Iain R

Horsradish Thongs......to be or not to be

Dear Christine, Very wise decission not to grow, my wife loves horse raddish sauce so thought I would grow some, in spite of putting into large plastic pots of couse it escaped & it has infested my asparagus bed now so double disaster!  I agree with everything said by Little Miss Bush about trying to dig, remove and, grating  processing -literally takes your breath away!

Another Vitopod question

Thanks for comments, I agree the light levels are often a problem this time of year and as we all know light levels were a big problem all year in 2012!  I suppose a gow light is the next investment, these veg could turn out cheaper if I cover them in gold leaf!

Seriously what surprised me  was  a lack of instructions apart from how to put the side pieces together. Most seed packs give germination temps but not all. Ah well all part of the fun!

Another Vitopod question

Ok I read all the reviews dropped all the hints to family, shelled out for power down to the greenhouse, and now I have my first ever heated propagator. I have the large vitopod  with extension height. What now? What temperatures should I be using for general seed  germination, do I need to fill it up or will part filled be ok. I mostly grow veg. Anything in the books to tell me what to do?

All info greatefully received

What is this Seedling?

The seed on the bench looks like some sort of Bean but you might need to wait till the leaves unfold a bit more before you can work out what it is. When it has developed a bit more try again or just ask the Brownie pack leader what it is

Seaweed

My father (much better gardener than me) always told a tale that during WW2 he was stationed up in Oban doing embarcation of air crew .

He got a load of seaweed dug it in to the garden of the B&B he was staying in. He said he  got the best crops he had ever had, especially brassicas. To the point that when the ministry of food were going round on checks another neighbouring B&B owner complained that it was alright for his landlady to manage on the rations because she had got a professional gardener in who was suplying her with all this fantastic produce!

Iain R

New to the website

Go UP- Peas & climbing beans french or runner. My grandchilderen ask when it's time to sow seeds. The seeds are big and easy for them to handle, nice big plants and peans or beans to pick & eat! The purple french type Bluhilde long purple pods that go dark green whn cooked. The children think they are really cool!

Welcome to the fruit & veg forum

So many Questions! I am new to this web discussion lark, but not entirely new to Allotment gardening.

John 14 did you get any advice? Its tricky, but you could try to scrape a little bark off one of the branches (just a little bit) if it's green then its alive and new leves etc should appear in spring. Try liquid seaweed feed (in sping)  this can stimulate stronger more drought resitant growth. If you ever plant another tree I cant recomend RootGrow or any equivalent highly enough. This gives a symbiotic fungal growth which acts like a secondary root sytem which helps trees and shubs take up water & nutrients. It's quite new to home gardeners & not cheap but well worth it.

Chelle 2 Another difficult one. By now you may know the answer, if the green manure did not smother the weeds then I would cover the area with Black plastic or membrane now & leave it all winter. In spring when you uncover there should be no top growth. Dig out all perennial weeds  you can but be prepared for re-growth, it will take time but it will work. A rotovator would just chop up the roots & spread them & unless you can keep rotovating as soon as they re-appear. Potatoes traditionally help clear ground as you cultivate at least 4 times in season, (dig to prepare, dig to plant, earth up, Dig to harvest). There are other methods such as cover with cardboard, mulch with very thick layer of compost & grow into that (by implication you need a lot of compost). Try some of each! Good luck.

Nene- Gooseberry!

Iain R

New to the website

Good answers from previous. It may be a bit obvious but grow what you like to eat or at least what you would like to try! Home grown always taste best as it is so fresh. I agree for greenhouse 2 use it to start off crops if you have pots use them but root trainers are v good for starting peas beans etc in as they give plants a flying start. Remember to harden off (ventilate or bring out in day gradually till you can leave out) 10-14 days before you plant out fully otherwise if you put straight out to exposed site, tender leaves will scorch in wind.

Iain R

Another Vitopod question