Anniemarshy

Best Base for Greenhouse?

I have a soil base in one of my greenhouses but I rarely grow anything direct into it.

I buy reusable woven plastic supermarket bags, 42cm x 20cm x 30cm and fill them with a mix os soil and compost.  Then when they season is over I tip the contents onto the flower beds and start again with frest next year.

I've found concrete/slabs to be too hot in the summer and harbour slugs underneath them.  With a soil floor the excess water drains away.

Ground elder

If you have never used weedkiller on it you could of course pick it and eat it!  it's a bit like spinich.

patio Potato bag

Hi, last summer we used reusable bags from Morrisons (the plastic woven ones that cost 40p) as raised beds in the greenhouse and grew our chillies, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines in them.  It was very successful and at the end of the season I moved some of my herbs into them for the winter.   We have have fresh thyme and oregano all winter so far.

Biten by unknown bugs

My sister takes vitamin B6 she says it helps to keep the mosi's away, not tried it myself but may well start.  Definately need to see a doctor as skin infections have a nasty habit of turning septic.

Autumn and what now?

We also have bees in our brickwork in spring, I think they are a solitary bee as they are not a honey bee.  I'll look more closely this spring!

Autumn and what now?

I've got a Vibernum bodnantense Dawn which flowers from now until late spring and winter jasmine.  The Daphne family also flower in the winter but I can't get it to grow in our garden of kent clay.  Also winter pansies, cyclamen, primulas and early bulbs.  You can also put out saucers of sugar water if you see bees around.

 

Talkback: Trees for small gardens

In answer to the comment about the Rowan stick growing too big. We had one in our garden that was about 20ft tall which got damaged, so I pollarded it at 3ft and told it to live or die! It lived and sent out loads of new branches from the base so presumably it can be coppiced as well!

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