Water Hose to Water in Safety

Water Hose Safety Tips

• Do not mix water and electricity. This is not my hose which is too near the power cables for my liking.
• Do not hang your hose as a kink or kinks will develop even if the hose is of the reinforced type. Use a reel to wind your hose onto.
• Do not leave hoses outside and exposed to the elements. Lag outdoor taps to prevent freeze ups.
• Do not drink from hose pipes where water will have stood since last used. Ensure you have a return valve on outdoor taps to stop stagnant water and bacteria being siphoned back into your water supply.
• To avoid tripping on loose hoses fit a wall mounter re-reeler.

Hose Reel Set available from Amazon.
The Draper 30M Wind up Garden Hose Reel set has a tubular steel frame with tough plastic drum with wind-up handle. Flow through design with 1/2in hose connector. Supplied complete with 30M of 12mm hose and five pattern spray gun.

This wall mounted hose and reel by Hozelock is £23 from amazon There is 15m of hose plus fittings.

Fish for Ponds

I am again thinking of adding another pond to my garden. It will be a feature in a new Japanese themed garden area so will need some coloured Koi. The two most commonly kept fish types in garden ponds are Goldfish and Koi but I have previously kept Orfe.

Koi

• Koi   like to eat plants and can be kept  with only a few  types of plants.
• Koi grow larger than Goldfish and should not be kept in ponds smaller than 700 gallons. Their pond should be at least three feet deep.
• Koi live in communities so you should have at least 3 fish
• Never use chlorinated water with Koi.
• Koi  are very hardy fish and can withstand very low temperatures as long as the water is not frozen solid.
• Koi are peaceful fish and can live with goldfish.

Goldfish

• Goldfish can stay in your pond during the winter but need at least 12-16 inches of water below the freeze zone to survive.
• Goldfish can be kept with most aquatic plant species.
• They are the best fish for a small pond and can be kept indoors through winter if desired.
• Goldfish types such as Shubunkins are low maintenance, colorful and rewarding as long as they get enough oxygen.

Orfe

• Orfe are good fish as they swim visibly near the top of a pond
• Orfe are sociable fish and should always be kept in groups of at least three.
• Orfe are fast swimmers and need a lot of oxygen.
• Orfe will jump out of very small ponds unless they get lots of room.

You may be commenting that I need to control the algea in the picture. I could have used a bale of barley straw or a chemical control from amazon

Read Preformed Garden Ponds

link to Garden Fish Pond site

Get Tidy Tools Nailed

For want of a nail the shoe was lost………

The nails on this picture were strategically placed to hang the spade handle. This keeps tools tidy and off the ground.
The mortice and tenon joint between the shaft and the handle has been further secured with another nail although I find screws are often more effective in garden situations.
The plastic tie is just to keep the spade on the nails.

I sieved through my pictures for more hanging nails, other than on my hands and the result is below

Best New Allotment Books

Read and weed but not at the same time!
Inspiration from a good book may save a lot of perspiration!

Top Five
Do it right from the Royal Horticultural society
Do it every month
Do not forget to eat or cook
Record what you have grown for the last 3 years
See One Man’s tips for green-fingered urbanites.

The RHS Allotment Handbook: The Expert Guide for Every Fruit and Veg Grower from RHS

Allotment Month by Month from Alan Buckingham

The Allotment Book: Seasonal Planner and Cookbook from Andi Clevely

The Three-Year Allotment Notebook from Joanna Cruddas

One Man and His Dig: Adventures of an Allotment Novice from Valentine Low

Jersey Plants Nursery Information

Our affiliate Jersey Plants Direct have a page on their web site worth reading called Nursery Notes.

It shows how the professionals sow, germinate, fog, and dibb out along with all the other seed sowing tasks.

Have a look at all the pictures that demonstrate seed sowing and growing in a busy supplier of plug and jumbo plants.

Vermiculite for Seed Sowing

Vermiculite is a natural mineral ore that has been heat treated to expand into a spongy worm like but inert substance.

Uses of Vermiculite

• Vermiculite greatly improves compost by promoting aeration and drainage, important for seeds and cuttings.
• Vermiculite improves germination and reduces the risk of damping off when applied as a thin layer on top of your sown seeds.
• A 50:50 mix of compost and vermiculite is ideal for the germination of seeds, because it’s aeration properties and water holding capacity make it a suitable medium for direct contact with the seeds.
• Vermiculite used alone without compost helps germination but seedlings should be fed with a week fertilizer solution when the first true seeds appear.
• Large seeds can be mixed with Vermiculite in a small polythene bag closed at the neck, and kept in a warm place until the seeds just start to germinate.
• Vermiculite can be mixed into compost for taking cuttings.
• Mixed with compost it can also store Dahlia and Begonia tubers through winter.

Available from good garden centres and Thompson & Morgan
Read the rest of this entry »

Garden Crime

Is your garden safe from petty crime? Our Yorkshire police just circulated this timely reminder on how to ‘nip crime in the bud’.

‘…Another emerging trend is for garden tools and rubble left lying about in
the garden to be used to smash windows to gain entry into properties. Now
the weather is becoming milder people are starting to venture back into
their gardens to tidy up, but seem to be leaving their tools lying around,
which make ideal implements for a would be burglar. Please remember to
secure all tools when you have finished gardening, and to tidy away bricks
and rubble if at all possible.’

Read Gardeners Tips on Garden Insurance and for Allotment Safety

Exotic Plant Books

Encyclopedia of Exotic Plants for Temperate Climates by Will Giles is an impressive and comprehensive work on exotica. From bulbs, spiky agaves, bold cannas, and hardy banana to palm trees the luscious photos of these unusual plants will seduce any gardener into planting a bed of these wild and exotic specimens.

Exotic Planting For Adventurous Gardeners by Christopher Lloyd was published posthumously and is based on his detailed practical knowledge and his exotic garden at Great Dixter.

Exotic Gardening by Ian Cooke is a recently published work in handy paperback. The advice will help you create jungle-style landscapes in your garden. It explains their characteristics of exotics and advises on how they can be planted and grown to produce a stunning display to be enjoyed even in temperate climates.

Also read about Atrchitectural Plants and Yuccas on Gardeners tips

Gardening Book of the Month February 2011

‘TheVictorian Garden Series’ is a bit of a cheat given our title book of the month. This month we have selected a DVD series that will enthrall many gardeners. They still work even if you have been turned digital and it is a useful way of watching the old BBC series.

Released on TV in the 1980s the Beeb recreated the Victorian Kitchen; Victorian Kitchen Garden and Victorian Flower Garden. It was well produced and has stood the test of time judging by the positive comments on the Amazon website where it can be purchased.
‘I found the series utterly absorbing. If you are looking for a programme that will relax you and feel you are sinking back into the sofa then the Victorian Garden is for you. A cracking series.’Mark Boulton

In case you feel cheated English Heritage published the Victorian Gardens reviewing historic gardens and it is available from amazon by clicking on the book cover.

Seed Propagators for more Seedlings

I have dusted off my electric seed and cutting propagators for 2011. Unfortunately my double tray heater has given up the ghost and as the elements are in a sealed plastic moulding I am writing it off.

My preferred heater however is warming away under a layer of sand and gravel in a large Sankey tray. It is basically a plastic coated element that you lay in a tray in a series of loops, cover with sand then place your seed trays on top. I improvise humidity covers in plastic as needed.

I still have a one tray propagator that currently contains some seeds and Pelargonium cuttings on my study windowsill. I put 15 square pots inside a seed tray which I then put in the heated propagator.

Thompson & Morgan have a range of heares and cool propagator aids as you would expect from a quality seed merchant.

Amazon sell a Sankey Heated   Propagator for £22.99 and a range of others

Read ‘Best Mail Order Seeds’