Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report 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
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report 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
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2009 Report 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
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2009 Report 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
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2009 Report 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
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