Growing organically

tori.k

if slugs are a big problem try growing some hosta's in a shady untidy spot, then it's out with the torch and a bucket. i've never really suffered with ants just now and again in the lawn edging but have raised beds so disturb the ground a fair bit, duck do lay but are sod's for laying at water edge as im not that strict with them they are just pets really because in my house covenant im not allowed chicken's. they should have worded it better said nothing about ducks, and they are twice as messy and noisy and chickens would be

Edwardia

Kirri - thanks will ask council but they may not since they collect it. I grow lots of herbs but not wild flowers. I have been known to spread wild flower seeds about in unkempt bits of parks ssshhh

tori.k - hehe my ducks and geese used to swim off and eat other people's lettuces much to my mother's embarrassment. If they laid eggs they didn't do it at home.. when we moved and gave them to a farmer friend, the geese had goslings.

Homebase organic compost 50L 4 for the price of 3 6.59 each http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=682179

Verve volcanic rock dust 10kg 5.98 organically approved soil improver, B&Q
http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garden-care-watering/compost-sand-bark/specialist_compost/Verve-Volcanic-Rock-Dust-10Kg-11907558?skuId=12418264

sobie

Some of my customers only use organic seeds too. (Im not quite that dedicated) Most seed suppliers have an organic range usually priced the same as the non-organic varieties.

re cabbage whites - plenty of fine netting or fleece left over the plants (with no gaps they can get under) normally works but don't be tempted to remove it too early and put it on as soon as you plant up.

Greenfly/ whitefly just be vigilent and squash them with your fingers (us gardeners are not called "greenfingered" for nothing :rotfl:

Edwardia a customer was asking me about Rock Dust the other day. I've never heard of it have you tried it?

I love wildflowers, my garden is full of ox-eyed daisys much to the annoyance of my neighbours

Leif

Edwardia wrote: »

My mother keeps telling me to investigate compost more. My garden is much smaller than an allotment though and I don't want the smell. Do they ?

No. I have a Dalek, and a 1000L compost bin bought online for ~£25. The latter was filled with shredded wood, grass, and non fatty uncooked kitchen waste, and left for 18 months. I spread it last week. There was no smell. The Dalek has smelly stuff in but the smell does not escape. They can get very hot. I originally had a huge pile, and when I turned it, the inside was too hot to touch. So nasties break down fairly quickly.

They are a good way to use up grass cuttings and other waste, but I also shred hedge cuttings, and they go straight on the garden as mulch.

Edwardia

Actually, apart from the odd Red Admiral, I rarely see butterflies around here but I did see a whopping great dragonfly summer before last. Wingspan must have been 10cm. We also get small mosquitoes and teeny flies like fruit flies which are a right PITA. (This is the driest area of UK). I do have plenty of fleece though as quite a lot of my plants are temperamental eg oleander, eucalyptus.

My salad leaves are going in black plastic guttering fixed to a wall, tip from the Evening Standard and saves all that bending over to pick salad. Looks quite good in black with end caps on a white wall. I've seen a nursery in E Sussex that had lengths of guttering in their greenhouses too with seedlings in.

Even using fresh compost and seed in pots, basil always ends up with a virus, mint too I remembered that tomatoes are supposed to grow better with basil but I'm wondering whether they would get it too ??

Tried a globe artichoke and was well impressed until I noticed every blackfly for 20 miles had arrived I decided not to grow those again.

Must admit I hadn't seen rock dust until today sobie. I looked at horse manure first and remembered weed seeds from a previous experience

The seeds I bought previously weren't organic, I'm just trying them this year. Could be a gimmick or might be worth it, I'll see.

The village station near MIL's has lots of ox eye daisies against a backdrop of proper black Victorian park fencing and looks lovely.

Edwardia

I had a labrador but had to have him put down at the beginning of the month He was the waste food compacter in this household and I miss him. I think I might have room for a small composter, I need to go have a look at a few and measure up and decide. Thanks Leif.

tori.k

So sorry to hear about you dog Edwardia I still haven't the heart to replace my missy yet maybe next year.

Have you had a look at https://www.realseeds.co.uk/

strawberry's will also do well in your vertical garden

valk_scot

Edwardia wrote: »

My mother keeps telling me to investigate compost more. My garden is much smaller than an allotment though and I don't want the smell. Do they ?

I've moved from a large allotment recently to just gardening in my (far smaller) back garden. I'm a pragmatic organic grower, I do my best to avoid atrificial chemicals and pesticides as much as possible but I don't fret too much about using non-organically prouced seeds, or standard composts. And if it's me or the slugs well, I've been known to break out the slug pellets. But mostly, I go for organic gardening.

Anyway, the backbone of any organic gardening is the compost heap. The very idea of buying in extra sources of plant nutrients while binning materials that could be recycled as plant foods...well, that's totally against the underlying principles of organic gardening. Not to mention it's a total waste of money.

For my small back garden I have three Dalek type bins running...one to fill, one to mature, one for ready to empty. Even then I'm thinking about getting a fourth one just to make things easier when it comes to turning the bins. We're only a family of four but between garden waste, compostable kitchen waste, shredded newspaper, grass cuttings and other things like shredded egg boxes and hair clippings I can easily keep my system running at capacity. So even the smallest household hould be able to run one bin quite easily.

And home made compost is brilliant stuff, it adds bulk and nutrients and gives the soil structure. It will be variable as to nutritional content of course but I find adding some seaweed (you can use seaweed extract) and/or a bag of manure to each binfull of compost on its first turning really boosts it nutritionally and it helps the compost rot down faster too. I also grow a patch of Boking14 comfrey to add to compost and to make a liquid feed.

But however you make it, I would say it's an essential for any organic gardener. The Dalek type won't smell if you keep the lid on tight either. Your mum is quite right!

Edwardia

Thank you tori.k (((tori.k))) sorry about your Missy too.

Not seen that website before, will investigate, thanks !

Strawberries ....mmm..I would need to investigate a strawberry planter.. do love my strawberries and one of the few fruits which doesn't put my blood sugar up too. Hadn't thought about that, did used to have them in previous garden when I had the space.

valk_scot wow that's a lot of compost and you sound like an expert :T The woody vine and fig prunings get kept and used for kindling. Apart from the odd dead leaf/plant the only leaf fall I get is from the fig and vine. The vine is spread out on a pergola and the fig tree is about 2m tall now but planted in a shallow bed and pruned - last year got first really good crop of figs

I'm not sure that I have enough green stuff. Shredded paper yup, food waste, vine and fig leaves but no grass clippings and nothing like roses or loads of climbers and shrubs. I can get manure and seaweed for free though.

valk_scot

Fifteen years of making compost on the allotment, but no, not an expert! I'm of the chuck it all in and stir it up a bit school of compost making, it's all useful in the end. I think you'd be surprised how much food waste one household generates tbh, though of course you don't put in things like meat, cheese, pasta or bread because it encourages rats. Peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit cores, crushed eggshells etc plus shredded newspaper, seaweed and the odd bag of manure would make brilliant compost I think. Plus any annual weeds, of course.