The compost heap - off topic thread

looksee

Oh that's aggravating. I have a load more seed than I planted but realised that there is still so much basic construction and organising work to do that I really don't have time for a lot of seed minding, so what I sowed - about 6 different things - is what I have this year.

Were they speciality sweet peas? Its been a bit chilly so far for them, some years are good and others you can wish you hadn't bothered!

The Continental Op

looksee wrote: »

Oh that's aggravating. I have a load more seed than I planted but realised that there is still so much basic construction and organising work to do that I really don't have time for a lot of seed minding, so what I sowed - about 6 different things - is what I have this year.

Were they speciality sweet peas? Its been a bit chilly so far for them, some years are good and others you can wish you hadn't bothered!

Having had similar issues in the past I don't think she spends as much on them now as she once did, well apart from multiple tries.

CelticRambler

looksee wrote: »

I have a load more seed than I planted but realised that there is still so much basic construction and organising work to do that I really don't have time for a lot of seed minding, so what I sowed - about 6 different things - is what I have this year.

A similar story here: this year's crazy swings in the weather means that the seeds/seedlings need a lot more minding than usual, which is too much to fit in alongside building and remodelling.

fryup

"Craft" Gardener ...and what be that??

indeed.ie

not a bad wage, i wonder would they take on a DIY'er like myself

magicbastarder

needs official qualifications and seemingly the ability to manage a team - i suspect a DIYer would be on the team being managed, at best...

fryup

so craft gardener basically means professional gardener?

The Continental Op

fryup wrote: »

so craft gardener basically means professional gardener?

Working for the council, they don't do any gardening so the adverts a joke.

Edit> And probably a soul destroying job for anyone that was a real gardener.

fryup

you'd be working in public parks won't you? and public parks have garden beds and the like and trees that need to be maintained

The Continental Op

fryup wrote: »

you'd be working in public parks won't you? and public parks have garden beds and the like and trees that need to be maintained

Show me a public park that is well maintained nowadays. I've seen a couple of good attempts at imaginative planting schemes by my own coco but after a couple of years of bad maintenance by guys that didn't know what they were doing and couldn't care less they were ripped out again.

fryup

what makes a good natural weedkiller?

The Continental Op

fryup wrote: »

what makes a good natural weedkiller?

Tarmac or concrete the thicker the better

Vinegar is the one you'll find mentioned a lot but its just another chemical.

SouthWesterly

The peoples gardens in the phoenix park were always well maintained.

Jim_Hodge

fryup wrote: »

what makes a good natural weedkiller?

On driveways or hard surfaces a touch of boiling water does the trick nicely.

magicbastarder

The Continental Op wrote: »

Vinegar is the one you'll find mentioned a lot but its just another chemical.

'just another chemical' is a rather trite way of putting it. everything is 'just another chemical' but some chemicals are far, far worse than others.

macraignil

fryup wrote: »

what makes a good natural weedkiller?

Flame torch works well on driveways. Otherwise a hoe or a trowel or if they are really small finger and thumb to simply pull them up.

fryup

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

On driveways or hard surfaces a touch of boiling water does the trick nicely.

well in a raised bed amongst the veg i suppose vinegar with salt and washing up liquid?

magicbastarder wrote: »

'just another chemical' is a rather trite way of putting it. everything is 'just another chemical' but some chemicals are far, far worse than others.

yes, vinegar wouldn't be in the stratosphere as roundup...(or would it?)

blackbox

fryup wrote: »

what makes a good natural weedkiller?

Fire

magicbastarder

fryup wrote: »

yes, vinegar wouldn't be in the stratosphere as roundup...(or would it?)

on the continuum of 'not organic' weed killers, roundup is not the worst.

CelticRambler

fryup wrote: »

well in a raised bed amongst the veg i suppose vinegar with salt and washing up liquid?

As a weedkiller? There's no way I'd use that concoction on my veg beds. Apart from being completely useless and a waste of salt, vinegar and washing-up liquid, it'd play havoc with your soil chemistry.

If it's weeds in a raised veg bed, pull them out with your fingers. Job done. No chemicals (organic or otherwise) needed.

SnowyMuckish

Saw an interesting piece last night on GW where someone pulled dandelions from their veg patch, didn’t get all the deep tap root so covered the patch with a small piece of cardboard to exclude light. Says she repeats the process a few times and it eventually kills off the root.

Jim_Hodge

fryup wrote: »

well in a raised bed amongst the veg i suppose vinegar with salt and washing up liquid?



yes, vinegar wouldn't be in the stratosphere as roundup...(or would it?)

Are you serious? A raised bed of veg and you'll spray salt, soap and vinegar?

Just weed the damned thing!

fryup

i'm too lazy

Jim_Hodge

fryup wrote: »

i'm too lazy

Then veg growing is not for you.

fryup

where can i get mexican feather grass? (i'm in the mid-west near Limerick)

Jim_Hodge

fryup wrote: »

where can i get mexican feather grass? (i'm in the mid-west near Limerick)

Future forests do them.

Bawnmore

We're having our garden levelled (was a mess in general) at the moment and have a layer of topsoil coming to top it today. We're in Connemara and the landscape is probably best described as bog.

We'll be looking at seeding for lawn next and the digger driver has suggested we use agri seed instead of lawn seed. The natural landscape is wild anyway, so we're not at all hung up on having perfect delicate lawn (dog and kids etc also) so are more interested in having a usable, tough garden that can put up with abuse.

Is the digger driver right here? Or should be looking specifically at lawn seed?

The Continental Op

WRONG!

Agri seed is for feeding stock its the wrong type of rye grass!

Get a lawn seed mix for a hard wearing lawn that will have dwarf rye grass in it.

Bawnmore

The Continental Op wrote: »

WRONG!

Agri seed is for feeding stock its the wrong type of rye grass!

Get a lawn seed mix for a hard wearing lawn that will have dwarf rye grass in it.

Glad I checked here now - thanks. So something like No. 2 or the multipurpose seed from here maybe - https://seeddirect.ie/lawn-seed.html ?

The Continental Op

That or the Multipurpose would be the sort of thing to use.

Bawnmore

Another question - picking stones out tonight and was planning to spread seed tomorrow. I had intended to pick up a seed spreader during the week but it never happened. Would I be better off waiting or should I be OK to spread it by hand? It's about 1/2 acre in total.