Gardeners Corner Tips - Hints

So Here you are in the Gardeners corner. posts in this thread will be full of tips and tricks of the trade us gardeners use.

from recycling old cd's too making your own greenhouse you will find it all here in this topic. a kinda one stop shop with ideas and tips.

please feel free too add too these hints and tips, the more posts with good advice tips and hints will make all our gardens bloom.


BIRD scare: in england we use our old compact disc's and hang them from trees and washing lines. the sun reflects and scares the birds.

BEER: is great when sitting in the garden but it is also a very good slug and snail bait in a sunken cup near your prized veg.

BEE's: as we all know our bees are in decline, keepers are loosing alot of hives, we can help by leaving out small amounts of sugar water for workers too use and build up strength for overwintering.

Hopefuly we will gather a nice topic full of tricks we use in and around the garden, please please add too this topic and sare our knowledge too everyone

Home made Fertilizer / Plant feed.

you will require:

grass clippings and green leaf waste.
cloth sack - pillow case.
water butt - very large water bucket.
Air pump ( not required realy)
rain water - tap water

first of we will need too fill your water container with water. if using tap water it will need too rest for atleast 24hrs.

take your pillow case / sack and fill half full with green garden waste, grass clippings and green waste and hang this, so as too be submerge in the water.

AIR pump: this can be very useful. the air pump and a sand stone will release a fine stream of bubbles and keep the mixture moving. this can also aid in the fermenting.

this brew will take anything from 1 month upto 3 months. it does realy depend on so many factors but highly worth the effort.

every couple of days give your mixture a little stir/mix. mix for around a couple of mins every few days. after a while you start too notice a scum of bubbles on the surface of your mixture. This is good dont panic it is what we require.

as time passes you will notice a smell, depends on what had been add BUT this stuff is potent. if it gets onto your skin its not easy too remove and YES real does pong.

fermentation is your key once this starts your gardeners tea is ready too use.

now some numbers. it will be a very strong N rate around 30%+ easy. it will burn plants so needs too be water down more. i tend too do a 5-1 mix, five parts rain water too one part liquoir.

BUT tamzi you say. i only have around 1/3 my mixture left. dont panic all is well. refill your sack with greens and replace back into your liquid. top back up with rain water-tap water and start all over again.

i like too chop up leafs from my beans and peas also my cucumber plants, the can all be used too make your gardeners tea.

the humble potato,

everyone love chips, french fries. but not all of us have a large garden and the time too dig over a suitable potato plot.

the humble car tyre.

thrown away and burned on fires these things are becoming a problem. but how could a gardener use his old tyres.

first off lets get a supply of old tyres. most garage workshops will be glad too off load a few tyres if you ask. lets say a max 4 maybe 5 tyres.

set your first tyre in place and backfill with your soils dont forget too place your potato seeds in or a couple potato's sprouting. now place another tyre onto you stack and fill again with soil. every time your potato plant grows around one or two foot you will add an extra tyre and back fill with soil. each time you add too your stack. as your plant grows so does your stack and your potato sets.

harvesting is also easy. remove the top tyre and place next too the bottom of stack. carefuly transplant soil from old stack you are harvesting into your new stack. as you work your way down removing potatos and tyres restack them and fill ready for your early spring harvest or ready for your spring planting and summer harvest.

where will i get my potato seeders from you may wonder. well as a young lad i alway wonder why my grandad would chit potato's. chitting is where on places a potato onto the windowsill in a egg box. this forces the potato too make shoots and in turn this potato will grow and make new potatos. ALWAYS remember too plant your sprouted potatos so sprouts face upwards when planting out.

Heavy soils : Potatos are a great crop too break up hard/heavy soils too. a few gardeners use them too work soils and break it down ready for mulching and prep for planting.

I let my tomato seedlings get about 18" before I transplant. Then I pinch off every branch except the top two, dig a trench of equal length about a foot deep with the root ball facing north (why? cause the old man told me to, that's why.) Fill with about 6" compost, lay the plant in the trench with just the two branches at the top sticking out and cover the rest with soil. Mulch heavily, especially where the root ball is. This method allows for a lot more roots to establish up and down the buried stalk and will increase the health and yield overall.

worried your cucumbers may rot or your mellons will become spoilt have no fear womans bra's and stocking are here.

yes thats right i heard about old bra's or slings being used too hold fruit up from the ground. who cares what it is or looks like it does the job.

stockings, old ones are awesome for the gardener. i have used them too tie back honeysuckle roses too poles tomato vines too trellis and even tomato stems too thier stakes use a 8 type of tie this allows the nylon too stretch as plant grows and stalk expands outwards.

stockings/nylon tights can be also used on young fruit trees and the likes. also makes for a good makeshift twine when twisted too make a cord.

for fruit you can make hammoks for mellons tomato vines cucmbers and the likes.

i also use nylon tights too filter my rain water from the water butt. simple and effective particle removal and no more blocked up holes in the watering can rose head.

Plant your tomatoes 2/3 the way into the ground, even burying branches, It roots out like crazy from the buried stem and makes for an established tomato.

Carrot shape and size is greatly determined by the soil it is grown in. Soil should not be to loose.

Plant marigolds to deter many bugs from other plants.

I would also suggest building raised beds as opposed to planting into the ground.

Good advice.

You can also plant basil around your tomatoes to discourage pests. The added advantage is that basil is aromatic and goes great in many dishes.

It's hard to over-plant imho. If you're like me and really love tomatoes, garlic, asparagus, and certain other veggies you want to err on the side of planting too much. I shoot for at least triple what I think I can use.

For one thing you want to allow for some damage/loss from pests, but I really enjoy giving excess away to friends and co-workers.

Check out square-foot gardening. That's a nice way to get the most out of your available space.