The Veg Plot.

[Sir Trev]

I read somewhere that parsnips don't like root disturbance but last year I tried setting them off in cardboard tubes on the windowsill of the utility room and planted them out once I had two good leaves. Dig a big hole for each, with extra muck or home compost so they have easy soil to grow in. I had a good crop so doing the same again now. I did the same with carrots last year which have never grown well from seed in my chalky/stony soil but had a reasonable crop.

I have been saving empty bog roll and kitchen towel tubes all winter and have a big box full of them for this year.

[redtrummy]

I didn't have much luck with cardboard tubes but I tried this idea last year and it worked really well.(various ytube vids on the idea)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV3LGGKMP-o Just use them as a liner for the pot used, or fill them with compost and put them in a container close together.

Why didn't I bother this year? I ask myself the same question. - remembered, my source of newspaper has temporarily dried up. As the inherited plastic pots come to their end of life then this is what I will do in the future

[Sir Trev]

I tried paper pots a few years ago and they also worked very well, but were a bit more likely to fall apart before the seedlings were ready to be planted. I probably needed a few more layers of paper to be fair as that lady in the clip wrapped hers round a bottle a few times and I think I used a folded method to make square pots. If I can find some newspaper (father in law was my previous source of this, but he's no longer with us) then I'll have a go at both this year

[chris8886]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

I tried paper pots a few years ago and they also worked very well, but were a bit more likely to fall apart before the seedlings were ready to be planted. I probably needed a few more layers of paper to be fair as that lady in the clip wrapped hers round a bottle a few times and I think I used a folded method to make square pots. If I can find some newspaper (father in law was my previous source of this, but he's no longer with us) then I'll have a go at both this year

Pick up a few free ones from a train station maybe....?

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by chris8886

Pick up a few free ones from a train station maybe....?

I've been avoiding public transport (and people) for the last two years

[Seeker]

When did small electric cylinder lawnmowers become unpopular? I was looking for a new bottom cutting blade but they seem to be unavailable so I started pricing lawnmowers and the small ones are now predominantly rotary style.
I suppose there's no blade adjustment required so they're cheaper to make?

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by Seeker

When did small electric cylinder lawnmowers become unpopular? I was looking for a new bottom cutting blade but they seem to be unavailable so I started pricing lawnmowers and the small ones are now predominantly rotary style.
I suppose there's no blade adjustment required so they're cheaper to make?

Rotary mower height adjustment is via shims if a "hover" type, like the Flymo I used to have, or some sort of ratchet/lever if wheeled, like my petrol Hayter. With a blade attached directly to either electric motor commutator or engine output shaft they are mechanically quite simple and rely on blade speed rather than clearance against a cutter bar. You can get a finer cut (instead of a slashed hack) with a rotary hence their preference by groundskeepers. If you want beautiful stripes on your lawn they're defo the choice to have - a roller on the back of a wheeled rotary comes close but will not be as neat.

[redtrummy]

Heavy rain in Wales, Light rain on the Humber and stuck in the middle of the two, in position and precipitation are we.
Greatly needed as all my water butts ( were reaching critical! At the weekend I fitted a down pipe rain diverter. That water butt was empty but has now reach half full, which is good - no need for the hosepipe yet.

[Sir Trev]

We've had a few days of welcome rain too. I scarified the lawn on Sunday so it has helped it recover. Will have a peek behind the shed later to see if my three, large, linked butt's have been refilled as two of them were empty.

The almost dead mail order tomato plants have amazingly survived and two of them may be worth saving. The seeds I sowed as backup have all come up too so I'll have a choice of which loo, best when it comes to potting out into the growbags. Didn't think that was going to happen this year.

[garynortheast]

Been repotting some of the stuff I sowed in the greenhouse. I wasn't going to bother doing anything, given that I have no idea where I'll be living in 3 months from now, or whether I'll have a garden, but I couldn't bear the thought of not getting anything started. They may end up being given away or planted here and left, or I may be able to take them with me.

Anyway....

Thought I'd see what happened if I sowed carrots in the greenhouse. They all came up. They look a bit flat at the moment as I've just watered them.



A mix of stuff I've just potted on. Some flowers - dahlias, calendula, rudbeckia, and some veg seedlings - tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, coriander, chillies, lettuce.