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sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Sat Jun 15, 19 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Okay I've done some parsnips on a piece of kitchen towel and some of the seeds have got white root like looking things growing from them. At what point do I then transfer them into some compost in a tube?

Thanks

gz



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8577
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
PostPosted: Sat Jun 15, 19 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

now...carefully

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 19 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Looking at my root crop bed, I may need to do that with the carrots. Everything else seems to have come up, but don't think there is any sign of the carrots, and they should have come up by now.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45382
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 19 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

i put carrots in a trough about 3 wks ago even though it has been cool and they were slower than expected they are up and ok.
your flora seems a little behind ours so they might still be ok but a second planting is always good if only to extend the season of salad carrots from the thinnings.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 19 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks GZ

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15542

PostPosted: Mon Jun 17, 19 7:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The weather here has been very variable. We should be ahead of you as we are further south, but doesn't always work out like that.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Mon Jun 24, 19 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Half of my garlic crop has rust, so I watched Monty's advise and he said to pull them up as they would grow no more but then in his video he said he would treat the ground later. Does anyone know what I have to do to treat the ground?

Thanks.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 19 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've got my nettle and comfrey brew stewing. Please could someone tell me how long I need to leave it before I can use it?

Thanks.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45382
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 19 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

it improves with age but can be used after a few weeks

when you take out liquor top up with more water and nettles etc .

as the microbiology develops it will speed up but the biggest factor is temperature,

roughly it works out like this

if 0 degrees C means no ferment and 10 C gives a ferment rate of F then 20 C will give 2F and 30C up to 4F

it takes less time in warm weather

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 19 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks for that DPack.

Would I be better moving it into a sunny position, as it's sat behind my shed at the moment?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45382
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 19 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

sun is good, as is a bit of earth, compost heap or fresh dung ,

what do you do with a dead rat? ditto a pigs head that was lurking in the freezer for a couple of years. etc
you don't need a lot of fresh meat and bone but a bit really helps for full on activity

adding fresh greens needs a wait of a week or so in a very active summer tub

if you top up with a lot of blood fish bone wait a month at the least, for a handful a week is enough and it will get the microbes going

adding chook muck wait at least a month unless you also add lime but it is better to put chook muck in over winter.

full sun but not where you or the neighbours sit and relax
a loose fitting lid helps with the smell and lets air in

if you are getting it right it will stink when active and it will need diluting.

overfeeding plants with too strong a feed can suck water from roots by reverse osmosis

for most things dilute until it looks like carling lager as guiness will killem

even pumpkins need it diluting to yorkshire tea colour no milk

with my mixture , which is pretty intense even if fermented out and matured, i tend to go for one to ten dilution and apply it sparingly after watering or lots of rain.

variety is good in mixture, owt from dock roots to dead rats will add something useful
by weight 10 times plant material to one unit if animal origin is a fair bet, herbivore dung counts as plant, chook dung counts as animal

plant needs less fermenting time than animal so time animal additions for when there is enough time before you need feed.

a strong feed on dry soil is as good as agent orange, used well it is awesome.

i have considered trying a solar pond air pump but chances are that might not favour the right microflora

ps if it stinks you are probably getting it right, wait until you can get near it without gagging, dilute sensibly and all will be well
mixture is ace and it gets rid of many weeds etc that cant be composted , couch grass springs to mind but so do docks, crab shells and bones

pps it is polite to feed the comfrey patch, i usually put it downhill of the compost heap so it gets run off which seems a fair deal. beware the hairy stems some folk come up in quite a rash

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45382
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 19 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

before you move it it might be wise to use some to make that easier.

i would not wish to spill a mixture tub, a loss, a eco disaster for what it lands on and no amount of scrubbing or potions will entirely remove your new perfume for a while.

a poking stick and a can on a stick are useful tools

a bit raw or not draw off half the liquid, dilute it and feed your crops, dilute it more for little ones less for robust stuff

move it and then top it up with greens and a moderate amount of blood fish bone + water
add a bit more soil and a few compost samples then give it a couple of weeks in a sunny spot

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 28, 19 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks for all that DPack, it's really appreciated

I don't have any dead animal stuff to stick in there but I do have plenty of fish blood and bone and also chicken manure pellets. The tub that I've got it brewing in is rather large, so how much of those two fertilisers would you recommend I put in?

I think moving it into a sunny spot might be next year as it's almost full with the mixture now. It went behind the shed to keep it away from my fellow allotment peeps, simply because of the smell. It does smell quite bad at the moment and thankfully it is only a loose fitting lid. Would you like a picture of it so you can see the size?

Like Carling eh? I bet my mixture will taste better.

Oh P.S. How will I know when my carrots are ready please?

Thanks.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45382
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Jun 28, 19 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

a handful of bfb added when you top up the liquid will keep it active

chook muck takes a while to ferment usually a couple of months in summer or from autumn to spring , i tend to do that over winter with dock seeds and roots etc.
did i mention that a mixture tub will eat weed seeds rather well?

i start pulling carrots when they touch each other in their row and remove enough finger size ones to allow the rest to get up to the intended girth.

a quick dig with the fingers will reveal how big they are and if they have enough space

thinning might attract carrot root fly so be aware that they could notice and zero in on your roots.
assorted preventions and remedies are available if it is a problem in your area

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 28, 19 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks again DPack. I throw some BFB in when I go down after work and leave the chook muck until autumn rolls around. Yes you did mention that, thank you.

I'll have a look when I'm down there then. The carrots are in a tub about 2' high. Am I right in thinking that carrot fly shouldn't be a problem in a tub that height? Or is that something else I'm remembering wrong? Not sure if it's a problem in our area, I'll ask about.

Have a good weekend and thanks for all the help and advice you are giving.

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