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The May garden
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The May garden
How's the year going so far for you ?
I still have some tidying / sowing for the long weekend ahead. Some promising signs; my brassica sown in a nursery bed in the kitchen garden at home have germinated well enough to give me the plants I need, sweetcorn is coming up, and a few butternut squashes.
On the allotment, what a lot of ladybirds there are this year ! I'm hoping that means the aphids will have a difficult season.
I still have some tidying / sowing for the long weekend ahead. Some promising signs; my brassica sown in a nursery bed in the kitchen garden at home have germinated well enough to give me the plants I need, sweetcorn is coming up, and a few butternut squashes.
On the allotment, what a lot of ladybirds there are this year ! I'm hoping that means the aphids will have a difficult season.
Last edited by Chilli-head on 4th June 2019, 12:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
Chilli-head- Admin and Boss man
- Posts : 3305
Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire
Re: The May garden
Ooh, I've seen one ladybird this year which is one more than usual.
Thank you CH (April garden thread) I didn't know that creeping buttercup was compostable.
Thank you CH (April garden thread) I didn't know that creeping buttercup was compostable.
Ploshkin- Posts : 1779
Join date : 2013-07-18
Location : Mid Wales
Re: The May garden
From my short walks round the garden, my score is:
Creeping buttercup - lots
Ladybirds - nil
Creeping buttercup - lots
Ladybirds - nil
Dandelion- Admin
- Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire
Re: The May garden
What do you know - I turn my back on my chilli plants for 4 days to go walking the hills, and come back to find the greenfly have found them. Spraying them off with some soft soap will be tonight's job.
Chilli-head- Admin and Boss man
- Posts : 3305
Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire
Re: The May garden
I wonder if it's going to be a bad year for aphids? I discovered patches of wooly aphids on an apple tree - it had to look it up as I hadn't seen it before. Soapy water was the suggested treatment, scrubbing the patches off the bark. Fortunately it's a very small tree so I was able to reach easily.(one of my daughters planted it in a pot about ten years ago, then moved out, forgot about it, then said she didn't have room. It was either get rid of it or plant it, and I did find a little patch of ground for it as it has beautiful red fruit.)
Dandelion- Admin
- Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire
Re: The May garden
I find a blast with the hose at wooly aphids on my apples knocks most of the little b****rs off.
I was expecting aphids this year, because of the mild winter. I have got them on my blackcurrants, but there are an army of ladybird larvae feasting on them, so I'll leave them alone and it should soon be sorted
Some rain might be nice for the garden now. Water butts nearly dry ...
I was expecting aphids this year, because of the mild winter. I have got them on my blackcurrants, but there are an army of ladybird larvae feasting on them, so I'll leave them alone and it should soon be sorted
Some rain might be nice for the garden now. Water butts nearly dry ...
Chilli-head- Admin and Boss man
- Posts : 3305
Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire
Re: The May garden
I've seen a lot of ladybirds this year. I hope we don't end up with a plague like we had about 10 years ago on 2 of our fields. There were huge patches of spindly, yellow grass in them and thousands of ladybirds (the blackbirds could have been feeding on something else that was killing the grass but we never found anything).
Unusually, it's very dry here. We haven't had more than half a dozen days with rain (and not very much) since the beginning of April.
Unusually, it's very dry here. We haven't had more than half a dozen days with rain (and not very much) since the beginning of April.
Ploshkin- Posts : 1779
Join date : 2013-07-18
Location : Mid Wales
Re: The May garden
Similar here - I've just been into the front garden, which I haven't been to inspect since I had my knee done as there are pebbles to walk over which wasn't very comfortable. The front garden is heavy clay (not so bad in the back thanks to years of cultivation - our house is built on an old orchard). But the soil in the front is like concrete, and the aquilegia and hellebores are covered in aphids. No sign of any ladybirds though...
Dandelion- Admin
- Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire
Re: The May garden
Busy long weekend in the garden for me, catching up for a couple away. Planted out squashes (cue weather turning cold !), beans, lettuce etc. I still need another trip to the allotment to do some weed control - as ever.
Oh, the blueberry ! having threatened it with banishment from the patio to the allotment, it is now covered in set fruit ! I think actually it is not so much fear of our threats, but that we've been pruning it wrong. I have made the same mistake with my blackcurrants last year, left it too late after harvest to prune, so there's not enough time for new wood to grow from low down to bear the next year's crop, so effectively I've pruned away a fair bit of the fruiting wood. Pruning is always confusing to me. I watch someone do it on TV, think I've got it, then stand in front of my tree still feeling a bit baffled !
Grape vines are looking promising. Lots of little bunches forming. I've had to extend my wires for training them further along the wall - if they get much bigger they will be round the corner and back up the trellis at the other side ! It is amazing to me how much growth they put on in a single year. Must try Dolmades (Greek stuffed vine leaves) some time.
Oh, the blueberry ! having threatened it with banishment from the patio to the allotment, it is now covered in set fruit ! I think actually it is not so much fear of our threats, but that we've been pruning it wrong. I have made the same mistake with my blackcurrants last year, left it too late after harvest to prune, so there's not enough time for new wood to grow from low down to bear the next year's crop, so effectively I've pruned away a fair bit of the fruiting wood. Pruning is always confusing to me. I watch someone do it on TV, think I've got it, then stand in front of my tree still feeling a bit baffled !
Grape vines are looking promising. Lots of little bunches forming. I've had to extend my wires for training them further along the wall - if they get much bigger they will be round the corner and back up the trellis at the other side ! It is amazing to me how much growth they put on in a single year. Must try Dolmades (Greek stuffed vine leaves) some time.
Chilli-head- Admin and Boss man
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Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire
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