[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[vegster]

I've been growing veg from seeds inside in a heated propagator. They come up fine (in the main), but then go all leggy on me. Google informs me that that's because they need more light. I'm planning to start again with some of them. Google also tells me that a T5 HO blue-light heavy rig is probably the best low-ish cost route for me to start with. All OK so far?

I can find plenty of bulbs and bulb units that fit the bill, but, blow me down, I can't find anything I can hang the unit from which allows me to adjust the height above the seedlings as they grow. I don't want to screw the light unit into the ceiling! I'm after some sort of frame I can hang a unit from that will then allow me to adjust the height of the unit as the seedlings grow - any suggestions please?

Many thanks...

Lights are all a load of extra faff you don't really need. Don't sow your seeds too early in a propagator and when they germinate put them outside in a sheltered area of the garden during the day where there is good light and protection from cold winds. Then bring them back in at night. Do this until the weather warms up enough to leave them outside permanently and they are ready for their final home.

Once they have germinated try to avoid putting them back in the warm propagators at night, the warmth encourages growth but absence of light causes the stems to grow faster looking for light that isn't there....then they get leggy and collapse.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Lights are all a load of extra faff you don't really need. Don't sow your seeds too early in a propagator and when they germinate put them outside in a sheltered area of the garden during the day where there is good light and protection from cold winds. Then bring them back in at night. Do this until the weather warms up enough to leave them outside permanently and they are ready for their final home.

Once they have germinated try to avoid putting them back in the warm propagators at night, the warmth encourages growth but absence of light causes the stems to grow faster looking for light that isn't there....then they get leggy and collapse.

Many thanks... what with this advice, and Dolphin’s, I think that’s what I’ll try...

 

[Taybha]

Iv'e got Moles , i mean lots of Moles , some of them think they're sea fairing Lemmings as iv'e found 3 floating in my pond in under a year , the garden is riddled with molehills and i'm thinking of sitting out in the garden all night with a 12 bore to solve the problem , i quite like small furry things but these things are starting to get on my tits , any hot tips on how to get shot of them without actually using the killing them dead die moley die technique .

 

[vegster]

Many thanks... what with this advice, and Dolphin’s, I think that’s what I’ll try...

You're welcome, I'm a member of a couple of Chilli growing groups and you would not believe the amount of effort and money spent on trying to get them growing in late December in order to show off and willy wave.

 

[WATFORD zero]

You're welcome, I'm a member of a couple of Chilli growing groups and you would not believe the amount of effort and money spent on trying to get them growing in late December in order to show off and willy wave.

Willy waving after handling chillis is not wise. Trust me

 

[vegster]

Willy waving after handling chillis is not wise. Trust me

I agree.... Once grew several Jalapeño chilli plants and harvested, sliced and pickled them for storage...I wore latex gloves throughout and changed them a couple of times too and washed my hands several times ....imagine my surprise that evening when I unsuspectingly had a shower.... [emoji12]

 

[Frankie]

Can anyone tell me what this plant is please ? Didn't have it in garden last year but its popping up all over the place and growing very fast .

 

[Jack Straw]

Can anyone tell me what this plant is please ? Didn't have it in garden last year but its popping up all over the place and growing very fast .

View attachment 135842

I'm going Feverfew.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/431501208029765516/

 

[Frankie]

I'm going Feverfew.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/431501208029765516/

Thank you, Looks very similar yes , not seen any flowering like the photo but it's still early I suppose.

 

[Dolph Ins]

I agree with Jack. Crush a leaf and it will have a pungent smell (which is supposed to cure headaches. You have not been charged for this medical advice.)

 

[Weststander]

Can anyone tell me what this plant is please ? Didn't have it in garden last year but its popping up all over the place and growing very fast .

View attachment 135842

That’s Carota, part of the family Nuisanceae.

 

[Insel affe]

Question(stupid)
I have purchased some African Violets for my recently cleaned Gran & Grandads grave in Hove.
I know they are house plants and will probably die quickly.
They came in a crappy plastic pot which is inside a ceramic pot.
My idea was dig down about 3-4 inches and pop in the ceramic pot, so it does not blow over.
My wife thinks I should plank them properly!!
I’m not so sure they would ever re germinate.
Any advice, I’m quite prepared to pop back twice a year pay my respects and pop in a new plant.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Plank them properly with a plank.

 

[Jack Straw]

Question(stupid)
I have purchased some African Violets for my recently cleaned Gran & Grandads grave in Hove.
I know they are house plants and will probably die quickly.
They came in a crappy plastic pot which is inside a ceramic pot.
My idea was dig down about 3-4 inches and pop in the ceramic pot, so it does not blow over.
My wife thinks I should plank them properly!!
I’m not so sure they would ever re germinate.
Any advice, I’m quite prepared to pop back twice a year pay my respects and pop in a new plant.

I think you've answered your own question in sentence no. 2.
They're notoriously difficult to keep indoors, never mind outdoors. Without watering at least once a week, they're not going to survive for very long at all.
My advice is to plant some wild violets. If there's grass around the grave, as I believe there is in both the Council's Hove Cemeteries, plant a few next to the grave in the grass and they should spread slowly with no care required whatsoever. I doubt if any mowing would do them any harm as violets only grow a couple of inches tall. Don't bother asking Cityparks for permission. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission! I doubt if they'd mind any way as they would be a welcome ecological addition, providing a bit of early nectar.
There's lots of wild violets in woods and verges at the moment, but I wouldn't condone finding any and digging one or two up!!
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/violet/wild-violets-care.htm

 

[1066familyman]

Thank you, Looks very similar yes , not seen any flowering like the photo but it's still early I suppose.

Hopefully you will leave some to flower. It's a lovely beneficial plant. You can make a soothing medicinal evening cup of tea with it.

It's also a good plant for hoverflies etc. If you leave it to flower and then then some go to seed, you'll have loads pop up again next year and you can then just weed out the ones you don't want.

I always had some dotted around here and there on my allotment. Same with opium poppies too.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Jack, I can't believe you're an advocate of planting a pernicious weed...especially in a place where people go to contemplate loved ones!. The planting of primulas(not primrose) or pansies, will be easier to manage during the colder months and replace with something like pelargoniums for the warmer, drier times. But viola riviniana is not the plant for a grave...in fact, I don't think it's a plant for an average garden. I've tried unsuccessfully to rid myself of this for the past twenty odd years.
Back on topic, african violets no chance outside. They don't like wet, wind, slugs, caterpillars...etc

 

[Jack Straw]

Jack, I can't believe you're an advocate of planting a pernicious weed...especially in a place where people go to contemplate loved ones!. The planting of primulas(not primrose) or pansies, will be easier to manage during the colder months and replace with something like pelargoniums for the warmer, drier times. But viola riviniana is not the plant for a grave...in fact, I don't think it's a plant for an average garden. I've tried unsuccessfully to rid myself of this for the past twenty odd years.
Back on topic, african violets no chance outside. They don't like wet, wind, slugs, caterpillars...etc

A pernicious weed to some, a joy to behold to others. Violets are hardly in the same class as Japanese Knotweed. They're hardly going to take over the place!

 

[Coldeanseagull]

A pernicious weed to some, a joy to behold to others. Violets are hardly in the same class as Japanese Knotweed. They're hardly going to take over the place!

meh, there's never enough mecoprop

 

[Jack Straw]

meh, there's never enough mecoprop

That brings back chemical memories!
In the days before H&S really started in 1974, I worked at Stanmer Nurseries on the Shrub Gang. We grew 20,000 roses a year. In the heat of the summer, we would get out our knapsack-sprayers, pour in a glug of this, a glug of that, a glug of the other, strip down to shorts and sandals (no PPE at all), and spend a few days applying this cocktail of chemicals that are all banned now, including Metasystox. The smell of the spray was something else. Somehow, I'm still here to tell the tale!!

 

[jevs]

That brings back chemical memories!
In the days before H&S really started in 1974, I worked at Stanmer Nurseries on the Shrub Gang. We grew 20,000 roses a year. In the heat of the summer, we would get out our knapsack-sprayers, pour in a glug of this, a glug of that, a glug of the other, strip down to shorts and sandals (no PPE at all), and spend a few days applying this cocktail of chemicals that are all banned now, including Metasystox. The smell of the spray was something else. Somehow, I'm still here to tell the tale!!

You should see what it's done to him!!!!!!