tips through the years
willbara
Posts: 50
been allotment gardening for a good few years and over those years i have been given many, many bits of advice, some good and some not so good, so perhaps somebody out there might like to share some of them with me and perhaps others might like to add their words of wisdom.
the ones below are ones i have found worked and always use.
when sowing peas sprinkle a light covering of soil over them and then tread the soil down lightly, then when the seed germinates cover with soil again and once again tread the soil down carefully.
sow main crop peas as early in the year as possible the earlier you sow them the more chance you will have of avoiding pea mildew later on.
when sowing parsnip seed water the drill first, it makes for easier germination
plant your dahlias after and in the same spot as you had your early potatoes.good potatoes mean good dahlias.
one i wouldnt recommend and was told to me by an old boy many years ago and he told me that when he was a lad and worked on a farm in sussex that to find out if the ground was warm enough to sow parsnip seed they used to drop their trousers and place their bare bottom on the ground
if it was warm enough for the bum it was warm enough for the seed.
not to be recommended for the allotment site
Posts
blackfly on broad beans
after nipping the tops out sprinkle a little sharp sand over tops of plants in the evening
most of the black fly will be gone by morning
When planting tomatoes, stuff a handful of two of chopped comfrey in the bottom of the planting hole. Works for me.
If you have a problem with mice, sow early peas and broad beans only in spring (not autumn) and lay sprigs of gorse into the trench as you sow. Gorse is generally common in this part of the country as a hedge so easy to come by.
take out you runner bean trench now and from now until next spring put all the material that you would normally put on the compost heap into the trench.
Not only do you save having to handle the material twice,you will find that your beans will respond very favourabley and need less water during dry spells
put polyanthus and primrose seed in the freezer for a few days before sowing you get. better germination.
i always sow my polyanthus seed in the middle of winter when it is really freezing cold,then place the trays outside until the compost is frozen solid ,then bring them in and put in a propagator,
it seems a very similiar system to bridgeys
runner beans climb better up hazel than other woods.
having trouble with pigeons?
put plastic water bottles from your local super!market over sticks or canes in your garden, the pigeons don't like the noise. made by the wind blowing through the bottles