steephill

Strange broad bean

Spot the odd one out! One of my broad beans has come up yellow rather than green. I'll grow it on to see what becomes of it but has anyone else ever had this happen?

Trouble germinating sweet corn

A bit early maybe? This may nelp http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingsweetcorn1.shtml

Greenhouse Advice

That looks like a solid piece of kit but it is a bit small . Every one regrets not getting a bigger greenhouse. You could try your local paper/Gumtree/Freecycle to find a better, cheaper (even free!) greenhouse.

Slow worms and roe deer

An odd mix for a subject title but bear with me. 

I found my first (live) slow worm in the garden today. I found one dead in the snow a month ago which was a surprise, must have tried to get going too soon and got caught out in our long hard spring. I need to start stripping off long grass soon on various banks but I am always wary of finding slow worms in there. I am delighted to find them again of course but it means slow progress for me as the strimmer gets parked and hand work begins. Hopefully sightings of grass snakes will not be far behind.

I also found a present from a roe deer buck. Not the usual compost enhancer from the back end but an antler found in a loose wood pile. The stag must have been using the branches to rattle off its antlers at the end of Winter. The antler looks just like these on a buck we had in the garden a few years ago:-

Air pots

Or just let the pots dry out to let the air in . I like the fact that the air pots are constant diameter, makes more efficient use of floor space in the greenhouse. I have never really understood why pots taper down just as the roots are doing the exact opposite!

Air pots

Any experience here with air pots? http://www.airpotgarden.com/store/index.php?app=gbu0&ns=display&ref=welcome I saw some on Beechgrove the other week where they were used to grow giant veg. I was thinking about trying tomatoes in them.

As they aren't exactly cheap I wondered about their longevity.

sanity in need of restoring

It is amazing the stuff that gets dumped in gardens. I found two sailing dinghies and trailers buried under rhodos and conifers and the remains of a caravan which had been burnt down about 6 inches under the surface. Trying to dig a plot found chain link fencing buried about a foot down as well as miles of wire. Another patch yielded enough stone to build a wall round my greenhouse. There are also several piles of bricks and tiles hidden in the undergrowth. The previous owner was in the building trade you won't be surprised to hear!

Help

Shotgun? Pigeons are a real pest at the moment with buds. Your tree is small enough to net but it would be ugly. You could try hanging CDs from it like some demented Xmas decorations.

allium purple sensation and irises taking over my small garden

Lucky you! Many of us would love to have that problem. Not letting them set seed will reduce the problem in future and it should be easy to pull up seedlings but how about potting some up and giving to friends etc.? Your irises sound like they are doing just fine too. You could lift and divide them in a year or so, search the site for a "how to" on that.

Strawberry plants dying

Strange broad bean

Slow worms and roe deer

Air pots

Bean confession