Things I have learnt about gardening this year.

For me gardening has always been happy trial and error. I experiment and see what happens. Most plants are tougher than we think.

But. I’ve learned that if a plant thrives in a different town it won’t necessarily thrive here and the same applies to neighbours gardens. If they can grow something it doesn’t mean I can. That plants grow out as well as up, so I need to leave them more space than I think. That black fly can cover runner beans in 24 hours. That beans can recover and do well if the black fly is immediately squashed. That abundant carrot tops doesn’t automatically mean carrots are attached. That a tub full of nicely germinating lettuce seeds can disappear overnight. That as soon as the roses are at their best on the climber along will come torrential rain and the lawn will turn pink.

Callistemon..... I froze my excess Apple butter so can't speak for now it would keep (sealed)

Have you anyone would do taster for you ....lol

now = how

I’ve learned you don’t need to buy bedding plants - a packet of cosmos seeds will fill your garden with flowers all summer.
A lot of pots crammed together will give a herbaceous border effect you can move about.
Pots are ridiculously expensive and you can grow plants in many different types of container - old buckets, plastic crates and planters made from pallets.

Yesterday I learnt that sparrows eat lettuce. It's not the pigeons after all!

Looks really good vegansrock

I loe this post, Bluebellwould you are embarking on a love affair with your garden which will give you more joy than you could ever believe. Have you got a greenhouse? Again this takes you to another level, no matter how small the greenhouse, you will never regret having it.

That’s a lovely garden vegansrock.

Be nice to your friends and neighbours and they will throw their glut of veggies your way. I have had green and yellow courgettes, green beans, runner beans and salad leaves aplenty. In return, jam from our mulberry tree. Most people have never even tasted it.

@Iam64 I have pets, so I use Sluggo. It's totally safe for animals and birds. "Sluggo Slug & Snail Killer* poses no threat to birds, hedgehogs, earthworms, pets, bees and other useful insects. Both iron and phosphorous are plant nutrients which results in any excess pellets being broken down rapidly in the soil, leaving no residue behind. "

Yesterday I learnt that sparrows eat lettuce. It's not the pigeons after all!
I've caught Percy Pigeon in the act! Or it could have been Peggy. Probably both.

To leave more space between plants when planting new shrubs!

I’m sorry to say that I found I actually hate gardening! DH was never keen, but we opted for a big garden as we had dogs. Since his health has gone and the dogs rehomed, the garden is another problem to deal with.
Nice chap cuts the grass and I don’t mind doing the pots and baskets, but the borders are just growing wild. Should I move again, it’ll be a very small, easily worked plot for me. Sorry all keen gardeners!

A bird bath. My OH made one recently out of an old rectangular planter that we had and put it on top of two concrete blocks which he sprayed black.He put a barrier across the centre and one half is filled with small stones and the other has a pickerel plant. The birds perch on the rim and on the plant and can splash about in the water on the stone side. It's close to some shrimp trees so that the occasional raptor doesn't take out the small birds whilst their enjoying themselves.

Another tip: if you put in a raised bed, make sure it isn’t too wide to reach it from any side. If it is, you’ll end up standing in it to pull weeds, etc.

Nannytopsy 2 - 3 courgettes are 2 too many

I found a great soup recipe to use up my excess. Delicious, much to my surprise.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/courgette-potato-cheddar-soup

Do not expect plants to look like the ones in the seed catalogue, these are pomegranate bushes !

If you leave a pack of blood, fish and bone in the greenhouse, the foxes will open it and spread it all over the place. I now only use Miracle Gro (liquid) or seaweed liquid fertiliser.

Your garden looks lovely, vegansrock.

I learned the other day that if you cut more rosemary from the bush than you need, and put the extra into water, in a few days it will sprout roots! I now have a new Rosemary plant.

I’m hoping the same will happen with some lavender cuttings I took the other day.

Please pardon my ignorance but can you plant bought potatoes that have sprouted.Are they as good as the sets that are sold in garden shops.
I am constantly throwing potatoes away as they seem to go greenish and sprout.I have been told if a potato is been it’s poisonous is that right too.
Be most grateful for some advice ?

sorry. If a potato is green

@Greyduster I had one like yours, even when I pointed a plant out & said "that's not a weed" I would find he'd got rid of it. Sadly I've been widowed for 7 years.

I moved over 5 years ago , small but neglected garden. It's still a work in progress. I have lots of Hostas, slugs prefer the light coloured leaf varieties, my green & white leaf ones are shredded, dark blue/green is untouched, shame it's no the most attractive Hosta.

I discovered years ago that snails can move over very rough surfaces, discovered one almost up to our bedroom (upstairs) window, house had rough texture walls. Slugs can squeeze through the smallest gaps under doors

Poppies don't conform to any rules. Plants mysteriously appear or move around the garden.

Plants select the soil they like, many of mine have crept under the Larch Lap fence from my neighbour's garden, my soil (inherited from previous owner) is much better than hers. I have a rose, ground cover & a lovely shrub which the bees adore, she still has the original plants

I love sitting in the garden & enjoying the sun whilst making lists in my mind of jobs to do, I may or may not do them that day, the following day, sometime, never

grannie7. No harm in trying it but (experts say) there's a higher risk of disease than with certified seed potatoes. I did it once with a shop bought potato that I really liked as I couldn't find any seed potatoes in the same variety. It worked ok and was healthy but the crop was poor.

A good tip for grow bags is to cut in half around the middle, empty soil into a wheelbarrow. Turn bags inside out, if you prefer black, make some holes in each end and stuff filling back into bags. So much easier to move around & takes up a much smaller space. Think you have done amazingly well in growing so much !

grannie7 potatoes go green when they're exposed to light and can cause nausea and stomach ache if a lot is eaten. I just slice the green bit off and use the rest of the potato. Never had any ill effects from that. Only very small quantities anyway. If all the potato is green I would throw it away.