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My latest questions!
Loganberry Hut
Posts: 199
in Plants
Me again... I'm sure you are all getting sick of answering my never ending questions! 2 weeks ago I bought 3 little hardy (dollar princess) fuschias... Repotted them into bigger pots and put them on my windowsill... They are growing fast and are now about 8/9" tall and about 6/7" leaf span... How long should I keep them indoors before starting to harden them off? What sort of overnight temp should I be aiming for? Sunflowers... I've got some Mongolian giant seeds that I was going to sow direct (with plastic bottle cloches) but everyone seems to be sowing them indoors. What is the advantage? Slugs and snails. My garden is 'new' as in until this year it was just grass, nothing growing apart from a few pieris... I've yet to find a slug or snail in it. Next door is all paved on both sides so I'm guessing there's not an active slug population in the immediate vicinity... Is this naive!? I've been saving all my plastic bottles to use as DIY cloches which will hopefully protect them somewhat, but should I be bring in the hardcore defences? What even are the hardcore defences!? I'll be devestated if all my babies get munched in some sort of clandestine overnight slug banquet! Thanks all!
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We have lots of snails rather than slugs. The mini-cloches I make from plastic water bottles work really well as long as you push them into the soil as far as you can so they don't get blown over. I have been known to put out tenderish plants as early as mid-April with mini-cloches, which have prevented frost damage. Don't forget there needs to be a hole in the top of the bottle - either the spout, or make one if you are using the bottom half of the bottle. This means you can water the plant if you need to without moving the bottle (although if I think I can get away with watering around the base of the bottle instead, I do). And it keeps them ventilated - if you don't do it, there will quickly be condensation in the bottle which introduces rot. With hardy plants, you can be a little more confident about frost, but for me, the advantage of the mini cloche (bottle garden) is that the roots get a chance to establish, so that even if later in the season a snail eats the leaves, the plant has a better chance of fighting back. I have used them when I have grown sweet peas. Sweet peas don't like to be transplanted, but the cloches give them a bit of warmth, and the roots establish, and the wretched wood pigeons can't get at them. As soon as the plants look like they can cope alone, I whip the cloches off and away they go.
I'd harden the fuchsias off and get them outside - if they're hardy then they're hardy
I sowed sunflowers outside straight into the garden about 10 days ago - no signs of life yet but I expect they won't be long. Last year I had a healthy crop of self-sown ones - even after all that snow.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I would start putting the fuschias outside during the day, for a few days, then if weather ok., leave them out all day and, finally plant them out.
Sunflowers I allways start off indoors, but I have a major Woodpigeon problem, they should be fine sown direct outside, then protect with your mini-cloches.
I am afraid you will have slugs and snails, you have just not met them yet.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Well, they must've heard me - a few of the sunflowers have popped up
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.