More Garden Tips
|
We are now receiving hints and tips from all over the
world, some of which are listed below. If you know of any others you would like to
share with the rest of us please contact us on june@hintsandthings.co.uk
. We will be delighted to add them to our pages, giving you credit of course.
-
Hanging baskets are always difficult to water, as the water tends to
just run off. I have got around this by, late every evening,
half-filling a cheap, medium-sized sandwich bag (the sort that are
on a roll) with water, tying the top and placing the filled bag onto
the centre of the hanging basket. I pierce through the bag with a
thin length of wire bent into a U shape and push it into the soil.
That’s it. The water will gently run into the soil overnight,
then, in the morning, you can remove the wire to reuse next time and
dispose of the ‘empty’ bag in your recycling. Because the
set-up is used overnight and dismantled first thing in the morning,
the unsightly bag will not be noticed. If it’s windy, the bag
is fixed so it won’t blow away. More water required? Use two bags.
Job done!
Jean
Thompson
Thank you Bryan Thomas for this
contribution
To prevent peas being eaten by pests, fill a short length of guttering
with compost and sow peas along the length as normal. Hang guttering out of reach of
pests. When seedlings are 1"-2" tall, dig a trench in the garden and
transfer whole length containing compost and seedlings into this trench.
Put broken egg shells into a watering can, fill with water and leave
overnight. This will extract the nutrients making an excellent and cheap plant feed.
-
To help get rid of aphids,
put some orange peel in some water and then, after a couple of weeks,
transfer the water into a spray bottle. Spray over the infested
area.
Bake egg shells in an oven to harden and then place around plants to
prevent slugs damaging them. The slugs cannot get over the hardened shells.
Fill a small tub (low enough for the slugs to climb into) with beer and
place it next to the plants. Alternatively the container can be buried in the soil.
Contributed by Inez Cook
This recommendation comes from Jill Young -
thank you
To get rid of ants, locate their hill and sprinkle a liberal amount of
talc powder around and on it. The ants dislike the talc and will
move their colony
several feet. Just continue sprinkling with the talc until the ants are moved to
where you want them. Boiling water poured into/onto the nest also works quite well.
We had a nasty infestation of
Ants in our Garden, they were even found in the house. We tried lots of
Powders, Sprays and Jellies but non were successful. My aunty then told
me to find the main entrance to the "Ant House" then empty a
load of Thick Bleach down the entrance hole, leave for a couple of
minutes then add a full kettle of "Boiling Water" I did this
and we have never seen anymore Ant's, this was over 15yrs ago now, so it
does work.
Jacqui Petrella
When planting morning glory seeds, the package directions indicate that
you need to nick each one of the seeds to enhance germination. A quick and easy way
to accomplish this is with a pair of fingernail clippers. Then place the seeds on a
lightly dampened paper towel, fold the towel over and place inside a plastic zipper bag
for a day or so before planting.
Thanks to "Bonnie" for these tips
Cheap home-made recipe for killing
moss and fertilising the lawn
(please note I am not sure whether
these ingredients are available in every part of the world and remember I
cannot guarantee results, use of any of the recipes mentioned is at your
own risk)
2 gallons water
3 oz. Sulphate of Ammonia
1 oz Sulphate of Iron
Mix in a small quantity of warm water before adding to the
bulk of the water. Use a watering can with a fine rose to apply to
the lawn and wet well. Moss will turn black within a few hours and
grass will start growing in a few days.
These ingredients can be purchased in large quantities
e.g. 25 kgs. each which reduces the price considerably and will produce
enough to treat a relatively large lawn several times.
You can mix as much or as little as you like at a time,
large amounts can be mixed in an old dustbin, perhaps even share it with a
neighbour.
Metric equivalent for various quantities is given below:-
|
Water
|
1 litre
|
5 litres
|
10 litres
|
25 litres
|
75 litres
|
100
litres
|
|
Sulphate of Ammonia
(brown in colour)
|
9.35 gm
|
46.8 gm
|
93.5 gm
|
234 gm
|
701 gm
|
935 gm
|
|
Sulphate of Iron
(blue/green in colour)
|
3.12 gm
|
15.6 gm
|
31.2 gm
|
78.0 gm
|
234 gm
|
312 gm
|
Contributed by Mike
Stephenson (originally from Prestwood Gardening Society, Buckinghamshire
UK)
Vinegar
Kills grass on walks and driveways.
Kills weeds. Spray full strength on growth
until plants have starved.
Increases soil acidity. In hard water:
one gallon of tap water for watering rhododendrons, gardenias, or azaleas.
Deters ants. Spray vinegar around doors,
appliances and along other areas where ants are known.
Courtesy of Tina - thanks
Another cleaning tip to clean green algae from concrete,
stone or flags use warm diluted household bleach and scrub it in with a
medium hard bristled area sweeping brush and leave; the bleach will kill the
algae.
Stephen Mclean
Please remember we cannot
guarantee results, any remedy is carried out at your own risk. As
this may not be suitable for all types of stone it is important to test on
a hidden area first.
Creating mulch (to aid decomposition)
Take 2 small containers of plain yoghurt and empty
them into the pile.
Toss about a dozen night crawlers (a large variety
of earthworm - plentiful in some areas) into the pile and let them go to work.
If you can acquire 1 litre of liquid nitrogen (I
don't know how readily available this is around the world); this can be used on the pile.
Anonymous contributor
A good recipe for
hummingbird nectar is to combine water and sugar in a 4:1 ratio (4
cups water and 1 cup sugar) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until all the
sugar is dissolved. Cool thoroughly before using and store extra portions in a
sterile jar in the refrigerator. This mixture most closely resembles the nectar of
flowers.
Thanks Bonnie (if only
we had hummingbirds in the U.K.)
More useful tips for the gardener.
Gardening tips
Copyright © 2000-2020
Hints and Things
All Rights Reserved.
No portion of this site may be reproduced or redistributed without prior
written permission from Hints and Things. All trademarks &
copyrights throughout Hints and Things remain the property of their
respective owners.
Hints and Things cannot be
held responsible for any information given on this site nor do they
necessarily agree with, or endorse, the views given by third parties.
|
