TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs

December 20, 2009

Enviromesh Netting

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — TopVeg @ 1:07 am

Enviromesh netting has had a huge impact on vegetable gardening, and would be a welcome gift or Christmas present for a vegetable gardener.

Enviromesh Netting:

  • guarantees gardeners quality vegetables
  • assures return on effort
  • gets rid of caterpillar infested, dirty, distorted crops which children dare not eat, for fear of finding a creepy crawly in their dinner.

Enviromesh prevents damage from:

  • carrot fly
  • aphids
  • cabbage root fly
  • cabbage white butterfly
  • caterpillars
  • birds
  • rabbits
  • deer
  • win
  • hail
enviromesh-over-brassica

enviromesh-over-brassica

The enviromesh netting works by acting as a barrier:

  • The holes in netting are small enough to keep the carrot flies and other insects out
  • Rain can pass though the netting
  • Enviromesh can be watered through.
enviromesh-on-cabbage

enviromesh-on-cabbage

Enviromesh netting is a form of biological pest control.

  • No need to spray crops with chemicals as the netting keeps the pest out.

Click this link to buy Enviromesh Netting from Amazon, to give to a gardener as a gift or Christmas present.

November 30, 2009

U Can – watering can

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — TopVeg @ 8:50 am

The U Can  is a watering can that makes life easy.  It is:

  • simple
  • convenient
  • easy to use
U can watering can

U can watering can

The U CAN is:

  • made of recycled plastic
  • lightweight
  • ergonomically designed
  • incorporates measuring tools
  • has a dry storage compartment for fertilizer

The U Can is an advanced watering can which all gardeners would find useful

May 10, 2009

Equipment Needed for Sowing Seeds

Filed under: Uncategorized, fruit, vegetable gardening — Tags: , , , — TopVeg @ 8:07 pm

This collection of equipment shows the tools we use for sowing seeds:

seed-sowing-tools

seed-sowing-tools

  • a wide toothed rake for raking soil before sowing – which will allow some lumps to be left on the surface.  This helps to reduce soil capping.
  • rake for tamping down (firming ) the surface
  • tape measure
  • walking board – to spread weight over the soil & avoid compaction
  • trowel
  • marker pole – with seed spacing marked on the pole
  • marking sticks – for marking row ends

Collecting the equipment needed for sowing seeds before starting saves time.

March 23, 2009

The Mattock – Spanish Gardening Tool

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — TopVeg @ 9:08 am

Jan read our post about Essential Gardening Tools and has added another from Spain.

mattock

mattock

 

This tool has a sharp blade, and they come in varying widths and lengths, depending on the soil type being tilled.  They are used extensively in Africa, where they are called Jembes.

The mattock in the picture is reversible, with two tines at the other side.  The tines are used in the same way as a garden fork.

The mattock and jembe produce a very uneven depth of soil which restricts root growth and leads to uneven plant growth.

Thank you Jan for sending this photo of the mattock, a Spanish gardening tool.

March 20, 2009

Essential Gardening Tools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — TopVeg @ 11:02 pm

A  list of essential garden tools will vary according to the garden site, soil type and preferred activities of the gardener!

The basic list of tools for the vegetable gardener should include:

    * fork – with four sharp tines, for digging

     

digging-Bard-potatoes

digging-Bard-potatoes

    * spade
    * rake

rake-seed-bed

rake-seed-bed

    * hoe

    * trowel
    * wheel barrow
    * cart – to help carry large amounts of trash to the compost heap, &
      to carry tools (an old pram is ideal!)
    * watering can
     

collect-tools

collect-tools

    * protective clothing & sunscreen – hat and gloves
     

These nine essential garden tools will keep the vegetable gardener in
good stead.

March 25, 2007

Hoeing vegetables

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — TopVeg @ 11:14 am

A hoe will remove weeds, and allow the vegetables to grow without competition.

hoeing-shallots

hoeing-shallots

It is easier to hoe the weeds when they are very small, before the
roots have grown to anchor them in the soil.

The first leaves to emerge from a seed are called cotyledons. Try to hoe
weeds at this stage. Hoe as soon as you see weeds emerging, then it does
not become a chore.

Make life easy & leave the hoe at the end of the veg plot, so you can
pick it up as you go to inspect the vegetables.

Hoe when the soil is dry. Then the weeds will die quickly.

Make the rows wider than the hoe, so hoeing can be quick with no fear
of chopping up the vegetables.

Hoe shallow

    * to make it easy
    * to avoid disturbing the roots of the vegetables
    * shallow hoeing is possible if hit weeds early

The ideal hoe  is sharp & shiny, so the soil does not stick to it. A
good quality stainless steel hoe will keep shiny & sharp. Most people do
not have time to maintain tools – so get a good one, that will look
after itself.

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