Gardening thread

ryu said:
this time of year again - sigh :(

have to plant grass to make sure we have a nice lawn in summer for the kids/dogs to play

every year we get these weeds, they go dry and have thorns like Poseidon's trident - cant seem to get rid of them.
Had a guy come through and pull out all the weeds by the root but i see they back

cant use weed killers because of the dogs, do we even get pet friendly weed killers ?
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Lawntyl. Spray in June and December. Also, if you dont, start mowing your lawn youself. These garden guys spread seeds thats stuck on and in their mowers.

The lawntyl really works wonders if you follow the guide.

Every single house in our street has weeds except ours.

The lawntyl will not harm your pets or kill the existing grass
 
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I love that there's people getting into the backyard chicken things again. We've got Giant Brahma hens that are incredible egg laying machines. They didn't slow down over winter, like I have read most chickens do. I can't stomach store bought eggs...I'm above that now, LOL. All of our lettuce, pumpkin leaves and similar edible leafy greens goes to them instead of the compost heap. Only downside so far is that one of our 4 girls turned out to be a Rooster, so we had to eat him (RIP Beyonce, you were delicious!).

I blog about my garden & the chickens. Link in my siggy. I'm growing a number of unusual/fun things:
Blueberries (expecting my first crop in December), cherry guavas, pineapple guavas (feijoas), crabapples (red inside, whaat) & regular apples. I am most excited about my hazelnuts this year. I got some young plants from the Ferero Rocher experimental farm in KZN last year, and more from a specialty nursery in Limpopo in July.

I also love roses, especially striped ones. Growing a lot of those. Then I am also trying out peonies for the first time, with a Twitter friend (she's in the Cape, I'm in GP) after we both struggled to locate them in SA. They are k*k expensive from the florists, only available in October and generally only grown overseas. The bulbs all woke up after winter, so we will see if we can get flowers.
 
looking for ideas for landscaping my backyard.

not into gardening - looking for low maintenance water friendly plants / shrubs / conifers etc.

it's about 60squ meters

has a 6m x 4m fiberglass pool

it is 80% paved - most of it around the pool

the area around the boundaries along the vibracrete fence need to be landscaped.

need some decent mood lightning

was thinking of back filling the open areas with stone chips and then placing pot plants / trees / shrubs around the fencing.

would like to hide the vibracrete fence as much as possible.

any ideas pics etc.?
 
You could plant some granadellas to grow over the vibracrete. They look nice and aren't as invasive as something like ivy, which destroys walls. They're also very low maintenance. You just need to fertilize and water them often if you want fruit, otherwise they pretty much just do their own thing.
 
Background:
I'm busy starting my own edible garden.
For now it's just some seedling jalapenos and marigold (...I heard they keep some pests away)
Planning on adding pickling cucumbers once I build a small el-cheapo greenhouse from PVC conduit, and finish up my el-cheapo trellis
I'm trying out other stuff just for kicks (mint, beans, dhania/coriander), but the above are what I really aim to grow for now.

My Question:
1. Will growing my plants in containers drastically reduce the pest issue? Or will I just be depriving my plants of access to nutrients and moisture that comes with growing in the soil?
2. Will growing in a greenhouse, but into the soil (as opposed to in containers) reduce my pest problem?
As it stands, the only reason I'm building the greenhouse (yes, i know it's the wrong reason) is cos my kids and wife can't handle bees AT ALL. My kids will refuse to play in the garden if they see bees, so i can't have my plants attracting bees... I'll have to hand pollinate the cucumbers when they flower.

Click here's to see my "beginner garden" thread
 
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Been a while since I posted here. I wanted to share some success I've had with a permaculture gardening concept called Hugelkultur (German meaning hill cultivation). I came across it when I was growing giant pumpkins a couple of years ago. Using this quirky method has helped me turn a very small, relatively mediocre patch of garden into a highly fertile, productive source of regular noms for my family. It is also a fantastic way to get rid of your gardening waste. It will be more applicable in suburban or plot garden than say a townhouse.

This is how I do it, but you can tweak it. In the simplest terms possible, to make a hugelkultur bed you dig a big hole in the area you plan to plant, fill it with logs, branches & then top off with compost & topsoil(optional).

The area can be a bed or furrows. On the bottom layer you place big branches & chopped up tree trunks from your pruning(now you don't have to pay to dump them). The big branches are going to act as a sponge retaining water & later releasing it with nutrients, when the upper layers dry. Place smaller branches above them, then home-made compost if you have it. We make our compost from kitchen & garden waste, as well as grass clippings that we use to line the floor of our chicken coop(well rotted- fresh chicken manure will burn your plants). You can then mix the very top layer of your compost with garden soil if you want to.

The beds are usually rounded on top but I only make that type for pumpkins. They work just as well flat. I haven't used any commercial fertilisers in these beds, and they will stay productive for years according to the experts.


This video is from mid-December 2016. The area is now a jungle. Can't see the ground anymore.
[video=youtube_share;--bf1PwenkQ]https://youtu.be/--bf1PwenkQ[/video]
 
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This shows some of the plants I've been growing over the summer. Many of these are already out & I'm switching to winter crops:

[video=youtube_share;JX-ixogAFUA]https://youtu.be/JX-ixogAFUA[/video]
 
Anyone know where I can get garden fleece in or around Woodmead / Midrand?
What have you guys grown successfully in winter in Jhb?
 
Bit of a Necro - but rather than start a new thread.....

I'm looking for a Post Hole Digger - Can't seem to find one anywhere in SA, other than motorised ones, or those that you attach to tractors. Pic of what I'm looking for attached.

Any one got any suggestions/ideas?
Post Hole Digger.JPG
 
Something like this?
e8d3da9c77959fc15d795cbc7bd3f3cf.jpg
 
Nope - it's kinda like two narrow spades joined together with a hinge, and you use it sort of like chop-sticks.
Handles together (shovel heads open wider), dig into ground, pull handles apart (shovel heads close around soil), lift out and release.
Ideal for digging narrow, deep holes.
 
Ooo, that seems like a handy tool, can't say I've seen one in SA though.
 
maumau said:
It does sound handy, will look around to see if they're available. Have you tried the ko-ops.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same area as you (also got irritated a bit with "Run Zone" the other day), so not sure where the nearest co-op type place would be.
Been to all the regular places in the greater neighborhood - most have never seen or heard of this item. Can't find anything local on the interwebs either. Lifestyle says they will try and source one for me, but I'm not getting my hopes up on that.
My alternative is an Auger. If I don't come right I'll have to get one of those then.

Auger.JPG
 
Are you in a hurry LOTR? My BIL's a keen gardener / handyman. The company he works for sells to ko-ops and he's a rep, travelling to all the dorpies. I'll show him this pic on Tuesday and he can ask around.

Will be over the next few months.
 
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