How about a gardening thread?

[curley]

The first of my tomatoes turned red today.

[DantesDame]

	Quote:	curley
	The first of my tomatoes turned red today.

Jealous.

My husband's Great Tomato Experiment is not going well... I think that he over-pruned the plants, as they are all short and bushy. Oh well - he's the one who likes to eat tomatoes.

Meanwhile, my vine crops are coming in nicely!

This year is a superduper gardening year, I have already planted/sowed most of the 2nd vegetables. The first harvest has been either prepped for the freezer or dehydrated or turned into a preserve.

I finally got hubby to agree that we really needed a 2nd freezer, just a small one mind, but at last I have got more space to store the prepared vegetables.

Also created a few new things, fennel stalk pickles and beer radishes in a beer/vinegar/sugar and spices brine. YUMMY!! And the chive capers have turned out edible too, and the more sweeter brine was favoured ( I made two to test which one suits the chives and our palates)

[meloncollie]

	Quote:	EastEnders
	And the chive capers have turned out edible too, and the more sweeter brine was favoured ( I made two to test which one suits the chives and our palates)

Oooooo, sounds interesting. And yummy.

Might I be so bold as to ask you to share the recipe?

(Staring at a patch of chives that keeps on giving, and a full-to-the-brim freezer, and wondering what else to do with them...)

[DantesDame]

I am loving my volunteer sunflower forest this year



Earlier I saw a European Goldfinch (no photo, but this is what it looked like:


Today I saw the same (?) bird who was being harassed to feed her two chicks that chirped noisily nearby. Very cool!

[omtatsat]

Whats this plant called?

[Belgianmum]

Morning glory or ipomoea to give it it’s botanical name. It’s part of the convolvulus family.

	Quote:	omtatsat
	Whats this plant called? Attachment 139996

Trichterwinde or Prunkwinde this is

Here's a Wiki

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea

...and a few months later hard work, but oh so well worth it!!

Some impressions of some of the produce and blooms in my very own paradise!

[omtatsat]

Whats wrong with my lawn? Just cut it yesterday and now it looks so patchy. Is it possible that the hand lawnmower is the problem or something else?

[Tar_Vol]

Has anyone been successful with planting a fall garden? What types of produce did you plant? Looks like maybe carrots, lettuce, broccoli and spinach might be options?

We moved in early June this year so I had to forgo the spring and summer planting season and I'm itching to try and grow something before the frost comes!

	Quote:	Tar_Vol
	Has anyone been successful with planting a fall garden? What types of produce did you plant? Looks like maybe carrots, lettuce, broccoli and spinach might be options? We moved in early June this year so I had to forgo the spring and summer planting season and I'm itching to try and grow something before the frost comes!

Of course you can!! I am gardening all year round and harvest stuff even in deepest winter.

Will you have high rise beds or plant into the ground?

The high rise beds are a tad better because the frost is not getting to the produce due to them being almost 1m above ground.

I for one, just sowed green beans again on one of the now emptied beds.

Good for this time of year for a quick harvest (vegetation period 1-2 month) are any kind of leafy green salads (bought as seedlings!), radishes and rucola.

Then there are the winterveges and salads with a vegetation period of 3-4 months until harvest.

Here's a list of a few, hardy plants, that aren't bothered by frost or snow and you should get the seedlings easily in any bigger garden center.

Sugarloaf salad (Zuckerhutsalat), celeriac, spinach, lambs salad (Nüssler), savoy cabbage and green kale, winter leeks ( Winterlauch).

In fact for a few things like spinach (winterspinat), lambs salad and leeks I'll wait until september to sow ( salad and spinach) resp. plant the seedlings (leeks).

[Tar_Vol]

Thanks for your response! Now I'm even more excited. Must take deep breaths and plant with a plan...

The plan is to plant directly into the ground for now and see how it goes. Fingers crossed!

[curley]

	Quote:	EastEnders
	..... Sugarloaf salad (Zuckerhutsalat), celeriac, spinach, lambs salad (Nüssler), savoy cabbage and green kale, winter leeks ( Winterlauch).....

Is Nüssler what we call Nüsslisalat?
I really want to plant that this winter but don't have a clue about it. Can I buy this as little plants or do I have to use seeds?
And can I harvest it like "Zupfsalat" or am I gonna eat once and that's it?
And when do they have to be planted? My salad and tomatoes are still producing and I only have that one little patch.

	Quote:	curley
	Is Nüssler what we call Nüsslisalat? I really want to plant that this winter but don't have a clue about it. Can I buy this as little plants or do I have to use seeds? And can I harvest it like "Zupfsalat" or am I gonna eat once and that's it?

Oopps, I am sorry, didn't see that question.
Yep Nüssler is what you call Nüsslisalat.

It is hardy and withstands minus temps too. Best to sow now and thin out when the seedlings show.

It is not the same like Zupf-, or Schnittsalat, with Nüssler you harvest the entire 'Rosette'.

We're blessed (or damned) with a mole cricket in our lawn. First ever.....

I am inclined to let it live, since it also devours slugs and their eggs. However, the area where it tunnels its burrow(s) , looks like an Emmental cheese.

Has any of you fellow gardeners any experience with it, and what did YOU do?

TIA

EE

[JackieH]

we have had a lot this year, but down at the bottom in the orchard where the grass is longer. We let them be and enjoy their company- as with any wildlife.

[Blueangel]

	Quote:	EastEnders
	We're blessed (or damned) with a mole cricket in our lawn. First ever.....

In the early hours of Friday morning, I spotted a hedgehog / Igel in our garden snuffling along the hedgeline for grubs. It's the first one I've seen in Switzerland and was huge, quite considerably bigger than ones I saw in the UK. I've put shallow trays of water out for it, but no food as it appears to be doing well enough on that score, and it's returned to the garden the last 2 nights.

With our crops almost finished now, I was wondering if anyone is planting winter crops or something that will feed wildlife over the colder months?

[JackieH]

We are a bit late up here in t'mountains - my first tomatoe yesterday - yellow, and delicious. Tons of autumn raspberries at the mo, huge and so tasty. Leeks planted last month (a tray going cheap at Landi) are doing well- they will be eaten small and young when frosts start. Jerusalem artichokes plants are 2m tall, and not yet in flower.


I love to see the sedums (I have about 10 plants, some with red stems) absolutely covered with bees at the mo, and the phlox with lots of more sphynx moth- like little humming birds. Happy to send a few roots of either to anyone who would love some to help the bees.


Spent the day poo picking yesterday- thick layer in each of the 9 compost bins, and the rest along the limestone wall where so many trees grow (one of our neighbours keeps her 2 horses on our wild U shaped meadow at back and side of the house).


I am so happy you have a hedgehog- do you have space to construct a winter shelter for it in a corner? Leaves and a little teepee of branches, covered with more leaves? What a glorious time of the year.

	Quote:	Blueangel
	In the early hours of Friday morning, I spotted a hedgehog / Igel in our garden snuffling along the hedgeline for grubs. It's the first one I've seen in Switzerland and was huge, quite considerably bigger than ones I saw in the UK. I've put shallow trays of water out for it, but no food as it appears to be doing well enough on that score, and it's returned to the garden the last 2 nights. With our crops almost finished now, I was wondering if anyone is planting winter crops or something that will feed wildlife over the colder months?

We've hedhehogs too, 1 big and one less so, (perhaps parent and child) and this might be he other reason for the 'holey' lawn . This year we've more slugs overall and hedgehogs feast on them.
I put branches & twigs as well as the raked leaves on the bottom
of our garden, where there is a small slope, for the hedgehogs to hide underneath. All year round several shallow dishes with pebbles & birdbaths are dotted throughout the garden for Hedgehogs, birds, insects and other critters.


The only additional thing I set out during winter are birdfeeders, I made some out of chicken wire and hang them onto branches of the trees and bushes.

This is my 2nd year 'properly gardening' here and from zero birds and wildlife, my hard work paid off with attracting a fat lot of wildlife now, now only lizards and slow worms are missing and then I have the same again here as I had(attracted over 20yrs) in my old home

Alas, the neighbours cats had to look for a new privvy and hunting grounds

Queen Lizzie watches over her realm and protects the wildlife