Prize draw - Top tips

From: Owner (Mon 25th Apr 2011 at 02:58)

Winner selected - Susan Ward
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From: Susan Ward (Tue 15th Feb 2011 at 08:50)

To stop cats scratching out your newly planted annuals, scatter chopped up citrus peel eg orange, grapefruit around the plants.

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From: Barbara Scott (Sun 25th Apr 2010 at 12:36)

Don't buy pots and containers for home growing. Save up all your old yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, ready-meal trays & the plastic boxes you get at the deli for seed planting.

From: janet clegg (Thu 15th Apr 2010 at 19:52)

Put moth balls on your garden to keep cats away.

From: Owner (Mon 1st Mar 2010 at 15:01)

Winner selected - Sandra Smith
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From: susan c (Mon 15th Feb 2010 at 11:56)

keep old tights stocking that are ruined,cut then into strips theses can then be used as plant ties.. or supports for heavier items like melons ect.

From: Pamela Wilkin (Sun 17th Jan 2010 at 20:09)

Sprinkle a circle of potash from the fire around fruit trees and other plants in order to deter slugs and improve the soil.

From: Sandra Smith (Wed 13th Jan 2010 at 16:01)

Save money on seed and plant labels by cutting up plastic milk bottles. Each one easilly makes a few labels and I just cut them with a point at one end so they go into the soil easilly.

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From: Vicki (Thu 5th Nov 2009 at 11:29)

When growing your tomatoes in grow bags add extra holes at the front of the bags. Plant a empty flower pot into the hole - right down! When watering water into the flower pot - it's excellent for draining and it makes sure the water gets right into the soil!

From: neale manley (Thu 8th Oct 2009 at 21:02)

To clear slugs, find an aerosol lid, fill it with beer(lager will do) and put on the ground in the area of where the slugs have been. In the morning you will find loads of them around the lid and you can clear them from there

From: barry graham (Thu 24th Sep 2009 at 19:58)

Collect the dry seeds as plants are dying off for next year. Store and label in a dry place

From: Mary Bailey (Thu 24th Sep 2009 at 07:56)

Save your used tea bags - they make great compost for growing seedlings - especially if you put them in old egg cartons.

From: Owner - Lisa (Sun 20th Sep 2009 at 22:44)

Winner selected - Carla
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From: susan (Wed 2nd Sep 2009 at 20:33)

if you havent got any weedkiller use vinegar it works very well on a lot of weeds,( not all)and the soil returns to its normal ph balance in days..if weeds are in the lawn paint the weed with vinegar rather then spraying,cheap tip use any cheap wine to make your own vinegar.

From: Emily Hutchinson (Mon 31st Aug 2009 at 13:02)

Beer traps work very well for getting rid of slugs without having to use slug pellets that can be harmful to pets and children, but it can end up being expensive and some may say, a waste of good beer! A cheap alternative is to mix a teaspoon of powdered yeast, a teaspoon of sugar into some water and use that instead. The slugs think it's as good as beer and it costs very little.

From: yvonne parsons (Sun 30th Aug 2009 at 09:19)

start seedlings off indoors and then put them in the garden cheaper way for great plants

From: bella smyth (Sat 1st Aug 2009 at 15:52)

make cheap collers for cabbages ect by getting a lt bottle and cutting it in to rings then but then around the stem,will keep in place and stop the slugs eating them

From: REX (Tue 28th Jul 2009 at 17:09)

WHEN YOU GROW IN POTS ITS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT SOME SELF ADHISIVE COPPER TAPE AROUND THE TOP TO KEEP SLUGS AWAY AFTER A WHILE WHEN ITS WEATHERD IT LOOKS QUITE NICE.
KEEP THE POTS AWAY FROM ANYTHING THAT MAY ALLOW THE SLUGS TO SLITHER ACROSS TO THE PLANTS.I USED TO USE BEER IN NOODLE POTS SUNK INTO THE GROUND, BUT I'VE FOUND A BETTER USE FOR THE BEER I DRINK IT.
HAVE JOY IN GARDENING AND PLEASURE IN WHAT IT PRODUCES.

From: bella smyth (Thu 28th May 2009 at 23:05)

save egg shells and crush them up and place around veg/flowers to keep the slugs off as they dont like the feel of it as its sharp

From: Carla (Thu 28th May 2009 at 22:15)

To help children get into gardening, buy them a cheap packet of seeds and cut in half a squash or pop bottle so it makes a mini greenhouse. Let them paint the outside and then plant their seeds in their own mini indoor greenhouse. It will keep them amused for ages and when it grows too big for the greenhouse they will be able to plant it in the garden.

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From: Kerrie Morley (Thu 28th May 2009 at 13:56)

put old broken mugs/plates/bowles in the bottom of a plant pots, this is excellent for drainage

From: julie (Thu 28th May 2009 at 10:44)

to keep cats out of your garden fill up a few bottles with water and place in your flower beds on their side,I think its the reflections that scare the cats off.

From: Beverley (Thu 28th May 2009 at 08:54)

Lay old carpet on your vegetable patch. Cut holes in it to accommodate plants. You want the holes wide enough so they don't touch the stem of the plant and encourage rotting, and with enough room to get a scalpel in to widen the hole as the stem thickens.

The carpet works wonders for keeping down weeds, retaining moisture to the earth and discouraging slugs, who hate the feel of it. Old scraps of carpet can usually be obtained via your local Freecycle, so you're helping save the planets as well as some backbreaking weed pulling!

From: OWNER - Lisa (Thu 14th May 2009 at 16:47)

Winner selected - Jill Osborne
A �10 voucher is on its way to you !
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From: john henderson (Thu 26th Feb 2009 at 15:58)

TO PREVENT CARROT FLY PLACE MOTH BALLS BETWEEN THE DRILLS SPACE BETWEEN MOTH BALLS APPROX 12 INCHES.ALSO ALTERNATE CARROT AND ONION DRILLS.

From: Jacqueline Edwards (Mon 9th Feb 2009 at 19:25)

Apparently if you put porridge around your Plants slugs will eat the porridge which they love rather than your fruit, veg and flowers which you love.
SunShine Smiles to All creatures Great and Small :))
HaPpY PlantinG !! :))

From: Sarah Jones (Fri 6th Feb 2009 at 07:26)

Encourage your young children to get involved with growing vegetables...they are more inclined to taste (and eat) them if they have helped to grow them!

From: Diane Jackson (Fri 30th Jan 2009 at 00:40)

Swap seeds with your mates to save money.

From: janet clegg (Mon 26th Jan 2009 at 20:33)

On hot days water the bottom of the greenhouse to keep it cool. Saves watering the plants in the mid day sun

From: Sue Goodwin (Mon 26th Jan 2009 at 16:09)

To avoid cabbage root fly, use old carpet cut in circles approx 6" diameter make a large enough hole for you plant in the centre of the circle shaped carpet, this will stop the fly laying eggs close to the cabbage plant and thus prevent the root being eaten away.

From: James Holyland (Sun 25th Jan 2009 at 20:30)

awesome

From: Dorothy McKenna (Sun 18th Jan 2009 at 17:31)

After grandson's sunflowers had died back I left some of the seeds on the soil & covered them up to see if any of them come through in the spring(watch this space) the rest were put with other bits & bobs to make homemade fat balls for our feathered friends to eat.

From: shamshad (Thu 15th Jan 2009 at 19:57)

When planting trees in a garden think of the long-term effects, not only to you but your neighbours. Trees may look sweet and elegant in early years but they can turn into sunlight-blocking demons in years to come, and are often very costly to remove.

From: Gerri Tennant (Wed 14th Jan 2009 at 14:41)

Use strips cut from old tights as garden ties. They are soft, they stretch their free and they're easily stored.

From: Jill Harris (Wed 14th Jan 2009 at 08:59)

keep your old nerwspapers for lining rows between your beans

From: Lynne Collins (Tue 13th Jan 2009 at 18:48)

grow veg.among your flowers in the garden,they not only look pretty and different you also have the pleasure of eating them!

From: Jill Osborne (Sat 10th Jan 2009 at 18:28)

Instead of a kneeling mat I use a pair of my son's old skateboarding knee pads. Unlike mats, they don't get left behind, and they prevent bruised knees when kneeling on gravel paths.

*** Winning Garden Tip *** congratulations Your �10 voucher is on its way to you

From: beata dukarska (Sat 10th Jan 2009 at 14:47)

thank you

From: Ian (irty) (Fri 9th Jan 2009 at 04:50)

If you can manage it, 15 - 30 minutes a day is a better prospect than 2-3 hours at a time in the garden.
I'm also collecting my friends' and neighbours' compostable waste (those who don't have gardens) to boost my compost heap.

From: Jean Hand (Thu 8th Jan 2009 at 13:54)

I save my toilet roll tubes for sowing runner beans,cucumbers,melons and all plants that dont like their roots disturbed then just plant out in the tube when big enough. doing my bit for enviroment

From: Barbara (Sat 3rd Jan 2009 at 10:45)

Don�t make the mistake of waiting until the weeds are established before taking action or you will spend wasted hours of pulling and hoeing in a vain attempt to catch up with overgrown weeds. Know the enemy! Being able to identify your weeds from the moment they germinate will enable you to eliminate them when they are young and easier to control. At that time a light cultivation of the soil�s crust is sufficient to kill most sprouting weeds.

From: k hanmer (Sat 3rd Jan 2009 at 09:20)

situate your compost heap in a secluded part of the garden and give it a free nitrogen boost whenever you are outside and need a pee

From: jamie green (Thu 25th Dec 2008 at 20:20)

when you are doing any digging and you come across worms put them in a small container and transfer them to the compost heap also add any tea leaves from tea bags and coffee grinds as its a real booster

From: Lisa - Owner of site (Fri 12th Dec 2008 at 23:33)

Come on folks ....
Any tips on how to deal with weeds,
tips for sowing seeds, Tips for dealing with moss in the lawn - Any garden tip acceptable !