@B3 the aphid / nit attack - do you mean with respect to the fennel? If so, aside from making me laugh, it is the fact that will make the decision easy!!!
@Butterfly66 I've never had a naturally set aubergine. Tried using a paintbrush, didn't work either. The only technique that ever worked for me is a cheap sonic toothbrush.
Not sure I can quite see me doing that @edhelka 🤣 We were successful last year, which was my first year growing them. I picked up two weedy leftover plants quite late in the summer and we got about 5 aubergines without any intervention from me with paintbrushes or sonic toothbrushes. I did wonder if it was the up and down temperatures this year 🧐
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
@Camelliad yes happy and fat especially as they eat all our hazelnuts too. We were quite resigned to that as we don’t like the hazelnuts green but did have high hopes for the walnuts. At least the squirrels can be entertaining 🙄
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
@ERICS MUM that's so frustrating re: antirrhinum - I had the same with my thunbergia. Your begonias in pots - did you put them anywhere over the winter or just leave them out?
I left the begonias in their pots in the back garden, in a corner sheltered by the house wall and a high fence. Luckily it’s a south-facing garden in East Anglia so generally winters are fairly mild.
@Butterfly66 I've never had a naturally set aubergine. Tried using a paintbrush, didn't work either. The only technique that ever worked for me is a cheap sonic toothbrush.
Do you grow them outdoors? I do all my aubergine outdoors now, lots of fruit sets fine, it's just a race against the weather. Maybe there's some specific pollinators that like them...
@Butterfly66 I've never had a naturally set aubergine. Tried using a paintbrush, didn't work either. The only technique that ever worked for me is a cheap sonic toothbrush.
Do you grow them outdoors? I do all my aubergine outdoors now, lots of fruit sets fine, it's just a race against the weather. Maybe there's some specific pollinators that like them...
I tried both but pollinators always ignored them. It was in our previous house, there was a ton of bees and bumblebees but they were very picky (going for fuchsias and flowers mostly). I had pollination problems with other veg too. My worst failure was cucamelon, tall plants, many blooms but completely ignored. I once saw a bumblebee there, only once, and that single one cucamelon set. That was my whole crop from 4 or 5 plants - one small cucamelon.
I grew mine in the greenhouse last year and this. I didn’t think they would manage outside. Where are you @strelitzia32 ? We’re in the West Midlands.
I’ve not had any other problems re pollinators in the greenhouse, I always have the doors open in Summer and the tomatoes etc set fruit ok. We didn’t help along the cucamelons, @edhelka and although I don’t remember the any great interest from the pollinators we had a good crop just a shame we didn’t like them, they all went on the compost
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I grew mine in the greenhouse last year and this. I didn’t think they would manage outside. Where are you @strelitzia32 ? We’re in the West Midlands.
Worcestershire, so not a million miles from you. I grow them in a sheltered south facing spot next to a greenhouse, so they get 7 hours of direct sun a day and protection from the worst of the wind, which is a problem here. They're definitely not the easiest plant to grow outside...
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We were successful last year, which was my first year growing them. I picked up two weedy leftover plants quite late in the summer and we got about 5 aubergines without any intervention from me with paintbrushes or sonic toothbrushes. I did wonder if it was the up and down temperatures this year 🧐
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham