A cheap drip irrigation system will help water-hungry veg continue to grow as well as save time.
Watering fruit and vegetables is very time consuming, and having a watering system for those plants which are out of the way helps save time. Courgettes will grow very quickly if they are given plenty of water.
Drip irrigation:
- also known as trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation
- minimizes the use of water by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone
- uses devices called micro-spray heads, which spray water in a small area, or dripping emitters.
- subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) uses buried dripperline at or below the plant roots.
- good in areas where water supplies are limited or recycled water is used for irrigation
Recycled water bottles can be filled with water and fitted with a mircro-spray head, which is pushed into the soil around the roots, to make a cheap drip system.
This cheap irrigation system is:
- perfect to water vegetables and soft fruit
- inexpensive
- good for indoor or outdoor use
- Click the amazon icon in the margin to buy this cheap drip irrigation system.
Peas have done well this year, producing lots of pods, but they must be picked regularly to catch them when young and juicy.
The recent hot weather has encouraged the pea plants to mature rapidly, so that peas in the pod will become harder and starchier sooner than normal. Picking peas every day, will ensure that the young pods are caught before the hot weather ripens them too far.
Cool cabbage leaves are recommended for nursing mothers who suffer from breast engorgement.
The outer green leaves of white cabbage are washed, dried and put in the fridge to cool. When required the leaves are crushed in the hands and laid on the breast, covering the entire breast completely. Wearing a bra over the cabbage leaves will keep them in place. The leaves should be changed every two hours, or when the leaves are wilted. Continue to use the cabbage leaves until the breasts are soft enough to nurse comfortably.
cabbage-cut
The Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia recommends laying the outer green cabbage leaves on engorged breasts of nursing mothers. Green cabbage leaves relieve engorgement, sometimes within 30 minutes.
Strawberries grown in pots are sometimes sour. This is due to the kink in the stem which forms when the stem falls over the sharp edge of the pot.
ripe-strawberry-Symphony
To prevent the stems from kinking,wide round pipes can be placed either side of the pots, so that the strawberries gently hang down. If the growth just drops down (& possibly kinks the stem) the strawberries are sour. So it is vital for the round pipe to allow the stems to gently curve over – to stop the strawberries going sour.
ripening-strawberries
Strawberries grown on the ground often have straw under them. This keeps the berries clean, but it also helps the stems hang gently down. This is probably why the strawberries are not sour.
These Elsanta strawberries were planted on table tops last month just outside York.
table-top-Elsanta
The Elsanta strawberry plants are growing in special strawberry bags imported from Ireland.
A water pipe runs alongside the bags. Water drips into the bags to keep them moist, but liquid fertiliser is added to the water to provide nutrients.
ELSANTA-TABLE-TOP
One of the advantages of table top strawberries is that the slugs cannot get to them to cause trouble. But the deer have realised that another advantage of table top strawberries is that you do not have to bend down to pick them, and the deer like the variety Elsanta!
Second Early Potato – Kestrel
Kestrel have grown very well this season, and have grown into big potatoes.
Kestrel has:
kestrel-potato-variety
Kestrel is well worth growing as a second early variety.
Geranium palmatum by Malcolm Allison
This is a biennial or monocarpic perennial (it dies after flowering), but it is worth growing just for its ferny foliage. It flowers in May or June producing masses of magenta flowers & it is very graceful.
geranium
Geranium palmatum is one of a group of geraniums related to the common weed Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) which all come from Madeira & the Canary Islands & all produced similarly coloured flowers. Geranium palmatum is the best for garden use, as it is the hardiest ~ a cold winter will kill it, but it will often survive as self-sown seedlings germinating the following spring.
In its native habitat Geranium palmatum is a woodland plant & in the garden it grows well in sun or shade, as long as it is not too dry.
Of the other species, Geranium maderense is the most spectacular, forming a huge mound of blossom when it flowers, but it is very tender; Geranium canariense & G. rubescens are also rather tender & their flowers are also quite small.
Click the contact us button & complete the form if you would like to find out more about Geranium palmatum, or have a chat with Malcolm about your needs.
