More advice from Tips from the Old Gardeners
Unusual things to help plants grow
Banana skins and dripping: Roses love it if you dig in old banana skins just beneath the surface of the soil around their roots. The skins contain a long list of goodies, phosphates, calcium, sulphur, silica, sodium and magnesium, in which many soils are deficient.
If you're putting in new roses ( don't laugh, this is serious) bury a good wedge of cooking lard beneath the roots. The author's father was addicted to dripping, but if we could prise it away from him, this too went under roses. ( It did the roses a lot more good than it did him, but he didn't see it that way at all.) The roses will show their appreciation when they come into bloom.
Beer: It may be hard to accept, but humans are not the only ones to like beer. Most vegetables appreciate a drop now and again, but it's the brassicas that are the old soaks. Cabbages in particular like to have a regular drink, say once a week. And it's not just cabbages that will make inroads to your beer supplies. It's an excellent liquid food for flowers as well, especially the tall ones such as delphiniums and holly hocks. But at least they can't come rolling home singing rude songs and clinging to the door post.
Milk: When the milk bottle or container is empty fill it with water and shade it up well. You've then got a very mild liquid manure which you can use on your house plants' or on plants and climbers growing against the walls of your house. You won't need to walk far to rinse out the milk bottles and since plants which grow near walls get less moisture than others they'll be grateful to you.
Old Shoes: Leather is full of nutrients and if you've no better use for your old shoes when you've finished with them, strip off any rubber soles, plastic attachments, buckles etc and bury them in the garden to rot down. This will take time. Since it's irritating to keep bringing them to the surface when you're forking the border ( and could be embarrassing if you've just persuaded mother in law to lend a hand in the garden)_ it might be best ot reserve the old boots for the bottom of the hole when you're planting a new tree or large shrub. Once on a time, in fact old hoes were particular recommend as food for peach trees. Lots of food for though. Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
Unusual things to help plants grow
Banana skins and dripping: Roses love it if you dig in old banana skins just beneath the surface of the soil around their roots. The skins contain a long list of goodies, phosphates, calcium, sulphur, silica, sodium and magnesium, in which many soils are deficient.
If you're putting in new roses ( don't laugh, this is serious) bury a good wedge of cooking lard beneath the roots. The author's father was addicted to dripping, but if we could prise it away from him, this too went under roses. ( It did the roses a lot more good than it did him, but he didn't see it that way at all.) The roses will show their appreciation when they come into bloom.
Beer: It may be hard to accept, but humans are not the only ones to like beer. Most vegetables appreciate a drop now and again, but it's the brassicas that are the old soaks. Cabbages in particular like to have a regular drink, say once a week. And it's not just cabbages that will make inroads to your beer supplies. It's an excellent liquid food for flowers as well, especially the tall ones such as delphiniums and holly hocks. But at least they can't come rolling home singing rude songs and clinging to the door post.
Milk: When the milk bottle or container is empty fill it with water and shade it up well. You've then got a very mild liquid manure which you can use on your house plants' or on plants and climbers growing against the walls of your house. You won't need to walk far to rinse out the milk bottles and since plants which grow near walls get less moisture than others they'll be grateful to you.
Old Shoes: Leather is full of nutrients and if you've no better use for your old shoes when you've finished with them, strip off any rubber soles, plastic attachments, buckles etc and bury them in the garden to rot down. This will take time. Since it's irritating to keep bringing them to the surface when you're forking the border ( and could be embarrassing if you've just persuaded mother in law to lend a hand in the garden)_ it might be best ot reserve the old boots for the bottom of the hole when you're planting a new tree or large shrub. Once on a time, in fact old hoes were particular recommend as food for peach trees. Lots of food for though. Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
