The Plants
and Gardening Page --
Seeds, Lawns, weeds, Garden furniture, Flowers, Vegetables, Tools,
Houseplants, Organic Insecticide, Herbs, Pests, and more.
~ Better Compost Heap: A layer of twigs with some pourous and non-rotting fibre placed over it is a good base for a compost heap or bin, I have even heard of putting a layer of cardboard instead of the fibre. My local garden centre has a suitable fibre avaiable, it is described as a path patio and drive stabiliser. Before I started using the fibre I had problems with weeds growing upward into my compost bin ~~ DE
Green Gardening Tip. Take a bucket into the shower with you to use the water for the garden. You can then feel no guilt whatsoever when you use it for watering your plants -- JB
Turkey Baster. To avoid spillage and messing up the arrangement in a hanging basket use an oven baster. You can do this with indoor plants as well. ~~ John
Garden Furniture: If you have garden furniture on your lawn and you find it sinks in to the ground then use a lid of a container or the container itself under each leg ~~ John Devine, Ulster, UK
Seed
potatoes. Too
late to buy seed potatoes for the new allotment or vegetable plot (its
always good to start by deep digging or rotivating), just buy main
crops like Desiree, King Edwards from a supermarket or greengrocer.
Carefully select smaller round ones with good eyes. -- Sophie
Insecticides:-
Try this,
it's worked for me. Boil a whole bulb of cut up garlic until its soft.
Put it into a gallon of water and add 1 tablespoon of biodegradable
Detergent. Let it sit for a day, then strain and spray. Also, planting
parsley around your roses will help keep aphids away. Anon
To prevent tulips from
drooping too quickly as soon as you purchase them put
pin pricks in the stem just below the flower head.
Can someone tell me why my Anthurium plant has dark brown spots
developing
on the leaves? (Nusrat Khan)
Thread Algae: My garden fish pond has thread algae clogging it up
very badly. I heard that rotating a rough barked stick will get it
out. It worked fine, however it was was difficult to get it
off the stick so I had my son cut a lengthwise groove in it and I can
now cut it off with scissors. I recycle the algae in my herb garden-- Rosita
V Cassie Dallas Texas
Algae
Prevention - Howdy, I was reading
yesterday and came across an article that says to use "barley straw"
in water gardens/ponds to prevent algae. The article said it won't kill
algae,
but prevent it from growing and will last six months. Also, mixing 2
parts
distilled white vinegar and 1 part water in a spray bottle is an
excellent
natural weapon against garden slugs. Spray slugs and they will fall
right off
your plants. Most wither, slither and die, but I have witnessed some
larger
slugs slime away...but they don't come back! I have not noticed any
side effects
to the plants, except being slug free and healthy. -- Don
Seeds: When sowing fine seeds bury them close to
the surface, and mix with sand for easier sowing. –
Robert Edmunds
Coffee Grounds or Tea Bags can be used to make
compost, however excessive use inhibits growth. Caffeine is a
naturally occurring herbicide. -- Scott Edmunds
Frost: To protect sensitive seedlings from late
frosts cover with miniature greenhouses, made from plastic drink
bottles with the bottoms cut off and placed around each seedling. Large
drinking water bottles are particularly good for larger plants.– Anon.
Daffodils: Don’t
mix cut daffodils in with other cut flowers as the daffodils produce a
toxin that kills off the other flowers. – Anon.
Leaves : The most likely cause of older plant
leaves dropping is under-watering whereas the most likely cause of
younger plant leaves going yellow is over-watering
Bird
or squirrel feeder for the deck. A post on the deck, balcony
wherever squirrels can get to
you'll need a plastic juice container, preferably a recycle code #1
a small tray, I used a suet container
wide tape
knife, razor to cut
squirrels will follow
cut a hole in the bottom of the jug,
place the tray on a surface at base of post
tape the jug upside down just above the tray just less than the trays
edge height
you will fill the feeder from the hole (in the bottom now on top. the
seed will spill into the tray. if the tray is small enough, the
shells/waste will drop outside the tray and the wind will carry it
away. only enough seed fills the tray as it is eaten. If the area is in
the rain, you may want to cover the fill hole. -- Harold
Houseplants: To stop a windowsill houseplant
becoming lopsided keep turning and moving it every couple of days. --
Anon.
House Plants If you
have an aquarium, save the water each time you change it and water your
house plants with it. You'll be amazed at the results.-- Andy P Smith Nuneaton England " Wolfie
Weeds
weeds. You can get rid of weeds and grass growing in the
cracks in your
sidewalk, driveway, flower bed or lawn by pouring boiling water on
them. I have success by doing it once a day for about three
days.
--
Holland Family,
Garden Tools and Furniture
Safety: When using electrical equipment in the garden special care must be
taken. Make sure that cables run behind lawnmowers, you must never cut
towards a flex, or use it in wet conditions.
Safety: Never clean or adjust electrical gardening
equipment while they are still plugged in, make sure they are switched
off first. Never wash electrical gardening equipment with water.
If your plastic garden furniture gets stained, make
a paste by mixing of baking soda and water and apply it for a few
minutes before wiping it off. -- Cameron Sutherland
To preserve aluminum garden furniture, and metal
tools over the winter apply oil (either cooking oil, or motor oil. Wipe
them off before using again though. -- DE
When
I plant flowers I don't like to wear gloves, so I take a bar of soap
and scrape my fingernails over the soap, that way my nails don't get
stained and I can work the soil around the tender plant roots
-- " scully. gene"
Salt for Weeds: Applying a teaspoonful of salt can individually kill a weed such as
dandelion in your lawn. – Anne Gander
Wembley
England
Cracks in the Lawn: Where we live the soil is mainly clay and in summer
cracks appear in the lawn, they can be very unsightly. The
cracks can be filled with a fifty-fifty mixture of sand and soilless
compost or peat. You can re-seed at the same time. It should
not be necessary to repeat the exercise more than a couple of
times – Anne Gander
Lawn Patches. These can be removed by using spare
bits of turf (cut from any new flower-beds, etc.) cut to size and fit
into the gap. Add plenty of compost into the cracks, and water well.
- Comi
Pests.
Cabbage Moth. Hi there, I live in
Melbourne, Australia and nearly every plant in my garden has been
ruined this year by the cabbage moth
larvae. They will eat almost anything. I have tried natural methods,
insecticides, all to no avail. I see the white moth fluttering around,
and am considering buying a butterfly net to catch the little devils
which seems to be the only thing left to do. Any tips --
sumanaju,
Ants. Try pouring a line of salt where you think ants are coming in to the
house, and a pile where they tend to congregate (pantries, around dog
food dishes). This won't get rid of the big nasty carpenter ants, but
your average ant will be gone after a few days of regular application
(and you won't kill your children or pets!) -- Viki (Viki Gonia)
Insects. I like to use more natural methods to get
rid of greenfly and other pesky insects. Squashing them with rubber
gloves works, but is a bit time consuming. If you do have to spray
plants, use something more natural such as water infused with garlic,
or even soapy water works. -- Mary Ashington
Slugs and Snails: To keep slugs away from sensitive
plants sprinkle eggshells around them. Ash and grit are also supposed
to be effective. Sprinkle slugs with salt to kill them. It is also
possible to trap slugs using containers in the ground that have some
beer in the bottom. Empty grapefruit halves work as well. Vaseline
smeared around plant pots stops slugs getting to the plants inside.
– Robert Edmunds.
Pest Removal... Pour some grits on the ant
hill.... when the ants take the stuff and eat it, it expands and kills
them -- Psi Queue
Flowers. Azaleas. My azaleas like a
bit of white wine vinegar added to their water every so often.
They also like used teabags as fertilizer.
-- Anon.
Roses. My rose plants love old banana skins placed
around their bottoms as fertilizer. -- Anna Davis
Sweet Peas: Pinch off the tendrils to improve the
flowering capacity -- Vanessa Echols.
Fuchsias: Bury your fuchsia’s in the
winter to protect them from the frost. --Vanessa Echols.\
Vegetables Try Epson Salt (1tsp) around
tomato plants to green up the foliage, (peppers also) -- (Raymond Campbell)
Save some seeds from small red peppers and plant
two or three seeds at a time in yoghurt pots. When they are a
couple of inches high repot in a medium sized plant pot. You will soon
have an attractive indoor plant - and a supply of chillies --
Simon Spicer
Leeks. I find my leeks grow a better when you add a
bit of soot to their soil. I've also heard that they also like heavy
beers like stout to drink as well, but I'm a bit sceptical myself. --
D Jenkins, Cardiff
Cucumbers: Avoid watering with cold or chlorinated
water, leave standing for a few hours. Keep a container for water in
your greenhouse -- V E Webb
Keep cucumbers dry at the point that they emerge
from the ground to avoid "Collar Rot" -- V E Webb
Useful Links:
www.plantoasis.com Very
useful houseplant resource website.
www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/video.htm
Video on
setting up a hydroponics system
www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/top-tips.htm
General hydroponics tips
~~~|H-n-T|~~~
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