Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / September 2008

Sorting out my seeds I have a couple of packets of stuff that i won't
use. Some might be a year out of date but will be worth sowing. Some I
got but changed my mind.
Nothing special at the moment but if anyone wants any I'll be happy to

What to do?  I have ambitious Yellow Wax Bean vines practically
RUNNING up the 6' netting against block wall.  Some are now waving
tendrils desperately.   Never had this sitch before.
Will I upset production if I cut off the top of the vines?  Or what?

I want a climber, preferably evergreen, reasonably quick growing, fo
the side of the house (including the not-so-aesthetically pleasin
extension).  I have got cold feet over ivy - had thought abou
Hedera...Gloire de marengo, and boston ivy (too rampant?), but th

Reported a sick Buddleia a while back.
Chopped it down yesterday.
Rotting up from the roots as was suggested.

I have had a single tomato plant growing in a raised bed for months.
It had achieved a spread of about six feet and a height of three feet
with lots of blossoms but no fruit set.  I tried root pruning to no
avail.

How stable are the ingredients NAA and thiram once the
packet (single dose envelope) is opened (and sealed
after each use)?

I have been growing Jade Cross Brussell sprouts for years and have
always had great crops.  This year, however, the plants are big and
beautiful as always but not a sprout to be found!  I didn't do
anything different that I know of.  What happened?  Anybody else ever

On going struggle with weed removal in the backyard.
1    Weed killers, kinda slow, would take a week or more to see the effect
and than the same partial dead weed would grow back. Would need couple more
applications, lots of poison in the ground, and than the weeds would come

Earlier in the year I 'splashed' out buying a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses,
since when it has been mostly cloudy and hardly stopped raining. Would it
now be a good idea to buy a decent umbrella?
MD

Last night I checked today's forecast for my area, it was: Sunn
intervals up until early evening then heavy rain and thunderstorms.
woke up this morning to thick fog and it's now raining. This means tha
last nights forecast was 100% wrong, in fact I can't remember when w

I have an apple tree that produces tart green (some blush) 2-4 inch
apples.  The tree is loaded and apples are falling.  When I started
picking I noticed that there are green spots embedded in the flesh of
the apple.  They can be found from the skin to the core.  The first

We got a load of processed plant mix.  Never had a problem before,
But the latest load into our rose garden naturally - brought in some
'pea' seeds.  IIRC, it is in the Pea family.
Acacia berlandieri is what I thought it was but it has white snowballs for a bloom.

Last year there were hundreds of berries on every Blackthorn bush but this year we'll be
lucky to find a pound in total. (We are in Sheffield). My in-laws in Sussex and friends in
SE London say the same.
What has happened? There was plenty of blossom.

I was doing a bit of watering today and must have had 4 or 5 mice come out
of holes they had dug in my potted roses!  Has anyone else ever had this
happen to them?  I wonder if they are eating the roots.  The plants seem
fine.  We feed the birds nearby so I'm guessing that is ...

I have a small stream about 3ft wide, that dries up in mid summer, but
can be a raging torrent in winter up to 2ft deep.
The bank sides are approx 40 deg sloping, and made of builders rubble
and soil.