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The Summer of doom
Fired with enthusiasm during 2000 I spent a small fortune turning my small
concrete London wilderness into something like a garden. Improving appalling soil full of compacted ash and fireplace debris (and just why does every old terraced house have broken china buried in the back garden - didn't they have dustbins in the old days?). I composted everything I could lay my hands on, nurtured my carefully selected plants, watered, fed and did everything short of tucking them up into bed. And what does 2003 bring? Drought (at least it kept the slugs and snails down), mildew, aphids, mice (well - a mouse), blackfly, a fox tunnelling under the shed , vine weevils and NOW what I'm 90% sure is the second New Zealand flatworm of the year. I snipped it in half yesterday and it still curls up in a most revolting manner - yuk. So why has all my hard work resulted in what seems to be a haven for the peskiest pests? Despite encouraging the birds with a fat ball and daily topped up bird table I have negligible bird life - a pair of blue tits, resident magpies, a single sad robin (sometimes), the occasional wren and blackbird; and couple of fat wood pigeons breeding like the clappers who are the only daily visitors. During the Summer there were endless hoverflies and lacewings. I have lots of wood lice but rarely see a beetle. Should I just wait for a balance to be reached or can I be more proactive? |
The Summer of doom
why does every old terraced house have broken china buried in the back garden - didn't they have dustbins in the old days?). They had middens. But I still turn up potsherds (usually blue and white) in our garden which has been cultivated since 1937 when the house (a semi) was built. I've tried and tried saving them to make whole items but never have ... Mary |
The Summer of doom
The message
from "hedgehog" contains these words: and NOW what I'm 90% sure is the second New Zealand flatworm of the year. I snipped it in half yesterday and it still curls up in a most revolting manner - yuk. You need to do more than that, to destroy their quite-large eggs inside. I grind them underfoot on concrete until it's just a smear :-(. Next, you need to hunt down its friends and family, under pots, plastic sacks, stacked turves etc..anywhere cool and dark on the soil surface. I discovered NZF here last spring and during The Purge killed dozens more. I haven't seen any at all for several months and the earthworm population is booming. Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am (ducks and runs) Janet |
The Summer of doom
Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am Oh, don't spoil my image of you ... I rely on you to keep me from being unique ... Mary (ducks and runs) Janet |
The Summer of doom
"hedgehog" wrote in message ... I live in the south of France now, but I still look back on my little back garden in London with great nostalgia. I think it amazing how all those things manage to survive and thrive in such a polluted and dirty place as London! |
The Summer of doom
"Ric" wrote in message ... : : "hedgehog" wrote in message : ... : : I live in the south of France now, but I still look back on my little back : garden in London with great nostalgia. I think it amazing how all those : things manage to survive and thrive in such a polluted and dirty place as : London! : If that's the case, it must be amazing that all the inhabitants, including me, have survived. The wonders of nature. K |
The Summer of doom
The message
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words: Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am Oh, don't spoil my image of you ... I rely on you to keep me from being unique ... Wumpus! Where are you when we need a demo? -- Rusty Hinge horrid·squeak&zetnet·co·uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm |
The Summer of doom
Thanks for the support - I was just having a bit of a bad garden day.
Despite the weevils and flatworms there seems no obvious damage (yet). Thanks also for the tip about the eggs - I chucked the remains in the bin today. It was obviously a very stupid flatworm because I only noticed it when moving an outside plastic doormat on the patio. It had trapped itself in one of the small holes. I have very dry soil so maybe it was alone. "Janet Baraclough" wrote in message ... The message from "hedgehog" contains these words: and NOW what I'm 90% sure is the second New Zealand flatworm of the year. I snipped it in half yesterday and it still curls up in a most revolting manner - yuk. You need to do more than that, to destroy their quite-large eggs inside. I grind them underfoot on concrete until it's just a smear :-(. Next, you need to hunt down its friends and family, under pots, plastic sacks, stacked turves etc..anywhere cool and dark on the soil surface. I discovered NZF here last spring and during The Purge killed dozens more. I haven't seen any at all for several months and the earthworm population is booming. Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am (ducks and runs) Janet |
The Summer of doom
"Janet Baraclough" wrote Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am (ducks and runs) Janet Its amazing isn't it what you can learn later in life........ "~) Jenny |
The Summer of doom
"Jaques d'Altrades" wrote in message ... The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words: Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am Oh, don't spoil my image of you ... I rely on you to keep me from being unique ... Wumpus! Where are you when we need a demo? Rusty Hinge Wumpus doesn't 'do' URG (at least I don't think she does....) Jenny |
The Summer of doom
In article , hedgehog hedgehog@hedge
hog.homechoice.co.uk writes Thanks for the support - I was just having a bit of a bad garden day. Despite the weevils and flatworms there seems no obvious damage (yet). Thanks also for the tip about the eggs - I chucked the remains in the bin today. Er . . I think that is illegal, isn't it? You are supposed to notify the authorities aren't you? Anyway, chucking it in the bin without following Janet's advice will do nothing but spread the things elsewhere :((((((((((( -- Jane Ransom in Lancaster. I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see |
The Summer of doom
The message
from "JennyC" contains these words: Its amazing isn't it what you can learn later in life........ "~) Keep trying and pray for a miracle, Jenny 8-} Janet. |
The Summer of doom
The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words: Oh, don't spoil my image of you ... I rely on you to keep me from being unique ... Get some delusions of your own, woman, then you won't be unique and I won't have anything to worry about. There. Feel better now? Janet. |
The Summer of doom
"Jaques d'Altrades" wrote in message ... The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words: Don't worry about a few setbacks, all gardening is full of them, and has taught me to be the patient calm and equable person I am Oh, don't spoil my image of you ... I rely on you to keep me from being unique ... Wumpus! Where are you when we need a demo? Erm ... I'm all over the place. Leeds based (Yorkshire). On telly next month. Mary -- Rusty Hinge horrid·squeak&zetnet·co·uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm |
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