Depends on what plants they are infesting. If its something that can survive without water for a while like cacti, pelargoniums etc just stop watering them and the larvae will die. Anything that needs water you need to still water as little as possible.
If you cover the top with sand don't forget they will still try to live in the bottom of the pot too so you will need a dish to put some sand in there too. I have used DE in the past as a barrier and its worked pretty well but again you have to reapply when wet.
Adding neem to water can also help kill the larvae too.
You can buy fungus gnat nematodes they are really effective but expensive.
In any situation you have to make sure you get every single pot or you might find the problem doesn't go away.
Good luck
I know someone who claims to have success with using salt petre too. Have not done it myself, but appeared to work for them anyway.
If you are growing azaleas, blueberry and camellias in the soil they are classic acid loving plants, that suggests to me you definitely have acidic soil. Camellias I think you can get away with something slightly less acid but the other two are more acid especially the blueberries. If you want to grow something things that are not so acid loving buying a bag of hydrated lime would be best to amend it. I would still get a ph test though so you can work out how much you might need. If your soil is very sandy it might be a good idea to get some clay in your soil too while your at it.
I have a slightly acidic soil here but I have to grow blueberries in pots with an ericaceous acid soil because I am nowhere the ph range needed (they need about 5.5 or lower).
Have you done a Ph test too? Perhaps its very acid because I think I see a lot of pine in the background and there seems to be a lot of needles around. Apparently club root is reduced by liming too, so that might also suggest you soil is quite acid:ttps://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=128
Araucaria araucana- yes it can be a long wait but someone has to plant it. With some of the nuts you have ruled out there are varieties that are better for cool climates like England, e.g I have a robijn almond tree that has produced quite well but I guess if you are at 57N it might be a bit too far for them. Perhaps more named varieties of Hazel as Cobnuts and Filberts?
I have some Macqui berry plants for sale, I was going to sell them on Ebay but thought I would offer them on here for cheap first. They are grown from seed and they are either in there second or third year by now. I have planted some in the ground for over a year now and have found when small all of them have survived here rather well.
Interestingly one of the comments on pfaf is: 'I have found this plant not only to self-fertile but very hardy. It self-seeds readily and the birds love the fruit.'
£3.50 a plant (plus whatever the postage will be)
If you are interested leave a message for now, I just wanted to post here to gauge interest before working out how to sell on here!
If you hack it right back it will probably reappear anyway. At one of the houses I work at there was a big wisteria taken down a year or two before I started working there, I have been working there for 4 years now. Last summer there was still a new shoot trying to make an appearance.
Vikings have quite a wide geographical are in a quite a long span of time too, so its not too definative anyway.
You could always spell his name in runes too.
This is a little unrelated as its early Anglo Saxon from my hometown: But they were not radically different people they even used runes and had similar if not the same gods. Thats why the English days of the week are mostly named after the 'Norse' gods.
greg mosser wrote:i worked for a guy with 60 year old orchards in vermont a couple decades ago. he wasn’t doing a whole lot to ‘re-stock’ whatever might be depleted in his soil, but his apples were great, especially in the first month after they were picked.
When you consider that was a couple of decades ago planted 60 years ago thats technology from 80 years ago! The new style of commercial orchard is different, perhaps he could get away with not restocking because the trees were bigger and had larger roots to pull in what they need from further away or even via fungal networks. The modern way is to grow very dwarfing trees very close together then spray fungicides, pesticides and then glyphosate to keep the grass down. Doesn't sound to me like it would improve the flavour.
The flesh inside like its parent Discovery turns pink with the more sun it recieves but Red Devil can turn almost entirely pink. Tastes good too and not being as early as Discovery I guess it should store better....but mine dont last long enough for me to find out!
In the U.K we are meant to have about 2000 named cultivars which is a fairly large chunk of the 7500 named cultivars in the world. I would assume that's more than anywhere else in the world, yet like everywhere else we about 5 or 6 varieties in the supermarket at best.
When people refer to apples as only 'red apple' or 'green apple' I usually have to bite my tongue.....a lot.
I will post some more interesting ones when I find my pomonas but I might have lent them to someone.
I have been using this website for around 3 years now. I am receiving between 5-10% interest from the projects I have selected to invest in. It’s all run for me via an Innovate Finance ISA so its tax free income and you can transfer your existing ISA to this one if needed.
I am on course to receive: £926.88 from projects for the last year. From the bank I would have got about £20, next year I doubt I will get that.
There are a range of projects all with ecology and ethics in mind. I have made money from investments to burn plastic waste while generating electricity, anerobic digestion and greener affordable housing.
The interest rate is based on the perceived risk of the project. Looking at the marketplace there only appears to be one project at the moment that is performing badly. Obviously it is up to you wether you want to risk your money or not.
You can cash out early using the marketplace if you wish. People bid on your debentures and in my case I still made a profit selling early as others bid the price up.
The only current drawback is the lack of projects. Hopefully as the website gets more popular they can source them more quickly.
I thought I would start a thread for investing here as Paul’s podcast that actually spurred me to look for alternatives a few years ago.
Interest rates at the bank are almost universally nothing now and while your money might be relatively safe there for now you will be losing money to inflation. Not to mention you tend to be ‘feeding the monster’ as they can invest in ‘morally dubious’ investments.
Obviously the posts here are my experiences and I am not a financial advisor so use your brain. Keep some money for a rainy day, invest in plants, trees etc first and once you have more money you can consider these ideas:
Bullion by Post
I have been buying some precious metals from this company and I have been rather impressed with their service to date. Despite them stating they are in high demand and there could be a delay the packages have been arriving extremely quickly usually the next day. They have a live spot price relative to the item you will by so you can take advantage of any falls in prices as soon as they occur and then they are locked at that price when you buy. Also you can sell back to them with a relatively low commission however I have not used this to date.
With potential just now for negative inflation with a no deal Brexit or just inflation from current economic stimulus metals seem a good bet for preserving wealth.
I have a referral code for you to get a free fine silver Britannia coin with your first order over £250. This is the same referral scheme that used when I placed my first order so I can assure you it works. When you place an order I will get a coin too and once you have an account you can set up your own referral system too.
Here is the code to enter at the checkout if you are interested:
I am in the U.K and have bought seeds from outside the E.U they get through just fine with a full customs decleration so in the long term I cant imagine it being any different. In the short term there will be an issue as everyone will try to get things in or out of ports before Brexit due to avoiding potential tarrifs paperwork etc. The only thing after might be buying things that have soil or are tubers I have never ordered anything like that from outside the E.U as I dont see that getting through due to disease, pests etc.
A lot of plants sold here are grown in the Netherlands so maybe there will be a plant shortage if they don't sort something out quickly.
Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Interesting to see avocados can grow even as far North as Brittany. But I am even a little more to the North. I keep my avocado indoors (already for about 5 years).
Lew Johnson wrote:
The red flowering plant is a Japanese quince. It is mostly an ornamental, but it does produce fruit. I haven't yet tried doing anything with the quinces, they're inedible without processing.
I freeze mine then squeeze them apparently they have 4x the amount of vit C than lemons (so very good if you get sick) tastes somewhat similar to lemon too. Would be interested to know what the Japanese do with them though.
Assuming it is staph be careful when you wash yourself, it started on my head and spread to a few other areas lower down persumably when I showered. Also get a covering on it to stop it spreading too. I didn't try some things suggested like honey, berberine etc because I simply didnt have any, so they might be worth a go if you have to wait for the doctor.
Go to the doctor it looks similar to the staph infection I got from my daughter scratching me after going on a slide. I used a lot of herbal approaches but the fucidin they gave me still worked fastest. Though if you have some tea tree oil available I would use that on it in the short term.
Milk Thistle , Berberine rich plants: Oregon Grape, Japanese barberry. Burdock, Dandelion, Cleavers, Chichory, There is more but that all I can think of off the top of my head.
The auracarias are looking great. Rather jealous! Lots of other plants from South America you can try as you only get -5C and of course if you have the space!
Is it a named cultivar or not? Personally I wouldnt bother growing the normal version as the fruits are small almost inedible and are difficult to remove from the plant. I leave my normal ones for the birds but they dont even seem to eat many of them, so I will take them out eventually and replace them with the cultivated suckers.
If its a named cultivar it can tell you if its male or female.
I don't know much about animal bedding so feel free to disregard this idea but could leaves be an alternative? Obviously not something sharp like holly or toxic but deciduous leaves perhaps linden, beech or oak that are mostly brown by now so the animals dont eat them. Regardless they make a good mulch, after a dodgy bag of compost (like Charles Dowding highlights) I am wary to bring many external inputs into my garden.
paul wheaton wrote:I think you are saying that it could be a gift to your clients?
Yes, infact I encouraged them to pass it on too. So they said they would send it to their relatives in South Africa after. I have given some more to other local businesses aswell for example a local cider maker and a local builder.
I have given mine to my gardening customers, my local farm, my family I was also planning to send some to the local government people (ideally one each but i dont think i have enough now).
I will be brief as my keyboard has died and writing on the on screen one isn't fun. Charli Wilson gets a choice of the book in physical/audio/ebook format and Inge can have a code for either audio/ebook. Thanks for all your posts more information on the next stage when i don't have to type with a mouse!
I say screw the conventional advice on this one, when it comes to rasberrries I tell all my customers 'if it's brown cut it down'. Eventually you will work out which ones are dead by looking at them but they tend to be old brown and woody the whole stem is dead so it all comes out. That way you dont accidently cut the summer fruiting ones and I seem to get a longer more spread out season with the autumn ones if they are left alone.
Leaves - cooked[46, 61, 105, 177]. Of excellent quality, they are a spinach substitute[74]. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder and used with wheat or other cereals in making bread etc. The seed is small and fiddly, about 1.5mm in diameter[266], it should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins.
Henry Jabel wrote:Most modern ones dont last longer than 3-4 years.
That's bad news.
I've never had a kettle last less than 8 years. This one lasted 9 but it burnt me yesterday when the handle got hot and melted a bit.
Go buy something from late mid to late 90's at the latest then (pre everything being made in China), you can still find them on Ebay. Infact thanks to you I searched and have a replacement heating element for my kettle! It is an impossible task to replace them in a modern kettle and yet these old kettles achieved it with a few screws and a few minutes of your time. You have to love the idea of progress and simply chucking the whole item away instead.
Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:. . . Do the 'youth hostels' also allow guests . . . who are not 'youth' anymore? . . .
Yes (except in Bavaria), as long as you think “young” You get 10% off web bookings if you are a member. The selection and availability of YHs is poor because of COVID at present. Look on www.yha.org.uk.
Yeah they do indeed cater for all ages and the reason why they were good is they were used to have a stock of fairly unusual old buildings (though sadly this was starting to change when I left). So I guess with covid all the interesting ones are closed, because its hard to socially distance on a wonky 17th century staircase that can only take one person at a time.
Compared to the Netherlands it's not good and the new cycle paths they have tried to put in are mostly inadequate. However its not all bad you can cycle on bridleways (basic roads where cars are not allowed) and you can still find quiet roads in the countryside. Just avoid rush hour times if you can, outside the commuters rushing around in thier expensive cars most people drive fairly sensibly.
For camping try searching on Couchsurfing website (we have had people here for that -so your welcome to come here in Broadway too!) also some youth hostels like the yha where I worked had a camping option (you just needed to call them because it wasnt always 'officially advertised').
Stroud in Gloucestershire is another town to add to the list. Lots of environmental/organic activism there the uk biodynamic association is based there is a permaculture LAND site in the town.
East Meon in Hampshire has the sustainability centre which was set up by Maddie Harland who also started Permaculture Magazine:
So I have decided I will be ending this round of the competition after a month. So after 8th Oct there will be a winner. After that there will be a new prize so keep posting new and interesting threads!
Nicole Alderman wrote:
Am I right in assuming that it's not just posts in this thread, but also new threads (and posts in other threads) in this forum, right?
Yes as the idea is to make this part of Permies better not just this thread. From an analytics point of view U.K and Ireland I would assume would be pretty high after the U.S perhaps even second? But because this sub forum was added not long ago it kind of gets ignored, and then no one posts in a quiet forum beacsuse they want there post read... and so this continues... ad infinitum. So it's an effort to try to change that.
Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Is it only for people living in the UK / Ireland?
(you know, we here in the Netherlands love free stuff ... )
No its for anyone if its a digital give away (I am contemplating tangible items if this goes well). Just post it in this forum. Lets just point out the idea is to promote more discussion and eyeballs to this forum. So as of writing this, just posting a new thread would put you in the lead! Climate is similar to the Netherlands and the lattitude can be the same so you have an advantage for discussion there Inge.
In an effort to get some more posts and conversation going here I am going to give away some stuff to the best post in this U.K and Ireland forum. To kick us off will be a free gift code for the 'Building a Better World in Your Backyard - instead of being angry at bad guys eBook'
Rules:
My decision is final -Its my competition!
The closing date will be when I remember to close it.
You get 10% off web bookings if you are a member. The selection and availability of YHs is poor because of COVID at present. Look on www.yha.org.uk.