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Gardening resources and tips, etc.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby scullion » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:13 am

a scythe? - very good for the waistline!

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby scullion » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:23 am

if the dirty hands thing is about getting soil under the finger nails, try scraping your nails on a bar of soap before gardening. it fills the gap with soap and so it's easier to clean them after gardening.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:36 am

scullion wrote:a scythe? - very good for the waistline!

There's not enough room to swing one - and it doesn't get the roots ;).

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:12 pm

Suffs wrote:
Badger's Mate wrote: Can I start picking single leaves now (like cut-and-come-again lettuce), or when the plants have grown taller (and thicker ) ?

I always feel that harvesting coriander is a race against time before it bolts. I'd get on with it if I were you. :D


Snap! There is a variety called Calypso (I think) which is supposed to be more ‘cut and come again’ and less prone to bolting ... but I’ve not tried it.

I have the variety called “Cilantro” which is supposedly bolt resistant
In my experience better than just planting the spice rack seeds but it has bolted in the last few days despite eating a lot!

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby PatsyMFagan » Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:14 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:At the back of my house is a narrow communal unmade path. It used to be used quite frequently by residents which kept the weeds down but fewer people use it regularly now.

I have always given my section a dose of weed killer at the start of the summer which has kept the weeds to a reasonable level. Since switching to a non-glysophate kind I've had much more of a job to keep them down. I really don't want to spend a lot of time or money on it but don't want to lose sight of the path. The soil is quite compact and it would be quite a job to dig it up and weed it. I know that a dose of Roundup would do the trick but would feel very guilty about using it.

Any thoughts/hints. There are several nice new cats in the neighbourhood so I wouldn't want anything harmful to them.


If it is only a footpath with no plants nearby, then salt would help get rid of the weeds, either sprinkle it on dry onto the centre of the plant, or you could try making a strong salt solution and even add (white) vinegar.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Badger's Mate » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:39 pm

There is a variety called Calypso (I think) which is supposed to be more ‘cut and come again’ and less prone to bolting ... but I’ve not tried it.

I have the variety called “Cilantro” which is supposedly bolt resistant





I've tried both Calypso & Cilantro, also various 'leaf selections' but the basic principle is the same, they'll give rocket a run for its money in the bolting stakes. Dill is another one I can't hold back either.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby jeral » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:49 pm

herbidacious wrote:...
I keep getting cuts and seem to have permanent little cracks on my fingers (experimenting with 'liquid skin' at the moment, but still need to use gloves of some description.)
...

Try O'Keeffe's Working Hands; you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't think it's great.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/OKeeffes%C2%AE ... B0822P98WN

In winter I get deep cracks either side of my thumb nail corners and relied on New Skin to seal them, which it does but doesn't really heal them. This is much better, especially if you use it regularly and/or promptly before the cracks deepen.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby miss mouse » Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:16 pm

herbidacious wrote:Back to sitting out, my parents rarely did it, and nor does MIL. I had thought it was a bit of a northern thing (temperature etc.)


As I recall it was considered rather 'low' and we don't do that sort of thing here.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:25 pm

Wasn’t it a bit of a “what will the neighbours think if they see us lazing around and drinking tea out of mismatched cups?” :D. Really posh people whose outdoor space wasn’t overlooked often had tea on the lawn, think of Downton Abbey and all those country house murder mysteries Miss Marple and Mrs Bradley solved! :lol:

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:08 pm

Tea on the lawn was certainly something done and a very respectable delight through at least three generations of my family. We have never moved in Downton Abbey circles!

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:14 pm

Oh dearie dear..........there would never have been mismatched (fine bone china ) cups - no sireeeeeeeee- perish the thought......!

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:12 pm

I remember tea on the lawn at grannie’s ... a tea table and chairs were carried out for the grown ups ... deckchairs for the children and young people ... and if I was lucky and it had been fixed up, I could have the proper hammock strung between the pear tree and the big hazel. 8-)

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby jeral » Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:23 pm

There was a newly made modern programme on TV in which I was astonished to see a vertical pinky whilst drinking tea. Perhaps it's a habit hard to get out of.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby PatsyMFagan » Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:01 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:Do you remember my problems trying to grow garlic, but unable to split the cloves to plant them separately ?


PatsyMFagan wrote:This morning, after they had dried a bit, I split the bulbs from the mass of roots. I now have lots of individual cloves too . Would these be a growing success if I planted them up ? If so, should I dry them out first (and wait until the colder weather ?), or simply bung them in now ?.


Sorry to bring my question to the fore again.... anyone got any advice/suggestions ?

tia :thumbsup

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby jeral » Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:06 pm

Dunno, but garlic cloves planted indoors do produce tallish green shoots that are good to snip and scatter on salads or use in stir fries.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby herbidacious » Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:17 pm

My mother is snobby about certain (many) things, but I don't think that's why she didn't sit out. Probably just not brought up to do it by her working class, Victorian parents. They didn't have much of a garden, and I am not sure what the quality of the air was like in Blackburn in the 30s and 40s. I know my father's mother sat out in the garden in the 1930s, as I have photographic evidence. They were a bit posher though. (Although she by marriage, not upbringing.)
My father had hay fever which became asthma in later life so that might explain him, but maybe not.

Thanks for the tip, jeral. I shall order some. I am having to apply this new skin stuff many times a day. I did think the cracks might be related to a very bad cut I had years ago (severed some nerves cleaning a knife. Doh. I have regained a lot of feeling but the finger has never been quite the same.) but I have some on the pads of my thumbs too. They don't hurt, and aren't infected or, I think, likely to become so, bit do hard-to-shift accrete dirt.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby jeral » Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:53 pm

herbidacious, there's also Rozalex which is a serious barrier cream intended to prevent vehicle grease and oil from getting ingrained. You might find it useful before a "dirty" gardening session.

I used it years ago and it's still around. Muck washes off easily and leaves hands clean and soft. Use sparingly, no need to blather it on.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rozalex-Dri-Gu ... op?ie=UTF8

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby scullion » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:05 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:Sorry to bring my question to the fore again.... anyone got any advice/suggestions ?


i think i would be inclined to separate and put them somewhere dry for the next month or so and then plant them again in august/september. if you've got some good compost (or well rotted horse manure). spread/rake that in now, in the place you're going to plant them, or on the surface after you've planted them.

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:16 pm

jeral wrote:herbidacious, there's also Rozalex which is a serious barrier cream intended to prevent vehicle grease and oil from getting ingrained. You might find it useful before a "dirty" gardening session.

I used it years ago and it's still around. Muck washes off easily and leaves hands clean and soft. Use sparingly, no need to blather it on.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rozalex-Dri-Gu ... op?ie=UTF8

Good lord, I’d no idea you could still get Rozalex, the lab technicians friend
I think for gardening and do estic cleaning I’d be inclined t o go for the Wet Guard versio
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rozalex-Wet-Gu ... ooghydr-21

The ingredients are quite similar to O’Keefe’s but unfortunately Rozalex also contains perfume

Interesting that they call it a barrier cream again, that’s a term that iirc wasn’t allowed for a while

I’ve got Neutrogena Norwegian Formula at the moment, fragrance free, too sticky for my taste, Working Hands is better (but nearly 3 times the price)

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Re: gardening resources and tips, etc.

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:22 pm

Bodyshop Hemp Hans Protector ... wonderful stuff, the gardeners’ friend; I wouldnt be without it :thumbsup

https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/hands ... &gclsrc=ds

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