Month: March 2018

Vine weevil is very controllable at this time of year. Check all your potted plants for vine weevil grubs.When you turn out a pot one of the signs is no roots around the side of pots.

Potted strawberries are very prone to them so is fuchsia, astilbe, heuchera and other fleshy rooted plants.Remove grubs and wash roots and leaving them soaking for a few hours, this will make any of the remaining grubs show themselves. Plant everything back in fresh soil if you can as vine weevil grubs like compost. The sooner you do this the better chance you have of saving your plants, I normally start in February.

Empty all your last summer pots A.S.A.P. as they are great places for vine weevil to overwinter.Never empty straight into compost bins, best way is to break up rootball and spread on an empty flower bed and let the birds eat grubs,robins love them.

As you can see I do my best to keep busy but when summer comes my saved standard fuchsia and other plants will be my reward.

michael

A I doing something wrong ?

To day, I returned to Askea Country Market for the first time since Christmas. Many of the plants I would have for sale were not fit to bring along. I had some tomatoes (Alicante) which I sowed in January. Most of the people who called showed no interest in same, only items like cakes and apple tarts. My friend Fr. Tom Dillon came along and stated that he wound buy some later on. As I was leaving about 12, I spoke to my friend Norah who is employed in the centre and she agreed to buy all 6. So Dick was pleased having disposed of all plants. I believe that some are only sowing the seed now, but I sow the seed earlier than most.

There are no retail chemicals available to control leather jackets or daddy longleg grubs. If you see starlings on your lawn they are after leatherjacket grubs and the are one of the best birds for  controlling them and should be encouraged.

The real problem arises in your veg. garden or any area you are planting small plants or seedlings.I have seen sweetpea plants pulled into ground and devoured. Two years ago my carrot seedling were vanishing so by the time I had discovered what the problem was I had lost 2’of carrot seedlings. My first reaction was to blame the old reliables slugs, but slugs normally leave part eaten plants but my carrots had completely vanished. Then I dug the areas where the carrots had vanished and I found 4 leatherjackets and that cured the problem.

I was under the impression that Leather jackets did not like soil disturbance and my carrot beds had been well prepared so now I have come up with a simple soloution and it works or at least reduces the damage they can do.Simply cover your bed with dampened cardboard and and black polythene or mypex. Leave it for a couple of days and you will find the grubs underneath the cardboard. Remove grubs and destroy and repeat process over a couple weeks, it is  so simple.

I’m always looking for good organic ways of pest and disease control. March is a great month for dealing with alot of garden pests. Grubs are vulnerable as they are not mobile where adults are.Lots of  plants can be save by just removing grubs overwintering in the roots and the soil around your favourite plants.

Hope you find the above useful.

Michael

Just checked and I can see my journal Archive – a bit different to the old system but easier to read!

How are people finding the new site? Certainly easier to post from my phone! I still cant see my own journal archive but I seem to able to see other peoples alright. Has anyone tried that? Nothing garden-related to report! Escaped the snow by visiting Barcelona – Note! No coats!!!!

Just testing. Will try to attach photo. Photo would not attach to this journal entry.

Going to see can I put up an album

Well I think I created one, but I’ve no idea where it is, or whether it will appear online.

ADDED March 28 – by ‘magic’ – very little notion how I managed it. But it proves Craig right – we can put a number of images on the one journal entry.

Sadly, the way you see them is not how I organized them – But at least you can see them.

Hi All,

Just seeing how this post will go. News from Donegal is that we weren’t so badly hit by the Beast from the East but it has been a grueling Winter  – so very wet and cold. I just looked at some photos from last year and we are 2-3 weeks behind at least. Everything is still up in a heap, tender plants and cuttings taking up room in the tunnel when space is needed for seed trays and other activities. Frustrating but not as bad as some gardens that are still covered in snow.

Spent a good while this morning writing, and I thought publishing an entry – wonder where it went?

Also haven’t yet found how to access the albums I used to have

As Dr Low would say: Patience, Patience, – if my patients had patience, I’d have no patients!

Haren’t been on for an age and doing nothing in the garden. I did one day of cutting back one area and had planned finishing the area today. Rain has changed that idea.

So as I’ve limited time before the Rugby starts, I will attack the shed and if the rain eases I can do a bit outside .

Delighted to see the new site up and running when I logged in. Well done to all the team . I’ll have a closer look later on as regards photos etc.

So for now, it’s goodbye from me and goodbye from him 😁

A good and happy gardening year to you all .

Just a test to try and work out where features are

Had just made a great start on my new garden last Friday week and then the snow. Ground conditions were excellent but now I will have to wait for garden to dry out again.

I have decided to surround my house with a low raised bed as we have heavy soil this will help with drainage.I’m using pdm treated timber in the ornamental garden a 9” by 2” arena kick boards to front and I’m going to cover front with some slates left over from the house and on top 2” I will have some galvanized steel very light and going to paint it the same colour as the zinc cladding. I’ll take some photo’s once completed. The pdm  board should last for years but I won’t use them in the veg garden.

The plan is to plant the beds up with choice shrubs including for height Magnolia and Acers edged with perennials for summer colour ,hosta and ferns in shade.

Acers and magnolia viewed from house are magnificent in summer /autumn but in winter they can look a bit bare at base so what I did in my last garden was to plant shrubs like box balls,and pittosporum tom thumb and irene  paterson (hard to find) I’m on the hunt for low growing evergreen shrubs but not Hebe as some of them are not hardy.Having said that I do like hebe sutherlandii nice shape and low maintenance.

tip: if you are having problems growing acers why not try a sambucus black lace,beautiful acer like foliage and great in a herbaceous bed.

One section is going to be filled with lime free compost and soil for my camelias, forest flames and loads of other lime hating plants.

I see conifers are making a come back and I have  a few beauties in pots that I have collected over the years and going to put them into ground.   I love natural growing narrow conifers with the exception of Italian Cypress.

The sun is shining so I’m off out to sow some seeds (veg) . still loads of planning to do maybe I’ll put the conifer bed in a different spot. That me easily distracted.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

michael