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Pruning mint
Hi
My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? thanks Sandra |
Pruning mint
Go hard girl it will jump up when the weather gets warmer. I usually dig the
lot up in a pot I have throw 3/4 away and have an abundance come summer. Thats the roots as well where the new shoots will come from. Some dynamic lifter in the pot mid August gets it going. Cheers Richard "Sandra Bodycoat" wrote in message ... Hi My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? thanks Sandra |
Pruning mint
Thanks for that, I gave it a go today but now I might take off some more.
Wouldnt mind some more rain, my tulips are slowly rising, looking forward to going to Araluen. cheers sandra "loosecanon" wrote in message ... Go hard girl it will jump up when the weather gets warmer. I usually dig the lot up in a pot I have throw 3/4 away and have an abundance come summer. Thats the roots as well where the new shoots will come from. Some dynamic lifter in the pot mid August gets it going. Cheers Richard "Sandra Bodycoat" wrote in message ... Hi My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? thanks Sandra |
Pruning mint
Ms Leebee wrote: My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? Nope. It loves a haircut ;) The rabbits like it too. |
Pruning mint
Aha.....you need a pair of ducks (or more) in the garden to eat the snails and slugs. Ducks are lovely people, very friendly and she will reward you every day with a nice fresh egg. Bronwyn ;-) Duck breeder from way back!! Ms Leebee wrote: wrote: Ms Leebee wrote: My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? Nope. It loves a haircut ;) The rabbits like it too. Snails too. I was surprised to come out one morning and find my abundant mint pot *gone*, completely - what the hell ( it was there yesterday ?!?!? ). Reason: 3 snails, plump with minty fresh breath. |
Pruning mint
HC wrote:
Aha.....you need a pair of ducks (or more) in the garden to eat the snails and slugs. Ducks are lovely people, very friendly and she will reward you every day with a nice fresh egg. We let our ducks (two boys and a girl, guess they just have to share) have the run of the backyard. We have no snails and just a few slugs. But we don't get an egg a day. These are appleyards and they seem to be very seasonal in their laying. Then when she does lay, the crows usually get it. We plan to get a couple of chooks once I have built a yard. Ducks are pretty garden friendly, but chooks will turn the garden into a desolation. |
Pruning mint
wrote in message
Ducks are pretty garden friendly, but chooks will turn the garden into a desolation. Try Silkies if you want to try chooks in the garden. They are small and not as active as bigger hens. |
Pruning mint
Farm1 wrote:
wrote in message Ducks are pretty garden friendly, but chooks will turn the garden into a desolation. Try Silkies if you want to try chooks in the garden. They are small and not as active as bigger hens. We had some silkies. I was not particularly impressed. I found them a bit delicate, they aren't great layers and they are too broody. I plan to fence off a corner of my yard and keep the ducks and a couple of chooks on deep litter, just letting them out for an hour or so every now and again. I bought some golden campines for my dad, and they are very attractive birds. Maybe a bit flighty. Maybe I will get a pair of australorps. |
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Ms Leebee wrote:
I am also ashamed to say I must be a very bland person, as I find duck eggs too rich for my palette ! A lot of people say that, but I haven't noticed. We eat them soft boiled and haven't found them too rich. They have a lovely green-blue colour though, which could be a bit off-putting. First time I saw one I thought it was rotten and smashed it on the back fence. Even if they are richer, they should be fine for cakes, pancakes etc. I like seeing them at park ponds though, and throwing bread to them :) You really shouldn't do that. Bread isn't good for them, especially if you chuck it in the water where it can cause botulism. Ducks have great personality and are very hardy. They don't seem to suffer from colds, mites, heat exhaustion or any of the other chicken maladies. Pity they don't lay better. Indian Runners are supposed to be good layers. |
Pruning mint
Ms Leebee wrote:
HC wrote: Aha.....you need a pair of ducks (or more) in the garden to eat the snails and slugs. Ducks are lovely people, very friendly and she will reward you every day with a nice fresh egg. Bronwyn ;-) Duck breeder from way back!! Except for my childhood memories of being chased by ducks and slipping over in their very slippery poo ;) I am also ashamed to say I must be a very bland person, as I find duck eggs too rich for my palette ! I like seeing them at park ponds though, and throwing bread to them :) Is that some sort of revenge. It's very bad for them, shame on you. :-) |
Pruning mint
Ms Leebee wrote:
wrote: Ms Leebee wrote: My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? Nope. It loves a haircut ;) The rabbits like it too. Snails too. I was surprised to come out one morning and find my abundant mint pot *gone*, completely - what the hell ( it was there yesterday ?!?!? ). Reason: 3 snails, plump with minty fresh breath. You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. |
Pruning mint
Blueys are good too........but don't lay an egg each day, at least mine
don't!! Bronwyn ;-) Barbara wrote: Ms Leebee wrote: wrote: Ms Leebee wrote: My mint is looking pretty straggly, I was wondering should I prune it & if so will this have any detrimental effect? Nope. It loves a haircut ;) The rabbits like it too. Snails too. I was surprised to come out one morning and find my abundant mint pot *gone*, completely - what the hell ( it was there yesterday ?!?!? ). Reason: 3 snails, plump with minty fresh breath. You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. |
Pruning mint
Barbara wrote: You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. Yes, but I leap 6 feet in the air whenever I disturb one. |
Pruning mint
Are you sure you aren't confusing Muscovies with ducks? Muskies are
genetically, a goose. The poop is very smelly and their eggs (being geese) are a little stronger. Duck eggs, on the other hand, taste the same as hen eggs, albeit a bit larger. They make fantastic pavlovas, scrambled eggs etc. .....aahhhh, wishing I had some ducks in my garden!! Feeding any animals, particularly ducks, totally on bread is not good for them, they put on too much fat and it can swell in their crop and kill them. Would you like a diet of bread? ;-) Bronwyn ;-) Ms Leebee wrote: HC wrote: Aha.....you need a pair of ducks (or more) in the garden to eat the snails and slugs. Ducks are lovely people, very friendly and she will reward you every day with a nice fresh egg. Bronwyn ;-) Duck breeder from way back!! Except for my childhood memories of being chased by ducks and slipping over in their very slippery poo ;) I am also ashamed to say I must be a very bland person, as I find duck eggs too rich for my palette ! I like seeing them at park ponds though, and throwing bread to them :) |
Pruning mint
Farm1 wrote:
wrote in message Ducks are pretty garden friendly, but chooks will turn the garden into a desolation. Try Silkies if you want to try chooks in the garden. They are small and not as active as bigger hens. yeah, they're nice. We had a large and expanding gang of langsheng bantams for some years, and they were nice in the garden, although they liked dustbaths and took over a sunny spot in the garden to have them. They didn't wreck stuff though, or behave in a disgraceful manner like larger chooks. -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
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Pruning mint
wrote in message
Farm1 wrote: wrote in message Ducks are pretty garden friendly, but chooks will turn the garden into a desolation. Try Silkies if you want to try chooks in the garden. They are small and not as active as bigger hens. We had some silkies. I was not particularly impressed. I found them a bit delicate, they aren't great layers and they are too broody. I don't like them either but many gardeners swear by them. Maybe I will get a pair of australorps. Of the readily available pure breeds, I like Autralorps the best. |
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"Barbara" wrote in message
You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. The only problem with that is that Blue Tongues and snakes both like exactly the same sort of garden. |
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HC wrote:
Are you sure you aren't confusing Muscovies with ducks? Muskies are genetically, a goose. I have heard that before, and certainly Muscovies are very goose-like (they hiss rather than quack). But they cross-breed with other ducks, so I guess that makes them the same species? |
Pruning mint
wrote in message
HC wrote: Are you sure you aren't confusing Muscovies with ducks? Muskies are genetically, a goose. I have heard that before, and certainly Muscovies are very goose-like (they hiss rather than quack). But they cross-breed with other ducks, so I guess that makes them the same species? Horses and donkeys interbreed and they are the same species being both from the equidae family. The offspring (mules and hinnies) are (almost) always sterile. I'm fairly sure that the same "species" rule applies to both Muscovies and ducks and I know that the sterility bit does. I've yet to hear of the offspring of the duck/muscovy mating being fertile. |
Pruning mint
None of my family thought duck eggs had an 'eggy' taste, although
Muscovy eggs, as do other goose eggs, had a stronger flavour. Their feed will make the eggs taste....when I first got ducks I threw out some leftover curry, sure enough the eggs the next day had a distinct curry flavour and were a strange colour. Just make sure they get plenty of green pickings and access to fresh water (although they like to play it their drinking water too) and the eggs will taste more hen-like. I always added some laying pellets to their feed bin but quite often it's very salty...taste some of the pellets yourself is the best test, I found. Not all laying pellets are equal!! We ate the eggs soft-boiled, scrambled, poached, fried and any other way I could think of to cook them as well as cakes, pavlovas, caramel pies...the list goes on and on. ant wrote: wrote: Ms Leebee wrote: I am also ashamed to say I must be a very bland person, as I find duck eggs too rich for my palette ! A lot of people say that, but I haven't noticed. We eat them soft boiled and haven't found them too rich. They have a lovely green-blue colour though, which could be a bit off-putting. First time I saw one I thought it was rotten and smashed it on the back fence. we had ducks for years, Khaki Campbells. The eggs were "normal", just large, and I often got upset guts from them. They were very "eggy". A cake with the number of eggs in where the recipe was for chook eggs was distinctly eggy. Khaki Campbells laid a lot. Pooed a lot, too. |
Pruning mint
Muscovies take 35 days to hatch....as do geese. Ducks, on the other
hand, hatch in 28 days. Muscovies will breed with anything...our dog discovered this one day much to his disgust!! ROFLMHO!! wrote: HC wrote: Are you sure you aren't confusing Muscovies with ducks? Muskies are genetically, a goose. I have heard that before, and certainly Muscovies are very goose-like (they hiss rather than quack). But they cross-breed with other ducks, so I guess that makes them the same species? |
Pruning mint
I'm guessing they would be sterile. Because I had up to 11 different
breeds of duck, only one breed were allowed out of their yard each day during breeding season. I had way too many orders to get caught up with crossbreeds. Farm1 wrote: wrote in message HC wrote: Are you sure you aren't confusing Muscovies with ducks? Muskies are genetically, a goose. I have heard that before, and certainly Muscovies are very goose-like (they hiss rather than quack). But they cross-breed with other ducks, so I guess that makes them the same species? Horses and donkeys interbreed and they are the same species being both from the equidae family. The offspring (mules and hinnies) are (almost) always sterile. I'm fairly sure that the same "species" rule applies to both Muscovies and ducks and I know that the sterility bit does. I've yet to hear of the offspring of the duck/muscovy mating being fertile. |
Pruning mint
The Blueys that live in my garden poked their heads out on Sunday for
the first time this season. They were waiting for the obligatory bit of chuck steak. Farm1 wrote: "Barbara" wrote in message You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. The only problem with that is that Blue Tongues and snakes both like exactly the same sort of garden. |
Pruning mint
HC wrote:
None of my family thought duck eggs had an 'eggy' taste, although Muscovy eggs, as do other goose eggs, had a stronger flavour. Their feed will make the eggs taste....when I first got ducks I threw out some leftover curry, sure enough the eggs the next day had a distinct curry flavour and were a strange colour. Just make sure they get plenty of green pickings and access to fresh water (although they like to play it their drinking water too) and the eggs will taste more hen-like. I always added some laying pellets to their feed bin but quite often it's very salty...taste some of the pellets yourself is the best test, I found. Not all laying pellets are equal!! Our ducks ranged over a 5 acre farm all day, and went into their shed at night. -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
Pruning mint
Farm1 wrote:
"Barbara" wrote in message You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. The only problem with that is that Blue Tongues and snakes both like exactly the same sort of garden. yes. Whenever I see them (the lizards) appear, my snake-hackles go up. ****ing browns. I have some of those weird blunt lizards also, and horny ones that have claws and drag themselves around. they come out first, and then it's time to look out for the Browns. -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
Pruning mint
"HC" wrote in message
... The Blueys that live in my garden poked their heads out on Sunday for the first time this season. They were waiting for the obligatory bit of chuck steak. We used to have a bit of 4 inch aggie drainage pipe sticking out of the ground in a previous house. In this pipe lived the fattest and biggest Bluie I've ever seen. One day I caught my husband throwing snails down into the pipe. When I asked him what he was doing he looked a bit embarrassed and said he was feeding the Blue. He'd apparently been doing it for about a year. No wonder the Bluie was so big :-)) I haven't seen one yet. Still too cold. |
Pruning mint
"ant" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote: "Barbara" wrote in message You need some lizards, Blue tongues are very good for getting rid of snails. The only problem with that is that Blue Tongues and snakes both like exactly the same sort of garden. yes. Whenever I see them (the lizards) appear, my snake-hackles go up. ****ing browns. :-)) Yes. I also have a resident Tiger Snake along wiht my residnet Brown. Brown near the front door Tiger at the back. Want either to add to your collection? I have some of those weird blunt lizards also, and horny ones that have claws and drag themselves around. they come out first, and then it's time to look out for the Browns. What sort is that lizard? |
Pruning mint
Farm1 wrote:
I have some of those weird blunt lizards also, and horny ones that have claws and drag themselves around. they come out first, and then it's time to look out for the Browns. What sort is that lizard? Dunno. Some are armour-plated, and their front looks like the back, sort of blunt at both ends. Some others are armour plated, but thinner and longer and pointier, with claws. Some sort-of drag themselves around on their stomachs, using their claws to pull them along. There's a few blue tongues, too. Apparently the chihuahuas killed a lizard last week. One had been obsessed with lizards for years, spending hours motionless gazing fixedly at the rock wall. I guess he finally got one. My brother found the two of them eating it. -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
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ant wrote:
Dunno. Some are armour-plated, and their front looks like the back, sort of blunt at both ends. Sounds like the Stumpy Tail, ant (Trachydosaurus rugosus.) I din't know that scientific name tho' - Googled it. We've had a couple of Tiger snakes hanging 'round last summer, too. I really wanted to put some sort of rock creek bed-like pond thing in this year (I like that we have wild ducks coming daily and thought they'd love it) but people have been telling me it will attract the snakes. I don't mind that so much coz they're around anyway and I figure at least I'll know where they're more likely to be. I just worry our dogs will also be attracted to it and stumble upon one. L. |
Pruning mint
In article , "ant"
wrote: Dunno. Some are armour-plated, and their front looks like the back, sort of blunt at both ends. Some others are armour plated, but thinner and longer and pointier, with claws. Shinglebacks? -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
Pruning mint
"ant" wrote in message
Apparently the chihuahuas killed a lizard last week. One had been obsessed with lizards for years, spending hours motionless gazing fixedly at the rock wall. I guess he finally got one. My brother found the two of them eating it. I can understand that, the tails are often full of what looks like fat. |
Pruning mint
"Linda H" wrote in message
We've had a couple of Tiger snakes hanging 'round last summer, too. I really wanted to put some sort of rock creek bed-like pond thing in this year (I like that we have wild ducks coming daily and thought they'd love it) but people have been telling me it will attract the snakes. I don't mind that so much coz they're around anyway and I figure at least I'll know where they're more likely to be. I just worry our dogs will also be attracted to it and stumble upon one. One of our dogs was bitten by a Brown in the final days of Autumn. $950 later he came home and was so sick that he just lay on the lounge for 2 weeks and wouldn't even lift his head. Just followed us with his eyes. Now he is as fit as flea. The record for dog bites round here is 8 bites in 8 years for a dog. I didn't think they could take so many bites but I know the family and the dog belonged to to one of the offspring who they lost in a plane crash. They think of the dog as the last link to the lost offspring they keep dragging it off to the vet each time it gets bitten. |
Pruning mint
Well I'm afraid I spoil the Bluey's who live on my garden too....they
soon found they could go through the laundry into the garage and then into the house where they would wander at their own pace until they found me. One day I was sitting here at my computer and had this feeling someone was watching me, so I stopped typing and looked out the window....no one there!! Went back to what I was doing and the feeling returned....another peer out the window and still nothing. Then finally I decided to wheel my chair a little further and look in the other direction when all of a sudden the wheel came against something on the floor and when I looked down here were two bluey's at my feet looking up as if to say 'we are here Mum, where's our tucker?' Very smartly I fitted a screen door between the garage and dining room but for the next two weeks they used to sit there all day....the piles of dung as evidence. That year they cost me a new freezer as they wintered near the warm motor in the garage. These days they wait outside the doors but still hang around waiting for tidbits. Bronwyn ;-) Farm1 wrote: "HC" wrote in message ... The Blueys that live in my garden poked their heads out on Sunday for the first time this season. They were waiting for the obligatory bit of chuck steak. We used to have a bit of 4 inch aggie drainage pipe sticking out of the ground in a previous house. In this pipe lived the fattest and biggest Bluie I've ever seen. One day I caught my husband throwing snails down into the pipe. When I asked him what he was doing he looked a bit embarrassed and said he was feeding the Blue. He'd apparently been doing it for about a year. No wonder the Bluie was so big :-)) I haven't seen one yet. Still too cold. |
Pruning mint
"HC" wrote in message
... Well I'm afraid I spoil the Bluey's who live on my garden too....they soon found they could go through the laundry into the garage and then into the house where they would wander at their own pace until they found me. One day I was sitting here at my computer and had this feeling someone was watching me, so I stopped typing and looked out the window....no one there!! Went back to what I was doing and the feeling returned....another peer out the window and still nothing. Then finally I decided to wheel my chair a little further and look in the other direction when all of a sudden the wheel came against something on the floor and when I looked down here were two bluey's at my feet looking up as if to say 'we are here Mum, where's our tucker?' Very smartly I fitted a screen door between the garage and dining room but for the next two weeks they used to sit there all day....the piles of dung as evidence. That year they cost me a new freezer as they wintered near the warm motor in the garage. These days they wait outside the doors but still hang around waiting for tidbits. Bronwyn ;-) Now I can also empathise with that! In the house where my husband used to feed the big bloke, we had one which would come and lie in front of the slow combustion stove. Used to scare the crap out of me as I'd come into the kitchen and see something scuttle on the floor out of the corner of my eye. To this day I still have no idea where he hid when he wasn't basking by the fire. It always worried me that if a Bluie could find his way in then it would be so much easier for a snake to do so given that they only need a hole the size of a thumb. |
Pruning mint
HC wrote:
Then finally I decided to wheel my chair a little further and look in the other direction when all of a sudden the wheel came against something on the floor and when I looked down here were two bluey's at my feet looking up as if to say 'we are here Mum, where's our tucker?' They were hoping you would die so they could feed on you. I hope the snakes have come out of hibernation. It's about to get cold and very wet, and hopefully they'll die (and the lizards can feed on THEM). -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
Pruning mint
Farm1 wrote:
It always worried me that if a Bluie could find his way in then it would be so much easier for a snake to do so given that they only need a hole the size of a thumb. EXACTLY! -- ant Don't try to email me; I'm borrowing the spammer du jour's addy |
Pruning mint
HC wrote:
Then finally I decided to wheel my chair a little further and look in the other direction when all of a sudden the wheel came against something on the floor and when I looked down here were two bluey's at my feet looking up as if to say 'we are here Mum, where's our tucker?' Aw cute. I had no idea they could become so tame as to come looking for you. We have a couple of very big piles of cleared (fallen) old logs & underbrush that will need burning before it gets too warm. I'm a bit worried that they may have become homes for lizards and other wildlife, so does anybody know how I could try to flush them out before we set fire to these huge heaps? I certainly don't want to cook poor lil' lizards if they're in there (or even snakes actually.) |
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