Mary, Mary, quite contrary...

[The Judge]

Interesting article, Vertigo, thanks. We'd been thinking of nemotodes, but it's the wrong time of year to use them. That black bin-liner idea does look intriguing, though. We might try that next weekend.

I know everyone says how prolific mint is, but I can't get any variety -- and I must have tried half a dozen -- to grow anywhere save for an apple mint which is in an old sink in what we call our viridarium -- a small yard enclosed on 3 sides by our house/garage and on the fourth by a wall. No pictures of that as yet since it looks like a tip.

Another advantage of moss -- you don't have to mow it!

[Mouse]

Yay a gardening thread!!

I love my garden, but we're in the middle of moving house (hence my elusiveness) so I've not been able to plant anything in my veggie patch this year.

Here's my gardening attempts.

This year I've just done things in pots so I can take it with me when we move. Tomatoes, spring onions, wild strawberries and proper strawberries and carrots.

I also planted up some extra calla lillies to go with my two I had last year, although the dog dug up and ate one of my bulbs!! He also ate my tulip bulbs and my narcissus bulbs. Cute, but evil.

I love my houseplants too, you'll see some of them in my garden pics. My orchids have stopped flowering but are sending up spikes again, apart from my paph (slipper) orchid... anyone know how to get them to re-flower?!

Just love flowers in general really. I'm off to Chelsea flower show soon. Then I've got a local flower show to go to, then I think there's the Gardeners' World show at some point... Yeah, I sound like an old lady.

Vertigo and TJ, love your gardens!

[The Judge]

Some lovely pictures there, Mouse, and a very neat little kitchen garden -- I've only ever once tried to grow veg properly, and ended with masses of Good King Henry and salad burnet and very little else.

You do like your mauve/pink/purples, don't you! Those alliums are spectacular and the purple streaked flower (?viola) is gorgeous. What's the snowball-looking bush behind you, though, in the fourth row, fourth column?

Can't help with the re-flowering orchid, I'm afraid -- I love them, but have never tried to grow them. While we're on house plants, have you ever tried cape primroses (streptocarpus)? To my mind, much better than African violets, though that's a very pretty one you've got with the purple edges.

Good luck with the move -- getting a bigger garden?

[Mouse]

Yeah it's a viola soroia called 'freckles' and it's super cute! I actually got it off ebay when it was teeny tiny, but now it's a huge plant! Had lots of tiny spotty flowers on it this year but it's finished flowering now. I'm going to dig it up and take it with me when we move... Hope it survives!

The snowball bush is behind my mum! And I think it's just called a snowball tree, that's what we called it anyway. Hang on, I'll Google... Yep it's a viburnum opulus 'Roseum' aka snowball tree. We (or rather mum, because I tried to save it!) had it chopped down last year so it's sadly no more.

No, never had streptocarpus! I've looked at them but never went for one. Bit gangly I think. I do like my African Violets! I did have three (I've got a pink and white ruffly one too, not in the photos) but my brother accidentally murdered one of them (the plain one, luckily, not the super pretty one!) by over watering it when I went to Prague.

Less windowsills for houseplants in the new place, so some of my plants are going to have to come to work with me! Means no more orchid buying too.

And no, getting a smaller garden, unfortunately. No veggie plot. There's lots of bushes in the new garden so we're going to pull some up to make room for flowers and possibly fit some veg in.

[Vertigo]

Impressive set of photos Mouse - you appear to be much more thorough than me at documenting your garden! Shame you are moving to a smaller garden (never mind the house!).

I'm afraid house plants are just a disaster for me, for a number of good and bad reasons; I'm terrible at watering them (feast and famine I'm afraid) and my house is pretty old with 3 foot thick walls and relatively small windows so not too much light. On top of that it gets pretty darn cold in the house in the winter at night when the heating is off, especially close to the windows!

I have not put up any photos of my veg patch as there's nothing to see at present. It is around 25 square metres so I can grow a fair bit and in fact, through freezing and storing, I'm largely self sufficient on veg except for stuff I can't grow (peppers, aubergines and the like). I have given up on Brassicas as I get club root, which is very difficult to get rid of (hangs around for 25 years apparently). We tend to have pretty acid soil up here so I could probably improve things with some lime but I don't really like doing that (read can't be bothered!) so stick to things that will grow: tatties, carrots, peas, broad beans, french climbing beans, courgettes. I tried sweet corn last year but it didn't quite ripen before the frosts came. However I did plant them very late so trying again this year. Temperature and short season are a definite problem here, so I keep trying things to see what they'll do. All the beans, courgettes and sweetcorn I have to grow in the conservatory and then harden off and plant out in June (we can get really quite heavy frost right up to the end of June!).

I have just had all the new growth on my Rodgersias frosted off, but that happens most years and hopefully the second growth will be all right

[Mouse]

Thankies! Yeah, I take lots of photos of the garden all the time. Spent ages out there taking photos of pansies the other day!

I did baby sweetcorn the year before last, but I wasn't sure when I was supposed to pick them... so I let them grow and grow and they turned out huge and inedible!

Have you done turnips, Vertigo? I've tried twice and can't get them to grow any bigger than a brussel sprout!

[Vertigo]

Years and years ago I grew both turnips and Swede (not sure which you are referring to as they change in different parts of the country). I don't remember any problems (this was when I lived in the Shetland Isles) but I don't think they would work here as once again they are the brassica family (at least I think so?). This season I'm thinking of trying Pak Choi since my order for veg seeds this year had a free pack of them thrown in

[Mouse]

Swede (big yellow ones ) I grew ok last year... I think there's pics in my photos. But turnips (little white ones!) didn't do so well!

This photo is my grandma cracking up over my tiny turnip! I'd promised her homegrown turnips for Christmas...

[Vertigo]

Ah yes - looks more like a pale radish

Well I have successfully grown them in the past and don't recall any particular problems. Perusing my bible of veg growing, here are a couple of points they make:

- don't like acid soil (as with most Brassicas)
- likes plenty of organic matter (compost)
- grow poorly in loose soil - firm the soil down with head of rake or careful treading
- "must have a constant supply of water throughout the growing season, otherwise they tend to run to seed or produce small woody roots"

[Mouse]

I've not used compost... not proper stuff, so far so maybe that has something to do with it.

[Vertigo]

It's possible, though I doubt that alone would result in the small turnips you showed in your photo, unless your soil is really heavy with almost no organic matter in it.

[Ursa major]

Perhaps Mouse needs to read the book, 101 Uses for a Dead Snow White.

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by Vertigo

It's possible, though I doubt that alone would result in the small turnips you showed in your photo, unless your soil is really heavy with almost no organic matter in it.

Our soil is quite claggy. But carrots, parsnips and the swede all did ok. In fact, the parsnips were abnormally huge!

Originally Posted by Ursa major

Perhaps Mouse needs to read the book, 101 Uses for a Dead Snow White.

Gross!!!

[Vertigo]

Actually looking at the picture your soil does look a bit "claggy". I dig almost all the compost from my compost heap into the veg patch each year and it looks like your soil could probably use that. However since you are moving shortly I would simply try again at your new place... if you manage to find space for a veg plot.

[The Judge]

Do you not compost your kitchen waste, Mouse? We don't add much garden stuff to our composters,** but with just the two of us, the veg/fruit peelings and cut flowers add up over the year. Leaves and grass clippings we keep separate, to rot down in their own corner, and twiggy bits we collect up and once a year put them through a shredder to create a kind of mulch.


** luckily we have room for two small bins, side by side -- one in use (ie we add to it when the kitchen bucket is full) and the other composting away until everything has rotted down and we can spread it over the garden or use it in pots.