Planting

[hillside]

Very nice work. Can you post a photo when it's grown in a bit?

Note: Dougal had posted a photo of a new garden bed he had built and planted. His post was accidentally deleted. Admins are looking to see if his post can be restored.

[Caneri]

And Dougal,

What are you planting and where?..aka, what temperate zone

I'll send some pics of my garden soon to add to this good thread.

Eric

[zigbert]

Dougal often has a plan(t) with what he does. I tend to think these humans are boring..... I have to rethink.

I should probably add a picture of my wilderness


Sigmund

[benali72]

Are those little squashes I see? Nice garden!

[raffy]

Drip irrigation for a home garden?

Now, that makes it different. (If it is indeed a home garden.)

[Lobster]

Clever watering system. How does it work? Hose with holes and rocks to keep hose placement? Brilliant rocks. People pay for rocks like that around here . . .
This is a raised bed organic food patch?

I planted loads of parsley this year. The seeds were in a strip of cloth.
I watered and nurtured my many trays. Nothing. Nada.
Why? I think the organic compost was too acidic. We make it ourselves - too many teabags . . .

No room to grow? Go vertical.
http://www.instructables.com/id/VERTICA ... in-a-smal/

Puppy
Growing

[Flash]

Here's an idea I had years ago but haven't had the energy to implement. It's free to anyone who wants to try it. It's based on the observation that grass and weeds along the edge and in the cracks of a sidewalk or driveway always seem to grow taller and greener than they do in the middle of the yard. The reason, I think, is that the dirt under the pavement dries out much slower than the dirt in the middle of the yard. Plants growing near the edge of pavement, or in cracks in the pavement, can send their roots under the slab to get at that moisture.

My idea is to cover the dirt around the plants in my garden with paving stones. First, I'd bury some soaker hose just below the surface, then cover everything with paving stones, leaving holes just big enough for the stems of the plants I want to grow. I had in mind to make a mold to cast concrete slabs about 2 inches thick by 2 feet square. (The size I determined to be the biggest slab I'd want to move by myself.)

Ideally, then, my garden would be paved with closely-fitted slabs of concrete, with soaker hose underneath. Where I would plant something, the corners of the paving slabs would be cut so that a small square is open where four slabs meet, through which a plant, even a tree, could grow.

I'm quite certain that paving a garden would greatly reduce the amount of water needed. It might reduce the water need by so much that a cistern could collect enough rainwater from my roof to make a big reduction in the water needed from the municipal supply.

Another advantage would be that weeds could only grow in the cracks between the paving slabs, greatly reducing the weed population. And having the slabs to walk on should make weeding easier.

I don't know how long soaker hose lasts. Probably not forever. The slabs would need to be taken up every so often to replace the hose, so it's important the slabs be light enough to make that easy to do without heavy machinery.

[Sylvander]

My front garden:


It has changed a little in appearance since then.
I wanted to improve the soil, so I dug into the grassed area a 1-ton bag of sharp concrete sand, and 1.5 loads of farmers well-composted manure.

[Lobster]

Look like azalea and narcissi?

Here are some pics of my back garden a few years back
created for a cyber-friend in Israel
(links are long gone as are the iris . . .)
http://tmxxine.com/web/garden/

[Sylvander]

1. "azalea and narcissi?"
Rhododendron and Daffodil.
They were ripped out by the builder when my neighbour had a low wall built on the boundary.
The wall looks rather good.
I planted a row of chocolate brown decorative grass, which I rather like.
It contrasts quite nicely with the wall and all the other green, green, greens.
I like to go for colours other than green; like gold, purple, red, glauca.

2. Is that a Quince I see in your garden?
Love the Iris.
Must get some to help our deep blue Geranium contrast with our swathes of "Snow-in-summer" that I now have right around the boundary.
What are the red flowers, and the purple?

3. I see your plastic compost bin.
I have 2-off 1-cubic-yard wooden bins at the side of my house.
Made them from 3inx3in fence posts and spare fencing spars.
No bottom, no top, just sides.
One bin is full to the top of superb riddled garden soil.
The soil I removed [and riddled] from around the Crocus corms was REALLY SUPERB.
The other bin is about 1/3 full of really well rotted farmers manure; the small lumps left in the 1/2in riddle.
The lumps have now almost completely broken down.
The fine riddled manure [looked like peat] was dug into the borders.
Super stuff!
The farmer [over my back fence] said I could have all the manure I need if I transported it myself; but I didn't have the transport, so he charged £60 for 2 loads dumped in my dug-up front garden.
I use a 50/50 mix of soil and manure to pot up plants.
They love the stuff!
Got 9 pots of various sizes around the front door, planted with "Busy-Lizzie, Geranium, Trailing Lobelia.
I also use the soil for re-laying/bedding paving slabs upon; it works very well for that.
Re-arranging my driveway at the moment.
Bought an Angle-Grinder with 9-inch diamond cutting disk.
First slabs I ever cut; worked well.
Now I need to pour a 3-inch run of concrete between the slabs and the boundary wall to keep them from sliding around.
I'm getting too old for this stuff, but it must be done.

[Dougal]

What are you planting and where?..aka, what temperate zone

Those are pumpkins and bell peppers. I've also planted two kinds of melons, cucumbers, aubergines and squash. Tomatoes, chillies, parsley, dill and others are on the way.
It's coastal Mediterranean.

Are those little squashes I see? Nice garden!

Pumpkins (leaves are round).

Drip irrigation for a home garden? Shocked

Now, that makes it different. (If it is indeed a home garden.)

What else? I'm not going to go around with a watering can.
Drip irrigation waters only next to the plants, so saves water and reduces weeds.
(And it doesn't cost me anything... it's all junk that has been on our shed roof for the past 25 years.)

Clever watering system. How does it work? Hose with holes and rocks to keep hose placement? Brilliant rocks. People pay for rocks like that around here . . .
This is a raised bed organic food patch?

I use the rocks to keep the hose in place for the first few days, until it stays in shape and I can remove them...
It's not a raised bed -- the ground slopes there, so it's like a small terrace to keep the ground even.

I planted loads of parsley this year. The seeds were in a strip of cloth.
I watered and nurtured my many trays. Nothing. Nada.
Why? I think the organic compost was too acidic. We make it ourselves - too many teabags . . .

Parsley is known to take time to sprout (it is recommended to soak the seeds in water for a day before sowing). And you are not supposed to fertilize when sowing: you sow in something "dead" and well drained (builder's sand or a soil-less potting mixture), so you don't get any diseases. (And compost shouldn't be applied directly to plants, anyway: it should be mixed with the soil you plant in.)

My idea is to cover the dirt around the plants in my garden with paving stones.

Plants have been using that for eons... think dry, rocky, terrain with plants growing between the rocks. That's why I like to plant herbs next to a shed wall and surround them with rocks.

Also, that's what the leaf mulch is for: it serves as a heat insulator (keeps the soil cool in summer and warm in winter), prevents dehidration and makes life harder for weeds (less make it through and they tend to be weak and easier t pull out), plus the leaves slowly decompose and fertilize the ground. That's how trees do it -- evolution is smarter than people...

[Lobster]

Is that a Quince I see in your garden?

Pear in a pot. Not sure what the purple plant is . . .
- red one is a rose

Thanks for the parsley tips guys.
Did so well in previous years . . .
Everyone's efforts are inspiring
must get out the window boxes . . .

Puppy Linux
Can you dig it?

[Sylvander]

I planted a Victoria Plum tree, and an eating Cherry tree just outside my back fence.
Both on dwarfing rootstock, but still quite big after these many years.
The birds eat all the cherries, but the plum is very successful.
Usually can't be bothered trying to reach all of the plums.
Might just pick a few.

I have a single parsley plant very near the rear wall of the house.
That protects it from the worst of the winter cold, so it is doing very well in this its 2nd year.
How long will parsley live?

[Bert]

I have a single parsley plant very near the rear wall of the house.
That protects is from the worst of the winter cold, so it is doing very well in this its 2nd year.
How long will parsley live?

Parsley is a biennial. In its second year it will develop flowers and seeds, growing up to 60cm high (2 ft).
It will be possible to harvest some of it, before the flowering starts.

It is a difficult plant to grow from seed in my experience. I estimate only one out of three sowings succeed. It takes a month to germinate, needing to be kept moisturous, but not wet, all that time.
Parsley needs just the right temperatures to germinate. That's the main reason sowing often fails. Too hot or too cold => no parsley.. About 15 degr C. would be perfect.
This spring -northern hemisphere- was exceptionally hot, too hot for parsley sowing, especially in well protected gardens.

But what would life be without parsley?

[Sylvander]

I'm a fan of Elvish Parsley.

[RetroTechGuy]

Gettin' a-plantin'.

Very nice. I've been using downed trees for borders on my raised beds... (when they rot out, I'll drop another one on it).

[big_bass]

better than sitting in front of a computer

Yes, last month I spent time in the garden far away from the computer

it was and is nice to get away from it all and breathe some fresh air

caring for the garden and watching everything grow

here in Mexico we have months without rain

so you have to water the plants everynight

we are just starting the rainy season so its a good time to plant


many beautiful cactus though all year


Joe

[Aitch]

I seem to be missing dougal's original post....makes it hard to make sense of it

Aitch

[Bert]

I seem to be missing dougal's original post....makes it hard to make sense of it

Aitch

Yes, very strange..
Also, when I clicked in the email notification for this thread, the forum software said something like : "post does not exist", while clearly your post was there in the forum index..

[Aitch]

I think this may inadvertently be a result of moderator changes to the forum...?

I lost edit-ability in another thread

Teething troubles?

Aitch