"Les &/or Claire" wrote in message
...
David W.E. Roberts wrote:
Original message:

"Or should it be bloody squirrels, I've got walnuts coming up all
over the place, it's happened before but I can't remember it
being on this scale.

Possibly the worst one is the one in the middle of the strawberry
bed, can't get it out without damaging the strawberries!

Sob, sob.

Alan

Cor! Send us one! )

L & C

--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk"

The resulting conversations resulted in my receiving two walnut
seedlings in the middle of a cardboard roll :-) [centre of kitchen
roll I assume]

Just an update to say that so far these have survived.

I potted them up immediately in John Innes, and placed the pots in
the shelter of the shrubbery on the west side of the garden - a
gloomy location as the shrubs are about 8 feet high.

The very large leaves did not survive well (one seedling has kept one
leaf) and in general dried up and dropped off. This suggests that I
should have been brave and cut them off in the first place.

The seedlings have not grown much, but there are healthy growing tips
on both of them.

I try to water them (and the surrounding soil) regularly with the aim
of keeping them in a moist and shady atmosphere to minimise stress
while they establish a new root system.

******
Now here's a topic for serious thought and discussion.
I think the soil should be watered just when the plant is put into the soil
and then not watered unless it is getting too dry.
I am thinking on the basis that soaking what roots it has got discourages
new root-hairs to start and go searchng, - thus growing, - into the
surrounding soil. If the soil is soaked the root hairs don't need to go far
for sustenace. I use this principle with my tomatoes. When they are put in
they are watered heavily and deeply. When it is judged to be the time for
more water I pour the water in between the plants avoiding going too close
to the stems. Every now and then, - though, - I give the beds a good soak
to get watter deep down. My set-up is raised beds two and a half feet above
land level), with another foot's depth below, full of big rubble at the
bottom, decreasing the rubble size as it rises to the compost which is about
six inches below ground level.
My theory is that the roots will grow better if the nearby dampness is
attracting them because they are searching for it, thus the roote will get
bigger and lengthier and form a big clump of roots - the better to cope with
the five trusses of tomatoes upstairs.
Any comments?.
Doug.
******

Once they are established (I am thinking autumn) I will move them out
into more light and hopefully they will grow and be potted on.

I am planning to keep them in ever larger pots until I find a
location that will support one or two walnut trees. My current garden
is already 'well treed' and certainly does not need a potentially
huge tree in addition.

Many thanks to the donor.

Cheers
Dave R



--
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"Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission
natural selection, the force that made us.... Soon we must look deep
within ourselves and decide what we wish to become." Edward O. Wilson
Consilience, The Unity of Knowledge

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