Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

Davesnave

Can you not have the field cut for hay, rozee, even if not very good quality? This would be better than just leaving it. Also, unless you have dodgy fencing, having it grazed would help a lot too.

I'm not sure how long weed killing chemicals would keep CTC, but they have a normal shelf life of a couple of years, so I'd guess you could extend that by cool, dark storage.

Out in the garden this afternoon, we dug the edge of our new bed and hit something solid. Turned out to be another 4" plastic pipe with a bent end....(???) Then I remembered, according to local lore there had once been a pond, roughly where the pipe ended.

Lots of experimentation then went on as we first sent water down the soakaway pipe from the house, and then from the conservatory. Nothing! Once again, I remembered, there'd been an old Belfast sink where they'd once milked a cow, and the pipe from that led to.....well, now we know!

I suppose it was a good idea, using the waste water from the sink to top up a pond, but if the pond was a success it would still be here. There's no trace of it.

Eating our courgettes every day now and getting close to peas, but no sign of any ripening toms yet.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Davesnave, this is the stuff we got, not for the faint hearted..

Davesnave

Yes, that's the farmers' glyphosate CTC. It's a bit stronger than the generic stuff, but maybe OTT for many jobs where the 360g/l stuff would do.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

We have bought a weedkiller from b&q for doing the grass, But we use that stuff for the knotweed, and we tried it on an area where there was a very high concentrate of horsetail...Will keep an eye our for any re-growth of it, but think I will buy that kurtail stuff anyway, to make sure it has a good zapping:D.

The type of weeds we have, we cant do anything except use hardcore weedkiller. and at the weekend, its going to get a right dosing!!!!!

ferretkeeper

I have to say the answer I would give to most weed/plant problems is the same answer I would give to most questions I am faced with these days - PIGS!

Pigs can clear knot weed and bracken with far more success than most weedkillers - I don't have knotweed here but they got onto a steep bank covered in bracken last summer and it has not reappeared since. However my other house has knotweed approaching from land at the very end of the garden and I'm tempted to ask the landowner if I can set the pigs to work on that!

I think they could clear creeping buttercup too, they'd eat all the little rooty nodule bits that usually break off and get left behind to re-grow. If you don't want to keep pigs yourself maybe someone else would like to make use of the land? If you were nearer I'd offer myself!

You'd be left with a well turned over weed free field, it would probably need to be disc harrowed and limed/rolled/seeded but provided any drainage issues have been addressed too you'll have a lovely bit of pasture which could out-compete any weed seeds left in the soil - all this can be going on while you concentrate on the house without too much input from you.

They're good for pretty much any perennial weeds!

But I haven't used pigs for all ...I had mare's tail in an area we want to turn into a garden one day and I had moved a load of infected topsoil to make a raised bed in the field before I realised.

The garden area is now free range for ducks and geese, the other mound is accessible to all the animals, and the mare's tail is not growing anything like as much as it has done previously, every new shoot gets nibbled down and this will ultimately weaken the stuff into submission, again with no effort on my part.

Alfie, I could take the ferret if you don't want him or know anyone nearer/sooner?!

CTC good idea on the plants, you could layer any of the clematis or climbers now, I've spotted a lovely golden hop in a friend's garden and asked to do just that. Also I've offered to weed/lift/divide in the autumn in return for a few clumps of this and that!

And fingers crossed for the bank...and dentist!

rozeepozee

I'd be delighted to use pigs, FK. I don't know what's happened to me in the last two years since moving to the country, but I don't like the idea of spraying chemicals. It's not very scientific as I know there's no evidence glyphosate is harmful, but I'd rather not use it if I can avoid it. Is this the excuse to get those Mangalitzas....?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I totally agree with FK,, pigs love young japknotweed, and that balsam stuff, BUT with us most of it with us is on the edge of the land, and hard to fence, as there is a stream running around the boundary

Rozee all I can say is, pigs are brilliant and very clean animals, are wee and poo away from their ark and where they are fed..my little piglets wee and poo right by the gate:rotfl::rotfl:

those pigs are too hairy for me, and I should imagine the peeps at the abotoir would be cursing at the hair:rotfl:

If are considering having pigs, goats etc, might be worth you getting your holding and herd number now.. sooooo if you do see something, you are all legal to go and get them...

piddling it down here, BUT I don't mind as it is cooler, the only thing I will not like the weeds will shoot up over the next few days:mad::rotfl:

Itismehonest

Hope everyone is fine & LIR has got on OK today.

Nothing exciting to add from here but I did find this which I thought you may enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yiJhZ1QQY

lostinrates

Itismehonest wrote: »

Hope everyone is fine & LIR has got on OK today.

Nothing exciting to add from here but I did find this which I thought you may enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yiJhZ1QQY[/QUOTE

Thanks it's me.

I did better than fine, I have had worse dates. I cannot believe peon die and delay that test, when its painless and easy.


I am not allowed to drive for two days because it was assumed i'd need a bit of sedation but I needed hardly any and surprised everyone by taking to the whole think like a duck to water.

Not sure what that says about me :eek::o

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

Thanks it's me.

I did better than fine, I have had worse dates. I cannot believe peon die and delay that test, when its painless and easy.


I am not allowed to drive for two days because it was assumed i'd need a bit of sedation but I needed hardly any and surprised everyone by taking to the whole think like a duck to water.

Not sure what that says about me :eek::o

:beer: Good on ya. Glad to hear it all went well.