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Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Tina |
#2
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In article ,
Christina Websell wrote: Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is very sensitive to glyphosate. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#3
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#4
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"Martin Brown" wrote in message ... On 10/05/2012 08:29, wrote: In , Christina wrote: Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is very sensitive to glyphosate. I agree. Grass is exquisitely sensitive to glyphosate and this is by far the simplest and most environmentally friendly way to quickly stop it from regrowing. But it is against some people's religion. It is not "against my religion" but I am trying to avoid it if I can for this first year as nary a weedkiller has touched this ground for more than 20 years. If it doesn't work, I will reconsider. |
#7
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Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade it over enough to kill it off a bit |
#8
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wrote in message ... Christina Websell wrote: Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade it over enough to kill it off a bit I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but realistically, it's been too cold and wet. I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am planning to have them now) and the slugs got them. So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do OK? The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide. It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces (famous last words) |
#9
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Christina Websell wrote:
I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am planning to have them now) and the slugs got them. My first ever attempt when I lived in Newcastle was a failure, which was a bit disappointing after reading everyone's accounts of having more courgettes than they could ever possibly eat. So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do OK? I am about 90% certain you will do fine. Given the weather, you want to make sure you have them big enough that they'll handle a bit of cold and a few snails, though. I've lost mine in the past to snails nipping off the growing end before they were big enough to survive that. Although if you /do/ get a partial or full break, you can sometimes rescue by burying the nibbled or broken bit and it re-roots. Not a guarantee, though. Mine are currently in the greenhouse getting bigger before I am going to even consider putting them out. I think next bank holiday is going to be the day for sweetcorn, courgette, butternut and maybe sweet potatoes going out. Oh, btw - what variety are you going with? If you want a near-guaranteed success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just keep going until first frost. Cut them small and they will just keep coming. (watch out for accidentally missing one and it grows into a giant, which will slow down production of new ones) The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide. It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces (famous last words) *says nothing* |
#11
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Janet wrote:
success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just keep going until first frost. I agree. Yellow ones are particularly mean with their fruit. Not just the yellow ones - the yellow bush ones were so-so. But the bush variety vs the sprawling variety makes a huge difference in reliability, IME. I think last year we actually had 3 varieties make it to reliable cropping - green bush, nero di milano and, umm, something else. Black beauty perhaps? But the year before the /only/ ones that cropped were the green and yellow bush. The year before that the snails got all the yellow bush ones before they got to fruiting, I think. Have you done that thing with your boys, let them scratch their name with a nail on a small one, then watch it grow into a huge personalised marrow? I haven't, I'll add it to the list. I'm not sure I have enough courgette plants to add one to their patch, but I have a lot of patty pan plants going spare (unless I sell them off at the school tabletop sale on Sunday!) so it should probably work the same with them. The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide. It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces (famous last words) *says nothing* They are just forming up into legions before they set out on the route march. Like antelopes travelling in huge herds across the plains, so that most of them escape the lion attacks. I now have mental images of snails strapping on antelope costumes and lining up ready for the long haul ... -- |
#12
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wrote in message ... Oh, btw - what variety are you going with? If you want a near-guaranteed success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just keep going until first frost. Cut them small and they will just keep coming. (watch out for accidentally missing one and it grows into a giant, which will slow down production of new ones) I have "All Green Bush" plus "de Nice a Fruit Rond" (a round once as suggested by the name) and a patty pan "Custard White" I haven't started them yet. It's far too cold. I have an aluminium greenhouse, 8 x 6 but it was covered with plastic and the plastic blew off in the last gales. |
#13
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Christina Websell wrote:
I have "All Green Bush" plus "de Nice a Fruit Rond" (a round once as suggested by the name) and a patty pan "Custard White" Probably not a bad collection. I'm not altogether sure /what/ I have this year, but I have a sneaking suspicion I didn't actually do any green bush, despite what I said. I definitely have some Nero di Milano, and an orange patty pan of some kind. They are about 6" tall and hiding in the greenhouse, but looking a bit unhappy, if truth be told. I haven't started them yet. It's far too cold. I have an aluminium greenhouse, 8 x 6 but it was covered with plastic and the plastic blew off in the last gales. We always always run out of window sill space. So this year Nick has put 2 of those plastic greenhouse things without the plastic cover up in the south facing living room window. (Fortunately they are very tall and wide windows - both sets of shelves plus a tangerine tree fill it quite nicely!) They may become a permanent fixture, but then of course I'll end up needing to find seedling space next year if they do. |
#14
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On 10/05/2012 22:18, Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message ... Christina wrote: Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade it over enough to kill it off a bit I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but realistically, it's been too cold and wet. I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am planning to have them now) and the slugs got them. When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me" sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe). So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do OK? Just make sure there is a layer of soil between the plants roots and the chicken manure to avoid burning them. The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide. It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces (famous last words) If not slugs then it will be caterpillars. I failed to pay attention and lost an entire line of brassicas essentially overnight. They were reduced to skeletal forms and huge numbers of big fat caterpillars! -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#15
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In article ,
says... On 10/05/2012 22:18, Christina Websell wrote: wrote in message ... Christina wrote: Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high heapsigh I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now. Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade it over enough to kill it off a bit I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but realistically, it's been too cold and wet. I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am planning to have them now) and the slugs got them. When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me" sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe). A wide barrier-ring of dry woodash works well, slugs and snails hate crawling across it even when it's wet. Or, old dry dead bracken, mashed up a bit. Janet |
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