Welshonion

Horse Manure in a Vegan Garden

I'm a preserver too. The human body is very good at regulating salt, the effect of salt on blood pressure is only measurable with very specialized equipment under laboratory conditions.  Beware of scare stories in the Press.  Take them with a pinch of salt!

Gily if you want contemporary accounts of the privations of the poor in the 19C I suggest you read Thomas Hardy or Dickens.  It wasn't so rosy then.

Regarding antibiotics. There are very strict rules about antibiotics and animals for human consumption in the UK.  There are very strict withdrawal periods.  Very strict.  The real danger with antibiotics is humans who don't follow the full course prescribed, because they feel better.  Words fail me.

Horse Manure in a Vegan Garden

What???!!!  Antibiotics in horse feed.  Where did you get an idea like that?

Remember that our ancestors suffered from all sorts of deficiency diseases.  The scheme of rotating crops is comparatively modern.  Food must have been in very short supply in Winter and early Spring.  Unless of course you wanted a diet of manky root crops. An awful lot of what our ancestors ate was certainly not top quality.

Truffles?

Truffles?  Not likely!

Weeds from next door

Buy yourself some slates and push them into the ground along the fence line.  That should help a bit.  Also move some of your plants away from the fence so you can apply weedkiller more easily.

Depressed apple tree owner - needs help...

Join the club!

Chicken Compost/Manure & Wrigglers

The wrigglers are gnat larvae.  Is your water butt closely covered at all times?  It should be!

Chilli plants - keep or chuck and start again next year?

Start them off much earlier than you would tomatoes.

Brambles and weeds

Roundup will only be effective on growing greenery, so not at this time of year.  In what state are the tree stumps, and what size?  And what kind of tree?

If they are small digging out is the most effective remedy.  Or at the very least dig around the base of the tree and sever the main roots.  If they are very large get someone in with a stump-grinder. If you saw down a small tree, leave a good length of trunk so you can use it as a lever to break off the roots as you dig around. It will make the job much easier.

If you dig out the brambles - by far the best method - you will not get rid of them in one season. A hoe will be totally useless. You need a strong fork. They will spring again if you leave the largest roots.  The growth will be weak, but you must get rid of everything before you put down the weed-supressing fabric or you will get in an awful mess.  It is not the panacea you might imagine.

Chilli plants - keep or chuck and start again next year?

There are some varieties that are specifically suitable for taking through the Winter, but most should be chucked.

conference pear

Your problem will be solved when it loses its leaves this Autumn and you get a new lot next Spring.  If they are wierd in the Spring then a diagnosis can be made.

Fig Tree Care

Swifts