Garden Discussion

[GnatG]

[quote name=heresmo;1676268

@Skodaboy1983 re weeds coming up inbetween paving slabs: Buy a flat trowel (a bricklayer's bolster in DIY terms) and dig the weeds out' date=' preferably easing out so can pull up as much root as possible rather than just chopping the tops off. Scape out remaining soil inbetween slabs.

Then, buy some ready-mix bags of dry sand and cement (enough to suit, try a small-ish bag to see how far it goes first). Scoop this dry into crevices. Tamp it down a bit until level. Ensure that any is swept up off the surface of the slabs. Don't need to water it in or mix it with water beforehand as natural moisture will set/cure it. Do need to be sure of an even mix of the sand and cement though.

Edit: by even mix, I mean that the proportions in the bag are mixed up properly, thus not an equal quantity of each. Sorry, I forget there are things that others might not know.

Mo[/quote]

The block pavers who laid my patio suggested the following (as an alternative!):

1. Spray the weeds with weed killer during a dry spell

2. When the weeds have dried, it's usually possible to remove them by either gently pulling them up, or for moss and the like using your foot to scrape them off.

3. Then wash the patio, let it dry, and as Mo said brush in sand/cement if the blocks are cemented down in the first place, or use kiln dried sand if it's block paving sitting on a course of bedding sand.

4. Get some Marshall's block paving sealant (about 30 odd quid for 5 litres) and either use a watering can to spray it over the blocks or use a paint roller. But check it doesn't discolour the blocks first! This will stop seeds/pollen getting into the spaces between the blocks. Been advised not to get the cheap stuff from diy shops as it's not that good...

I'm trying to avoid using weed killers on mine though, so I've bought a tool from the local homebase for about 3 quid which is an 'L' shaped bit of metal with pointy bits at the end, Works pretty well at getting between the blocks to remove weeds.

[heresmo]

Hi GnatG I could perhaps suggest painting a systemic weed killer onto leaves of weeds, once they've been allowed to grow up enough to have leaves, rather than using a spray weed killer which could drift or be washed into the soil and might affect surrounding plants. It's also worm friendlier as it's affecting only the weed itself, to the best of my knowledge

Incidentally, it's also good, as you say, to seal the blocks and crevices. A concreter recommends an acrylic one but it was awfully expensive (hence my suggestion of diluted oil-based paint). Sealing is good because strong chemicals shouldn't be necessary to clean off anything that does grow. If sealed, perhaps be aware that any chemicals subsequently used could well run off (be washed off) into the borders :nono:

Mo

Edited 17 April, 2009 by heresmo

[Johnwg]

What do other dog owners have in their garden?

I had a nice graveled straight down one side for my hound to zoom up and down

[gadgetman]

People that had paved/stones etc their garden put us off when we were buying as too much agro and cost to turn back to a proper child friendly garden.

I read or heard somewhere (location location?) that not having grass and flowers can lower an offer price by 10-15%!

[MudPuppy]

I miss having a garden :( :(

I live on the 4th floor, but I have got a balcony and I've got a few things growing in my old spare wheel:

The violas have died now (this is an old pic), but the lavender, thyme and rosemary are doing really well and I've got space to grow more herbs now, I'm just trying to decide what to go for

[heresmo]

Dunno about pricing, but it's seriously frowned upon in these parts (London suffers from droughts in hot summers) to pave frontages for off-road parking especially without leaving at least some run-off into the ground as paved and sealed areas can mean that rain water runs into the drains instead of into the ground.

At its simplest (i.e. re each house individually, it can cause drying out of the house foundations, bearing in mind that clay (probably most of London is built on clay) doesn't hold water so will shrink and lead to possible need for underpinning, especially if house is on a hill. A very significant consideration for buildings insurance and has been for years. As paving became more popular, it became more relevant. Check out the area for subsidence etc.

Re back garden, a mix of patio and lawn and borders is probs best. Lawns are child-friendly for toddlers, but not adult-friendly (Arghh!) when football-playing age is reached At that time, flowers/borders don't survive too well either... Have to decide whether wanting a garden that a Wisley member would be proud of or a utilitarian one for the time being, all phases of life being transitional of course. Dunno about dogs only. If they're that active that they'd wreck a lawn, could try bromide I guess if happy that they are happy with seemingly limited exercise opportunity. I'll pass on that one.

Mo

[Guest musky]

So far this year we have started off with spuds, carrots, turnips, parsnips, peas, broadbeans, chillis, sweetcorn, basil, salad leaves, garlic and onions. The latter are doing well, as are one sort of spuds (Arran Pilot - lady Christl, and Pentland Javelin are doing nothing) Also had some Artichokes started off but they keeled over no idea why. Need some rain now. Will be planting Tomatoes, Cucumbers etc in the greenhouse soon.

[GnatG]

Hi GnatG I could perhaps suggest painting a systemic weed killer onto leaves of weeds, once they've been allowed to grow up enough to have leaves, rather than using a spray weed killer which could drift or be washed into the soil and might affect surrounding plants. It's also worm friendlier as it's affecting only the weed itself, to the best of my knowledge

Incidentally, it's also good, as you say, to seal the blocks and crevices. A concreter recommends an acrylic one but it was awfully expensive (hence my suggestion of diluted oil-based paint). Sealing is good because strong chemicals shouldn't be necessary to clean off anything that does grow. If sealed, perhaps be aware that any chemicals subsequently used could well run off (be washed off) into the borders :nono:

Mo

The spray weedkiller I did try did nothing at all! Well it didn't do what it said on the tin. Will try your method as it sounds good!

[GnatG]

Dunno about pricing, but it's seriously frowned upon in these parts (London suffers from droughts in hot summers) to pave frontages for off-road parking especially without leaving at least some run-off into the ground as paved and sealed areas can mean that rain water runs into the drains instead of into the ground.

Mo

IIRC you now need planning permission to get the front block paved, and it has to either incorporate a 1/3 area of plant area or a suitable run off into the ground as you say.

[heresmo]

@ Mudpuppy: There are some sages which are very decorative, though as a herb, you probably need one leaf in cooking rather than a whole handful, so perhaps grow more of a a herb that you'd need more of. Basil is an example which can be grown outdoors in a sheltered sunny location; perhaps buy a "healthy specimen" pot from the supermarket that's sold in a little compost pot, then plant it and see if it takes.

For decoration only, you can get winter flowering perennial primulas (? not sure of the name but look identical to primulas) to plant around Oct. They flower during the winter, then die back, so trim off dead leaves and they'll come up next year. Can get very attractive winter-cabbages too. Not sure if they're for decoration or to eat, but do look nice in the bare out-of-season period.

Edit PS: I wouldn't plant mint as it'll take over. Could put some in a separate pot if you like mint.

Mo

[MudPuppy]

Thanks for that Mo

Basil sounds like a good idea, I do use that in cooking on occasion

[heresmo]

@MudPuppy: I've just remembered that the primulas I was on about are more commonly known as polyanthus, found in most garden centres around October for winter-flowering ones or here online: Polyanthus Crescendo® Mixed F1 Hybrid (Plants and Bulbs)

Another idea might be to plant one or more whole bulbs of garlic. At this time of year, it will sprout up as tall thin shoots exactly as chives do (or grow chives but not sure how you buy those), e.g. seed? Very useful for snipping bits off for dishes that just need a hint of garlic rather than the heavier taste from using cloves.

Radishes take little space in a pot and not a herb, lol. Not much of a crop, but the greenery adds to the display too at little cost from a packet of seeds.

Dill (use with salmon and some cheeses) grows fairly easily and is a perennial, though is more a tall stalk than a clump. Could make a tall centre-point architecturally, esp if lavendar starts to go woody and keel over so laying flat rather than standing upright so decide to lose it.

I think coriander is easy to grow, but never looked into it as we only like the seeds, and dislike the leaves that chefs scatter with gay abandon. Fresh parsley could have a place in there too, though not sure of its growing habits having never grown it.

Regards

Mo

[MudPuppy]

Thanks again Mo, I'm glad I mentioned it now

Polyanthus would look nice, the planter could do with a bit of colour I think. I hadn't thought of chives either, my parents have some in their garden and I'm always pinching bits when I visit

I had thought of buying another planter (I'm out of spare wheels now ) and having one for decoration and one for herbs, so I might do this before summer

[VWD]

Edit PS: I wouldn't plant mint as it'll take over. Could put some in a separate pot if you like mint.

Mo

Tip I got from my old dad was if planting mint in the ground - knock drainage holes in an old plastic bucket and plant it (and bucket ) in hole -

[heresmo]

Tip I got from my old dad was if planting mint in the ground - knock drainage holes in an old plastic bucket and plant it (and bucket ) in hole -

I'd only heard of digging out an area and lining it with plastic. This says: Quote:

Because mint is such a strong-growing plant, it can easily kill nearby plants. The solution when planting outside is to sink a bottomless container, such as an old bucket, in the ground and plant the mint in this area. The roots might not be stopped 100%, but it will do the job. Another alternative is to dig a hole to a depth of 30cm (1ft) and line it with black plastic (pierced with small holes for drainage). The soil is then replaced in the black plastic and the mint planted in that area. Unquote

From here: How to grow Mint herb with pictures and advice which also covers other aspects.

I'd still rather have mint in a patio pot, prevention being better than cure, as things that take over can be the devil's own job to eradicate - ivy and cotoneaster spring to mind immediately, brambles too if you're unlucky enough to have inherited any, mare's tail - even grass in borders if lawn is not edged adequately.

Regards

Mo

[gorilla]

I miss having a garden :( :(

I live on the 4th floor, but I have got a balcony and I've got a few things growing in my old spare wheel:

The violas have died now (this is an old pic), but the lavender, thyme and rosemary are doing really well and I've got space to grow more herbs now, I'm just trying to decide what to go for

Someone a bit like me with recycling old car parts and that for garden containers. So far I have two old hubs planted up, One of the old tyres off the Hi Ace as the centre feature in the front garden that we do for our neighbour and another old tyre and hub set that I will be planting up this year.

[bengie]

for us its a case of get rid of and tidy up some huge shurb things, seed and feed the lawn as a lot of it has been covered by this shrub for a few years so probably completely dead. thinking of building me a huge brick BBQ

also a couple of dieing trees will probably have to go.

here's some pics of how it is now.

thats going from top to bottom

[GnatG]

Courgette, tomato, sweetcorn and corriander plants are coming along nicely in the greenhouse - not bad for a £9.99 3 tier job. Peas are doing well outside, but not much action on the carrots (hard to tell I suppose). Next task is to re-pot them from the seed trays into larger pots. Might try 2 different growing methods this year. Have got some peat pots so will re-pot to those, allow to mature a bit and then plant them in the garden (will add some compost to the holes) - not sure when I should do this though so any pointers would be helpful. Will also re-pot into some larger pots and keep these in the greenhouse until the plants are too big for it.

[GnatG]

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Nice greenhouse! Wish I had one like that!

[GnatG]

@Mudpuppy - snails love basil! Found this out last year :( Don't think it will be too much of a problem for you though on the 4th floor.

[GnatG]

Another thing. What pest control methods are you guys using. I tried companion planting last year, but it didn't work as I got a few things wrong! Using lavender, marigolds and maybe basil this year - flies don't like lavender, and the basil diverts slugs and snails from the tomatoes. Cannon fodder basically! Can't remember what marigold does but it's meant to be effective.

[VWD]

Have heard (think it was from dad) that planting confusing things together helps to confuse pests -like carrot and onion - onion smell baffles carrot fly . My idea of pest control was to try natures way - encourage birds /odd hedgehog (had one round late at night )---certainly had some success with blackbirds when I had peas in -possibly due to making it difficult for cats to see them . That's what makes gardening here difficult - first sign of open soil and the cat network goes into overtime digging it up and cr**ping all over .Most of my rear garden is grass - the wild stuff that sends out creepers and takes over any open ground .Got the same problem back and front with cats as Jasper Carrot had (in his comic sketch) with moles .

[bengie]

to me its just a greenhouse but i want to start growing stuff maybe, not sure what though!

[heresmo]

@Mudpuppy - snails love basil! Found this out last year :( Don't think it will be too much of a problem for you though on the 4th floor.

Do you mean snails or slugs (not that it'd make a lot of difference).

Just thinking that with tall stemmed plants, can grease the stalk with Vaseline (hand cream thingy) so offenders can't get purchase. For tall stems, can also cut the side of a plastic cup and wrap it around the stem upsidedown, so that anything climbing up can't get past the roof of the cup (very good re earwigs and dahlias).

As you say, some plants attract insects, so worth knowing what attracts what. Red mite beetle is probs one thing I'd be happy to learn of a deterrent for... Early detection checking any under-leaf activity on most plants is an idea too.

Mo

[gadgetman]

If anyone needs turf, many garden centres are trying to off load. Local B&Q's have it at £1 roll - and they had 6 pallets to shift!