In message , K
writes
Anne Jackson writes
The message from "FarmI" ask@itshall be given contains these words:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to notmal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ
despite the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical
that your earthworm population should have settled

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

This seems to be a very different thing than is done here in Aus. Your
May would be equivalent to our October here, yet I've just stewed a batch
for tomorrows breakfast cereal a full 4+ months after you would have
stopped
harvesting. Why isn't it usual to crop for a longer time in the UK?

I had never stopped to think about it, but I suppose that by June other
fruit would be available, and the rhubarb would be getting tough and stringy?

I think in the UK it's usual to crop till mid June. That gives about
three months growth to build up strength for the following year. (And,
of course, by June the strawberries are coming in, making rhubarb seem
less attractive.) Your March is our September - by then, my rhubarb is
no longer pushing out new leaves with any enthusiasm and by October
it's dying down for the winter.

I don't think rhubarb gets tough and stringy, but it is supposed to
build up higher oxalic acid levels, which is not good for the joints.


Mine does get tough and stringy, by about the end of June; the solution
for that problem, I'm told, is to peel the stalks.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:30:32 +0000, K wrote
(in article ):

Sally Thompson writes

Whilst I understand that someone may wish to offer
advice from their own experience although it is advice contrary to the
received wisdom of experts,
Snip

The strength of this group is that people give advice from their own
experience - that enables us, as a group, to push forward our knowledge
beyond the limits of book advice. So if person A quotes the book advice
'this plant needs a damp spot in the shade' and person B says 'I'm
growing it on sand in full sun', a discussion follows to find out what
it is about B's situation that allows the plant to grow somewhere where
the conventional advice says it shouldn't. If it wasn't for this sort
of discussion, we might as well all simply pull out our gardening books
and never talk to another gardener!


Of course, Kay. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.



--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Burne-Jones/William Morris window in Shropshire church:
http://www.whitton-stmarys.org.uk

On 10 Mar, 13:30, K wrote:
The strength of this group is that people give advice from their own
experience - that enables us, as a group, to push forward our knowledge
beyond the limits of book advice. So if person A quotes the book advice
'this plant needs a damp spot in the shade' and person B says 'I'm
growing it on sand in full sun', a discussion follows to find out what
it is about B's situation that allows the plant to grow somewhere where
the conventional advice says it shouldn't. If it wasn't for this sort
of discussion, we might as well all simply pull out our gardening books
and never talk to another gardener!

Thank you Kay for being just and fair, always, and giving advice in a
way everybody understand. I found it more and more difficult to post
to people when someone is right behind me asking me to apologise when
there's really nothing to apologise about but maybe there more to talk
about indeed. It must be in the way I post. They seem to be reading
something different. And there's so much hatred around here at
present that it is not really condusive to what gardening is foremost
about.

And with this I'll go to my lotty now where many are waiting to shift
3 tons of OM. Hoping for the sun to keep shining for us, and
especially where you are Kay.

Sally Thompson writes
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:30:32 +0000, K wrote
(in article ):

Of course, Kay. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.

Oh, I wasn't trying to disagree with you, it was that your post
triggered a thought! :-)


--
Kay

Anne Jackson writes
The message from K contains these words:

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to normal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ despite
the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical that your
earthworm population should have settled

UK earthworms, in NZ? Didn't NZ have its own worm population?

It did and still does.. But that didn't stop us inadvertently
introducing ours as well.

--
Kay

On 10 Mar, 15:23, Jennifer Sparkes wrote:
Perhaps just giving a little more thought to what you write, checking facts
and not trying to answer instantly could help? Researching a subject is a
good way of increasing one's knowledge and getting facts right.
Also being able to accept, with dignity and good grace, the fact that what
you write/say is not always correct. I am not saying every time someone
doesn't agree with you it means you are wrong, just that sometimes there
is more than one answer because gardening in different situations can
mean different answers to the same problem.
The times you are wrong admit it and use it as part of your learning curve.
Remember - thinking before one posts helps ...

Sure. There's personalities as well, clashing badly. Maybe some
sensibilities - I'll do that, I will. And hope that those posting
nasty comments for the sake of it will be pointed out before
I ...well, burst out without thinking. Again.

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
...
The message from K contains these words:

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to normal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of
years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ despite
the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical that your
earthworm population should have settled

UK earthworms, in NZ? Didn't NZ have its own worm population?

One would presume that, in NZ, there would be something that would
predate on the flatworms? The only thing that the Soil Association
labs could find, in this country, that predated on flatworms was
one species of beetle... I'm not great at beetle identification... G

I haven't heard anything about flatworms for some years, do you think they
have all died off?

Alan

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 23:30:26 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:

The message from mewthree contains these words:
La Puce wrote:
On 9 Mar, 14:32, mewthree wrote:
never said anything about a pot. the crown came in a small bag of
what
looks like compost so i dug a hole in the garden and put in the
compost
and put the crown in that.

When you said 'compost' I thought ... But it's great. Don't forget to
feed it and good luck. Made me hungry ;o)

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with
manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening (woman
and child) for over 60 years!

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

Every time I've moved a rhubarb patch (and I try do that every five years
or so), I find that the ground is much improved, compared to what it was
when the rhubarb was planted initially.

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends what
your
soil was like to start with, really.

What about the much recommended dead sheep and old carpet?

What about dead sheep and old carpet?

We don't have too many dead sheep here in Berkshire, but I do have some old
carpet to try to help keep the weeds down.

Alan

On 9 Mar 2007 14:47:11 -0800, "La Puce" wrote:

On 9 Mar, 22:13, "Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)" wrote:
Puce, when someone points out yet another error in your advice please have
the guts to offer an apology.
The group does not need dozy amateurs masquerading as knowledgeable long
term gardeners. Please keep your bad amateur advice to yourself.

Are you sure you are going to call me Puce or are you going to
suddenly revert to calling me bad names?

That's Yorkies for you. They never did get over having thier arses
kicked in the War of the Roses.

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 09:23:31 GMT, Jennifer Sparkes
wrote:

The message
from Martin contains these words:

Huge snip

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets

June Hughes said:-

I thought that was for fig trees?

Rhubarb AFAIR.

Yes it was and IIRC an old leather briefcase was mentioned ...

(Fig trees need restricted root growth.)

and grow well in old leather brief cases? )
I thought it was an old washing machine barrel?
--
June Hughes

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 10:31:39 +0000, June Hughes

wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 09:23:31 GMT, Jennifer Sparkes
wrote:

The message
from Martin contains these words:

Huge snip

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets

June Hughes said:-

I thought that was for fig trees?

Rhubarb AFAIR.

Yes it was and IIRC an old leather briefcase was mentioned ...

(Fig trees need restricted root growth.)

and grow well in old leather brief cases? )

I thought it was an old washing machine barrel?

You need glasses :-)
Tell me about it!
--
June Hughes

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:18:02 +0000, June Hughes

wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:25:23 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:

The message from Martin contains these words:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 23:30:26 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:
The message from mewthree contains these
words:

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground
with manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening
(woman
and child) for over 60 years!

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it
makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

Every time I've moved a rhubarb patch (and I try do that every five
years
or so), I find that the ground is much improved, compared to what it
was
when the rhubarb was planted initially.

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends
what your
soil was like to start with, really.

What about the much recommended dead sheep and old carpet?

I've never had recourse to either...

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets.
I thought that was for fig trees?

Rhubarb AFAIR.

Well as I think I've said in another post, I don't have any dead sheep, but
I will try the carpet, if I can remember!

Alan

In article , Jennifer Sparkes
writes

Also being able to accept, with dignity and good grace, the fact that what
you write/say is not always correct. I am not saying every time someone
doesn't agree with you it means you are wrong, just that sometimes there
is more than one answer because gardening in different situations can
mean different answers to the same problem.

The times you are wrong admit it and use it as part of your learning curve.

Remember - thinking before one posts helps ...

Jennifer


I think the past few years of gardening have made it abundantly clear
that to delve into the "authoritative books" or spout verbatim some
learned tome on horticulture is not always the wisest move.

Even the RHS is now re-considering some of it's teachings to accommodate
global warming. In particular classing some plants as only half hardy in
the UK when many gardeners are not only growing and keeping said plants
but are getting crops from plants such as olives, grapefruit and
bananas!


Not that many years ago it would have been impossible for a book
recommend planting almost full grown shrubs. At least until eh advent
of container growing in the 60's and 70's


The RHS course teaches the basics but then you have to go out and build
on that information by talking and mainly listening to the experienced
gardeners. They will refute some text book stuff and will agree with
other data


Likewise I know a brilliant grower of daffodils and delphiniums but he
hasn't a clue about roses or clematis! So very few people are masters
of all in gardening. Yet some are respected specialists in just one or
two areas.

That's what's so good about gardening, even the beginner, having grown
something, can add to the fund of knowledge with either a success story
or a tale of woe, it doesn't matter, both things benefit the rest of
us.However you need to speak from the heart or from experience , if not
you can sometimes continue a piece of misinformation!


--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 11/3/07 12:54, in article , "Janet Tweedy"
wrote:

snip


I think the past few years of gardening have made it abundantly clear
that to delve into the "authoritative books" or spout verbatim some
learned tome on horticulture is not always the wisest move.

snip

That's what's so good about gardening, even the beginner, having grown
something, can add to the fund of knowledge with either a success story
or a tale of woe, it doesn't matter, both things benefit the rest of
us.However you need to speak from the heart or from experience , if not
you can sometimes continue a piece of misinformation!

Very much so and what an excellent and thoughtful post. Ray, who has been a
nurseryman for 50 years, always says that not everyone can possibly know
everything!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

Very much so and what an excellent and thoughtful post. Ray, who has been a
nurseryman for 50 years, always says that not everyone can possibly know
everything!

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devonhttp://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)


Quite right, and remember that Plants don't read the books so they
don't know how they are supposed to behave.
There is always one that breaks all the rules.

David Hill
Abacus Nurseries