I don’t think, however, I have one in my own home but possibly near by. That said, go outside into the patio for afternoon tea with friends or family and the wasps make an…
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Will my privet cuttings make it?
Hi all, I've tried to propagate some privet cuttings as a little project to replace a bit of dead hedge. I used milk containers gave the cuttings about 6-8 weeks in a closed environment. I'm left with the following, I reckon there are maybe 5 thriving cuttings, 5 maybes and 3 no hopers. Ive been giving them limited…
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Tomatoes going wrong - again!
As per most years for the last few years - I've bought a few tomato plants locally that were sitting there outside a plant nursery or the like (in other words = good to go immediately, ie plant outside in the garden right that day and with no protection). I've got various different varieties each time. This year - I had…
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Wanting to clear land for planting
Hi And thanks for reading.Have an acre of land which is totally overgrown with weeds, grasses etc and want to clear it in the hope of growing my own stuff and becoming more self sufficient.Can you advise on anything which will quickly clear the land, down to the roots, something i can spray on or apply with a watering can,…
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Top Soil & Soil Conditioner
I'm in the process of removing 3 conifer stumps, 1 down to to go, in their place i want to plant some shrubs, flowers etc. Just along from this section of the border i removed 2 stumps last year and the stuff i planted has come pretty well this year. About 6 - 8 inches down i came across what seems to be old slag type…
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Thousands of tiny flies in lawn
After cutting the lawn this afternoon - I noticed thousands of tiny green/white flies in the grassWhat are they, are they causing any harm to the grass and how do I get rid of them ?
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Two stroke oil vs engine oil
I have tried to use a mixture of engine oil and petrol(40/1) in a Qualcast strimmer. It started up for a few seconds then went off. This is not uncommon.I will give it another pull shortly. Having said that, I am thinking that I will need to mix some more solution, using two stroke oil.Your thoughts please.
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I return the refund I got for 'dead' plants I revived?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... I ordered plants online from a small company during lockdown and they arrived two weeks late looking almost dead, so I asked for a refund and got it. I put the plants in the garden anyway, in the hope I might revive them - and now they're thriving. Should I contact the…
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Slug pellets outside my home.
Hi all just need a little bit of advice. My neighbour has only in the past couple of days decided to put blue what I presume slug pellets on the public pavement outside my house I think it's him as he's put it on his path too. Having done a little research I've noticed they are banned as they're bad for wildlife along with…
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Will deep mulch cause rot?
I hate weeds and more so I hate weeding. I Have pulled up the black plastic sheeting this summer, after 2 years, to reveal a beautiful blank canvas all those dandy-lions are completely gone in what was supposed to be a lawn. Not using it for a new lawn but are planting it up with whatever we can find, lavender, rosemary,…
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Recommendations for Fast Growing Plant
I have a large(ish) apple tree at the far end of my garden. When we moved into the property last year, the garden was bordered with trees which had either died or had become unwieldly, so we removed all of the dead/dangerous ones which left this apple tree. Now, it does look pretty in the spring with the lovely blossoms…
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Eco balls
We have purchased these for the first time. I have done four washes so far. First three washes were clean and washed well. The fourth wash had my cycling gear which was plastered up the back in mud and very sweaty. I was really pleased and surprised at how clean the wash cam out. Be interesting to see how long the balls…
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Ideas for back yard / potted climbers
Before I go looking for a dedicated gardening forum (any recommendations welcome), I thought it would be good to give MSE a try, especially as I'm hoping to limit my budget. Inspired by some photos I saw on a local Facebook page, I've decided to try and re-work my small, east facing back yard. It's completely flagged, so…
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Alternative Weedkiller
Any suggestions for making an acid based weedkiller? I found One-shot drain cleaner worked well but it melted the spray bottle I was using to apply it. Perhaps too strong, any weaker but effective acids that might do the job?
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Beginner seeking help with fuchsia
Real beginner here. I’ve just bought and planted some hardy fuchsia riccartonii. I know they need regular watering. Should I be pinching out? Some of the branches are trailing near the ground, should I cut them back? Should I tie up one of the branches to encourage some height?
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Blackberry harvest
How are everyone's blackberry harvests going? I live in east england and it was exceptionally dry in spring. I kept up watering my mature blackberry (approx 12 years) but there wasn't as much new growth as I usually get. Usually I take all the dead leaves and wood out late winter and it goes from bare bones to an explosion…
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Plant ID...
... but without a photo! Sorry but I didn't have any means to take one at the time. This was in a town display trough among lots of flowering annuals and presumably intended to add height and interest. Looked for all the world like a junior version of Greater Reed Mace, complete with the brown poker-like seed heads. Also…
