[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[lost in london]

[MENTION=1561]lost in london[/MENTION] - I was always told that a weed was only a plant you didn't want where it was. So if you like them - keep them. If not - get rid.

I'm sure [MENTION=259]Jack Straw[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2019]jevs[/MENTION] may disagree but it's the way I garden.

Very true, trouble is this bugger seems to squirrel underground then pop up somewhere else. Don't think I've got a hope of getting rid of it really so I'll just keep hacking back.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

OK. I'm going for Lysimachia punctata (Dotted Loosestrife). https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/10634/Lysimachia-punctata-L/Details

That's the one!
Yellow flowers, so I put that to the back of my mind

 

[Jack Straw]

Very true, trouble is this bugger seems to squirrel underground then pop up somewhere else. Don't think I've got a hope of getting rid of it really so I'll just keep hacking back.

Try and pull it out rather than cutting it. It shouldn't grow back quite so quick as you're removing the source.

 

[Jack Straw]

Weed or plant?

View attachment 123599
View attachment 123600

Right. After extensive research, my money is on Centaurea dealbata.
https://davisla.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/centaurea-dealbata/

 

[lost in london]

Right. After extensive research, my money is on Centaurea dealbata.
https://davisla.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/centaurea-dealbata/

Good find, the leaf looks very similar. If it flowers I'll let you know!

 

[Jack Straw]

Good find, the leaf looks very similar. If it flowers I'll let you know!

If it looks like this...!

 

[lost in london]

If it looks like this...!

I won't say a word if it turns out to be a dandelion or a turnip.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Ok, in order, If its proper Coriander it will go to seed the instant it gets dry or the roots feel constrained, it will die back after flowering and won't come back. The Mint is a hardy perennial but as others have suggested, plant it in a pot and bury that pot otherwise all you will have is Mint. Parsley is slow growing and I think a Biennial , plant as per any other plant and it should do you two years if you don't over pick it. Thyme is a short lived perennial, they don't like really cold wet winters and so try to give it shelter but don't be surprised if it does not grow well. Basil is an annual at best, lovely to have in the greenhouse or outhouse, once it goes to seed it will progressively die, sow your own every 6 weeks or so, outdoors it will never really get going. Oregano is a perennial and should survive a year or two. Rosemary and Sage are quite woody perennials and will last you 4-5 years plus but they do get a bit gnarled. Tarragon, no idea.

Oh....[emoji19]. Not so excited about my project now but a good dose of realism. Does anyone else have much luck with herbs? Sounds like I should forget coriander [emoji23][emoji23]... would they work in a planter box on the patio (might get more attention than if down the garden and also will save me the trouble of digging up the bed that is full of nice “plants” that have grown themselves and don’t look too bad...).

 

[vegster]

Oh....[emoji19]. Not so excited about my project now but a good dose of realism. Does anyone else have much luck with herbs? Sounds like I should forget coriander [emoji23][emoji23]... would they work in a planter box on the patio (might get more attention than if down the garden and also will save me the trouble of digging up the bed that is full of nice “plants” that have grown themselves and don’t look too bad...).

Lots of herbs are quite easy once you learn the pitfalls. Coriander will work if you have deep, moist and stone free soil that never dries out.

I grow coriander in the best potting compost I can buy, in a very deep pot and once the plants have been growing a month, feed regularly with Miraclegrow or similar. The seeds are fairly cheap and you also need to do succsesional sowing so that you always have 2-3 pots worth at different stages of growth.

Attached photo shows current pot of Coriander, next pot of Coriander sown a week ago and thirdly Dill, that will be thinned and used as the plants grow bigger

Edit : I get these pots from Morrisons, they are the old buckets they sell the bunches of flowers in. Drill holes in the bottom and they are perfect... Picture shows good pot, good beer ( for scale) bad pot.

 

[Dolph Ins]

Oh....[emoji19]. Not so excited about my project now but a good dose of realism. Does anyone else have much luck with herbs? Sounds like I should forget coriander [emoji23][emoji23]... would they work in a planter box on the patio (might get more attention than if down the garden and also will save me the trouble of digging up the bed that is full of nice “plants” that have grown themselves and don’t look too bad...).

Planter on patio is good idea. Can build out of old wood and fill with compost. I buy the pots of herbs from Sainsbury and then pot up into bigger pots or a planter. Basil, parsley and thyme last a season for £1 each. Don't over water basil.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Lots of herbs are quite easy once you learn the pitfalls. Coriander will work if you have deep, moist and stone free soil that never dries out.

I grow coriander in the best potting compost I can buy, in a very deep pot and once the plants have been growing a month, feed regularly with Miraclegrow or similar. The seeds are fairly cheap and you also need to do succsesional sowing so that you always have 2-3 pots worth at different stages of growth.

Attached photo shows current pot of Coriander, next pot of Coriander sown a week ago and thirdly Dill, that will be thinned and used as the plants grow bigger

Edit : I get these pots from Morrisons, they are the old buckets they sell the bunches of flowers in. Drill holes in the bottom and they are perfect... Picture shows good pot, good beer ( for scale) bad pot.

Thanks very much for these tips. Am a bit daunted though by the pots that are covered with what look like 10s of plants from your seeding. How will it work for me if I’m buying only one plant of each herb?

 

[vegster]

Thanks very much for these tips. Am a bit daunted though by the pots that are covered with what look like 10s of plants from your seeding. How will it work for me if I’m buying only one plant of each herb?

This is my worry, a Coriander " plant " isn't very big even at maturity.. Have you ever bought " potted" herbs at a supermarket? There are about a hundred Coriander seedlings in a small pot and once you have cut off what you need, they don't grow back well. In the pots I use I sow about 200 seeds to be sure of enough germination and subsequent usage.

You will only really need one Rosemary and one Sage, they get big and are long lasting but some herbs have a very short growth season. Hopefully you will get instructions with each plant that will help. It's a bit scary at first but easily doable after a few years of experience. .. And, fresh herbs will be far superior to the dried or sad stuff in the supermarkets.

 

[jevs]

I think that's the risk of frost gone now. Going to be planting beans, sweetcorn, courgettes and very late onion sets today

 

[wellquickwoody]

I think that's the risk of frost gone now. Going to be planting beans, sweetcorn, courgettes and very late onion sets today

I love how gardeners have a sixth sense about frost. When I lived in Hove I removed frost protection from my tender plants by mid April, and I aimed to have my bedding plants in by Hove Lions Day at the latest, but these were aims, not rules. Over the years I never got that bit wrong, but I did lose a magnificent palm (by UK standards) after three consecutive winters with laying snow.

Here I am just planting out tropical plants into a Melbourne climate that does get a rare light frost, but in summer can be 45 Celsius and arid dry. Love a challenge me.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

This is my worry, a Coriander " plant " isn't very big even at maturity.. Have you ever bought " potted" herbs at a supermarket? There are about a hundred Coriander seedlings in a small pot and once you have cut off what you need, they don't grow back well. In the pots I use I sow about 200 seeds to be sure of enough germination and subsequent usage.

You will only really need one Rosemary and one Sage, they get big and are long lasting but some herbs have a very short growth season. Hopefully you will get instructions with each plant that will help. It's a bit scary at first but easily doable after a few years of experience. .. And, fresh herbs will be far superior to the dried or sad stuff in the supermarkets.

Thanks again. I am looking forward to the learning process. My current plan is two wooden planters 900mm x 230mm (not given depth but looks like c.250mm). I'm thinking maybe I should keep one planter for the softer ones that don't grow big and need replacing and then have the other one for rosemary, sage and mint...?

 

[vegster]

Thanks again. I am looking forward to the learning process. My current plan is two wooden planters 900mm x 230mm (not given depth but looks like c.250mm). I'm thinking maybe I should keep one planter for the softer ones that don't grow big and need replacing and then have the other one for rosemary, sage and mint...?

Sound plan there.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Thanks again. I am looking forward to the learning process. My current plan is two wooden planters 900mm x 230mm (not given depth but looks like c.250mm). I'm thinking maybe I should keep one planter for the softer ones that don't grow big and need replacing and then have the other one for rosemary, sage and mint...?

If you're putting the mint in a planter, put it in a clay pot first as suggested above. Or you'll have one planter of soft herbs and one planter of mint,

For the soft herbs, the way vegster has done it above, allows you to remove old pots of soft herbs and replace them with pots of newly seeded.

*edit* off to the garden centre

 

[Taybha]

I've been newtered but what sort ?

Im

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I love how gardeners have a sixth sense about frost. When I lived in Hove I removed frost protection from my tender plants by mid April, and I aimed to have my bedding plants in by Hove Lions Day at the latest, but these were aims, not rules. Over the years I never got that bit wrong, but I did lose a magnificent palm (by UK standards) after three consecutive winters with laying snow.

Here I am just planting out tropical plants into a Melbourne climate that does get a rare light frost, but in summer can be 45 Celsius and arid dry. Love a challenge me.

Ooh, what are you growing? Are you a source for some interesting seeds? We need pictures of your garden, please

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I've been newtered but what sort ?

IView attachment 123648m

https://www.arc-trust.org/pages/category/newts