Weeding the Web

Pinning the Interest in Gardening

Social networking is not my strong point. I fail miserably at Facebook, am lackadaisical on LinkedIn and intermittent on Twitter.  These platforms feel to me like walking into a crowded room and talking loudly in the hope that the assembled company will find me fascinating (you'll note I've managed to overcome that feeling on the blogging front). When you think about it, it's quite odd, but I'm getting the hang of them...slowly. One new platform, however, I've fallen instantly in love with: Pinterest.

I found it because it figures quite highly among the routes via which people find this blog. The home-made garden sprinkler that I featured a couple of years ago has crept onto a number of Pinterest pinboards.

Part of Pinterest's attraction is that it's so easy. You see a picture you like? You just click the Pin It button that you've downloaded onto your browser and, like magic, you can add the picture straight to one of your Pinterest pinboards, online versions of corkboards on the wall. Naturally, as Pinterest has grown, it's attracted the interest of marketers, so firms are looking at how to use it to promote themselves, but there are loads of people who, without an axe to grind, are putting up pictures that you would never have found otherwise and which take you straight to the website where the idea or item originates.

It's a really simple way to file ideas on any subject. My boards are, of course, garden-related, but people use theirs to save ideas on fashion, craft, home decoration, pets - you name it. 

So far most of the ideas I've gathered have been for Recycled Stuff in the Garden, but I haven't got much pinned yet, because I'm not going to fill boards up for the sake of it, but do drop by and leave a comment. If you have pictures that you think would go well on the boards, then just give me a shout, and if you're already on Pinterest, let me know and I'll come by for a visit!

 

Increase your vegetable harvest by weeding

Blogs come and blogs go. It’s a great pity that so many good ones fall by the wayside. And before you put out the flags at the thought of no more Weeding the Web, I’m actually talking about DIY Gardening, which ran out of steam in August 2008. Which is a shame as it’s easy reading, with a few nuggets of useful information.

The post on vegetable yields made me gasp. Startling figures taken from the Washington/Oregon Master Gardeners’ Handbook show the results for two identically sized plots, one unweeded, one weeded. The first produced 27.9lbs of carrots and the second (wait for it) 503.3lbs of carrots. Onions showed a similar disparity in yield, the least effect being seen on cabbages, but even they produced 81% more when weeded.

Do go and see harvest figures for other vegetables. You’ll be reaching for the hoe in no time!

Gardening by the Moon

Planting by the moon - it either appeals or it doesn’t. Personally, I don't why, if the moon can affect tides, why it shouldn't affect other things too. My suspicion, though, has always been that to get good results you need real application.

For a rundown of just how simple or complicated planting by the moon can be, see The Gardeners’ Calendar. It explains the difference between the synodic cycle (which depends on the moon’s waxing and waning), the Biodynamic cycle (developed by Rudolph Steiner and more attentive to the zodiac signs) and the sidereal cycle (which takes into account the moon’s orbit). You’ll also find a daily update on what activity is good in which cycle.

It all sounds pretty confusing, so if you've had any experience (success or failure) of growing by the moon, then do click on Comment below and let us know how you've got on.

Putting your back into it (safely)

It’s that early spring moment. The birds sing, the sun shines. Small furry animals scamper at your feet (no, wait, that’s a Disney cartoon).

You think, if you pull your finger out, you can clear the weeds, plant potatoes, hack down a bush and sow some seeds, all before lunch. Then, ninety minutes later, it’s not your finger that’s out, it’s your back. And you spend the next few weeks hobbling around, moaning gently, and falling behind for the rest of the year.

Even if you can shift half a ton of topsoil with nary a twinge (me, jealous?), it makes sense to think about ways to reduce strain. Let’s face it, if we’re kind to our joints, chances are that they’ll serve us better for longer.

For all those who tend, like me, to cripple themselves in the first enthusiastic frenzy, Safe Gardening has a specific sections on avoiding back pain, not to mention RSI and CTD (repetitive strain injury and cumulative trauma disorder, respectively).

They certainly made me think about my working methods; I feel positively sheepish not to have thought to move a heavy pot by loading it on to a shovel and dragging it into place!

Gardening by the Sea

Far more of us are holidaying in Britain this year, so we’re told.

If you’re off to the seaside it’s a great chance to see how people garden in the extreme conditions. If you’re trying to identify any of the plants you’ve seen then look at Gardening by the Sea for a plant database dedicated to salt-tolerant plants.