The potting shed

hazeyj

pickledtink wrote:

Spray the !!!!!!s. I don't usually bother with the organic route on non edibles but in this case it's so inexpensive to use the home made organic answer. It works and it's very cheap too.
Mix 9 parts water to 1 part handwash liquid soap ( not washing up liquid. That damages the plant). Put in a spray bottle and spray generously all over them. Get them all. Do it in the morning if possible. It's not rocket science but it really works. The soap bit sort of clogs them up and kills them. Costs zilch compared to buying those spray things for about £3.00 each!

Thanks!! Just getting my first flowers on my morning glories...is this ususal?

Will check my PM's:beer:

Lord_Gardener

hazeyj wrote:

You mention black fly above...my clematis are covered in these tiny little black things. Can I get rid of them?

Short term, if you don't what to go the insecticide spray route a good spray/flow of just water will remove many of them. For those which are more firmly attached use a good quality 'washing up liquid' such as Fairy - a blend of surfactants - at one teaspoon (5ml) per a couple of Litres of water. Spraying with the washing up liquid solution improves the wetting on the plants and as the surfactant has a greater affinity for the surface than the blackfly the latter will lose its grip and drop off! NB Solutions at this strength will not damage your plant and are very successful. The only soap I would recommend to use would be an insecticidal type - usually potassium based and designed for killing soft bodied insects such as aphids (black fly) - for areas where you can't spray - use fingers!. NB Some plants can't take this soap so check the label. These type of products work by washing away the insects protective coating allowing the soap to break down the insects cell structure and kill them!

Long term, plant some Marigolds! These will attract Hoverflys which love them - their favourite food! The Hoverfly will then lay her eggs on the adjacent black fly colonies and the hatching larvae will decimate your blackfly! Once this process is set up you'll see a huge difference! NB Don't forget your Ladybirds too!

pickledtink

MaureenHB wrote:

The drip system consists of a set of thin black tubing and some drippers, bought as a kit from a garden centre for about £11, i thought it was expensive at the time but it is set up from a water butt in the greenhouse and has given easy watering all through the summer fr tomatoes, peppers, chillies, salad, ooh lotsa stuff! I am going to try some kale I think for winter greens.. any recommendations as to best one?

I'd go for Cavola Nero. Tuscan black cabbage. It's delicious and very hardy. It's very fashionable in all the swanky London restaurants. I used to sell it in my shop and it was really popular. Packed with goodness too. reminds me actually I must get some seeds and get it in.

foxybabe

Hi folks, you all seem to know your gardening so hopefully you will be able to help. I would like to have a go at growing some veg but havent got anywhere in the garden to grow anything. Is it possible to grow veg in containers? If so, how big do they need to be and what compost would i need? Also what needs putting in and when? As you see I am a complete novice at this but would love to have a go. There are some allottments near us too but I think this would be a bit too much to take on. What do you guys think?

thanks in advance mandy

Lord_Gardener

Benidormqueen wrote:

{quote} pickledtink
Thanks,
Also got Geraniums & Lobelia and a few Lavender shurbs,
Just been mowing my beautiful lawns while weathers fine, been having a good look around my boarders my passion flowers got fruit on for thefirst time,got ever so giddy when i saw them,:D also got a few frogs hoppingaround.( what shoud I put in for some winter colour )any tips please!!!

For a quick splash of colour pop in some Winter Flowering Pansies and some Wallflowers - these will go on and on and on and .... Make sure to put in plenty of bulbs including Crocuses and Snowdrops!

Pink.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder that Martin has asked us not to exchange things via MSE. Please see here for more details.

On the Old Style board some members asked about seed exchange, the team said it was not permitted on the forum so some users set up a group not connected to MSE and as far as I know it has been successful. Here's the thread with more details: Could we have a Seed Exchange??

Pink

hazeyj

Lord_Gardener wrote:

Short term, if you don't what to go the insecticide spray route a good spray/flow of just water will remove many of them. For those which are more firmly attached use a good quality 'washing up liquid' such as Fairy - a blend of surfactants - at one teaspoon (5ml) per a couple of Litres of water. Spraying with the washing up liquid solution improves the wetting on the plants and as the surfactant has a greater affinity for the surface than the blackfly the latter will lose its grip and drop off! NB Solutions at this strength will not damage your plant and are very successful. The only soap I would recommend to use would be an insecticidal type - usually potassium based and designed for killing soft bodied insects such as aphids (black fly) - for areas where you can't spray - use fingers!. NB Some plants can't take this soap so check the label. These type of products work by washing away the insects protective coating allowing the soap to break down the insects cell structure and kill them!

Long term, plant some Marigolds! These will attract Hoverflys which love them - their favourite food! The Hoverfly will then lay her eggs on the adjacent black fly colonies and the hatching larvae will decimate your blackfly! Once this process is set up you'll see a huge difference! NB Don't forget your Ladybirds too!

Thank you very very much. Your all stars! Will try marigolds too.

hazeyj

Pink-winged wrote:

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder that Martin has asked us not to exchange things via MSE. Please see here for more details.

On the Old Style board some members asked about seed exchange, the team said it was not permitted on the forum so some users set up a group not connected to MSE and as far as I know it has been successful. Here's the thread with more details: Could we have a Seed Exchange??

Pink

duly noted.

lalapalooza

Jakes Gran - if you have peppers but noone likes them, and lots of tomatoes, what I do is cut the tomatoes in half drizzle with oil and pop in the oven on a baking tray for about an hour on gas 4/ elec 150. Then pop into blender when cooled with a couple of raw deseeded peppers and blend - fantastic pasta sauce! Freeze and when you need it, defrost, add chilli sauces or mushrooms or basil - whatever takes your fancy! They won't even know there eating peppers!

I got loads of tomatoes, peas came to nothing as the B52'ers (woodpidgeons) ate all the seed I think.... Peppers did well too.

angelavdavis

pickledtink wrote:

Sounds like you've done pretty well for a late start! have you got a compost heap/bin?
My own compost really makes a difference I must say. A spadefull of the old black magic always gets things moving as a top dressing and is great to get new sowings started in pots.
I love fish, blood and bone as a feed for any veg bed and it's excellent forked into the soil loosely before planting.

Shame about your shallots! What size containers were they in?

Yes we have four compost bins and a wormery - use the worm compost for seedlings and the rest for top-dressing the garden or potting up. It was the first thing I did, get the compost bins set up and the worms moved house with me(!) I also have a joanna recycling waste bin for cooked food disposal but don't tend to get too much compost out of that - its just handy as it stops the bins smelling from rotten food.

The problem with the shallots was that there was too little drainage in the trough I used which was a shame! Never mind, we live and learn eh!