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Month: January 2015

DIY Worm Bin or Organic Wormery

DIY Worm Bin or Organic Wormery

A juicy tip for good fertiliser. Collect the liquid from a wormery, dilute it and use as a foliar feed.
Wormery Top Level: Food Waste

Why have a Worm Bin

  • Worms can efficiently convert kitchen waste in to compost.
  • A free, liquid, organic fertiliser is also produced. Dilute it 10 fold and use on crops and flower beds.
  • Worms bins should be treated as fun. The tiger or brandling worms need feeding and looking after like other pets.
  • A three tier worm bin allows access to finished compost without disturbing the worms good work
  • Read and be enthralled by The Worm Book

Wormery Mid Level: Food Waste & Worms

Make your Own Worm Bin

  • To avoid buying a wormery or worm bin you can modify an old water butt or similar plastic container.
  • If the bin has a tap you can drain off the liquid fertilizer.
  • If there is no tap drill a dozen half inch drainage holes at the base and stand the bin in a deep saucer to collect the juice.
  • Drill air holes at the top near the lid for ventilation.
  • Add a 4″ layer of grit, gravel or coarse sand to keep the drain holes clear.
  • Cut to shape a piece of old carpet or wood as a divider. Make sure it has holes so liquid can drain through to the grit level.
  • Add 4″ of bedding material (partly rotted garden compost will do). You need plenty of worms (circa100) in the compost, more the merrier
  • After a week gradually start adding kitchen waste including egg shells tea bags, pasta, bread rice, fruit and veg peelings etc.
  • Cover the kitchen waste with damp newspaper at all times to discourage fruit flies and keep worms moist
  • Cover with a tight lid

Wormery Lower Level: Worms & Compost

Operating Your Own Worm Bin

  • When the bin is full spread the contents on a large plastic sheet.
  • To coax the worms from the compost place damp newspaper over some of the compost where the worms will then congregate and you can collect them to start a new wormery.
  • Unpleasant smells or dead worms could be caused by over feeding too much waste in one go. Lack of ventilation may be another cause.
  • Small black fly infestations can happen if the bin is left uncovered.
  • Worm bins can become acidic so each month you can add a handful of ground limestone. Do not compost too much citrus peel.
  • Worms have a diet of Dairy Products, Fats, Meat, Feces and Oil.
  • Red worms live and eat in the top six to eight inches of material.

    • Oils

Tyre Wormery

Photo credits
Wormery Top Level, Mid Level and Lower level: Food Waste by London Permaculture CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Tyre Wormery by London Permaculture CC BY-NC-SA 2.0


For more help read Lorene Nancarrows book.

The Tiger Wormery: Easy Access Composter, includes Worms available from Amazon

Top 10 Spring Flowering Shrubs

Top 10 Spring Flowering Shrubs

forsythia

Spring is known for colourful bulbs and primula but there are many top shrubs that provide great colour in spring.

Forsythia The yellow flowering twiggy shrub that can grow to 10 feet. It flowers before the leaves form and is a strong, bright  yellow. Large blossom varieties are now being cultivated but either way you get a mass of bloom.

Rhododendron Evergreen shrubs of many forms and sizes from 12 inches to 12 foot. Some bloom from March and some in May. Many sizes and colors exist and one range is named after Snowwhite’s seven dwarfs.

Ribes sanguineum Red Flowering Currant 6′ by 4’  This easy deciduous shrub flowers in panicles of red  or pink  in March and April.

Mahonia aquifolium ‘Compacta’Oregon Grape Evergreen shrubs with spiky leaves grow to several feet tall. Yellow flowers in February and March with good scent. It also produces black edible berries. …

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Primula Kewensis One of the Worlds Top Ten

Primula Kewensis One of the Worlds Top Ten

Primula Kewensis

It is believed that the Kew Primrose, Primula Kewensis was bred from Primula verticillata and Primula floribunda around 1905. It should be high in the world’s top ten Primula varieties. It flowers yellow or lemon-yellow and has these attractive leaves when grown in the cold Alpine house.The downy powder is called meal or Farina and gives a grey-green appeal to the leaves similar to some show Auriculas. The seeds grow true and do not hybridise.

Primula

There are approaching 500 species of Primulas and numerous societies who specialise in the genus. The National Auricula and Primrose society Northern branch, The American Primula Society
Primula Kewensis to start the week
As seen in the exotic green houses of the Belgian National Botanical Garden.

More Primula seeds from Thompson & Morgan

Credits
Primula by Badly Drawn Dad CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Primula Kewensis to start the week by Vainsang CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Growing Garden Peas

Growing Garden Peas

peas

This photo shows some young pea plants ready to grow up some pea sticks.

Garden peas can be one of the most rewarding vegetables to grow because their taste, fresh from the garden, is really something. They also give a good cropping ratio for the amount of land used and so are good for small gardens. Also grown up pea sticks like this they make an attractive vegetable – so could even be grown in your front garden! Modern chefs are keen to use the tender pea shoots with all the pea flavour but none of the starch. I still prefer the mushy peas but it is an acquired northern taste.

As a final bonus, the legume family tend to help put nitrogen back into the soil so are great in crop rotation  before heavy nitrogen users like Green vegetables.
Pea plants
In the early days of sowing they will need protection from frost and slugs. Their leave are tender and so need careful hardening off or covering with fleece during their early days. Also if you are not careful an army of slugs and snails can decimate your crop overnight. See: Methods to reduce slugs

Peas do need supporting, otherwise they will flop over where the crop will be lower and more liable to be eaten by slugs. These pea sticks make an attractive and functional natural support. You can buy them or look for suitable twigs from your own trees. It is good to put them in early and if necessary make a tie to get them started. But, generally, the pea tendrils will find the stick for support.

If you sow indoors during March, they will be ready for planting out late April and this will give a good crop around July. They are quite quick growing so you can stagger sowing by 3 weeks to give you a longer cropping season.

Related

Top Ten Round Courgette Varieties

Top Ten Round Courgette Varieties

If you are getting round to ordering your new vegetable seeds try a round courgette and have a ball
Round courgettes

Curcurbita pepo may have been cultivated for upwards of 5,000 years but I bet they have not always been called Courgettes. We already call them Courgettes, Zucchini, Squash or Marrows.
Below are some of the named varieties of round or ball shaped courgettes now available in the UK and elsewhere.

Top Ten Round or Ball Shaped Courgettes

  1. De Nice a Fruit Rondo – pick from golf ball size upwards.
  2. Tondo Chiaro di Nizza
  3. Florido a yellow fruit
  4. Summer Ball
  5. One Ball another yellow round variety, grow with Eightball.
  6. Tondo di Piacenza a dark green italian variety
  7. Brice a light green skinned ball shaped courgette
  8. Eight Ball is a snooker ball sized courgette OK as a marrow
  9. Zucca Marina sweet skin, yellow flesh and upto 20lbs in weight.
  10. Tricolour F1 hybrid round Courgettes available from Thompson & Morgan

Round Zucchini / Courgette / kishu'im / קשואים

Other sources Marrows – Watering, Pollinating and Harvesting
Seed suppliers list

Top photo Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) by adactio.
Second Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by marcusfrieze

Growing Sprouting Seeds for Salads and Stir Fry

Growing Sprouting Seeds for Salads and Stir Fry

Seeds that have germinated and grown roots (radicles) and sprouts (plumules) can add flavour and texture to your meals. They do not take up space in your garden and can be grown all year round.

Bean sprouts in Chinese restaurants are crispy additions to the flavours and textures of your meal. The trick to growing long crisp sprouts is to grow them under pressure. In a dark, free draining container put a half inch layer of bean seeds, cover with a damp cloth and put a one pound weight on top. Rinse daily under a tap and 4-5 days later they will be ready to eat.

Open sprouting can be done like our childhood mustard and cress on a foam base covered with layers of paper towels or on moist cotton wool. Cover with tin foil to exclude the light and germinate in a warm spot.  Method 2 Put some seeds in the bottom of ajar and cover with water to soak for twelve hours. The seeds will expand a lot as they grow. Half to one inch (1cm – 2cm) of dried seeds will usually fill a jar. It varies between seeds – radish expand more than sunflowers.
After twelve hours rinse the seeds in room temperature water then drain the water leaving seeds damp. Repeat every 12 hours for 3-4 days until ready to eat.

There is a wide variety of seeds that can be eaten as sprouts or seedlings but do not eat legumes to excess. Legumes, particularly  Broad beans and French beans are  slightly toxic. Corriander, Leeks and Onions can be eaten as seedlings. Cereals are only eaten as very small sprouts. All Brassicas can be eaten as seedlings.  Buy from health food shops or specialist suppliers and keep seed cool and dry until ready to use. Below is a table of some suitable plants for sprouting.

Common Name Days to Sprout Length when edible
Lima beans 3-5 12-25 mm
Mung Beans 3-5 12- 75 mm
Fenugreek 3-5 12-50 mm
Lentil 2-4 6-20 mm
Alfalfa 1-4 very tiny
Clover 2-5 very tiny
Buckwheat 3-5 tiny
Radish 2-4 12-25 mm
Barley & Rye 3-5 very tiny
Sunflower 1-3 12-38 mm
Sweet Corn 1-3 6-12 mm

 

Papery Flowers of Orange Physalis

Papery Flowers of Orange Physalis

physalis
Chinese lantern, Physalis franchetii, grows from seed and is a very short lived herbaceous perennial. It will grow two feet tall and bear small, white flowers followed by large, balloon-like papery husks in July and August.

Growing Chinese Lanterns

  • The Chinese lantern plant is valued for its inflated orange-red seed coverings or calyx which resemble miniature Chinese lanterns.
  • Inside each 2-inch long husk is a small edible but often tasteless red fruit. The lanterns are not edible
  • The leaves are long pointed and heartshaped.
  • The plant can tolerate very cold conditions, flower quickly from seed and like full sun.
  • For winter bouquets, cut the stems in Autumn just as the lanterns turn color, remove the leaves and hang them, right side up, to dry in a shady, airy place.
  • They are related to the Cape Gooseberry Physalis peruviana and other species to try include P. Alkekengi
Top 10 Vegetable Seed Suppliers

Top 10 Vegetable Seed Suppliers

Last year we reviewed seed companies for general seed supply and offered a deal with Unwins. Now we have an arrangement with Thompson Morgan which has just been rated by the Daily Telegraph as having the best overall range from a review of 8 seed catalogues. They have many unusual veg varieties and are good on potatoes and salad leaf mixes. This review is of Vegetable and Herb seed suppliers.

Edwin Tucker & Sons did not feature in our general seed review and scored highly with the Daily Telegraph. ‘very wide range, best for oriental vegetables with clear informative catalogue. Good value for money’.

Suttons good for beginners but the range is sadly getting smaller and smaller.

D T Brown are good value for money with a range that ‘is dependable in harsh climates’.

Chiltern Seeds emphasises heirloom varieties and has good selection of oriental veg. I like the quirky catalogue descriptions and buy some products from them.

Simpson’s Seeds seem to specialise in tomato and chillies seed with umpteen varieties on offer. Good for selling young vegetable plants.

Organic Gardening Catalogue has many unusual varieties of vegetables and herbs but a limited range.

Wallis Seeds remains one of our favourites with 32 pages of densly packed listings of all traditional veg and a few surprises. They supplied me quite a lot of seed this season.

The RHS have a members distribution scheme but only a small number of veg and herbs are offered. It would be an opportunity to increase the cultivation of heritage varieties if they could source adequate stock.

How To Make Your Garden Eco Friendly

How To Make Your Garden Eco Friendly

Sunflowers

There is a lot more interest in organic and eco friendly gardening. There is no better place than the garden for taking practical steps to help the environment. These are some simple suggestions that are quite easy to implement in your own garden.

Dealing With Slugs

The ubiquitous slug pellet can be quite damaging to wildlife, birds or cats may eat them by mistake. Instead of slug pellets there are many organic methods you can use.

  • Beer traps. Slugs are attracted to sunken pots of beer and drown in the beer.
  • Slug Nematodes. These are a nematode which are a natural foe of the slug. Watered into the soil they will prevent slugs growing in a certain area for upto 4 weeks.
  • Physical barriers to pot plants
  • Encouraging frogs – see pond.

Dealing With Pests.

Rather than use chemical sprays which kill many types of insects, try attracting insects who will do the job for you. One of the best ways to deal with pests such as green fly is to encourage their natural predators. For example, it is possible to attract more ladybirds, which will devour a huge amount of green fly. To attract ladybird grow plants that they like such as buddleia. You can also try ladybird boxes to help overwinter them.

Wildlife Pond

A pond will make an attractive feature for any gardener and will definitely help the organic gardener. In particular try to encourage frogs. Frogs will do a great job in eating slugs, one of the great pests of the garden. To encourage frogs, make a pond which easily accessible from the edges and provide enough cover. If you have fish, try protecting the frog spawn.

Composting.

Composting should be looked upon as an art in itself. There is great satisfaction in taking part in the natural recycling process of the garden. A well maintained compost heap will provide a steady supply of organic fertiliser and soil improver. If you have a neighbour who just send their lawn clippings to the tip, offer to take them and use them in your own compost heap. Well rotted compost is better than artificial fertilisers because it also acts as a soil conditioner. see: how to make good compost

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Royal Fern Osmunda Regalia

Royal Fern Osmunda Regalia

Osmunda Regalia

Some ferns are at their best as the Autumn sun shines through the colouring fronds. This Royal Fern looks bright and cheerful despite the overcast sky and the semi-shaded position. That may be due to the wet streamside location where it can grow to 4 feet tall.
Other members of the Osmunda family include Osmunda cinnamomea cinnamon fern and Osmunda claytoniana the interrupted fern.

The fronds of ferns can be either fertile or sterile and usually grow side by side from the same plant. On the underside of fertile fronds small brown dots or ‘Sori’ contain spores from which ferns reproduce. Osmunda can also propagate via root division.

For Hart’s Tongue evergreen ferns  see