So, most of you know that I haven't grown much veg I've r the last couple of years. Pretty much beans, courgettes, and gourds  and then green house crops.

So when I dig up my dahlias and take down my bean poles apart from a small patch it will be empty until May. 

Last year I covered it all in black plastic that I found. It's ripped everywhere so I could only save a few sections. Ideas please. I'm not trooping round shops looking for card. But I am willing to buy something so long as it will last me several years and I can reuse lots.

Who is taking part in the traditional autumn planting season for trees and shrubs this year? This has been a ritual for us to beat the summer droughts, although last year the autumn was too cold and wet. 

It is currently 8 degrees and il pleut comme vache qui pisse  but with low twenties and lots of sunshine for the next week I'll be getting some stuff in the ground.

I have a tetrapanax rex to go in, a gift from a friend who has one up to first floor height, plus a row of hypericum Hidcote to go in to smother a horrible weedy bank down by the road.

From cuttings there's  a winter shrubby honeysuckle, the fragrant white one, and a couple of pink shrubby honeysuckles, too. The names elude me and the labels are long lost!

How much any of it will surive the deer remains to be seen!

My OH had a beloved Swiss Cheese Plant called Desmond     that has been around longer than me (25+ years), but when we moved to France it had to stay behind under the care of my mother. Over time she has hacked it back to keep it compact, but in the move to her flat last week it got broken off below the bottom set of leaves. We've brought the now VERY compact and rather sad stalk back with us, but what is the chance of Desmond surviving? 

Thanks lovelies.

Thought I'd do a quick review of these bad boys. I treated myself to a pair of these recently whilst sourcing a hori hori for my mother in laws birthday. 

Here are the okatsune no304 snips.

   


They are made in Japan and they are available for £12. Not the cheapest things in the world, but they feel very sturdy and come with a spare spring. They're not stainless but are super sharp and work great. Only had a play with them today but were great at neatly tidying up a lavender and cutting back raspberry canes, they didn't struggle at all. They were also great for tidying up bits in the veg patch and snipping twine (as my knife was in the shed). 

They are not heavy weight secateurs but are great and more than capable than what they are designed for. 
I treated my dad to the same companies bypass secateurs in spring and he loves them.

Does anyone grow Grasses (not the lawn grass but the ornamental sort) as I have some packets of seed that I will never grow and would be happy to send to someone who would.

Does anyone know a good way to deal with the water at the side of a polytunnel?

I had some potatoes growing quite close to my polytunnel this year and a lot of the deepest rotted. The plants seemed to have grown more roots higher up that were prone to greening even though the plants had been earthed up well.

The advice sought is not about potatoes but about the excessive wet that accumulates along the sides of a polytunnel. What, if anything, do people do to mitigate this?

Look, it has only been three years (I think) and I have (almost) my first fruit. So worth that £5 (touch wood)

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
   

We've done A although we should go back and update it with our progress - when we've sowed, how they growed.

Now its time to compare notes about flowers starting with B that we grow or would like to grow (with reasons) .

Can anyone identify this plant. It grows to about 1 mètre and is found planted in a wild insect friendly garden in Holland. It is growing on a West facing bank in half shade.

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
   

Hello everyone, I’ve tried to vote in the ‘best of’ competitions but there are no photos or options to vote. Is there a problem here or is it just me?!!