Does anyone know anything about gardening?

We have a sollya which is quite nice, but it doesn't get very tall - perhaps 1m.

What about chocolate vine? Looks like it ought to tolerate some shade?

Chocolate vine looks like an easy and quick solution.
Also just looking at Sarcococca confusa
which looks pretty ideal, evergreen, winter flowering, and would smell nice next to the back door
(Sorry got really fucking confusa trying to post a link on my phone)

tolerant of atmospheric pollution, dry shade and neglect

Where have you been all my life?

Any idea what's happening to my squash? I've had a few trombetta and courgettes do this where the fruit starts to develop and then yellows and start to rot from the flower end. This one is grown in a pot, but the courgettes in the ground are similar.

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We’ve had this more than usual this year. All the plants have gone mad with leaf growth, so I’ve assumed it’s an air flow issue. Have been trimming back leaves a lot, hopefully it’ll help

Blossom end rot. I had it a few years ago on courgettes - https://www.rhs.org.uk/problems/blossom-end-rot

^ well shit. I’m off to water the allotment

Maybe I need to embrace bamboo?!

I think if you choose the correct variety and container it I'm unsure what the issue is.

Do your own research but here is my shortlist when I was going to plant it in my kids Wendy House area:
[ ] Phyllostachys Nigra
[ ] Fargesia Robusta Campbell
[ ] Fargesia Robusta ‘Pingwu’
[ ] Borinda Papyrifera ‘Blue Panda’
[ ] Fargesia Murielae ‘Umbrella Bamboo’

In the end I found a near dead one (fargesia rufa) in the bargain section of a garden centre which I put in a pot to contain and elevate.

2yrs Before:

After:

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Also this forum jizzes all over cherry trees many of which can grow absolutely fucking massive and given their susceptibility to death create a massive safety risk in a built up environment.

It's all about having a bit of awareness and doing some research.

Hmm, could be but I would be surprised with the amount of rain we've had. The veg patch seems like it's been constantly wet even though we haven't really watered. I was actually worried for a few weeks that the whole patch was waterlogged and roots were going to rot out. I'll at least try watering the trombetta which is in a container a bit more. It is sheltered and south facing so does get blasted when it's hot.

It's really easy to keep a cherry tree a manageable size, which is something you probably want to do anyway as it makes a damn sight easier to pick them.

Your logic also applies to any tree, you should never let a tree grow so high in a garden such that it will fall onto your, or one of your neighbours', house. If you do want tall trees, then plant them as far from the house as you possibly can.

Your logic also applies to any tree

Right. Similar to the logic of not planting an aggressive type of bamboo with no containment.

I'd disagree that pruning a cherry correctly is easy.

People plant stupid trees in stupid locations (see Leyland cypress) as much as people plant stupid bamboo (in any location which isn't a skip).

Russian vine is similar.

We tend to have quite a few squash that go this way. Normally assume it is due to them not being pollinated particularly well, and the plant drops it to favour the next one along on the vine.

Have you had any fruit develop past this stage?

My partner is a fan of pollinating squash by hand. Find a male flower that has opened recently and has plenty of pollen on it, snap it off the plant, strip the outside off to expose the anthers, then wipe it all over the centre of the female flower (with the fruit behind it).

https://www.vegetariantimes.com/life-garden/how-to-hand-pollinate-squash/

I find this method a bit explicit and leave it to the bees.

So far we've had 2 small courgettes, but none of the trombetta have got to full size.

The majority of cherry trees sold in this country will be grafted on various forms of dwarving rootstock. A true wild cherry can get fucking massive. A shop bought one will likely top out at 5-7m

First tomato of the year today!

Excellent work! I over fertilised mine so they're barely started flowering... It'll be autumn tomatoes for me (if any...)

I did pick a bumper crop of gherkins today at least. One of the few things the slugs haven't ruined

On a separate note, I had the fences redone last year. There are gravel boards and it now feels like I've almost hermetically sealed the garden off! While this is great at holding back the hordes of invasive plants the neighbours are ignoring, it's not so good for wildlife, particularly the amphibians I'm hoping to attract to the pond to deal with the slugs next year...

I was thinking of putting couple of 2" blocks of wood between the fence and the gravel board to make a gap for wildlife between the gardens. Would it make more sense just to cut a larger square hole (hedgehog door/tunnel) on either side? I'm mid-terrace, so the likelihood of a hedgehog actually being around to make use of the larger hole feels pretty minimal

The lads who did our fence spotted the signs of a hedgehog trail and asked us before leaving a gap in one of the gravel boards (easier for us, as we've a bit of a slope where that bit is). Same guys did next door also and did the same thing, so the hedgehogs now have a path all the way down the street -they use it too! Our kids love it.

(I am now being asked by the kids to make a hedgehog house out of old pallets)

Adore this.

There was discussion about a solution to this in the diy thread.

See from this post on:
https://www.lfgss.com/comments/17377079/

Thanks a lot for this Hugo, really helpful. I do actually like the look of bamboo! Especially as I’ll probably put a few big pots of perennials in front that will look good against it.

Perfect - thank you, gravel board with hole cut in is spot on.

Today was the day that the Merry Tiller got a workout. Incredible machine and as satisfying to operate as it was to see the fruits of the labour.

Both sides have been turned until soft and loose. Half of the plants we hastily placed on the right have been replanted on the left, as well as the shrub that’s now in the far left corner to provide wildlife shelter for once the pond is completed.

Right hand side will have some fruit/veg once it suits. I was reluctant to simply fill with plants on that side. Probably all the strawberry pots will go there as well as anything in pots that don’t have a home in the ground yet.

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