Advice for a hopeless gardener

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

jansman wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:26 am
jennyjj01 wrote: Wed Jan 04, 2023 7:58 pm
jansman wrote: Wed Jan 04, 2023 7:02 pm Don’t put it in a propagator. Keep it natural.
Ah.
Does that advice still stand?
The only way i could go more natural would be to leave the lid off.
Just no lid. Don’t force it. It’ll sprout.
OK. Thanks. Lid is off.
A bit of googling tells me my anticipated 3 inches in a month is ambitious and they might not get planted out till late Feb or March. I guess root and bulb prospering is the priority, till then. Those poor tiny babies will have a struggle if they shoot up, 'cos they have little to nourish them. Nobody mentioned feeding them, yet and it seems they are not demanding.
I can also see it's going to need continuous and gentle weeding when they do go out. I keep seeing that these are no effort 'spring onions' for life. We'll see. I might have a different idea of 'no effort' ;)

https://plantura.garden/uk/vegetables/t ... n-overview
https://egyptianwalkingonion.com/

They look really elegant and almost alien on 'tinterweb.
Image
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
Posts: 13692
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

jennyjj01 wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 9:34 am
jansman wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:26 am
jennyjj01 wrote: Wed Jan 04, 2023 7:58 pm
Ah.
Does that advice still stand?
The only way i could go more natural would be to leave the lid off.
Just no lid. Don’t force it. It’ll sprout.
OK. Thanks. Lid is off.
A bit of googling tells me my anticipated 3 inches in a month is ambitious and they might not get planted out till late Feb or March. I guess root and bulb prospering is the priority, till then. Those poor tiny babies will have a struggle if they shoot up, 'cos they have little to nourish them. Nobody mentioned feeding them, yet and it seems they are not demanding.
I can also see it's going to need continuous and gentle weeding when they do go out. I keep seeing that these are no effort 'spring onions' for life. We'll see. I might have a different idea of 'no effort' ;)

https://plantura.garden/uk/vegetables/t ... n-overview
https://egyptianwalkingonion.com/

They look really elegant and almost alien on 'tinterweb.
Image
They will sprout. Then later when the Spring comes ,bang em out,let em grow. No feed needed at all. Perfect perennial. I let mine grow last year and left them. When Late Summer came they ‘fell’ in order to let the tiny bulbs reset. I just took them off and banged em in. Sprouted in a week! Got a sea of green there now! And of course a development of bulb under ground was formed from original,and will go again. So the crop will be one or two :lol: of those,which sees that plant off, ( but the new ones are chasing anyway) and LOTS of green onion. Winner!
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

jansman wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 9:51 am
They will sprout. Then later when the Spring comes ,bang em out,let em grow. No feed needed at all. Perfect perennial. I let mine grow last year and left them. When Late Summer came they ‘fell’ in order to let the tiny bulbs reset. I just took them off and banged em in. Sprouted in a week! Got a sea of green there now! And of course a development of bulb under ground was formed from original,and will go again. So the crop will be one or two :lol: of those,which sees that plant off, ( but the new ones are chasing anyway) and LOTS of green onion. Winner!
You do realise that in a year or two, If these tinkers prosper, I'm going to be torn in angst at the thought of limiting the population and murdering some for my cheese butty. (If I can still afford cheese)
If I ever get an enormous embarrassment of a crop, then off to ebay they will go at a quid a clove.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
Posts: 13692
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

👍 :D
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

OK, Friends..... A little game for you... I just know you'll want to play.

I'm A Weed. Get Me Out Of Here!

So, who's up to a bit of an ID parade.


I've just taken a looksee over the jungle that is my allotment. It was not cultivated at all last year and is a bloomin' jungle.

BUT. I spotted that some of the dead and derelict life-forms there had once been tied to canes. Some leaves look a bit familiar and non-weed like. Unfortunately I couldn't recognise much beyond a nettle, which stung me, and something which I THINK was a dock leaf which soothed my sting.

Seriously though, I Suspect there's at least a big patch of strawberries and maybe some other soft fruit. There's even a big woody bush which looks like it should be kept. There's a bit of Rhubarb, too.
There's some dried up dead tall things with small seed pods on them. Weed or food?

Anyways, without further ado. Who can identify these.... Bonus points if you can tell me how to save them ( cutting or root ball? )

First 10. Sorry about duplicates.
#1
My guess Blackberry
IMG_20230105_120159.jpg
IMG_20230105_120159.jpg (74.79 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#2
My guess Blackberry
IMG_20230105_120139.jpg
IMG_20230105_120139.jpg (55.54 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#3
My guess Blackberry
IMG_20230105_120135.jpg
IMG_20230105_120135.jpg (77.74 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#4
My guess Dock
IMG_20230105_120129.jpg
IMG_20230105_120129.jpg (77.04 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#5
My guess Strawberry
IMG_20230105_120119.jpg
IMG_20230105_120119.jpg (77.09 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#6
My guess Blackberry
IMG_20230105_120059.jpg
IMG_20230105_120059.jpg (81.15 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#7
My guess Strawberry
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#8
My guess
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IMG_20230105_120022.jpg (58.92 KiB) Viewed 303 times
#9
My guess Rhubarb
IMG_20230105_115931.jpg
#10
My guess
IMG_20230105_115850.jpg
Last edited by jennyjj01 on Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

I'm a Weed Get Me Out Of Here!

Second 10
#11 Strawberry?
IMG_20230105_121654.jpg
IMG_20230105_121654.jpg (59.7 KiB) Viewed 301 times
#12
IMG_20230105_121045.jpg
#13
IMG_20230105_121041.jpg
#14 Strawberry?
IMG_20230105_120435.jpg
#15
IMG_20230105_120426.jpg
#16
IMG_20230105_120411.jpg
#17 Nettle?
IMG_20230105_120348.jpg
#18
IMG_20230105_120315.jpg
#19
IMG_20230105_120255.jpg
#20
IMG_20230105_120326.jpg
Last edited by jennyjj01 on Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

I'm A Weed Get Me Out Of Here!

Third 10
#21
IMG_20230105_121809.jpg
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#22
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#23
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IMG_20230105_121757.jpg (77.95 KiB) Viewed 298 times
#24
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IMG_20230105_121730.jpg (59.46 KiB) Viewed 298 times
#25
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#26
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IMG_20230105_121711.jpg (35.69 KiB) Viewed 298 times
#27
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#28
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IMG_20230105_121706.jpg (75.2 KiB) Viewed 298 times
#29
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IMG_20230105_121700.jpg (61.19 KiB) Viewed 298 times
#30
IMG_20230105_121657.jpg
IMG_20230105_121657.jpg (52.18 KiB) Viewed 298 times
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

I'm A Weed Get Me Out Of Here!

Final few

Thanks in advance to anyone who's helping me with these.

#31
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#32
IMG_20230105_121836.jpg
IMG_20230105_121836.jpg (48.69 KiB) Viewed 295 times
#33
IMG_20230105_121939.jpg
IMG_20230105_121939.jpg (65.54 KiB) Viewed 295 times
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
Posts: 13692
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

No 17 blackberry. You got the strawberry and rhubarb right for sure.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3571
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

jansman wrote: Thu Jan 05, 2023 2:59 pm No 17 blackberry. You got the strawberry and rhubarb right for sure.
Cheers.
The strawberry covers a big area, but knotted well in with weeds. I'll try to mostly leave that in situ and weed around it. Though some will be transplanted to the garden beds at home.
The blackberry, I'll read up on, but probably try to shape up into one area. It's a bit sprawling, all over paths.
Rhubarb pleases me.
You let me down on #15. the stick tied to a stick :)
I could do with knowing what #18 and #19 are because there's lots of it and it has dried seed pods. I need to know whether I dare compost it. About 5 ft tall like straw coloured dead canes.

I was initially thinking I'd work from one end to the other to clear it, but that's a NO. These bits and bobs are disbursed, so i'll be working around them.
My thinking now is to take one central area that I know has nothing worthwhile and dig that ready to sow or move things to. Then I'll spend a bit of effort weeding those berry patches. There's a day's work just tidying the shaded compost area. As I clear an area, I'll plant or move stuff into it thus clearing the next space. All rather haphazard sounding, but it works in my head.
I'm thinking of getting a small levelled area of a couple of sq m which I'll literally mow over and over to break up compostables like dead leaves of which there are plenty. The existing compost heap needs a lot of work.
I'm a bit concerned that if I try to compost the junk that i'm tearing out, it will be too woody and full of weed seeds. So I'm thinking a long term compost heap with the woodier bits and a quick, softer compost heap with leaves and greens, if you see what I mean. None of it will be quick. I know composting needs a mix of brown & green, but short of buying a shredder there's too much woody brown.
One bit of good news..... The site manager is pretty relaxed about the rules, so i have a bit of time to show progress.


Disposing of weeds:
All these videos on Youtube of folks clearing their allotments of bramble and weeds: They never show what they do with the topgrowth. And I'm befuddled and don't want to get it wrong.
I want to compost most weeds, but Docks and some others are just masses of seeds. Just composting those seeds is surely a no-no. Where do I draw the line between binning weeds to composting them?
Am I overthinking this?
I could do with knowing what this is and how to deal with it. The top-growth is dried out death incarnate, but totally peppered with small dried out pods full of seeds. Should i single this out for binning off-site. this and docks.
Image
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong