The Gardening Bed

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Dujon
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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Dujon » Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:05 am

There is very little organic material in this household, Axman, that doesn't finish in the compost heap. Tree clippings and fallen limbs go through the 'muncher' and are reduced to mulch. There is a small number of exceptions to the rule as some trees will produce chips that are toxic to the soil.

There's an argument (seemingly endless) where I live that 'spring onions' and 'shallots' are the same; even the greengrocers, possibly for commercial reasons, add to the confusion. They are not the same. Spring onions are slim with a very small extension above the roots whereas shallots have a distinctive bulb and have the same outer frangible skin as a 'normal' onion.

I am now wondering as to why I typed all that, true though it might be. :oops:

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:04 am

Truth outs.

Strangely enough I just had a similar argument in the pub, only I defined it in racial terms: shallots have got brown skin and spring onions have white. [Onion rage]

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Gooner Girl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:19 pm

Chatting about this with bish on facebook. Are peas easy to go? I did try growing some once but forgot to water them. :oops: Want to try again. Twins eating them like they are smarties at the moment!

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:28 pm

Peas are fairly easy. Trouble with peas (and beans) are the pests. pests like them almost as much as your kids. I do organic gardening and so am not allowed to blitz them with chemicals so I have to wait to see which pests/diseases arrive and them tackle accordingly.
Also peas do not seem to give a large crop in comparison to the area they take up.
Plus, like beans, you need to erect growing structures for them (cane tripods or wire arrangements).

On the positive side, peas fix nitrogen and so are a good crop in a fully organic chemical free garden. But so's other stuff including wisteria.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:32 pm

PS I find on average I get about a can of peas or less [quantity wise for comparison: I don't actually can them!] per 2 ft square of soil, which isn't a great return.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Gooner Girl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:39 pm

Put the chicken poo in my compost bin and spread that sometimes on my veg bed. Would that help or hinder?

I can fix canes up - i'll get my dad to help me sort it. Mum and Dad can grow anything! When do they need to be planted by and would seeds from last year be ok? I think i still have some stored.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by thebish » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:42 pm

Gooner Girl wrote:Chatting about this with bish on facebook. Are peas easy to go? I did try growing some once but forgot to water them. :oops: Want to try again. Twins eating them like they are smarties at the moment!
are we talking about growing them or smuggling them now - or both? I lose track easily... :wink:

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Gooner Girl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:44 pm

thebish wrote:
Gooner Girl wrote:Chatting about this with bish on facebook. Are peas easy to go? I did try growing some once but forgot to water them. :oops: Want to try again. Twins eating them like they are smarties at the moment!
are we talking about growing them or smuggling them now - or both? I lose track easily... :wink:
:roll: You and your dirty mind! ;)

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:48 pm

Gooner Girl wrote:Put the chicken poo in my compost bin and spread that sometimes on my veg bed. Would that help or hinder?

I can fix canes up - i'll get my dad to help me sort it. Mum and Dad can grow anything! When do they need to be planted by and would seeds from last year be ok? I think i still have some stored.
No idea whether chicken poo helps or hinders. I use horse shit all the time and it helps big style.
Peas come in different varieties which have different planting needs (read the packet when planting from seed), but on average estimate 16 weeks growing time.
You can plant as a late summer/early winter crop as well but I never do.
Last years seed should be fine. I've been known to use seeds that are years old - occasionally if they've become damp in storage they're no good but mostly they're fine for storage.
PPS As I said I use peas as a crop for organic gardening: but when I do that of course you don't grow the peas, you use the plants as a kind of green manure. Grow them until they are about to flower and then cut them back.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:49 pm

As for smuggling peas I'm going to have to do some research on't t'internet.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Gooner Girl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:51 pm

The Axman wrote:As for smuggling peas I'm going to have to do some research on't t'internet.
:D You don't want to know!

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:53 pm

Oh dear, not as interesting as I'd hoped:
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.a ... ideFrame_1

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Gooner Girl » Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:55 pm

The Axman wrote:Oh dear, not as interesting as I'd hoped:
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.a ... ideFrame_1
:D

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by thebish » Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:10 pm

Gooner Girl wrote:
The Axman wrote:As for smuggling peas I'm going to have to do some research on't t'internet.
:D You don't want to know!
it's getting a bit chilly here by the swings - and I've eaten 2 of the cookies...

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by The Axman » Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:21 pm

Oi pea off - you were on the Athletics thread.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by thebish » Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:37 pm

The Axman wrote:Oi pea off - you were on the Athletics thread.
runner beans??

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by thebish » Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:17 pm

mowed the lawn today (well - half of it!)

also - sorted my compost bins - bagged up the completed one - giving me 8 bags of pretty awesome crumbly organic compost comprising - household veg, tea-bags, guinea pig bedding and chicken poo!

tomorrow - tackle the bottom end and the rampantly overgrown blackberry hedge...

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Worthy4England » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:12 pm

Look. Can we not just agree that mowing anything before Easter Sunday is just wrong, wrong, wrong.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Annoyed Grunt » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:26 pm

Worthy4England wrote:Look. Can we not just agree that mowing anything before Easter Sunday is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Is it? I've been told I have to.

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Re: The Gardening Bed

Post by Worthy4England » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:37 pm

Annoyed Grunt wrote:
Worthy4England wrote:Look. Can we not just agree that mowing anything before Easter Sunday is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Is it? I've been told I have to.
If you're not part of the answer, you must be part of the problem...

Could I suggest, given that it's growing season, that you plant a pair, and see if they grow? :D

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