Today in the Garden (2)

[missbettie]

my boy is making me planter boxes! one for veggies and one to flowers.

Does anyone know what kind of plants/flowers would be edible for a bunni? i'd like to make a section for my bunni to play in and dig and eat.

[cedarblue]

mmm those artichokes look good. we like to roast 'em best or make them into a soup.

[veganbikerboy]

I spent all day yesterday in the garden, with the help of Whalespace. We dug out all my artichokes, weeded the strawberries and around my trees. I then mulched around the trees to try and keep the weeds down. Then planted 6 fruit bushes - a couple each of gooseberry, blueberry and raspberry!

was pleased to see my fruit trees looking healthy and budding, also my pond is full of spawn again:D

might see if i can plant some low maintenance crops this year, its difficult with the amount of time I have, but it would be nice to get a few new things growing this year.

[cedarblue]

we put our onions in today, 200 of them!!

we hope to really get seeding etc during the 2 week easter holidays.

[veganbikerboy]

I am hoping someone can help me out.

I have a 'wood pile' in my garden which consists of a load of rotting wood and it has basically remained untouched for 3yrs; I have specifically left it like that to offer a residence for wildlife, particularly the stag beatles we get round here.

Next year I intend to get someone work done on the house which will disturb the wood pile, so I want to move it. So my question is when is the best time and how do I go about it?

Although, i dont need to move it until next year, I am thinking mid summer maybe the best time to move it? so should get things underway within the next few months - no hibernating creatures, plenty of time for things to move house before the bad weather etc. But I am really not sure.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Mzee]

I think now would be a good time to move your wood pile, VBB. There will be no creatures still hibernating now, but there may be some nocturnal creatures who sleep there, so move the wood carefully, one piece at a time.
My insect book says that stag beetles fly from June to August, usually around dusk. I would assume that means that:
"You will not find any stag beetles until June, when the larvae have turned into adults and emerge from the wood. By August their eggs have been laid and the adults die."
If so, there is no danger of squashing any, but avoid dropping any of the wood, which might give larvae inside the wood a nasty shake. :eek:

[veganbikerboy]

Cheers Mzee, i didnt know that about Stag Beetles, I assumed they hibernated!! but i just searched and found they only live for upto 40days as adults. I did know they live as a grub for upto 5yrs, which is why undisturbed log piles are essential.

My plan is to move it carefully, log by log as you suggested, but possibly spread it over a few weeks, maybe leave a smaller corner, so things that do return there nocturnally arent ousted in one day!!

[Cherry]

I've been seeing LOADS of funny looking insects in the garden for a few weeks, and I'd never seen anything like them.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/gallery/files/2/0/9/8/Larva.jpg

I just spent a few minutes trying to find out what they are, and they're ladybird larvae. I feel really stupid as I have a degree in Biology and feel I should have known that!

I feel guilty for even thinking such non-vegan thoughts, but some of my seedlings are covered in greenfly and I'm kinda hoping all the ladybird larvae make their way over to them! I thought about re-homing the greenfly onto another sturdier plant, but I'm worried that I'd squash them. Obviously being eaten by one of those ^ isn't much of a better fate. Does anyone have any top tips for deterring greenfly?

[Stu]

That's really strange, because they're the same size as (in fact, bigger than) ladybirds.

[Pob]

African Marigold and garlic are listed as deterring aphids on this Vegan Organic website: http://organic.lovetoknow.com/Vegan_Organic_Gardening

Spraying crops with garlic before infestation might be a good idea.

[emmapresley]

my neighbour hacked down a bush that runs the length of my garden when i was out in bristol yesterday..it turns out the root is based in her garden but yet all my lovely shade has gone and i'm left with a crudely hacked ugly space. rarrgh. i've already done lots of swearing and lamenting so now i'm going to look at it as a catalyst for sorting it out. hrrmph.
oh..but there's looads of wood bits so i can start a vbbesque wood pile for beetles and assorted creepies, yepz :smile:

[Cherry]

That's really strange, because they're the same size as (in fact, bigger than) ladybirds.

I suppose changing all that squidgy-ness to a new shiny exoskeleton requires a lot of energy.

Thanks for the marigold tip Pob. It's too late for these ones, but I'll definitely get myself some marigolds. Actually, i checked on them this morning, and they don't seem to be anywhere near as infested. I wouldn't be surprised if it were all the ladybird larvae, as there really are loads.

[Linxie]

One of my plants is covered with white fly and green fly. I'm not sure how to get rid of it without killing them so I guess I will just have to let the plant get eaten? :confused:

[Cherry]

Marigolds, garlic and ladybird larvae? :D

[Linxie]

Marigolds, garlic and ladybird larvae? :D

Think its a bit too late for any of those to work, its smothered :) My boyfriend (a gardener) suggested soapy water but I guess that will still kill them :confused:

[Kitteh]

Does anyone know what kind of plants/flowers would be edible for a bunni? i'd like to make a section for my bunni to play in and dig and eat.

What about some spinach, bok choy, cauliflower leaves, celery, pea pods, herbs (parsley,dandelion,coriander, basil, dill) and radish and carrot tops.

About 2 weeks ago I planted some veggie seedlings incl. carrots, snow peas, broccoli and cauliflower to start off my little balcony veggie garden! A week later I got some strawberries, calendula and a chilli plant. I then planted some thyme and nasturtium seeds because I read they're both good for deterring insects.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3520807581_8c4ffbfaee.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3564670702_ccc05a403a.jpg?v=0

Within a few days the broccoli and cauliflower were covered in little tiny grey mites, boooo.

Yest'day I spent some time watering and noticed a snail and a green caterpillar on the broccoli as well. The mite infestation has become worse and the broccoli is looking a bit yellow and sick. I think the broccoli & cauliflower will be feeding the insects and not me!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3590559107_8b7d9257de.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3591363820_6f2e761844.jpg?v=0

My snow peas have pods on them, yay! And the thyme seeds I planted are sprouting :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3622/3590554431_8f7f1511d8.jpg?v=0

[phoenix rising]

it's that time of year again....soil is claggy clag and virtually undiggable so decided to create a raised mediterranean garden. All the plants are edible, including the geraniums!
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb78/_phoenix-rising/Medgarden1.jpg

[harpy]

Looks lovely, phoenix rising! I like the tiles. What are those blue things in the background, are they yours too?

Have got a lot of seeds to plant but am supposed to be going away soon so am not sure what to do. I think I'll plant the ones that can go straight in the ground (if I can find any ground to plant them in!).

[phoenix rising]

thanks harpy the tiles are from my garden, the other blue things are my neighbour's blue bells!-they are really pretty

great idea to plant some seeds before you go away-hope you can find some ground

potted 30 sunflower seeds yesterday - not sure what i'll do tho if they all sprout....

[harpy]

Yes, that will be a forest of sunflowers if they all grow! I had a huge one last year (I didn't plant it, the hedgehogs must have spilled their food on the ground) and I had trouble in the end propping it up...but if you put yours in containers they will probably be a bit smaller. The bees loved it.

Is that an olive tree at the front?

[phoenix rising]

yes it was a present- has been over-wintering in my living room

wow hedgehogs in the garden, lucky you :)

speakin of bees, i have black masonry bees nesting in one of my chimneys. they make a low, om like buzzing sound during the day which is quite restful tho i've been quite busy these last few days running round with a glass and a bit of paper rescuing the ones that get lost in my living room! think i'm going to have to re-home them when they fly the nest this summer tho so gona make them a clay nesting box and site it nearby

what seeds are you thinking of planting this year?

[harpy]

Maybe you will get olives if the weather carries on like this, or do you need 2 trees for that?

As far as I can remember :o my seeds are mostly native plants or other things with lots of pollen etc as I'm trying to make the garden hog-friendly and generally wildlife-friendly. I grew some nettles from seeds last year, much to the disgust of the friend who sometimes helps me with the garden. This year I have got vipers' bugloss, pennyroyal and some other stuff like that. Also some veg which I will grow in containers if at all.

[phoenix rising]

think olives are self pollinating so you never know- will post a pic if it does :)

your hog wildlife garden sounds lovely. I think nettles are supposed to be pretty good to eat- have you tried cooking with them? got some in my back garden though haven't been brave enough yet!

[twinkle]

Today I pulled up a lot of bindweed and some miscellaneous weeds from the gravelled seating area, and cut back the rose briers that are encroaching from next door. I wouldn't mind the roses if the bindweeds didn't wrap themselves around making a thorny twisty cage around everything else in my garden. I really need to rip everything up and start again, as the bindweed always makes the garden a battleground and every year I give up and let it take over eventually, but there's a sage bush and rhubarb and lovage and a bay tree all well established, and I can't quite bring myself to destroy them :(

[harpy]

We have the encroaching bindweed problem as well (both sides) but I have been guilty of bindweed harbouring myself in the past so can't really complain. I tend just to claw off the bits I can reach and that keeps it more or less at bay. Must admit I quite like the flowers though as long as it's not all over the place.

Have you seen this? http://organicgardening.about.com/od/weeds/p/Bindweed.htm It says if you keep chopping off the top parts it will die eventually, so don't bother digging it up. I can't say I've noticed it myself, but I do break off the tops as I can't usually be arsed to dig down and so maybe that's why we're not completely overrun?