Gardeners!

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Dave 123

Legendary Member
However you prune it, don't use it to stir your sangria. People have been known to die after doing that!


Yeah, that's why I don't drink sangria.

In the fridge I have some 3 monts beer. 8.6%

I will neither be stirring nor sharing!
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
@Heltor Chasca yes very much agree with all that and it’s the approach I’ve taken.

The soil does look like dust, all my allotment beds do currently, but in fact I double dug and incorporated plenty of spent mushroom compost and FYM. A couple of inches down it’s very moist as are all the other beds despite no meaningful rain for 7-8 weeks.

On my old soft fruit beds I used to pile a 6-8” mulch of leaves every autumn. It’s the best soil on the allotment and a great way to get rid of leaves. This new bed will get the same.

Unfortunately I only have one red currant as when we’ve had more the crop volume way exceeds what we can use. I often would get 25-30lbs!!! I’m trying hard to get the whole allotment producing only what we can reasonably eat and freeze!!!

By festooning do you mean the branches hang downwards under the influence of the weight of foliage and fruit? Excuse my ignorance I was a nurseryman rather than a gardener - big difference!!!
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Hedge question.

I have a hedge about 20m long that I am trying to grow straight. I am suceeding apart from about a 6m stretch which has a bow of about 50cm at the deepest point. My idea is to grow this out until it is level with the rest. But if I just let it grow it just goes long and straggly.

Any hedge experts in here, who can advise me?
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
Hedge question.

I have a hedge about 20m long that I am trying to grow straight. I am suceeding apart from about a 6m stretch which has a bow of about 50cm at the deepest point. My idea is to grow this out until it is level with the rest. But if I just let it grow it just goes long and straggly.

Any hedge experts in here, who can advise me?

Do you know what the hedge is? My answer is likely to be to feed and water that section. Pruning MUST be done at the point you want it to be straight. Not shorter despite the temptation. It will start lateral growth once the ‘leaders’ are pruned at that 50cm mark.
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
@PaulSB ”By festooning do you mean the branches hang downwards under the influence of the weight of foliage and fruit? Excuse my ignorance I was a nurseryman rather than a gardener - big difference!!!”

Yes that’s right. Or stakes or pegs. But as I say, I am not sure how ribes reacts to this. For all I know it could stop any fruit production all together.
 

LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
My courgettes, peas, lettuces and strawberries are coming along nicely. The birds have been at my Pak Choi and leafy salad. The first raspberries are coming through on the new plants. I can’t wait until an allotment becomes available as container growing just isn’t productive enough, but it is great for learning.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
My courgettes, peas, lettuces and strawberries are coming along nicely. The birds have been at my Pak Choi and leafy salad. The first raspberries are coming through on the new plants. I can’t wait until an allotment becomes available as container growing just isn’t productive enough, but it is great for learning.
I've just made the mistake of putting pak choi in my stir fry. It's rubbish.
Let the birds have it!:whistle:
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Do you know what the hedge is? My answer is likely to be to feed and water that section. Pruning MUST be done at the point you want it to be straight. Not shorter despite the temptation. It will start lateral growth once the ‘leaders’ are pruned at that 50cm mark.
It looks like a privet hedge and is old.

I do not uderstand by what you mean by "Pruning MUST be done at the point you want it to be straight. Not shorter despite the temptation". Could you explain please?
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
Interesting. We’ve grown it for the first time this year and really enjoy it. I think it’s a very versatile and useful vegetable. I won’t make the mistake of growing two rows x 4 next year though!!
Of course, I'm joking. Good luck with it. If we were all the same....
I just find it tasteless and a bit hard to chew.
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
It looks like a privet hedge and is old.

I do not uderstand by what you mean by "Pruning MUST be done at the point you want it to be straight. Not shorter despite the temptation". Could you explain please?

Sorry. My writing skills lack sometimes. I mean, don’t carry on pruning into the bow or curve. Only prune in the straight line that you desire. Any pruning, albeit light pruning will encourage some lateral growth to fill the bow. It may take a season or three. Feed and water especially if it is old.
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
Could be flea beetle, they make holes in leaves that shape, or some other caterpillars.
upload_2018-7-3_12-44-56.jpeg
 
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