General Gardening chat

Thanks Gary

I just bought a small tipping trailer, very pleased with it :)

James

http://www.leboncoin.fr/jardinage/244035083.htm?ca=2_s

Hello, hope this helps you out, and theres more on le boncoin

Does anyone know where I can get a decent small trailer to tow behind my ride on mower?

Thanks Clare, we will try this.
Our daughter is coming over in three weeks and can bring it with her if we can’t find it in Gamme Vert.

I successfully exterminated bellvine (convolvulus) growing through a well-established conifer hedge in the UK by using Glyphosate. I bought it in powder form (cheaper and longer shelf life), made it up slightly stronger than the recommended mix and then poured into yoghurt pots, which I placed at intervals along the hedge. I then put cling film on top of the pots and secured with elastic bands, and then made small holes in the cling film and poked the growing tips of the bellvine into the weedkiller. You can put several tips into the same pot. Sealing the pot prevents animals/birds etc being affected. It took about a year and I refilled the pots twice, but now, nearly 10 years later, the area is still free of bellvine. You can buy glyphosate on the internet or get someone to post you a packet from the UK if you can’t find it here in France.

Spiral looks great to me
i will check out the site you sent

Hi Simon,
I have two ideas you could choose! A spiral herb garden, look at this link for more info http://tipnut.com/herb-spiral/
Or go for the more traditional herb garden when you build “paths” and fill the spaces with herbs.
I am really looking forward to moving to our new property where I will have the space to build a spiral. It has a great advantage in that you can plant or sow herbs in mini micro climates, so if there is a herb which prefers more sun than others you plant them at the top of the spiral.
Let me know how you get on.

Hi

I want to start a herb garden but am a novice. Can anyone help?
Simon

Does anyone know of a systemic weedkiller available in France and which does not cost a fortune which will deal with convolvulus?
We have it on one of our beds and, unfortunately, the root go under a wall, which makes it impossible to deal with.

For Heritage we went to the Potager du Roi (the King’s Kitchen Garden) here in Versailles. Really stunning and much more to my taste than the formal gardens near the castle. I’ve you haven’t been, I really recommend a visit. Their website is here: http://www.potager-du-roi.fr/

Bonjour all;
We are considering a house in Aquitaine, Zone 10. Are there any English texts concerning what we may be able to work with, and care for them?

Hello Everyone! I have two Fig trees, both at least 12 years old and quite tall, one inside the garden and one just outside the gate, by the road but what I believe is our land! This trees leaves have started to turn yellow and drop! Some of the leaves have shriveled and dried, The tree is right on the road and is knocked occasionally by lorries but it always has been. I wonder if it is happening because weve had a dry period and there is not much bare earth for water to penetrate to the roots and because last year there was a drought also. Any thoughts or advice appreciated. Thanks.

You can have too much of a good thing though, as they can get covered in wasps. The easiest thing to do, is walk around the roads (if you live in the country) and take your neighbours fruit. We get 2 carsdown our lane, the postie and the bread lady so plenty of opportunity for scrumping!! Sweet chestnuts and blackberries plus a large walnut tree which produces a ton of fruit plus our own which are larger-still cracking open last years. Our vine has decided to bear us a few bunches this year of very tasty red fruit.

Have a group of 4 fig trees about 4 metres high and they have produced tons of fruit every year around the end of August so Sandy makes a load of delicious jam. They may be over 30 years old as the previous owners renovated the huose twenty years before we purchased it. Another one in the hedge which is about 3 metres high and is a bit later. Another 2 growing on our land and seem to have been about a foot high for the last six years decided to put a spurt on last year and are 4ft tall but no fruit yet. Have noticed several small ones starting to develop so they must be self sown or bird dropped seeds.

Thanks Jeanette, I will go in my potager tomorrow then, and cut them half way, they are now about 18" high! Hopefully it’s not too late to do.

Hi Patricia, I planted mine a few weeks ago, they say to make a hole about the size of a leek when you buy them diameter, plop a leek seedling into them then water and the soil will gradually fill up the hole to accommodate for the size of the future leek, by plopping a leek into the hole it covers half of the greenery anyway, but I haven’t read to cut the tops off! but in saying that, old French people are usually right when it comes to the garden, but… time will tell for you and I!

Have just planted my leeks and was told by my elderly neighbour and professional French potagere (is there such a word?) that I ought to chop off the green tops but I’m afraid I couldn’t understand quite why. Is there an insect I wonder that likes the tops? Anybody any suggestions to offer?

a fig orchard - ooh yum! I read somewhere that fig cuttings will grow anywhere. They survived last year’s winter with no protectiob.
The one we have with fruit on is about 4 years old. Don’t know how different it is in France, but we have to take off any embryo fruits that grow after this year’s harvest, then it can put its energy into growing for the rest of the season. Most of the earliest ones this year dropped off too.
Thanks Jeanette - got to say I can’t wait to get growing stuff again once we’ve settled.

Thanks for this info, Jacqueline. Move is “planned” for the end of this month. House all-but-sold - then a problem, which I won’t bore anyone with.
I keep wavering on whether to bring plants with us - probably better to move them out of the big ceramic pots they are in - pop them in the empty raised beds we haven’t grown any veggies in this year and leave for the new owners, then just bring the pots and start again with plants that are more native to Limousin, I suspect.

Thanks for the figgy help - as it is still fairly small it never gets much of a trim let alone a serious cut back - off to remedy that now! Judy when you ask about bringing it with you I guess you mean when moving to France? I am pretty sure this is OK and if memory serves me right our removal guys stopped off on the way to the ferry (they had been storing the furniture for a month) to collect some of the pot plants.