A general chat thread about all things feathered (not boas!).

Hatching ducks from supermarket eggs!!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be...s-52838747

My apple trees have got bunches of brown dead leaves hanging amongst the green ones.  Having googled it, it appears they're suffering from apple blossom wilt and brown rot.  There's no fruit either.

I believe there's nothing I can do other than prune out the dead bits and hope for the best next year,  as it's a fungus and no fungicide for home use..   No easy to prune all the bits off on a mature tree.  I don't expect any brilliant solutions, just a bit of commiseration.  We are where we are.

Afternoon folks

As per the subject line, people thoughts, worthwhile, can I use old seeds I no longer have plans for?

My ten year old black currant bush has very little fruit this year - it is normally laden. 
I'm not sure how long-lived the plants are and wonder if this is the beginning of the end? It also has some branches that have died back this spring. It was pruned in winter as usual, and given a compost mulch when it first came into leaf and has had the usual grass clippings mulch since then. We had a warm winter & early spring with enough rainfall.
I have another dozen or so bushes all from cuttings which should start overwhelming us with fruit from next year so I'm not worried. But I won't bother feeding and mulching it if it's on its way out!

Cheers!

I’m hoping there will be no objection to some mushroom topics, I will try to give relevant additional info where appropriate. 

With the rains coming we will start to see field mushrooms popping up all over. Best picked from fields that don’t have spray pesticides used, have been just grass for a number of years and generally not ploughed but, grazed. The mushrooms will be located near lush green areas within the field, there is a symbiotic relationship between them as the mushrooms breakdown nutrients in the soil that the grass can then use. Other than the field mushroom there is also the Horse mushroom and the yellow stainer mushroom which can be mistaken as a field mushroom. The horse and yellow stainer will discolour yellow when bruised, but only the yellow stainer is yellow if you cut the stem through the base. The field and horse mushroom taste lovely just like super fresh shop bought button mushrooms. 

The field mushroom will look like a button mushroom when small and a portobello when large the gills are pink when picked and will darken to a similar colour to shop mushrooms when cooked or left a day or two. 

Don’t pick immediately after rain as mushrooms absorb a lot of water and will be slimy, it’s much better to pick later in the day when they have dried in the sunlight. I will post some pictures of these on my next forage. These are probably the easiest mushroom we can identify as it is visually identical to the shop options. They will grow and open completely flat giving you a mushroom upto 12 inches in diameter.

This is out there now and for about another 2-3 months, they come in flushes following rain and sunshine cycles. You could find 8-10 pounds in a single field and a couple of weeks later find nothing only for them to return again in another month.

These are a reasonable first time mushroom as we so easily recognise it, avoid the yellow stainer as this will give some people a serious stomach upset for upto 24 hours. Some however get no negative response from it, if you are completely new to picking mushrooms pick one, take it home and check it against images online, taste a small bit and if you feel fine collect some more. It’s perfectly normal to have a jittery response to wild mushrooms that you have picked yourself as we are taught that so many are poisonous, if you follow best practise you will be fine. A good book to get if you are thinking of doing more is Roger Phillips ‘Mushrooms’ it’s a bible to many budding mushroom hunter.

Helloooo! Another new place eh! Not been around so much, internet is very patchy atm, I hope it improves when everybody goes back to work lol

Off for a mooch around to see what's  what and who has made it here …...

Have you noticed anything different about G&G recently? 

A place to record all your chutney & jam making antics. 

3 jars of courgette & tomato chutney

OK acrid nymphs or to the more edumacated acronyms. 

Let’s play fellow growers. 

Example - SWAT7D

= Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. 

WC

= White Christmas

It doesn’t have to be film or music but a hint with each might be good. 

OK G2’s

QE2?

Hello Folks

Again prep work for next year. I’m looking at getting some comfrey and wondered whether I should go for plugs/plants or seeds, if the former thoughts on how many?