Frivolity and a plea
First, some pretty pictures of some stuff we planted earlier:
My ex-sister-in-law bought me these hyacinths and their pot for Christmas. Beautiful pot, no? I'm really looking forward to the flowers.
And here's what we've got growing outside the front door:
Enough frivolity! Here's the plea, for advice from anyone reading who knows more about gardening than I do. Because we want some pretty flowers, yes, but also some food this year.
We're planning to put some potatoes in the field, but it's full of rabbits over there. Anyone know what other crops they don't like, besides potatoes? Because everything else I've ever planted over there has been eaten.
We need to keep rabbit-tempting crops closer to the house really, and are getting some big wooden deep planting boxes for the driveway soon. So we've got all these old seeds, from years ago:
Now please tell me: do seeds need using within a certain time frame? I'm sure I heard someone on Gardeners' Question Time the other day saying they actually improve with age. Some of those packets are 8, 9, 10 years old! What do you think, should I use them? And if so, which should I start off indoors first, before the planters are ready? I'm thinking, peas... courgettes, maybe...
Root crops don't like being moved, right? Or is it that they do..? Sigh, I forget now. Will have to get some gardening books out..
My ex-sister-in-law bought me these hyacinths and their pot for Christmas. Beautiful pot, no? I'm really looking forward to the flowers.
And here's what we've got growing outside the front door:
Enough frivolity! Here's the plea, for advice from anyone reading who knows more about gardening than I do. Because we want some pretty flowers, yes, but also some food this year.
We're planning to put some potatoes in the field, but it's full of rabbits over there. Anyone know what other crops they don't like, besides potatoes? Because everything else I've ever planted over there has been eaten.
We need to keep rabbit-tempting crops closer to the house really, and are getting some big wooden deep planting boxes for the driveway soon. So we've got all these old seeds, from years ago:
Now please tell me: do seeds need using within a certain time frame? I'm sure I heard someone on Gardeners' Question Time the other day saying they actually improve with age. Some of those packets are 8, 9, 10 years old! What do you think, should I use them? And if so, which should I start off indoors first, before the planters are ready? I'm thinking, peas... courgettes, maybe...
Root crops don't like being moved, right? Or is it that they do..? Sigh, I forget now. Will have to get some gardening books out..
posted by Gill at
1:28 PM
8 Comments:
I don't know the answers to your questions, but the bbc gardening website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening) is very helpful - there's a good helpful forum on it too. Books - I'd really recommend the Joy Larkham book.
Peas need to be planted outside. Flat, wide bed, not too deep., more like shallow..about 4 inches across, not a little indented one. Soil needs to be weed and stone free. Put seeds about 5 inches apart and at either side of the flat bed but not opposite each other, cover up with enough soil and firm the soil over them. Cover with some protection 'cos the little darlings WILL get them otherwise. This happened to us and we had to re-seed. Water!!!! Don't let them dry out. Plus they'll need some sort of support to clamber up once they start growing and bird/animal distractor. I used old plastic carrier bags and knackered cd's on a line of twine that was tied from one end of the planting line to the other. I used 4 year old seeds and they were sort of ok. I will use "freshly bought this year..mainly 'cos I have none left! lol I have loads of leftover seeds and I'm going to use them this time. Waste not and all that:O)) Good luck
One of the allotmenteers on my site uses human pee to deter wild animals away from his stuff, especially the poultry. Just pour it on the perimeter of your site.
Thanks for that Clare. I will have a good look there. I've got some great books here, was just too lazy to look things up and I thought Min might come and tell me the answers if I posted here instead ;-)
Oh and she did! ((((Min))))
So, might the peas be better in pots, as opposed to those deep planters? I could try some root crops in the deep planters then, it will free up the space in them..
(When you say 'protection' what do you mean? Chicken wire or something finer?)
Have got things to train the peas up.. oh, urine! Hmm. I might plant some more stuff in the field then and give that a try. It's just so disheartening when you put loads of hours in and then everything gets eaten as soon as it grows, isn't it? :-(
Thanks for your help Min xx
Hi Gill,
rabbits and deer don't like spinach (or Essex ones don't anyway, others might be different) but I find a spinach hedge around the veg beds makes a good barrier. Keep it trimmed so it doesn't bolt and eat the trimmings or compost if no-one else likes spinach.
Experiment with old seeds, some work, some don't. We cleared a bed, mixed up all the old packets of seeds from the shed and scattered them all. Loads of stuff grew, then we thinned it all and transplanted stuff when it was big enough to recognise.
We also buy in baby veg plants from rockit gardens and delfland organics. It gets us past the fiddly seed stage so the plants can go straight out in the garden, costs a bit more than a packet of seeds, on the other hand there is not as much equipment or space needed.
Kate
"rabbits and deer don't like spinach.."
Ah, that's good to know. Thanks Kate. Next question: does spinach like urine? (Joke!) We've got some spinach seeds I think - Oh, wait, they might be perpetual spinach seeds which is a totally different kind of plant, isn't it?
Sorry to throw a spanner in but my rabbits love spinach. Rabbits will try anything even if its poisonous to them. All our houseplants are gnawled by ours. Protection is really the only sure fire way to stop them.
I did mention that I only know about our Essex rabbits! They and the deer wouldn't touch the spinach although they stripped the rest of the garden. True spinach is quite hard to get hold of, and is a relative of docks and sorrel. Perpetual spinach is often chard or leaf beet and is more popular because less likely to bolt, but I don't think it tastes as good. Look for the dark green, arrow-shaped leaf rather than the brighter green, rounder leaf.
It is quite simple to put in a rabbit proof fence, you just need to chicken wire the bottom half and bury the wire deep enough so they can't burrow under.
Kate
I suspect, if I plant anything other than potatoes over there, we'll need the full belt and braces by way of protection. I'll be trying everything and anything - and I'm not sure I've got time to make it work. Might be better keeping everything but the spuds closer to the house I think, even though there's less available space, at least until I can spend more time on it.
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