The Scottish Gardeners thread

laurals11

85 year old friend whose father was among the group that eventually became The Soil Association says don't water unless in containers or root space is otherwise restricted. Plant roots will go looking deeper into soil for moisture and you get stronger plants

cooking-mama

laurals11 wrote: »

85 year old friend whose father was among the group that eventually became The Soil Association says don't water unless in containers or root space is otherwise restricted. Plant roots will go looking deeper into soil for moisture and you get stronger plants

Thanks Laurals,but all my veggies are either in pots or raised bed.soil is looking a bit dry on top,but il hold off for now.

skelly01

I have too water my soil although really fertile is like the gobi desert.

laurals11

What's your soil like when you dig down 2 spade depths skelly?
If it's dry that deep down it needs more humus to hold moisture.

When digging over in Autumn double dig it and add compost/leaf mould/cardboard (any or all of these) into the trench as you go or if you can't manage double digging just cover with cardboard, place a layer of compost from your composting bin on top and leave for weather, worms & wind to work on over winter. You may need to put something on corners of cardboard to weigh it down if you haven't got a lot of compost to put on top. Dig what is left on top into soil before you plant in spring.

If you have lawn mowings they can be used for this too.Seal tightly in black bin bag... sit on it or get kids to:rotfl: excluding as much air as you can... and leave to break down in a cool place. Just watch for first week or so that it doesn't get too hot..open for a while to let it cool..the plastic bag can melt!

You can also plant through cardboard with layer of compost on top but you might not like look of that. We have peas and beans planted like that this year as we were unable to do it in autumn.It also suppresses weeds

laurals11

If they are in containers..water them..

skelly01

Tons of organic matter dug in when we moved in in October2008. Also add the contents of the compost bins.
It gets a weee bit moister when you go really deep.
I think it has got something to do with it being a new development, I know that may sound silly but when you think about it they dig down for miles and move soil around etc.
As I said I have no problems growing anything and the soil is really fertile and good, I just need to water a fair bit. there are loads of worms in it etc.
I planted my cauliflowers and cabbages last night, sprouts and broccoli tonight. If my back can take it any longer !!!!

cooking-mama

nearly all my onion "stalks" have bent and folded over this morning....Ive planted 6 white and 6 red bulbs in troughs,they were looking good until this morning...Also,when growing onion from bulbs,how do you know when they are ready??

skelly01

Hi cooking - The green stalk basically dies back meaning its time to lift them.
Some of mine bent last year and didn't really recover so fingers crossed for you.

laurals11

Hailstones here glad I put fleece on peas earlier

Hi skelly , builders today use whatever soil they can get cheap for top layer..not topsoil like in the days of old, so it'll probably take time for your plot to mature.
Will be speaking to my old guru tonight so will ask about soil. His Dad turned an old neglected estate in borders into a productive holding using "organic methods". Has some amazing photos ..hoping they are going to be in next book. Soil Association is involved with the project.

wssla00

Hello all hope all of your gardening antics are going well.... well it seems my rhubarb is *touch wood* getting over whatever it is that is eating the leaves. Also, my gooseberries are growing bigger and bigger and the strawberries are coming along nicely.

Loads happening at the moment, but thank goodness the rain came today to help me water the plants! Hopefully I will be able to eat some of the lovely fruits in the garden. Already next year I have things planned- I have decided that the only pots I am gonna do are jersey royals and then concentrate on specialist fruit and veg- so the expensive stuff. I may even get a couple of blueberry bushes to complement the other bushes I already have. Then things such as spring onions, lettuce and spinach as I use those all the time.

Hopefully it will be a bit more organised than this year...!