The Plants and Gardening Page --
Seeds, Lawns, weeds, Garden furniture,
Flowers, Vegetables, Tools, Houseplants, Organic Insecticide, Herbs,
Pests, and more.
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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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