Hi all,

We're experiencing the exciting phenomenon of growing more fruit on our new plot and having most of it eaten by birds...I'm considering the value of building a walk-in-height fruit cage for next year. It feels like something we could do with some chunky posts and chicken wire, but perhaps I am being overly optimistic/simplistic. Does anyone have any advice or experience of building a <ahem> very cheap <ahem> fruit cage that was worth the effort in protecting your produce and not too much of a pain to deal with for weeding/harvesting?

We're pretty low-tech with tools, though we do have a circular saw. The soil is pretty heavy, but I reckon we could work with it when it's as wet as it is at the moment.

Thanks!

Morning Folks

Does anyone grow them?

Mrs B surprised me with one as a present

Next year I would like to extend my strawberry harvest, can anyone recommend good, reliable, and fairly disease resistant early, mid, and late varieties please?

I had  some old pattypan seeds with sow by dates between 2012 and 2017.  An easy and cheap way to test viability is to put them on damp kitchen roll in a tray, inside a plastic bag and wait and see.
Here are some I set out on 14/6 - 4 days ago.

   

      

Can you see that little sprout? There are 4 like that to date!!

Remember, every seed deserves a chance.

I'm not sure this is possible.....but is there anyway that when I make a post, straight after posting a previous post the two aren't combined.

I want to post photos of my dahlias - each with their names but I can't work out how to stop all the photos getting grouped at the bottom - rather than separate posts with a new photo in each?

Any help appreciated xx

II know we already have a dahlia thread but I thought that one can be for info, propagating, problems etc. This thread is for showcasing your blooms. It will remind us which ones are the first to bloom and those that you fancy growing next year. C'mon let's see your photos  


Ok - first up is totally tangerine. Always first to flower for me. Anemone type.
   

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Vole 
1 sunflower
2 lolla rossa lettuce 
1 cucumber ( The veg, not the plant ) 
1 parsley
1 aubergine          .
3 basil 
Also starting pruning leaves off tomatoes.


The cucumber munching & aubergine mutilation happen early this morning ( still hadn’t wilted when I found it ). So the little furry **** has over stepped the mark and all out war has been declared. 


No doubt mr vole will continue to run circles around me     .

I found some seed in my box.....and we're sure they would be perennials. They've appeared very quick :eek:

Does anyone know if you can tell the difference early on? They are in a seed tray so if they were annuals I would just put out in the garden in little clumps now before it's too late...

Do yours dangle free?  

Apparently, when growing cues up supports, you should set them at an angle, not straight up, as then the cues can dangle unencucucumbered and grow straight, and are easier to see. 

Works with beans too but that's another story. 

Advice and recommendations for next year please.

I sowed a few mangetout this year, they were very old seed and had two chances, just a few grew and are now producing meagrely and what is picked is rather stringy, even the baby ones.  They were cheap Lidl seeds of which I forget the name.

I would like to have another go next year and would like recommendations for a prolific non stringy variety.   I had no luck with normal peas as they were riddled with pea maggot, at least with mangetout you don't  know about the maggots