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Gardening Advice
Comments
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Get a catAllHailTheHen said:Any tips for discouraging blackbirds from throwing the chip bark in our borders everywhere? A couple happily make a mess every 5 minutes. I then spend 20 minutes tidying it all back up whilst they tweet their laughter at me from a nearby tree, waiting for me to disappear and then do it all over again. I'm beginning to hate the little bastards.2 -
jonseventyfive said:How's your frog grow bag doing? very interesting concept I may have to rethink my pond.
Frog has moved to another pot. I can’t believe I’m arranging my greenhouse around him!
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Forgot to add; Also trying to stop next doors cat from shitting in said chip bark. Could get a dog but this could develop into a version of the Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.DaveMehmet said:
Get a catAllHailTheHen said:Any tips for discouraging blackbirds from throwing the chip bark in our borders everywhere? A couple happily make a mess every 5 minutes. I then spend 20 minutes tidying it all back up whilst they tweet their laughter at me from a nearby tree, waiting for me to disappear and then do it all over again. I'm beginning to hate the little bastards.10 -
You can get deterrents, although not sure how effective they are. Would imagine the ones that spray water would work.AllHailTheHen said:
Forgot to add; Also trying to stop next doors cat from shitting in said chip bark. Could get a dog but this could develop into a version of the Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.DaveMehmet said:
Get a catAllHailTheHen said:Any tips for discouraging blackbirds from throwing the chip bark in our borders everywhere? A couple happily make a mess every 5 minutes. I then spend 20 minutes tidying it all back up whilst they tweet their laughter at me from a nearby tree, waiting for me to disappear and then do it all over again. I'm beginning to hate the little bastards.0 -
Crested Newts are our little visitors up here, large pond in the fields next to our garden so it's always nice to have a few strays pop by.3
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I ha ent from tomatoes from seed for a while. Don’t have a greenhouse. Do have propagation/cloche.
Plan to plant the time outside, anyone know how big the plant needs to be/when I should plant out?0 -
You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.0
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i have a small trained cherry tree and the cherries are starting. Any ideas as to how best to stop the birds from eating them all? I don’t really want to build a fixed cage for the tree as don’t have room but any decent net/draping betting options (I really have no idea)?0
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Ok thanks, they are in seed drill thingies already and about 2 inches high. I’ll pot them on into bigger pots then rather than letting them take their chances now:JamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.0 -
I’d let them get a bit bigger first. It’s easier when they’re four inches or so 👍Alwaysneil said:
Ok thanks, they are in seed drill thingies already and about 2 inches high. I’ll pot them on into bigger pots then rather than letting them take their chances now:JamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.0 -
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Thanks James, the voice of experience ‘4 inches or so’ 😂JamesSeed said:
I’d let them get a bit bigger first. It’s easier when they’re four inches or so 👍Alwaysneil said:
Ok thanks, they are in seed drill thingies already and about 2 inches high. I’ll pot them on into bigger pots then rather than letting them take their chances now:JamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.1 -
A) You can open up an umbrella over the tree and hang the netting from that.Alwaysneil said:i have a small trained cherry tree and the cherries are starting. Any ideas as to how best to stop the birds from eating them all? I don’t really want to build a fixed cage for the tree as don’t have room but any decent net/draping betting options (I really have no idea)?
Tying plastic bags over bunches protects them from birds and helps them ripen. 2 -
A water cannon ?DaveMehmet said:
You can get deterrents, although not sure how effective they are. Would imagine the ones that spray water would work.AllHailTheHen said:
Forgot to add; Also trying to stop next doors cat from shitting in said chip bark. Could get a dog but this could develop into a version of the Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.DaveMehmet said:
Get a catAllHailTheHen said:Any tips for discouraging blackbirds from throwing the chip bark in our borders everywhere? A couple happily make a mess every 5 minutes. I then spend 20 minutes tidying it all back up whilst they tweet their laughter at me from a nearby tree, waiting for me to disappear and then do it all over again. I'm beginning to hate the little bastards.0 -
Thanks I like the umbrella idea. I am however going to have to dob you in to @cabbles for the use ofRedrobo said:
A) You can open up an umbrella over the tree and hang the netting from that.Alwaysneil said:i have a small trained cherry tree and the cherries are starting. Any ideas as to how best to stop the birds from eating them all? I don’t really want to build a fixed cage for the tree as don’t have room but any decent net/draping betting options (I really have no idea)? Tying plastic bags over bunches protects them from birds and helps them ripen. rather than B ) 1 -
Bought six lavender plants 10 days ago because I read that they are basically the easiest thing to look after. At least one of them looks like it’s going to die now, the other five are on life support. It’s not going well so far.0
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Where did you plant them? They like sandy, well drained soil.se9addick said:Bought six lavender plants 10 days ago because I read that they are basically the easiest thing to look after. At least one of them looks like it’s going to die now, the other five are on life support. It’s not going well so far.0 -
As James says, these guys dont like to sit in water. They like it dryse9addick said:Bought six lavender plants 10 days ago because I read that they are basically the easiest thing to look after. At least one of them looks like it’s going to die now, the other five are on life support. It’s not going well so far.
They also love full sunlight, which makes sense as they like dry earth0 -
My dad died in 2000 and my mum 2 years later.
Dad was a wonderful gardener who loved his little bit of green space. Anyway as the house was to be vacated I took a few mementos in which to remember him including this Clematis which I found in poor state beside his shed. It has had some good years and some not so good ones in the intervening time. This photo is from this morning, it does a good job on a bare wall although I appreciate Clematis look much better climbing through natural settings. A few years back it had its best year ever and I had a passersby enquire if it was real or not. A sort of compliment ... I think.
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anyone built / got any of them timber batten fences, the modern ones with the horizontal slats? Doing one in my garden wondering what people have used and stains that have worked well etc!0
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Sorry if it's been said before but with a name like yours you were born to be a gardenerJamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.1 -
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My name is Dutton.lolwray said:
Sorry if it's been said before but with a name like yours you were born to be a gardenerJamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.
‘Dutton’s Seeds’ has a ring to it?0 -
No but Sutton seeds has !JamesSeed said:
My name is Dutton.lolwray said:
Sorry if it's been said before but with a name like yours you were born to be a gardenerJamesSeed said:You need to get the seeds planted now, before it’s too late.Grow in pots until big enough to plant out when it’s warm enough. Normally late May. Most varieties don’t like to go below 13 degrees.I normally wait until they’re at least 18 inches tall.
‘Dutton Seeds’ has a ring to it?4 -
The much needed and anticipated rain has finally arrived hopefully filling my water butts as much as possible, now to prepare for the slug and snail invasion which is bound to follow, my hedgehog friends are hopefully very hungry.2
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Here's a link to an article, with lovely photos, about a wildlife garden within the Barbican.
The Barbican is famous for its Brutalist architecture, but the concrete conceals a well-kept secret: a community garden where wildlife thrives
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/28/nature-survives-in-the-tiniest-corners-the-barbican-brutalist-london-wild-heart-aoe
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Could anyone advise me of the average price gardeners charge per hour these days? We'd been having gardeners (more landscape, lot of work involved) before lockdown, just had latest bill and prices have gone up. We're in Bromley though they come from Tenterden. Cheers.0
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£15 per hour is not unreasonable for general gardening tasks. £20 per hour might be sought for more specialist work, such as cutting at height.2
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Well this lot want £29 per hour. They are a landscaping company rather than just a grass cutter/hedge trimmer so maybe that comes with a premium. To be fair they have done a lot of hard graft and don't slack off but does feel a lot.0
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is that £29 per hour a person? or how many people? Doesn't seem a huge amount to be honest, even forgetting the fact of expenses, tools, petrol, traveling between jobs etc etc, if someone could manage a 6 hour day (allowing for travel between jobs) is £45k a year before all the expenses which would eat into that quite a lot.
£15 an hour is sub 20k a year gross on 6 hours, again before expenses and the like. If you have to run a van, buy tools, insurance etc thats probably barely minimum wage territory and you'd probably do better financially being PAYE in McDonalds.1 -
Per person. They do have to travel a fair distance although they come to me from another job that is midway. If it seems reasonable I'll stick with them as it's a hassle finding new ones.0
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It doesn't sound unreasonable for a company to charge that. Tools, Vehicle, Insurance, National Insurance, pension, removal/waste disposal etc I doubt the staff member see's more than £18 of that, if that.1
