Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Yeah that was my guess. Not as voracious as the stripey black and yellow fellows. But I might have to kill it in defense of the broccolis. If I can find it again...

Got any nasturtiums? They love 'em.

Strangely, they haven't popped up yet. I'm getting a bit concerned. I rely on them self-seeding.

Been offered a job at my old work and need advice on how to go about doing it. I need to get rid of everything except the trees. What would be the best way to go about this and what machinery/equipment would be best to use?

I was thinking to do what this video shows - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h30C3YUhM98
- maybe less lawnmower as there is loads of logs/wood/rubbish which could damage it..

4 Attachments

How long do you have?

First thought is get in there quickly with a petrol strimmer and then reassess.

Has anyone ever set up a solar powered electric pump for water butt?

I've got a number of sheds and an outbuilding that I'd like to collect rain water from, but likely to enter a bit of a battle with the other half over aesthetics and placement.

So one idea was to burry one. This would stop the tap being available, but I thought I could rig some sort of pump to get the water out.

Any thoughts or experience?

Cheers.

water butt

Sounds nasty, tried loperamide?

Where are you gonna put your tanks? Bury those as well? How big? We've got two 10,000 litre tanks, they're not small....

As long as it takes luckily but need to get a initial estimate in by tomorrow or asap to get the ball rolling. Should I just quote for around 2 weeks to be safe?

Thats a good idea though, thanks

How bigs the area? Our grounds maintenance lads can clear an overgrown garden far worse looking than in your pics the size of a tennis court in a day with 3 men.

-Petrol brush cutters - one with string and one with a ninja star head for tougher stuff.
-Long arm hedgecutter.
-Small petrol chipper - chuck all the woody stuff and ivy thru and chip over the place, or pile up and spread it out once you’re finished to help keep the weeds down.
-Heavy landscaping/tarmac rakes.
-Pitchfork
-Wheelbarrow
-Sharps gloves, litter picker and biohazard box - I wouldn’t go into an area like that in a city or large town without preparing for the possibility of needles.

Looks like a piece of piss(unless it’s massive) so if you can charge 2 weeks then winner!

two 10,000 litre tanks

Lol. This is England.

It'd just be a little one. 100-200l. Possibly ½ or ¾ burried with something covering it. Basically whatever will aesthetically pass muster.

Thank you and good shout on the sharps gloves.

Its roughly the size of a 7 aside football pitch. I'll be working with one other person and neither have major experience in this field and I don't want to undercharge. I'm sure just a clear out would only take a couple of days but I can see getting all the ivy roots out a very long process as it hasn't been touched in years. They really want to not have to deal with this part of the site again after the jobs been done.

We obvs don't need two for our small block of land (400m²) but the previous owners subdivided and built a house on their half... The guy who originally built the house had loads of fruit trees so that's the why, we should really get them both plumbed in for the washing machine and toilet, would be a smart move...

Getting rid of ivy is less than easy. A product called SBK is your best chance, mix it with paraffin (I can't remember the dilution, try 4:1 and don't smoke), this will help to break down the waxy cuticle on the leaves and allow the poison to penetrate. Repeat the treatment a week later, when you hack the lot out (2 days should do it) another week later, drill any major ivy roots and fill with neat SBK. This will also permanently bugger any foliage it touches, but doesn't wreck the soil. Warn the client they may have to re-treat any regrowth.

plumbed in

I was thinking about a similar think if we ever get an extension. A quick look shows proper grey water ones to be a few £k depending on size. Which given we're not metered seems extravagant. Although I do like the ecological side of it.

Once battery prices come down a bit more we'll put a full solar rig in and maybe do the plumbing at the same time... Would love to be as self-sufficient as possible wrt power and water... TBH we could probably run a filter between the tanks and our taps and use that rainwater for everything!

^This. SBK is srs bsns. If you’re applying it in a commercial context you’ll need the chemical data sheets available and flag it on the r.a. Personally I’d advise against using it neat on surface roots- EcoPlug treatment is safer for environment/wildlife and more effective. Ivy is the cockroach of the horticultural world and as Colin says you’ll absolutely need to reapply over a few months. If you can lay your hands on some Ammonium sulfamate and mix it into a paste with water then that’s another option. Application rates can be hit and miss tho.
We can no longer buy it commercially as a herbicide but still available as a soil accelerant.
Another option is a shallow grind with a stump grinder over the areas with lots of surface roots- be careful of the tree roots tho.

Polytunnel is coming along nicely, got my irrigation rigged up and knocked up a potting table today from pallets

1 Attachment

My apple tree is infested with leaf curling aphids. Anyone know the best approach with these little bastards? There’s too many to get rid of by pruning the affected areas. I’m reluctant to use pesticides but not sure I have another option.

You can order ladybirds by post, but I don’t know how effective this is as an actual solution.

Nettle spray is an often recommended remedy.

I've no idea how effective it is.

Spraying with soapy water. Doesn't get rid but helps.

First of my Roses is out!
Full of black spot and some sort of rust but I downright refuse to use any sort of pesticides and herbicides.
Still look pretty!

2 Attachments

Belatedly catching up on this thread so apologies for dredge.

Are people with blueberries covering them in fleece/similar at the moment with the mildly frosty mornings?

No need to do this if your blueberry bush is anything like mine. It always looks like it's died in winter but they're very hardy. It's been busy flowering recently and very popular with the bees.

If you work out how to stop birds pinching the berries though let me know - I don't really mind that much but our yield has been significantly reduced the past few years by a local blackbird couple.

1 Attachment

A lot of the reviews I've read say that the ladybirds tend to fly off never to be seen again...

We've had problems with aphids eating all the flowers on our pineapple broom the last few years, not helped by black ants farming the aphids. So I'm declaring war on the ants this year, partly because they've also started invading our kitchen :/

@Eejit it would be worth checking that ants aren't farming yours but I presume you'd have noticed them marching merrily up and down the trunk.

Very difficult on a whole tree as I found out - partly because of access/height but also because of sheer volume. If you do try this @Eejit make sure you don't use something like washing up liquid as it's not good for the environment. You can buy special gentle horticultural soap, the best are organic and have neem oil in which is a natural pesticide.