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Part One Part Two There are to be a series of books on Coarse Sports. They weren't coarse in the four-letter-word sense, but were for the keen but incompetent, such as the over-age, overweight rugby player, the footballer with two left feet (should be playing for England!), or the cricketer whose first sight of the ball is when it hits the stumps. As a change from all of the gardening programmes on TV and the magazines and articles by experts in the newspapers, it might be of interest (and comfort) to read some comments from a coarse gardener - that is, from someone who is interested and keen (provided it doesn't cost too much or involve too much work), more experienced in failure than success, and occasionally knowledgeable (until the memory fails - I've reached the age when you stand at the top of the stairs and can't remember whether you've just come up or were about to go down). In other words, if it's Alan Titchmarsh you want, don't read this. If it's Charlie Dimmock you want, stand in line. But at least these words should discuss common problems and comfort the gardening reader that there is someone worse than you. One more practical point might be to suggest an informal plant exchange scheme. I don't often buy seeds as, apart from the cost, I usually find that they all fail or, almost worse, too many sprout. I'm then left with 50-200 seedlings of one plant when all I really need is 10 or so (why doesn't someone sell small packets of seeds for, say, 20 to 30 pence?). Also, like many gardeners, I take too many cuttings (I'm too mean to throw away a plant trimming which may turn into a free plant). Of course, I'm not referring to rare, exotic or expensive plants which I don't have anyway. My successful cuttings are only the ones you would have to poison with strychnine to stop rooting, such as geraniums, fuchsias, lavatera or chrysanthemums. So sometimes I have a surplus of seedlings or rooted cuttings. I'm sure many of you are the same. So why not set up an occasional informal trade? If you're prepared to take my spare plants (sometimes of unidentified species or colours), I'm up for a swap. Currently I have a surplus of rather moth-eaten French and pot marigolds which I'll swap for some of your leftovers. Of course, by the time you read this, my marigolds will probably have been long eaten by the slugs and snails! S.
Morris | TOP | Part One Part Two There appear to be two quite different meanings to the word compost (you would think a language as rich as English could afford an extra word). One is the DIY type (I'll write about this later) which is used as a mulch or is dug into the soil. The other is used for seeds and cuttings, goes by names like John Innes 1, 2 or 3 and is so finely mixed (1.234 per cent of nitrogen, 0.5678 per cent of trace elements, etc) that it seems more suitable to the laboratory than the garden. It is also very expensive costing a few pounds for a small bag. If I have a bag of JI, I usually mix it with peat and sifted garden soil to make it last longer. But generally I think JI becomes too compacted for the roots to grow through easily. I prefer a more open structure and I normally use Gro-Bag peat. At less than a pound for a large bag, it seems much better value especially if again mixed with some soil or sharp sand I also like to mix in some vermiculite but I prefer the larger grains of Perlite to the smaller-grained stuff, again to keep the soil open. I have had cuttings which produced a mass of roots growing through Perlite, mixed with only a teaspoon of soil and standing in water. I even crumble up chunks of polystyrene to avoid spending money, but I freely admit that its a bit sad chasing tiny pieces of polystyrene around the greenhouse when it floats away or unpicking bits which become stuck to a woolly jumper. I repeat from my earlier article that the above is not intended as expert advice, more like sad experience. Your reaction may range from "I hadn't thought of that" to "he must be mad to do that". Either way, it's hopefully more entertaining than the adverts. S.
Morris | TOP | |
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COARSE
GARDENING