rosie plum

The Blessing of a new Allotment

my husband just does not understand the obsession and joy i get from gardening...well done on getting your allotment its looking great!!!i too build beds from scraps of wood and from pallets..if you just paint them a dark brown they look grand...im from the city too but am living now in the country on an almost 1acre plot and it is still heaven after 7yrs...heavy clay and stony ground so im still battling and always ask for compost for birthdays etc...so lovely to find this site and see all the great likeminded chitchat!!!my blood runs cold to see whole gardens paved over and my country neighbours who dont appreciate what they have with only enormous lawns and no planting..they think im mad but i disagree!!!!keep posting pictures of the transformation!!!!

slugs and snails

cheers, my problem is where i live in ireland the garden centres are badly stocked and find it so hard to find these things!!!im backed onto old bog so there are no shortage of frogs and toads...but the slugs are rampant because of the damp heavy soil...i have been going by the philosphy that if something dies or gets eaten then i dont plant anymore but want to start a veg collection!!

slugs and snails

Im about to begin an experiment using human hair as a deterrent for slugs and snails, i have heard that this works really well as hair has tiny barbs on it and they dont like it, i wonder has anyone tried this??it will hopefully help against the mature slugs but would appreciate any tips on dealing with juveniles which tend to live under the soil...any pointers would really help as i use bark mulch for the paths and timber for the beds, thank you all so much in advance!!!

2 year-old Choisya ternata

great stuff, i found no real evidence either..iv rarely seen the grbs and i suspect that a lot of the vine weevil ive accidently imported from garden centres where the pots have been lying around...the yellow balls in the compost can be the eggs a lot of the time, not slow release fertiliser, if you squash them and they crack like an egg leaving a shell then they are the eggs, but the killer which you simple dilute and water on is great, it may seem a wee bit expensive but what you potentially lose on infested plants makes it well wothwhle...good luck!!!

Talkback: Birds - make your own bird box

Dogs eating everything.

I agree, walking is the key here and is your garden large enough to give her, her own run?

2 year-old Choisya ternata

could it be vine weevil>adults eating the leaves and the grubs eating the roots?i treated some of my shrubs and plants with a systemic vine weevil killer and my problem seemed cured, plants recovered well, it needs to be done every so often and kill any adults you find..they particularly like plants in pots

Pound shop plants- any success stories?

regularly!!!but ideally you will pot them on for less hardy types and keep well watered and sheltered...dont forget to harden off!!!!and look for ones in good enough health..i have philadelphus, roses, hibiscus, buddleia forsythia and ribes do pparticularly well!!!

gunnera manicata

potting bench

dirty nails

slugs and snails