Re: Worming - Whilst I do have a homeopathic Vet, I have not come across scheduling according to the Moon, so I looked it up in my trusted Moon Almanack. It would appear that the most effective time to worm is 3 days before a New Moon or 2 to 3 days before a Full Moon. I have not tried this but would be interested to know if anyone reading this Thread has. My cats are done once a month from Easter to October to inc ticks and fleas then every 2 months Nov-March.
Re: Putting beds to sleep. Great idea but seems a bit hasty plus leaving beds doing nothing and unproductive. Bit late now as you have added manure but how about transplanting a few Winter Carrots or popping in some Brassicas who would like the manure.Courgettes are still a good idea bearing in mind our warm Autumns of late and even baby Pepper Plants who would love the manure. Biodynamic Association says green manure essential so you could sow some to cover beds. Lambs Lettuce goes in now of course for Winter Salads. The main thing is not to leave any soil bare including flower beds. During August I will be advising sowing some more Winter Radish/Turnips/ Lambs lettuce and on the flower front Pansies and Violas.
A quick peek at August Lunar Weather Predictions (Source Jean Marais) Shows it is going to hot up with regional storms and those wretched winds still continueing -will give more details over the w/e.
Came back from hospital to find mildew starting on outdoor heritage tomatoes due to lack of airflow on raised bed. Cut away affected leaves and treated with purin of Prelé (marestail) This morning no more problems, so chuffed with that. Started Purin of Valerian today as when watered around roots in hot weather supposed to cool plants and refresh them for a longer period that water alone. Remember if you have to resort to tap water, rest it for 24hrs to allow lime to sink to bottom of container plus place in sun to warm up. I use 5-10Litre plastic water bottles, that I keep on the terrace as a reserve.
Just to finish this month 28/29th July - Fruit Days Moon ascending on 29th in Sagittarius so start harvesting Potatoes as needed and strawberries and raspberries. They will be juicier and riper as on the cusp of a descending and ascending Moon.
30/31st July -Root Days. Sow some Red Onions and Spring Onions for late Autumn Salads.
Thank you for your best wishes re my health. Gardening is my best treatment, and I have been really grateful during isolation, as I am sure have many of you.
Hello , Bio , have tried different green manures but found digging it in hard work and it kept coming up
My current system is working well , small beds covered in horse manure and either dug in or scrapped off and put in compost bins Large beds covered with membrane from Lidl , pretty cheap , so few weeds amazing , then feed it with Blood/fish/bone or chicken pellets or lime I’m quite relaxed about empty beds at moment , just one of those things during these strange times Growing lettuce & radish at home , o/h doesn’t like winter radish so don’t grow it
We have winter cabbage & broccoli growing well , no French beans yet but next door gave me a load
Picked more courgette today , o/h had already given 9 away
Main crop potatoes will probably need digging up sooner than normal
At moment lovely sunny/ warm days , still sitting outside
Best of luck with animals , remember having to hold my mothers cats in a towel , to stop being clawed when she had to do anything with them !
I am really p----d off, had to lift all Heritage tomatoes and burn them due to blight that had taken hold over the last few days. Yes -I tried the Bdynamic recommendation of Prele purin (Marestail) and sour milk but the mildew that I suspected turned into horrible brown blotches on stems and ripening toms -So they had to go. Own saved seed toms doing really well in greenhouse plus there is a proper melon coming as against hopeful starters and the cayenne peppers are fantastic, plus outdoor cucumbers and 1 courgette plant thriving so all is not lost. --I have now decided that the olkd saying prevention is better than cure really should be adhered to IF I had not planted the Toms so close together in raised bed thus stopping good air flow when they got bigger, I might have saved one or two. This is not the first time that I have made this mistake. Can't understand why I practise good distancing in the greenhouse but push things up closer outside!!!! One day I shall learn, but then that is what gardening is all about---EXCEPT I never learn!!!! Temptation always gets the better of me!! -GWRS I am a great believer in 'if it works for you that's fine' I know many people who have no problems with green manure and many that are sick of the stuff popping up everywhere!!! I harvested my onions this morning and am delighted with Rose de Roscoff, but not that happy with Karmen Red Onions. Very small, but they will still be useful.I can however highly recommend orange boxes to grow both in. There is a super new veg bed ready underneath (I had popped the boxes directly around raised beds on lawn) and I can use the wood ash from burning the old boxes on the compost heap.
The Weather predictions for August ar eprimarily hot and stormy. from 1-11th From 12th Hotter with localised storms from 14-17th and again 23/24th. Watch out for high winds between 23-29th -30/31st even hotter.
Now a 2nd admission -The last few days that I listed in July were WRONG!!!! I was looking at August -There was not supposed to be any gardening on 31st July and I am sorry if you all rushed out and obeyed the Calender to the letter. No great harm done just too early to sow Onions and Spring Onions for Autumn pickings!!!!
So having smacked my knees -Here is the correct Lunar Calender 1-10th August
1/2nd August - Moon ascending in Sagittarius so Fruit Days -Sow the last of the French Beans this season in milder areas. Start grafting fruit trees.
3/4th August - Full Moon 4.58pm UK time on 3rd. Root Days. Sow some Winter Radish. If you don't like the hot fiery taste of the red ones, try Mooli which is alot milder and sweet.
5/6th August - Flower Days Moon ascending in Aquarius. At this time of year during mid afternoon you should be able to see the Moon at the same time as the Sun. Graft Roses and sow some spring annuals in a Nursery Bed.
7/8/9/10th August (That's alot of Leaf Days!) Sow Lambs Lettuce and the first of the Winter Salads that need a warm start to establish themselves before 1st frosts. Sow Spinach and Spring Cabbage. This all these out 26th August which is an especially good day for plant thinning. On the 9th avoid agardening after 9.45am UK time. Moon apogée (Furthest point in monthly cycle from the Earth)
Well -that'll keep you going -Now back into garden to survey beans, which look as though they may well be on the menu with beautiful roast duckling tonight.( bought back from UK by O/H with bacon/sausages and the obligatory black pudding! -Store cupboard and freezers nicely topped up now!!) Happy Gardening.
Shame about your blight @biofreak. I've given up growing potatoes and only have toms in the polytunnel now as they're easier to maintain and water and this year I've planted those less densely too. So far so good.
I knew about the 31st so we spent our day doing h*work and other jobs. Our strawberries are cropping well so we had a big bowlful each for pud last night. Not impressed with our courgettes and squashes tho. We have 2 yellow courgette plants which OH bought at France Rurale - grafted so not cheap cos he didn't know the difference - but they haven't been prolific. Just as well as I hate gluts but I'd expected more from grafted plants. I have a bought spaghetti squash and home sown Crown Prince and Utchiki Kuri which are also underwhelming despite being planted in home-made garden compost plus tomato fertiliser and lots of watering.
Too dry here for anything except autumn sown broad beans to do well.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Bio , sorry hear about your Blight , had it once with potatoe sacks at home
Been to allotment today , picked 2 small trays of blueberries & Blackcurrants , breakfast tomorrow with yoghurt Also picked “3 “ pea pods they have not done well , forgot to cover Chickpeas , pods all eaten ! win some , lose some !
As ever picked loads of courgettes , gave some away to a new plot holder
Squashes growing very well and some fruit , to early known how it will go ?
Thanks for update , great weather generally , had a thunder storm last night
God bless Moles!!! Dear little souls have been building hills all round the outside of the raised beds, and as I had chucked the blighted tomatos away, I have used this wonderful soil to top up raised bed and earth up French Beans. Cats ordered not to hunt temporarily!! O/H pleased as so far none are wrecking his lawn. Also lots of mounds on top of Rockery and as that needs a top up of fresh earth around the stones, it is also also popular. -Next week I shall no doubt be cursing them in their little velvet jackets, but at the moment they aremost welcome. Courgette plant also redeemed. We like the yellow ones and they are coming thick and fast. Cut down spent growth of Telegraph peas and popped in some more Beetroot plugs for Autumn crop. Second crop of Oregan Giant Mangetouts absolutely superb, cannot recommend this one highly enough. The 3 Runner Beans that arrived from nowhere courtesy of the compost heap are heaving with beans. I remember that originally I had sowed Scarlet Emperor and it is a really good stringless bean. Did you see the Full Moon last night?? -It was like daylight all night. Boots the Bengal bought in a baby vole, that proceeded to punch him on the nose and escape again through the French doors, game little thing -I wished it well in life.
It has been very thundery here but rain keeps missing us, so I have put buckets of tap water outside in the sun in strategic places. Leaving them for 24hrs to settle lime deposits.
Not enough water for beans or peas here tho I do love mangetout and sugar snap so maybe I'll get OH to start a trench for me next time he's in bed creating mode. Half our potager is still under plastic or long grass!
Slept like a log last night but saw the moon the night before and it was very bright. No clouds, stormy bits or threats of any here. The tomatoes in the polytunnel get 30 to 40 minutes of seep hose every evening.
We're eating a lot of tomatoes at the mo and red and pointy cabbages. Roasting some beetroot for dinner tonight. OH has been told we definitely only need one cucumber plant next year. I'd rather have the space for chillies anyway. Can't get good ones here.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Hi Obelixx - Due to the last few really hot Summers, I tried growing peas and mangetouts in orange boxes which are easily watered. I grew the Oregan Giant Mangetouts like this this year, and it really works in half shade. -I know that you are really dry down there because when we used to do mail order groceries we used to take time out and deliver direct so that we could see other regions of France. Still you do benefit from the frailer crops that prefer heat. Yes, we are down to one Cucumber plant now! There is a limit to how many you want or can eat!!!
Do you grow aubergines -or like us are they cheaper on the Market?? -We are a cauliflower/carrot and leek growing area so pointless growing these as ridiculously cheap in season. -I do like the mixed coloured carrots though and seem to have been successful with these in Orange boxes again (where I can give them plenty of sand as I am on clay here)
GWRS -Do you grow your blueberries in pots as they like acid soil -or is that a myth??
Used to love aubergines but have had them once too often I think and gone off the texture. Our farmer neighbours grow stonking caulis in their veg plot and she brings OH a big bag of Brussels sprouts over in December cos she knows I loathe them and won't grow or buy them.
I'm working on building up a permaculture/no dig system as each new bed is made and old ones cleared in the hope that will build up fertility and moisture retention but we're always going to need to water tomatoes and the curcubit family. There are farmers growing Charente melons in fields round here but they have access to those huge water pumping systems. I tried them our first year but the local ones are delicious and cheap so what's the point?
I grow oak leaf lettuce in window boxes on the terrace by the kitchn - shady so they don't fry, easy to water and easy to check for snails too. Tried them in the potager but too hot and dry so they grew slowly and were tough. Once it's cooler and we've had some rain I'm planning to sow Chinese leaves such as pak choi and a mustard.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Hello , Blueberries , originally had 2 planted in ericaceous compost in the ground never really did much good , then somebody gave me 2 more neglected ones in pots , repotted them in ericaceous compost and they did really well even produced fruit which the birds had When I built my fruit cage I moved all of them in there
This time I used old compost bags with drainage holes , again filled with ericaceous compost and planted them in the ground and they have done really well , I did buy some ericaceous feed , I’m sure there in a natural alternative
Aubergine 🍆, somebody gave me 2 plants which I’ve put in g/h never grown them before and they have flowered , hopefully we get some fruit
I bet Bengal was shocked by that Vole off to allotment now Happy gardening
Posts
Large beds covered with membrane from Lidl , pretty cheap , so few weeds amazing , then feed it with Blood/fish/bone or chicken pellets or lime
I’m quite relaxed about empty beds at moment , just one of those things during these strange times
Growing lettuce & radish at home , o/h doesn’t like winter radish so don’t grow it
At moment lovely sunny/ warm days , still sitting outside
Best of luck with animals , remember having to hold my mothers cats in a towel , to stop being clawed when she had to do anything with them !
I knew about the 31st so we spent our day doing h*work and other jobs. Our strawberries are cropping well so we had a big bowlful each for pud last night. Not impressed with our courgettes and squashes tho. We have 2 yellow courgette plants which OH bought at France Rurale - grafted so not cheap cos he didn't know the difference - but they haven't been prolific. Just as well as I hate gluts but I'd expected more from grafted plants. I have a bought spaghetti squash and home sown Crown Prince and Utchiki Kuri which are also underwhelming despite being planted in home-made garden compost plus tomato fertiliser and lots of watering.
Too dry here for anything except autumn sown broad beans to do well.
Also picked “3 “ pea pods they have not done well , forgot to cover Chickpeas , pods all eaten ! win some , lose some !
Black pudding , don’t have it often , fabulous
Stay safe
Slept like a log last night but saw the moon the night before and it was very bright. No clouds, stormy bits or threats of any here. The tomatoes in the polytunnel get 30 to 40 minutes of seep hose every evening.
We're eating a lot of tomatoes at the mo and red and pointy cabbages. Roasting some beetroot for dinner tonight. OH has been told we definitely only need one cucumber plant next year. I'd rather have the space for chillies anyway. Can't get good ones here.
I'm working on building up a permaculture/no dig system as each new bed is made and old ones cleared in the hope that will build up fertility and moisture retention but we're always going to need to water tomatoes and the curcubit family. There are farmers growing Charente melons in fields round here but they have access to those huge water pumping systems. I tried them our first year but the local ones are delicious and cheap so what's the point?
I grow oak leaf lettuce in window boxes on the terrace by the kitchn - shady so they don't fry, easy to water and easy to check for snails too. Tried them in the potager but too hot and dry so they grew slowly and were tough. Once it's cooler and we've had some rain I'm planning to sow Chinese leaves such as pak choi and a mustard.
When I built my fruit cage I moved all of them in there
I bet Bengal was shocked by that Vole
off to allotment now
Happy gardening