How about a gardening thread?

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	SOBEIT
	No expert but I have red and white grape vine, four in total. Mine seen to be coming on nicely, have you given them any nutrients. I usually do this at the beginning of March.

Yes, they had a mulch. I think it's more terminal than that.

[SOBEIT]

How long have you had them and did you cut them back?

[Maria80205]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	Are they any grape vine experts on here? One of ours is looking decidedly unhappy. It was doing fine until the cold-snap a couple of weeks ago when temperatures dropped below 0'C and we had snow and then the very small, newly formed leaves are looking very limp and sorry for themselves. The other, whose buds were at a less advanced stage in the cold snap has now got vigorous and normal growth. I've checked the first for disease and infestation but cannot find anything amiss so think it may be that the new buds were damaged by the cold. Questions: Had anyone else experienced this and did the vine recover? Did they do anything to that they know would aid recovery?

I don't have grape vines, but in my understanding is that when they suffer cold damage they can bounce back with time. Here is an article that you might find useful.


http://homeguides.sfgate.com/spring-...ine-87326.html

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	Maria80205
	I don't have grape vines, but in my understanding is that when they suffer cold damage they can bounce back with time. Here is an article that you might find useful. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/spring-...ine-87326.html

The following from your link is what I thunk has happened:

	Quote:
	A Chilling Blast Cold temperatures do not typically damage dormant grapevines. However, late spring frosts may damage buds that have started to open, because this new growth is tender and succulent. Frost causes the tender plant cells to freeze, which ruptures the cell membranes and leaves the cells with an inability to retain liquid. The cells suffer from dehydration, and plant parts die. Leaves, new shoots and cluster primordia may all be affected, and newly forming grapes cannot develop.

I'm hoping the secondary buds come out in a few weeks.

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	SOBEIT
	How long have you had them and did you cut them back?

Four or five years and I prune them correctly.

[pilatus1]

Dead Slug Tally - over 2,000 so far...*

*just for you, kiwigeek

Does anyone know where i find the last average frost date for various towns in switzerland?

[amogles]

Does anybody have experience with fig trees.

We have a fig tree that we grew from a twig that we, er, borrowed, while on holiday down south. It's very easy to do. Just stick the twig in the soil and wait.

The tree grew well and extremely quickly and has been bearing figs for about three years now.

We generally wrap the trunk in winter and place hessian mats on the ground to protect it from frost. The tree has survived well so far. There are also several other fig trees in the neighbourhood so its not such a rare thing.

However, the figs taste awful. I understand there has to be a special wasp that needs to pollinate them so they taste right. The neighbour figs taste right, so they must be getting visits from this wasp. What can we do to make one come to ours?

[Belgianmum]

Are you sure it's the lack of this wasp and not the variety of figs that is making the figs not exactly to your taste? Maybe the climate in Switzerland s not to it's linking?

If it really was only down to this one specific type of wasp ( and I know nothing about that) then surely if it was in the neighbourhood it would visit your tree too. I don't think wasps are too fussy when it comes to choosing which tree to pollinate.

We had a fig tree in the garden of the house we rented here and we got inundated with delicious, tasty figs every year. They were much smaller and tastier ( IMO) than the ones from the neighbour's tree ( about 3m away) which was obviously a different variety of fig.

[Tom1234]

The figs on our tree taste good too. But the tree came from a known source (MIL's garden) so we knew they tasted okay.

When you say they taste awful, is it a bland taste, or something else like a lack of sweetness.

I wonder whether the variety you acquired was on that was actually specially cultivated to be used for dried figs or some other fig use other than directly eating when fresh?

Can I ask what country it was? Was it Croatia or somewhere nearby?

And finally, do you have a photo of one of your figs to aid identification.

[amogles]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	The figs on our tree taste good too. But the tree came from a known source (MIL's garden) so we knew they tasted okay. When you say they taste awful, is it a bland taste, or something else like a lack of sweetness. I wonder whether the variety you acquired was on that was actually specially cultivated to be used for dried figs or some other fig use other than directly eating when fresh? Can I ask what country it was? Was it Croatia or somewhere nearby? And finally, do you have a photo of one of your figs to aid identification.

I'll try and upload a photo later.
The original tree we got the twig from was in Varese.
The taste is rather chewy and stringy. It's not one bit sweet.
You might think they're not ripe, but the colour is already reddish and about half have already fallen off the tree, suggesting the tree must think they're ripe.

[meloncollie]

Back on the subject of nematodes...

I received my nematodes the other day, and then realized I had ordered the slug kind. ( Here: http://shop.biocontrol.ch/WebPortal/...ematoden&ula=1 ) Are there different kinds of nematodes, for different uses?

My primary goal was to combat the white grubs in my planters and veggie bed. Do any of you know if the slug-nematodes will do battle against grubs, or have I just poured CHF 68 down the drain (or watering can in this case...)?

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	meloncollie
	Back on the subject of nematodes... I received my nematodes the other day, and then realized I had ordered the slug kind. ( Here: http://shop.biocontrol.ch/WebPortal/...ematoden&ula=1 ) Are there different kinds of nematodes, for different uses?

Yes.

	Quote:	meloncollie
	My primary goal was to combat the white grubs in my planters and veggie bed. Do any of you know if the slug-nematodes will do battle against grubs

I doubt it. There are thousands of different nematodes - including some that live in humans.

	Quote:	meloncollie
	have I just poured CHF 68 down the drain (or watering can in this case...)?

Your slugs won't be happy.

[JanerMacP]

My husband was clearing out a rose/blackberry patch when he came across a nest with eggs in it. He was wearing gloves and barely touched the nest, didn't touch the eggs, but he did clear some of the branches around it.

Do you think the parents will still come back?

[Medea Fleecestealer]

	Quote:	JanerMacP
	My husband was clearing out a rose/blackberry patch when he came across a nest with eggs in it. He was wearing gloves and barely touched the nest, didn't touch the eggs, but he did clear some of the branches around it. Do you think the parents will still come back?

Yes, they should do. Keep fingers crossed, but parents are pretty persistent when it comes to looking after their little ones.

[JanerMacP]

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? I saw it at the Paracelsus hospital but there is no sign indicating the type. Would love to plant one!

[Belgianmum]

I can't remember the name off the top of my head but we have one in our garden so I can look it up when I get home.

[Tom1234]

It's a Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

We've got one (a small one) in our garden.

Thet grow to about 4m x 4m but you can prune them back hard in early spring to keep them compact.

[JanerMacP]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	It's a Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' We've got one (a small one) in our garden. Thet grow to about 4m x 4m but you can prune them back hard in early spring to keep them compact.

Thank you so much!! Can you tell me are they easily purchased in the garden sections of Coop or Bauhaus? Or would I need to go to a nursery to buy one?

Often called the 'smoke bush'- you might get one in Coop, etc, garden centre- but if you don't they will be available at a specialist garden centre.