Topic: The RAWK Gardening Thread. (All Questions Answered)

[Sarge]

How does your garden grow in the hosepipe ban Sarge?  I saw a tip on Gardeners World to keep slugs at bay using garlic water, so I chopped up two heads of garlic and brought them to the boil in about 1 litre of water and then simmered them for about 30 mins, let them cool and sprayed the strained liquid on my hostas.  They had been slightly munched which made me remember the tip.  Since the spraying, no more munching and my hostas thrive (first try at growing them).  I thought I'd pass on the tip.   

Excellent Maggie thats a great tip. Garden is dry but holding its own so far, just.

[Sarge]

Just on the hosta topic above - I planted mine in slightly the wrong place and they've been sunburnt. Is that the end of them or are they repairable?

Possibly it depends on how dry they become, if the foliage is turning brown or crispy its not great news to be honest.

[richiedouglas]

Possibly it depends on how dry they become, if the foliage is turning brown or crispy its not great news to be honest.

Thanks Sarge. Ive moved them today back into the shade. Id say half the leaves are crispy so Ive got my fingers crossed.

[Sarge]

Thanks Sarge. Ive moved them today back into the shade. Id say half the leaves are crispy so Ive got my fingers crossed.

Keep them watered and in the shade for now.

[Filler.]

Once you've got your garden sorted and move on to keeping bees too, this is what you can look forward to..

That's quite amazing. What a lovely thing that is.

Have never thought about selling the honey have to say. Finding a space to have them around regularly being the summit of my ambition right now, but what a great gift to give when you can make that much!


I think I have mole in our veg patch. Can't tell, as no mounds in the garden. Looks to me like he's really enjoying a stint of shallow burrowing in there as there's no way he's digging thru this baked hard soil. Or something.

[Sarge]

So so dry.

[Crosby Nick]

That's quite amazing. What a lovely thing that is.

Have never thought about selling the honey have to say. Finding a space to have them around regularly being the summit of my ambition right now, but what a great gift to give when you can make that much!


I think I have mole in our veg patch. Can't tell, as no mounds in the garden. Looks to me like he's really enjoying a stint of shallow burrowing in there as there's no way he's digging thru this baked hard soil. Or something.

Get yourself a Jean-Michel Ferri and you’ll sort yourself out in no time.

[Chinbits]

I've just moved in to my first ever house, so I now have a garden which I'm clueless about. Out front there's a small lawn that is bordered by pebbles. The idea is to get a hedge running along the front of the house by the low wall, so it is more useable and has some privacy. What's the best steps to take? How do you grow a hedge? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm not much a man when it comes to shit like this.

[Sarge]

I've just moved in to my first ever house, so I now have a garden which I'm clueless about. Out front there's a small lawn that is bordered by pebbles. The idea is to get a hedge running along the front of the house by the low wall, so it is more useable and has some privacy. What's the best steps to take? How do you grow a hedge? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm not much a man when it comes to shit like this.

Read a few pages back a good bit on this sort of thing.

PS stick them in the ground

[Sarge]

Page 14 and 15 chinbits, scroll down them both and plenty in there.

[The Gulleysucker]

That's quite amazing. What a lovely thing that is.

Have never thought about selling the honey have to say. Finding a space to have them around regularly being the summit of my ambition right now, but what a great gift to give when you can make that much!

And even more harvested today...18603 grams ,  41lbs,  it's really going rather well this summer.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

And even more harvested today...18603 grams ,  41lbs,  it's really going rather well this summer.

How much for a tub of that honey Mr Gulley?   

[reddebs]

Read a few pages back a good bit on this sort of thing.

PS stick them in the ground

And green side up helps [emoji106]

[The Gulleysucker]

How much for a tub of that honey Mr Gulley?   

Paul, I'd give you a box for free if you lived nearby but unfortunately I'm down in Devon these days and each box is well over 2kg so P&P is just prohibitive and makes it uneconomic

Sadly, it also likely really wouldn't travel too well in the post as unfortunately it would probably get somewhat bashed around on its travels.

[Sarge]

And green side up helps [emoji106]

True that.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

How much for a tub of that honey Mr Gulley?   

Paul, I'd give you a box for free if you lived nearby but unfortunately I'm down in Devon these days and each box is well over 2kg so P&P is just prohibitive and makes it uneconomic

Sadly, it also likely really wouldn't travel too well in the post as unfortunately it would probably get somewhat bashed around on its travels.

Very kind of you offering to give me some of your fabulous looking honey for free if I lived in your neck of the woods.

Next time I am visiting the English Riviera I might just call in   

[Filler.]

Was supposed to rain tonight. Do you remember when there was news?

[Sarge]

Was supposed to rain tonight. Do you remember when there was news?

Pissed here last night into early morning. It was good.

[Filler.]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bh454m

30 min programme about keeping bees.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

Remember those potatoes I planted in April?

When's it time to dig them up?

Some of them have little white flowers on them   

[Filler.]

Remember those potatoes I planted in April?

When's it time to dig them up?

Some of them have little white flowers on them   

You can leave them in the ground if you like. They're ready to eat when all the greenery has died. Probably best to dig one group up to check for disease etc, but cut all the browning leafage low down if leaving them in the ground (but leave just enough to let you know where they are). If it's getting really wet then digging them all up might be a good idea.

[soxfan]

I'd been reading up on Roundup the weed killer. It contains glyphosate, a possible carcinogen. I decided to try something a bit safer, so I mixed a homemade weed killer. 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1 cup of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of dishwashing soap. The latter is to make the concoction stick to the leaves of whatever you're spraying. 

Well, I must say the results have been great. I was trying to kill some ordinary grass in an unwanted area, plus some nondescript weeds and a big growth of poison ivy.  Everything turned brown within 24 hours and now a few days later it all appears to be dead. Plus the ingredients are far cheaper than Roundup. Maybe I'll need to spray it more often than Roundup but that's ok. This one's a keeper. 

[Sarge]

Must try that

[BlackandWhitePaul]

You can leave them in the ground if you like. They're ready to eat when all the greenery has died. Probably best to dig one group up to check for disease etc, but cut all the browning leafage low down if leaving them in the ground (but leave just enough to let you know where they are). If it's getting really wet then digging them all up might be a good idea.

Ahhhh okay, thank you.

I will dig them up in October   

[soxfan]

Must try that

I found it online. There are a number of ingredient variations but the one I listed was most common. Be careful where you use it of course. You'll have salt on the ground afterward in that area. Sems to have worked well. Really cheap and easy to mix up. Pour it into a spray bottle and get killing. 

[Sarge]

So its tidy up before winter time plus you can now cut back those overgrown shrubs and perrennials.

[L8Craig]

Are these magic?

[The Gulleysucker]

No, but I don't think that tree is likely very healthy ( Labernum?)

Probably on its way out.

[L8Craig]

No, but I don't think that tree is likely very healthy ( Labernum?)

Probably on its way out.

It's a cherry tree. Blossoms really nice. I've put a couple of pictures in here a few months ago
I wouldn't mind keeping the tree though. The garden is more than big enough for what I'll ever do with it and it provides some privacy, even though we back on to train tracks. Only my 80 year old neighbour can see me sunbathing In shorts in the summer and she is out most of the time.

[The Gulleysucker]

It's a cherry tree. Blossoms really nice. I've put a couple of pictures in here a few months ago
I wouldn't mind keeping the tree though. The garden is more than big enough for what I'll ever do with it and it provides some privacy, even though we back on to train tracks. Only my 80 year old neighbour can see me sunbathing In shorts in the summer and she is out most of the time.

I'm not totally positive, but it could be Honey Fungus in which case it's just a matter of time before it dies.

We had it here on a beautiful large and old Labernum and the tree died within 2 years. When I cut the tree down after it ceased to grow leaves one year, some of the growth rings inside the wood were blackened and sections of the inside of the bowl had just rotted away, pretty nasty stuff, and the really bad news is I understand the fungus can lurk in the ground for many years later condemning anything else you plant on the spot. Eradication of it can be difficult. Sarge may know more about it.

I'm not sure about Cherries, but we also had two of them years ago in the garden, mature ornamentals and very pretty, but they both decided to die within the space of a few years with what we now suspect might have also been Honey Fungus too though I was told at the time that some species of ornamental don't live too long anyway, perhaps as little as 25 years. Their bark seems to split and let in all kinds of nasty stuff.

[harryc]

Can't believe I managed to put up a fence with concrete posts and gravel boards.

Wow those 9 foot posts are effing heavy plus also made the mistake of ordering 12" gravel boards!

The old fence was starting to rot in a few of the panels and I remember the agony of seeing met posts which I thought were going in straight only to hit a rock or hard clay and twisting in front of my eyes so I thought I would do it like a professional......lol

Got to admit it looks pretty neat.

[Filler.]

Are these magic?

No


Dry them in an oven on low tho. Don't air dry them, they'll be riddled with maggotts almost before you blink. In an oven on low lying on newspaper.

Let us know how you get on!

[Sarge]

So its tidy up before winter time plus you can now cut back those overgrown shrubs and perrennials.

Bulb planting time!

[Sarge]

Can't believe I managed to put up a fence with concrete posts and gravel boards.

Wow those 9 foot posts are effing heavy plus also made the mistake of ordering 12" gravel boards!

The old fence was starting to rot in a few of the panels and I remember the agony of seeing met posts which I thought were going in straight only to hit a rock or hard clay and twisting in front of my eyes so I thought I would do it like a professional......lol

Got to admit it looks pretty neat.

Jesus I'd say your back is broke after that, its a thing we post pics of our endeavours

[Barneylfc∗]

I'd been reading up on Roundup the weed killer. It contains glyphosate, a possible carcinogen. I decided to try something a bit safer, so I mixed a homemade weed killer. 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1 cup of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of dishwashing soap. The latter is to make the concoction stick to the leaves of whatever you're spraying. 

Well, I must say the results have been great. I was trying to kill some ordinary grass in an unwanted area, plus some nondescript weeds and a big growth of poison ivy.  Everything turned brown within 24 hours and now a few days later it all appears to be dead. Plus the ingredients are far cheaper than Roundup. Maybe I'll need to spray it more often than Roundup but that's ok. This one's a keeper. 

You could've found it on RAWK 

Use a mixture of Water, vinegar, salt, and washing up liquid. Don't spray it on any plant you don't want to kill, as it'll kill everything.

[John C]

You could've found it on RAWK 

Bloody hell I didn't realise that was so long ago. I took your advice mate, I even add a touch of bleach to enhance the killer affect. Works brilliantly.

[Sarge]

Plenty of rain about but my garden is all tooked way until Springtime.

[Sarge]

Bump!

[John C]

Bump!

Indeed Sarge mate, Nick still wants to know if you've tidied yours up yet ye scruff?

[Sarge]

Indeed Sarge mate, Nick still wants to know if you've tidied yours up yet ye scruff?

No