The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

.


Well, in that case.................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRCMzXND4lo

ivyleaf

I managed to miss that - I saw the special book and thought how lovely of James, but somehow missed that it was a birthday present!
Belated Happy Birthday, Sue :beer:

ETA Chris Yes, just let me know if you'd like some alkanet; there's plenty left in the back garden! Isn't Pyxis helpful?

LydiaJ

Pyxis wrote: »

What colour did you go for in the end, Lydia?
(I can't remember......was it cream?)

No it's pale blue. (Shudders at the idea of the combination of cream carpet and kids.)

ivyleaf wrote: »

Not feeling great atm - apparently I have a thyroid problem.

Sending hugs

SingleSue wrote: »

My rare book collection has started up again, albeit on a lower scale than before...James bought me a signed and limited edition copy of a book by one of my favourite authors for my birthday yesterday.

Happy Birthday for yesterday, Sue.
:bdaycake:

vivatifosi

NPs, I need your help.

Do you think an electric tiller will turn over my garden, which has become overrun by nettles? Digging over by hand and clearing is pretty difficult.

LydiaJ

vivatifosi wrote: »

NPs, I need your help.

Do you think an electric tiller will turn over my garden, which has become overrun by nettles? Digging over by hand and clearing is pretty difficult.

Sounds annoying. I'm a bit clueless about that sort of thing, but I'll be interested to read what the gardening-minded NP suggest.

SingleSue

Thanks everyone, thought I would play it down a little more this year as my 50th gets closer!

Josh's latest vocal cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0A-RXOnEs8

He has instructions to brush his hair before turning the camera on for next time, his excuse was that he did the cover as a way to relax and de stress in between revision and doing assignments and forgot.

Pyxis

vivatifosi wrote: »

NPs, I need your help.

Do you think an electric tiller will turn over my garden, which has become overrun by nettles? Digging over by hand and clearing is pretty difficult.

No idea, really. Sorry.

However, would chopping up and digging in the bits of nettles/roots not just store up trouble for next year?


Plus, you could always practice on my jungle first!

chris_m

vivatifosi wrote: »

NPs, I need your help.
Do you think an electric tiller will turn over my garden, which has become overrun by nettles? Digging over by hand and clearing is pretty difficult.

I'm sure it would chop it up and turn it over, mine happily chopped and turned a manky area of lawn/moss - which was pretty dense for the top couple of inches and sandy soil below. However;

Pyxis wrote: »

However, would chopping up and digging in the bits of nettles/roots not just store up trouble for next year?

This is possible - nettles can propagate both by seeds and by rhizomes, subterranean root systems.

Wikipedia claims that "Regular and persistent tilling will greatly reduce its numbers, and the use of herbicides such as 2,4-D and glyphosate are effective control measures."

The RHS page about nettles says;

Control

The best time to apply weedkillers to nettles is when they are in vigorous growth, but have not yet flowered. Digging up the plants can be done at any time of year. They can be controlled using non-chemical or chemical methods.

Non-chemical controls
It is important to prevent stinging nettles, especially the annual nettles, seeding by cutting down plants in mid-summer, or earlier
In light soils, or where there are isolated clumps, digging out will be effective
Remove as many of the creeping stems as possible as any piece with a node is capable of producing a new plant
Digging up the plants can be done at any time of year
Young seedlings can be destroyed by hoeing
Perennial nettles are unlikely to be a persistent problem in regularly cultivated areas, except perhaps where there is a residue of seeds in the soil, or the area is adjacent to neglected land. However, annual nettles can be very numerous in cultivated soils
Nettles cannot withstand repeated mowing

Chemical control
Neglected areas can be cleared of established nettles by spraying them with a glyphosate-based weedkiller (such as Scotts Roundup Ultra, SBM Job done Tough Weedkiller (soluble sachet only) or Doff Maxi Strength Glyphosate Weedkiller) which should be applied as a spray in June, shortly before they flower
A second application may be necessary in September
Check again in early spring and fork out any surviving roots
In rough grassland, where glyphosate would kill the grass, use the selective weedkiller Vitax SBK Brushwood Killer which contains triclopyr. Two or three treatments may be needed
Ensure you follow the directions on the packaging of weedkillers

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=714

I'd be inclined to try and kill, or at least severely weaken, them before tilling - depending on your view about chemicals, either with RoundUp or by repeated mowing (or chopping them down with shears) and leaving the tilling until it appears that they are not easily re-establishing themselves.

Either way, you definitely need to get them chopped down before they go to seed - but if you use RoundUp you need to leave them in place for a decent period after applying because it's absorbed into the leaves and transported down to the roots so spraying and immediately chopping (or chopping then spraying) will prevent it getting to the roots.

edit - make sure you haven't also got stuff like cooch grass or convolvulous (sp?) in there as well because chopping those will guarantee that they come back with a vengeance. IIRC just a half-inch of chopped root left in the ground will happily spread like wildfire.

Doozergirl

I know nothing about plants. I've been looking at all the lovely plants outside the garden centres and supermarkets and wanting some, but we're moving house within a year (been saying that for over six!).

DS failed his driving test. Such a shame. Doozer said before he left that he was either going to pass or make a major mistake. It was the latter. He had only one minor but drove into a bus lane! It's not even a lane, it's an actual road. I have never seen one like it before, you actually have to go over what looks like pavement to stay on the actual road as straight ahead simply turns into buses only at an odd point. Once on, you can't get off! I went into too, the first time I went to that town as well, and I panicked.

Bit harsh when you don't know an area well at all and you're under pressure, but these things are sent to try us. We know he can do it, so we'll hope for better luck next time; he won't do the same thing again :rotfl: He's booked in for over three weeks time now, so we'll see if we can find a cancellation. I can see how keen he is to get going now.

In other random news, they're using our latest project house to film Made In Chelsea tomorrow afternoon. Most random! I'm not sure when it's on - we'll have to ask tomorrow as we don't watch it.

vivatifosi

Thanks for the advice everyone. My plan is to do it a bit at a time, pick out the roots, then lay weed fabric over that part and then do the next part. Once completed, I want to lay artificial turf.

I am not a gardener and with my skin cancer risk can't be a gardener, so need an easy solution. I'll miss the biodiversity though:(