Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I'll have to try the comfrey tea. I usually make a nettle tea, mainly because we have patches of nettles in odd corners. I leave it for about a week - it smells aweful, but does seem to make a good fertiliser. Jo , yarrow wrote: > > I make tea for plants, not for me, with the comfrey. The new leaves, > especially, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. One of my plants had 70 > or so flowering stems, so I remove them after they've flowered, put > them in a bucket, fill with water, cover, and let it all ferment for > a week. > > Last year was the first time I grew some tomatoes from seed. I used > wintersowing -- instead of fluorescent lights indoors, I put the pots > in little " greenhouses " made from plastic punnets. But I still bought > most of my seedlings. (The wintersowing website gives all the details > about the method and also offers free seeds.) > > I haven't used peat pots, but have heard that some people have > trouble keeping them moist enough. Last year I used my own sifted > compost, which worked ok for some seeds, but got too many weeds. > Tomato seeds from the compost germinated better than some of the ones > I'd planted. This year I bought potting soil to start the seeds. > > I've used larger sheets of bubble wrap (attached with clothespins) to > protect tomato seedlings once they outgrow the walls-o-water (water > tubes that surround the plant). We get a strong afternoon wind here, > so even when it doesn't get below freezing, the wind chill can harm > the plants until about the end of April, even if they look big and > strong. For the bubblewrap greenhouse, I put my flats of seedpots in > a tomato cage laid horizontally (like a small hoop house), and > attached bubble wrap over the top and ends of the cage. Once the > seeds are up, I'll have to get over to the garden every day to make > sure the plants get some air. I guess it would take a lot less time > to just buy seedlings, but I wouldn't be able to find most of these. > I love having orange, black, green, purple, yellow, and red tomatoes > in different sizes! > > > > At 8:06 PM -0700 3/16/09, arborhall wrote: > I didn't have any luck with blueberries either, and oddly they > normally grow quite well here. I bought 4 and one survived, which I > transplanted into a pot and put on the deck. It's been alive for > years, never gets taller than 8 " and produces about 4 berries a year. > Not what I had in mind. It wasn't suppose to be a dwarf patio > variety! Maybe I should sell it as a " bonsai. " : ) > > My fennel is a bronze variety as well, and it's struggling. I put it > under cover during the winter, in the barn. I think I might have > taken it out too soon, we were fooled by a few nice weeks and now > it's back to icy cold wind and rain. I've never grown comfrey for > tea, it is easy to prepare for tea? I also saved tomato seeds, but > I'm not sure if I will try to grown them or just buy the already > established ones. There is a local farm market a mile from here and > they always have inexpensive heirloom ones in. Last year I got a > purple / black skinned variety there, it was very interesting. > > That's an ambitious garden you are planning. I need to probably hire > someone with a tiller since my raised beds are too small for all that > I'd like to try growing. > > I forgot I have some lavender too. I had two ornamental Spanish and > one French. I really like the looks of the Spanish variety, I have > one called Willowlake, and off the top of my head I can't remember > the white one's name, I think it's called Madrid. > Blackberries (the wild native and non native) are weeds in this area. > We have some thorned ones that take over the property line on one > side. Every summer I make the most decadent blackberry cobblers. I > just wish they didn't have those thorns! > > What do you think of those little peat pots that come in a container > with a plastic lid (I think there is one with 36 little peat discs in > it for $6 at the store). I was thinking of buying that to attempt to > start my own seeds. Do those work? If not, how do you use bubble > wrap? I certainly have enough of that around. > > Thanks! You are sure making me wish it was summer already (my > favorite time of year). Currently my narcissus are blooming and the > grape hyacinth think it's spring. Some of the daffodils are also up! > > Ann > > > > <yarrowyarrow > Monday, March 16, 2009 7:09 PM > > herbs, was Re:noobie > > I love growing herbs too! I'm in the SF Bay Area, and everything > stays outside. The only ones that mind the cold are the lemongrass > (it's been under a cloche, and I hope the green I saw there the other > day is lemongrass, not weeds), some of the rose/scented geraniums, > and some aloes. > > The oregano is almost ready to harvest. I cut it back last spring > just before it bloomed, and it stayed a more manageable size. Sadly, > I didn't use the dried oregano because I had fresh. In the past week > I've picked celery, russian kale, mache, and kohlrabi. I also have > garlic chives, scallions, thymes, lavender, marjoram, mints, lemon > balm, plantain, borage, and bronze fennel (grows like a weed here). I > grew dill from seed one year -- very easy. I grow comfrey so that I > can make tea for my plants. And this winter I've had a great crop of > stinging nettles. > > This week I finally planted my tomato and pepper seeds -- 42 > varieties of tomato and 6 pepper -- and built a bubblewrap greenhouse > around them. Most of the peppers are hot and ornamental, so I can > tuck them in among the echinaceas or put them in gallon pots. I have > room for (at most) 20 tomato plants, so I hope to give a lot away -- > I planted that many partly to test germination of the seeds I saved. > Later in the season I'll plant cucumbers, squash, beans, and maybe > carrots. Oh, and I planted walla walla (sweet) onions and garlic a > few months ago, and I have some huge (8 ft.) perennial kales, > artichokes, and lots of flowers. > > I planted a thornless blackberry 2 years ago. Last summer was the > first crop -- lots of berries, once I covered it with netting to keep > the birds from pooping on and tasting the berries. I still need to > build a better trellis. I planted a couple of year-old blueberries > last year, but they didn't survive. I also have raspberries, > strawberries, and red currants. Since it's a community garden, I > can't plant any fruit trees. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I had my first big crop of nettles this winter, so I've made nettle tea (to drink) as well as lovely green nettle muffins, and put the leftovers into a bucket (with alfalfa and cornmeal) to ferment and then feed the plants. At 7:53 AM +0000 3/17/09, heartwerk wrote: >I'll have to try the comfrey tea. I usually make a nettle tea, >mainly because we have patches of nettles in odd corners. I leave >it for about a week - it smells aweful, but does seem to make a good >fertiliser. > >Jo > > , yarrow wrote: >> >> I make tea for plants, not for me, with the comfrey. The new leaves, >> especially, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. One of my plants had 70 >> or so flowering stems, so I remove them after they've flowered, put >> them in a bucket, fill with water, cover, and let it all ferment for >> a week. >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Could you post your recipe for nettle muffins please :-) Jo - yarrow Tuesday, March 17, 2009 8:58 AM Re: herbs, was Re:noobie I had my first big crop of nettles this winter, so I've made nettle tea (to drink) as well as lovely green nettle muffins, and put the leftovers into a bucket (with alfalfa and cornmeal) to ferment and then feed the plants.At 7:53 AM +0000 3/17/09, heartwerk wrote:>I'll have to try the comfrey tea. I usually make a nettle tea, >mainly because we have patches of nettles in odd corners. I leave >it for about a week - it smells aweful, but does seem to make a good >fertiliser.>>Jo>> , yarrow wrote:>>>> I make tea for plants, not for me, with the comfrey. The new leaves,>> especially, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. One of my plants had 70>> or so flowering stems, so I remove them after they've flowered, put>> them in a bucket, fill with water, cover, and let it all ferment for>> a week.>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 How do you handle the stinging nettle without being stung? I didn't know what this was until one day we were geo-caching and I got stung by it and thought well I guess that's stinging nettle! : )Ann jo.heartwork Tuesday, March 17, 2009 10:57 AM Re: herbs, was Re:noobie Could you post your recipe for nettle muffins please :-) Jo - yarrow Tuesday, March 17, 2009 8:58 AM Re: herbs, was Re:noobie I had my first big crop of nettles this winter, so I've made nettle tea (to drink) as well as lovely green nettle muffins, and put the leftovers into a bucket (with alfalfa and cornmeal) to ferment and then feed the plants.At 7:53 AM +0000 3/17/09, heartwerk wrote:>I'll have to try the comfrey tea. I usually make a nettle tea, >mainly because we have patches of nettles in odd corners. I leave >it for about a week - it smells aweful, but does seem to make a good >fertiliser.>>Jo>> , yarrow wrote:>>>> I make tea for plants, not for me, with the comfrey. The new leaves,>> especially, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. One of my plants had 70>> or so flowering stems, so I remove them after they've flowered, put>> them in a bucket, fill with water, cover, and let it all ferment for>> a week.>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I pick it with gloves. I've taken gloves off to wash it and strip the leaves from the stems, and it's not too hard to avoid getting " stung " -- takes a light touch and a little tolerance for very mild stings. I've also worn my gardening gloves to prepare it. Needless to say, it needs to be cooked before being eaten! At 8:05 PM -0700 3/17/09, Ann Hall wrote: How do you handle the stinging nettle without being stung? I didn't know what this was until one day we were geo-caching and I got stung by it and thought well I guess that's stinging nettle! : ) Ann jo.heartwork Tuesday, March 17, 2009 10:57 AM Re: herbs, was Re:noobie Could you post your recipe for nettle muffins please :-) Jo - yarrow Tuesday, March 17, 2009 8:58 AM Re: herbs, was Re:noobie I had my first big crop of nettles this winter, so I've made nettle tea (to drink) as well as lovely green nettle muffins, and put the leftovers into a bucket (with alfalfa and cornmeal) to ferment and then feed the plants. At 7:53 AM +0000 3/17/09, heartwerk wrote: >I'll have to try the comfrey tea. I usually make a nettle tea, >mainly because we have patches of nettles in odd corners. I leave >it for about a week - it smells aweful, but does seem to make a good >fertiliser. > >Jo > > , yarrow wrote: >> >> I make tea for plants, not for me, with the comfrey. The new leaves, >> especially, contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. One of my plants had 70 >> or so flowering stems, so I remove them after they've flowered, put >> them in a bucket, fill with water, cover, and let it all ferment for >> a week. >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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