Is it worth it?

Muffin99

R thank you Megansmum for your kind words

Pleased to hear about everything! Well everything except that vine weevil! Hope you don't get anymore! You did soooo well picking up a medium size spider, that's amazing!

I had a wasp encounter today too. A wierd long thin more black than yellow one! I think you'll be pleased to hear that after the initial oh-hell-wasp! reaction I thought of you on here and turned back from my escape! I had to - our little dog was snapping at it and I had to save him from being stung in the mouth! At first I thought I'd call him away from it and call for someone else to come help! But I decided to deal with it myself! :j The jam jar method crossed my mind, but I just couldn't face it especially soon as it was already aggrivated by the dog snapping at it! But I did go near it to unlock the other door so it flew out!

All the best with clearing all the weeds, hope you don't need too many of those ibu! Might it be possible to ask someone for the lend of a rotavator?

Not sure about the tomato. Is it vine or bush?

SAMHP_2

You don't need to kill creepy-crawlies - simply relocate them! Get a compost bin and put your ants in there (just shovel up the soil they're in and transplant them in a bucket) - they will do good works aerating your compost - look on them as helpful friends rather than mortal enemies!
SAM

Lotus-eater

Megansmum wrote: »

Sat in in-laws garden and was surrounded by something that looks like a thin wasp but just hovers! Don't know what they were but chuffed I ignored them.

That's a hoverfly, excellent for your garden, a real all round good guy.

ixwood

Hoverflys are lovely little creatures. They've totally harmless, but mimic bees and wasps to ward off predators. There's loads of species, all mimicing different bee/wasps. They like yellow open flowers. The larvae eat aphids, so plantig flowers near your crops encourages them to lay there.

ixwood

Muffin, it might possibly be a bit early, but I think that'll probably be them hunting flying insects. The larvae live exclusively off insects and the adults live off a sweet by-product the larvae produce. Before then, they look for wood they can chew up and build the nest out of.

They'll have no interest in you. Dragon and Damsel flies have the same hover around style when they're hunting too.

ixwood

Well done both with your insect antics. Keep it going!

Muffin99

Thank you Ixwood - your knowledge sharing is empowering!

Megansmum

Well, i'm not happy with my garden ants! They have decided to live in my strawberry pots! :mad:

I planted out my dwarf cherry tree today and my giant blueberry bush, but I am disgusted with what builders chuck in your soil before they grass it over! I was constantly hitting bricks and glass. :mad:

Went to the allotment today. Dug out for the mini shed i have been given - to keep my tools in - and laid the slabs. Dug out a small plot - i think i'll put the 14 seed potatoes the f.i.l gave me in there. The ones i sowed in rubble sacks in the garden are showing now just a bit, through the soil - i was so excited to see them!:D

Minor setback on the phobia thing - at the allotment - heard a buzzing very near, dropped the slab i was holding and legged it! Hubby not happy - it nearly landed on his foot!:o It was an automatic response!!!!!!! Lol.:rolleyes:

Been holding worms and spiders, I love getting my hands dirty in the soil!

My "forced through" brussels are losing the battle:sad: I will plant some straight into the allotment when the next bit is dug and ready. The cucs are doing okay though. Onions are doing well as too are the toms and the sweetcorn- so for my first time EVER growing ANYTHING ...... I'M PRETTY CHUFFED!! :D :j:j:j
HAPPY GROWING ALL. :grouphug:

ixwood

Ants can be a pain. Was the pot dry? They usually like a dry nest. If so, give it a good water and they should move out. That'd would also mean that it was too dry for your Strawberries. Pots dry out quick (one of their disadvantages) and really need watering every day in hot dry weather.

You can buy "Self Watering" pots with a water reservoir built in, but I just get cheap plastic planters without the drainage holes pre-drilled, drill the the holes on the side an inch or 2 up and then fill the bottom with gravel. That creates a reservoir of water at the bottom the plants can dip their roots into, but doesn't let the soil get waterlogged.

Just to warn you, the ants will probably establish aphid colonies on your new plants. They/their aphids seem to like young trees. I rub some vaseline round the trunk to form a barrier and make sure nothing else is touching the tree and breaching the ant exclusion zone.

Well done on the spiders and soil. That's brill. Sounds like you're doing well with the growing too.

To take the battle to your phobia, how about sowing a wildflower area for bees and oither inscets. They're very pretty, low maintenance and brilliant for wildlife and your plot (attracting all the benefical insects). I bet Megan would love it! You can even sow into a window box or planter.

ixwood

Yeah, builders do that. Before the develop a site, they strip and sell the top soil, build the houses using the garden areas as a dump and then cover over it all with some low quality cheap soil and turf.