Shrinking Violet

do you do a "Chelsea chop ? if so what plants !

Thanks for the reminder!  I'm so far behind this year, I'd forgotten about chopping the sedums.  Will do it tomorrow (fingers crossed)

Where we are. the Big Map.

I put myself on yesterday - west of Minehead in Somerset.  Today I seem to have moved to Wales!  Trying to work out how to edit it - and it's doing my head in!  Maybe tomorrow . . .

Where do you grow your Allium's?

May I ask a related question?  I have A. Christophii in my island bed.  It started out with just three, and over the years they have promiscuously seeded and last year I had 17 lovely blooms.  They are, however, a bit crowded (understatement!) and I want to take some with me when I move house.  What's the best time, do you think, for lifting and potting them up after they have flowered?  There are lots of buds pushing up at the moment, so I'm looking forward to another good display!

Vine Weevil

How nice to read the above two posts - veritable peace breaking out!  sometimes it does seem as if people want their view to supersede all others, and it can make a board a pretty uncomfortable place.  I thought hard before I posted, but I think overall there's a good balance of opinion.

Incidentally, (and also with prescient timing) we have visitors staying with us from Canada.  Where we grow vast acreages of oilseed rape, they grow canola.  The seed is treated in the same way ie with neonicotinoid before planting, and there is, apparently, no problem with large numbers of bees dying off.

As I said upthread - let's hope that the experts can really find an answer - soon!

Mini Greenhouse - door open or closed?

I use two mini plastic GHs as cold frames, and very useful they are, too.  I open the door during the day (unless we have a sudden burst of cold wind again) and close at night.  After about a couple of weeks, I'll leave the door open at night as well, and by then the plants should be OK to be planted in their final position.

Oh - and a quick hint that I have found helps:  when you roll and then tie the door open there is a bit of a strain on the plastic and the joints, and the door sort of sags around the tie.  I roll a short piece of garden can in the middle of the roll, and it keeps it firmer.  No sagging!

Vine Weevil

With perfect timing, I looked at a large tub of heucheras and primulas yesterday, and, deciding that they really didn't seem to be thriving, decided to dig them up and repot them individually.  The reason they weren't thriving was painfully obvious - hundreds of pesky VW grubs had chomped through the roots!  I salvalged a few bits that had what may prove to be viable roots still attached, and drenched the new pots with Provado.  I then turned the soil over in the tub and spread the grubs out on a tray, much to the delight of Mrs Blackbird, who clearly has a hungry brood to feed.  The residual tub of compost, doubtless still infected with some grubs etc.  was also given the drench.

As I type this, there is an item on the news about the decline in bees, and the possibility of the link with certain pesticides.  Now, when I took the action that I did yesterday, I hadn't realised that neonicitonoids and Provado were effectively one and the same.  I shall think long and hard before considering its use again should I see the need. 

For once I do find myself in agreement with the European proposal for a suspension of the use of these products while further research is carried out.  But experts don't seem to be able to agree, so I hope they really do crack on with the research and find the answer.

might be usefull for slugs

I'm not sure this will be useful for slugs - but sounds like it's a tip that will be very useful for gardeners  

I shall definitely try this.  Thanks for the info.

Cat Poo in the compost !

Patricia - that's a lot of money to spend on trying to keep your garden cat-free.  I think the Olbas oil is similar to the muscle stuff - but dearer.  It may be that the teabag solution would work for you.  I believe that the odour lingers and deters cats long after our own sense of smell detects it.  So it could be that it would be of some help for you.  Here's hoping!  (Well, we're all hoping for a proper summer this year, and you'll be hoping to be able to get out there and enjoy it!)

Cat Poo in the compost !

Tim Burr:    (As I typed it, I just realised how clever your board name is!)

Criss:  No probs.  Thanks for sorting it.

btw a way to deter the critturs is to soak used, dried teabags with muscle spray - the deep heat sort of thing.  Buried just below the surface, they (the cats) are repelled by the smell, which lasts a couple of weeks, and doesn't get washed away by rain etc.

The actual poo will break down eventually, but because cats are meat-eaters, the stuff is more toxic and less beneficial than, say, horse manure.

Cat Poo in the compost !

Hello!  I don't post often - but have been around since the demise of the old Beeb board.  It seems that there are now two of us (Shrinking Violets, that is).  A bit confusing?

Fungus on peas

Weather Lore - and more

The wrong kind of birds

Community Orchard