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2023 Gardening Thread

[Deleted User]

2 days into thr new season and no one has opened a thread 😱

Any gardening related discussion, photos, plans, failure and successes.

My own garden is about half an acre comprising of an Orchard, veg plot,polytunnel soft fruits and perennials.

It sits on a larger 4 1/2 site. 3.5 acres of that are used for silage.

.It's my 5th season and I've transitioned to no dig the last fee years.i also don't use any

Chemicals and as few fertilers as possible.

Nutrients have come from compost, manure and seaweed.

The garden is currently covered in black plastic. To kill off weeds and old vegetable matter. I've a few beds not done but will cover them as they come clear of veg.

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MacDanger

Anyone plant their spuds yet? Thinking of putting a few down this weekend

Stephen_Maturin

Has anyone seen anywhere selling tomato seedlings?

I’d propagated my own from last year’s seed but when I transplanted them into their own small pots they all died. This is the first time it’s ever happened - I tried John Innes “seedling compost” and found it to be crap. Very high in clay, far too heavy and caked up. The first and last time I’ll be using it - that’s what I get for springing for the expensive stuff!

Anyway it’s probably too late for me to start a new set of them so wondering is there anywhere doing seedlings so I can make up my shortfall? Woodies had them this time last year.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390632#Comment_120390632

Not too late to sow seeds. I sowed a second round last week and used a propagator.

They are well up now.

Growing marzano and moneymaker.

Get some coir and mix if with compost. It will help retain moisture

looksee

I saw tomato plants somewhere yesterday, I think it was Woodies.

awec

I've to feed my potted mini apple tree, is now the time to do it? It's starting to bud.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120391478#Comment_120391478

Perfect time

blackbox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390632#Comment_120390632

They had a range of tomato plants in Lidl today. (I was buying rhododendrons).

Kiki1

Hi Guys, was wondering if anyone would have any advice. Only got into gardening in late summer/autumn last year and went mad over the winter ordering Dahlia Tubers - a whole 36 of them 🙈😂 I received an order and went about snipping off the excess roots and broken tubers last night using a secateurs as I have been potting them up to get them started early. My problem is I didn't realize that nearly one of the first tubers I was snipping had gall and I went ahead and used the secateurs on all the other dahlia tubers also without disinfecting between each tuber - I've read up about this since and know that it's very contagious. Should I bin all the other dahlia tubers (11) I received in that order now? I know it can affect soil and other dahlias too 🙈 any advice is much appreciated! Thanks

looksee

Clean your clippers and cut again just above where you cut before, clean up rubbish and keep clippers clean. You can bake compost in foil in the oven for half an hour (max) at 180 degrees C to sterilize it.

Or, contact the place you got them, send a pic of the one with a gall and tell them what happened. Hopefully they will replace them (though of course there is every chance they will be infected too). Were the dahlias separate tubers or were they packed in threes etc? They could easily have infected each other before you took the snippers to them.

Kiki1

Hi Looksee 😊 Thanks so much! I'll give that a go today! I'm terrified it's infected the other tubers!

I have contacted the place I bought them off and they have offered to replace the tuber however the one which has gall is out of stock 🙈 Typical!

They came individually packaged however the box arrived wet and so we're some of the packages the dahlias tubers were in. Would this have any affect with spreading gall? I did ask the place where I bought them from but they didn't really answer my question - they just said to pot them up and they might grow fine but that doesn't help when I want to put them down into flower beds!

looksee

I am far from being a dahlia expert, but I would dump the infected one - you will replace it eventually - and plant the others and hope for the best. If they come up affected remove and dump them. I have no idea about the wet, it seems a bit unlikely tbh. But I am guessing, I don't really know.

I thought about Jayes fluid and checked it up to come up with this gem:

Can Jeyes Fluid be used to sterilise the soil? Regrettably, as this product is now subject to Ministry regulations, we are unable at present, to confirm recommendations other than those printed on the latest can. Since EC Regulations in 2003, the product is no longer effective at sterilising soil.

Lol, it stopped working in 2003. However if you dispose of an affected tuber a dose of jayes fluid on the place it was planted might be no harm. Since it claims to kill almost all bacteria its not something you would throw around indiscriminately, most bacteria are harmless to good.

Kiki1

Have got onto the suppliers again so we'll see what they come back with. As I'm potting them up before they go out I might be able check the others before putting them in the ground to see if they have been affected. Thanks so much for the help 😊

wildwillow

I wouldn’t be using those suppliers again. Something as obvious as gall should have been noticed.when dispatching the plants. Were they imported or is it an Irish supplier. We are so careless of importing every kind of disease and bug.

Keep an eye on the developing plants and discard any that show signs of haphazard growth. You have effectively quarantined them in the pots.

I think you have been extremely unlucky, I’ve never come across dahlia gall in over forty years of growing them.

scarepanda

Has anyone chanced putting tomato seedlings out into a glass house yet? Mine have been raised on a South facing windowsill over a rad. They are on a table beside the window since they got potted up, but are that little bit further away from the window and are starting to get leggy fast. Id like to get them out if I could but don't want to risk them dying on me. I don't have any power in the greenhouse yet so no heatmat.

wildwillow

They’ll be fine in the greenhouse and will benefit from more light. Just be sure to cover them at night if the outside temperature falls below 4 degrees. It might be as well to cover for the first few nights to harden them off.

scarepanda

Music to my ears! I was afraid it would be too cold for them at night even if covered. It's mad how quickly they grow!

bored_newbie

Any tips for planting tall flowers and keeping them upright?

Delphinium, rudbeckia and gladioli…. I take it some kind of staking or structure is needed when planting out in the open? There’s a hedge about eight foot behind, and a mesh fence directly behind where they’ll be planted but they won’t be hugely sheltered.

looksee

You can buys circular frames on legs to support a good few types of plants. I have just put one in place to support a Sedum Spectabilis that collapses every summer, I nearly left it too late. Some very tall plants might need individual canes to support them. The custom made frames are a bit expensive but look well. You could create a kind of loop of wire - fairly big to loosely enclose several stems - to the fence behind - don't fasten them too tight as they will look strangled and could break the stems.

bored_newbie

Cheers. We had a few circular wire frames, about 5ft tall that met at the top in a dome shape but they don't look great.

We've another more expensive one that is like cast iron and it stakes into the ground and forms a circle about a foot off the ground, I'm not sure if its suitable. I gather these types of flowers get quite bushy at the base so maybe it would work to an extent. Maybe need to use it with individual canes as you say.

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120441671#Comment_120441671

FWIW we plant our gladiolas near a wall that has roses growing over it. They stay straight enough. Personally don't like supports (except for vegetables) as it takes away from the view.

bored_newbie

I do have a wall but they’d get no sun there unfortunately.

The bank is nice and sunny and I’ve been wanting to plant rudbeckia there for some time.

I could try being creative with the fence behind it but I’m not coming up with too many ideas really.

macraignil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443498#Comment_120443498

Rudbekia here does fine without any support but there are different varieties so maybe you have a taller growing one.

Happy gardening!

mojesius

As the picture above shows, I'm attempting to grow a load of heather on this slope. The recent rain has semi buried a few in mini mudslides :(

Is it worth digging them up and replanting when weather improves? Some are in since last autumn and others since last week (I got a bit carried away with trying to get stuff done over Easter break last week and didn't look at the forecast)

Any other heather advice welcome. We have a huge sloped bank on three sides surrounding the house that I want to cover in different coloured heather. Thanks

Deub

When do you plant courgettes outside? Is it too early now?

I am trying to grow my own from seed but to hedge my bet I wanted to buy one so I don’t lose time. I went to 2 places but I couldn’t find any (only lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage available).

InsideEdge

I have my courgettes (grown from seed) in the greenhouse and will probably keep them there to ensure they get enough heat, courgettes also need regular watering. It might be too cold just at the moment to grow them outside - I've also grown them outside but didn't put them out until June to avoid any chance of a late frost! I'm surprised you haven't found any in the garden centres, as they normally start selling them at the same time as tomato and cucumber plants.

magicbastarder

we were in our usual garden centre (albeit on the may bank holiday, have never seen it as busy) and they'd loads of tomato plants but no courgettes.

InsideEdge

I must have a look at our garden centre at the weekend and see what's available - it could be still a bit early unless there was a run on courgette plants!

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120576285#Comment_120576285

Similarly I’ve looked in several places and have only found lettuce, tomato, strawberry and various brassicae available - but no courgettes

wildwillow

Grow the courgettes from seed. They germinate quickly with a little heat and will grow fast enough if kept warm until established.

magicbastarder

just get certified courgette seed rather than harvesting them from courgettes you have spare.