GMG Green Thumb Club

[Mandryka]

My garden this morning




Everyone looks cute when they're asleep!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

My garden this morning




Everyone looks cute when they're asleep!

Oh, sweet! 😆

[Irons]

My garden this morning




Everyone looks cute when they're asleep!

Do not feed! Sod that! I chuck a lamb bone over the fence with the thought "enjoy" Mr/Mrs Fox.

Nice paving.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Do not feed! Sod that! I chuck a lamb bone over the fence with the thought "enjoy" Mr/Mrs Fox.

Nice paving.

Mandryka and Irons,

Next thing you know, you'll be doing this:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVqhnsHOo2U

And, no I wouldn't suggest trying this as these two in the video were rescues and are in a special facility. 

PD

[mabuse]

Everyone looks cute when they're asleep!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Cute!  I really enjoyed Chicken Run. 

[Irons]

It was coming and arrived with a vengeance, the dreaded blight! With the climate disasters in Germany and Japan, which are truly awful, it seems churlish to complain but we have gone from a month of rain to at present temperatures exceeding the Caribbean. Perfect for blight! To save the potato crop I am cutting to the ground. The sense of panic and sheer hard work made me think of the poor souls of the Irish potato famine. Most of my tomato plants are blight resistant, but not all. It is a sad sight to see other plot holders entire crop of plants turning black overnight.
The chap who brought the Coeur de Boeuf seeds to our allotment lost 57 plants, his entire crop! 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It was coming and arrived with a vengeance, the dreaded blight! With the climate disasters in Germany and Japan, which are truly awful, it seems churlish to complain but we have gone from a month of rain to at present temperatures exceeding the Caribbean. Perfect for blight! To save the potato crop I am cutting to the ground. The sense of panic and sheer hard work made me think of the poor souls of the Irish potato famine. Most of my tomato plants are blight resistant, but not all. It is a sad sight to see other plot holders entire crop of plants turning black overnight.
The chap who brought the Coeur de Boeuf seeds to our allotment lost 57 plants, his entire crop!

I had tried to reply to this yesterday, but was having site problems.  So very sorry to hear of your blight problems.  It's truly heartbreaking I know.  And that poor guy who lost all of his tomato plants!    For the most part, I've given up on growing heirloom tomatoes as much as I love their tastes, colors, the variety...due to issues with diseases.  Even with the best of growing conditions, if Mother Nature is against you, you can have failures such as those.  I dread to read reports about similar issues here.  I had heard something briefly in the news (re locally), so will have to check into it further.  With prices for everything appearing to be on the rise, this could hurt a lot of people.  Please keep us abreast of the news Iron.  And good luck!

PD

[Irons]

I had tried to reply to this yesterday, but was having site problems.  So very sorry to hear of your blight problems.  It's truly heartbreaking I know.  And that poor guy who lost all of his tomato plants!    For the most part, I've given up on growing heirloom tomatoes as much as I love their tastes, colors, the variety...due to issues with diseases.  Even with the best of growing conditions, if Mother Nature is against you, you can have failures such as those.  I dread to read reports about similar issues here.  I had heard something briefly in the news (re locally), so will have to check into it further.  With prices for everything appearing to be on the rise, this could hurt a lot of people.  Please keep us abreast of the news Iron.  And good luck!

PD

Thanks, PD. I am in a quandary. One of the Coeur de Boeuf tomato plants was in the early stages of blight. Before digging the plant up I rescued some unripe fruit - see pic. I'm aware of meticulous husbandry after blight, burn all the plants and don't use the same site for following years. I think some of this is a bit OTT, but on the other hand I do not want a repeat next year! Will it be OK to ripen the fruit and extract the seeds to use next year or am I asking for trouble?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Thanks, PD. I am in a quandary. One of the Coeur de Boeuf tomato plants was in the early stages of blight. Before digging the plant up I rescued some unripe fruit - see pic. I'm aware of meticulous husbandry after blight, burn all the plants and don't use the same site for following years. I think some of this is a bit OTT, but on the other hand I do not want a repeat next year! Will it be OK to ripen the fruit and extract the seeds to use next year or am I asking for trouble?

Good questions Irons.  1) Can you burn plants, refuse at community plots? 2)  Could you take a break on the sites/plots effected and clear them well and then put down some plastic to solarize the soil?  I'm not certain how well that would work against things like blight, how long you would have to do it for etc.?  I've heard that it's good killing weed seeds.  Haven't tried it myself before. 3) Hmm...regarding using seeds from those tomatoes, well, firstly I hope that they are able to ripen so that you can eat them....and, well, I would consult with an agricultural expert.  In the States, there are universities and colleges that have agricultural extensions (I believe is the term).  You can send them soil samples for example.  They also have articles about things like blight and other diseases.  If not them, maybe your RHS?  Let me know what you find out.

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

a p.s.

I just went outside because I heard a hawk chick asking for a prey drop and looked at the tomato plants that I have on my porch.  I noticed that one of the plum tomatoes (still quite green) had fallen off of its stem...picked it up:  brown fuzzy mess at the top of it.     Well, the good news:  just went outside again.  This time thought that I heard two hawk chicks asking for food; saw either one of them or an adult flying over and around my house and is now in a tree nearby; can't get a good enough view of the tail to figure out whether or not it's an adult or a chick.

PD

[Biffo]

A couple of weeks ago there was a lot of squawking in the car park. It turned out to be mature sea gulls attacking an adolescent gull. We have noticed this in previous years. The adolescent did a good job of fighting them off and after a couple of days disappeared. The row started again at the weekend, this time it was gulls attacking a much younger gull, it still had grey downy feathers. The poor thing hadn't yet managed to fly but eventually took refuge on our patio, hiding amongst the shrubbery. By the following morning it had gone, hopefully flown off to safety.

The gulls are very aggressive - saw one kill a squirrel - not sure why they attack young gulls

[Pohjolas Daughter]

A couple of weeks ago there was a lot of squawking in the car park. It turned out to be mature sea gulls attacking an adolescent gull. We have noticed this in previous years. The adolescent did a good job of fighting them off and after a couple of days disappeared. The row started again at the weekend, this time it was gulls attacking a much younger gull, it still had grey downy feathers. The poor thing hadn't yet managed to fly but eventually took refuge on our patio, hiding amongst the shrubbery. By the following morning it had gone, hopefully flown off to safety.

The gulls are very aggressive - saw one kill a squirrel - not sure why they attack young gulls

I tried googling a bit and saw various answers, so don't really know:  protecting their nests?  shortage of food? or???

Went back outside a few more times and saw, probably an adult, circling overhead I suspect looking for food for his/her chicks and a few minutes later, heard a chick squawking in a tree nearby (might have seen him her but pretty high up so hard to tell).  Went back inside to get out of the sun and also not frighten off mom or dad from feeding them.

PD

[Szykneij]

I can't complain considering the situation in Europe, but it looked like I had waterfront property last week after our torrential rains. Luckily, the water subsided once the rain stopped and my tomatoes were left unscathed.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I can't complain considering the situation in Europe, but it looked like I had waterfront property last week after our torrential rains. Luckily, the water subsided once the rain stopped and my tomatoes were left unscathed.

Aw, man!    Hope that they continue to do well Tony.  By the way, is that black landscaping cloth that you have on the ground under your tomatoes?  A bit surprised also that you have so many plants in pots--not the tomatoes.  Are those flowers and herbs or??  Is your ground pretty hard?  Like rocky or clay?

PD

[Szykneij]

Aw, man!    Hope that they continue to do well Tony.  By the way, is that black landscaping cloth that you have on the ground under your tomatoes?  A bit surprised also that you have so many plants in pots--not the tomatoes.  Are those flowers and herbs or??  Is your ground pretty hard?  Like rocky or clay?

PD

Hi, PD -

Yes, that's landscaping cloth. This is the section of land I purchased that had the Japanese knotweed infestation. I spent an entire summer digging it up, but new sprouts continue to pop up, so I've only made permanent plantings around the perimeter. The ground is also rocky with clay soil (one of the contributing reason for the poor drainage) and root covered. Luckily, the grass and clover I planted are thriving.

Most of the flowers you see in pots are annuals, primarily there for the polinators. (There's an amazing number and variety of bees that show up.) Elsewhere on the property I have a "tall" perennial garden (goldenrods, asters, bee balm, Jersulam artichoke, Joe-pye weed, etc.), a separate garden for shorter growing  plants, a couple of shade gardens, and various shrubs, trees, and hostas wherever I can squeeze them in.

[Irons]

Hi, PD -

Yes, that's lanscaping cloth. This is the section of land I purchased that had the Japanese knotweed infestation. I spent an entire summer digging it up, but new sprouts continue to pop up, so I've only made permanent plantings around the perimeter. The ground is also rocky with clay soil (one of the contributing reason for the poor drainage) and root covered. Luckily, the grass and clover I planted are thriving.

Most of the flowers you see in pots are annuals, primarily there for the polinators. (There's an amazing number and variety of bees that show up.) Elsewhere on the property I have a "tall" perennial garden (goldenrods, asters, bee balm, Jersulam artichoke, Joe-pye weed, etc.), a separate garden for shorter growing  plants, a couple of shade gardens, and various shrubs, trees, and hostas wherever I can squeeze them in.

You must be busy. I sympathise for your knotweed problem. I have scaled back on pots this year, they look nice but are hard work. Watering twice a day in hot weather but worse of all when plants outgrow their pot. I spent a whole morning sweating blood extracting a Phoenix shrub from a pot and have stab wounds as proof. As can be seen in photo below, not before time! The poor thing is now happy in open ground.

[Szykneij]

You must be busy. I sympathise for your knotweed problem. I have scaled back on pots this year, they look nice but are hard work. Watering twice a day in hot weather but worse of all when plants outgrow their pot. I spent a whole morning sweating blood extracting a Phoenix shrub from a pot and have stab wounds as proof. As can be seen in photo below, not before time! The poor thing is now happy in open ground.

Yes, it keeps me busy, but it's what I enjoy doing most during the warm weather. You're correct about the need for extra watering, but the advantage is being able to move things around when different plants grow at different rates, as well as having something on hand when another plant needs replacing in the ground.

Your Phoenix shrub was a bit rootbound, wasn't it?     I'm not familiar with that plant. at least by that name. Can you tell me more about it? I'm not sure it would thrive in my climate zone, but I like growing things that aren't the norm. I have some seedling monkey puzzle trees I started after seeing the original "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" film, although they're not technically cold hardy enough for where I live. They take a long time to grow, though, and with climate change going on, things might be warm enough here when they're ready to go in the ground    .

[Mandryka]

You must be busy. I sympathise for your knotweed problem. I have scaled back on pots this year, they look nice but are hard work. Watering twice a day in hot weather but worse of all when plants outgrow their pot.

You should investigate a hozelock irrigation system. They work. I have found that many plants do better in large containers than in the ground, maybe because they have no competition, maybe because it's easier for me to ensure that they have all the water and nutrients they need. Hydrangea species, grasses, ferns, Trachelospermum, Ceratostigma are all examples.

[Irons]

Yes, it keeps me busy, but it's what I enjoy doing most during the warm weather. You're correct about the need for extra watering, but the advantage is being able to move things around when different plants grow at different rates, as well as having something on hand when another plant needs replacing in the ground.

Your Phoenix shrub was a bit rootbound, wasn't it?     I'm not familiar with that plant. at least by that name. Can you tell me more about it? I'm not sure it would thrive in my climate zone, but I like growing things that aren't the norm. I have some seedling monkey puzzle trees I started after seeing the original "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" film, although they're not technically cold hardy enough for where I live. They take a long time to grow, though, and with climate change going on, things might be warm enough here when they're ready to go in the ground    .

"Phoenix" here  https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/pre-order-xxl-giant-phoenix-canariensis-canary-island-date-palm-large-6-7ft-patio-palm-trees-170-200cms?fee=6&fep=18147&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0emHBhC1ARIsAL1QG

Like you, I like a challenge. Stripped a border and filled with banana plants and cannas. I plan to bubble wrap the banana stems - I successfully did the same with a tree fern for the last two years. Also, have arranged a builders bag of forest bark for delivery in the Autumn which I will liberally spread through the bed. There is a risk, but if they burst into life come next Spring I will be chuffed and relieved.