Weeding the Web

Tea leaves - are they really a plant food for peppers?

Every year I grow a couple of sweet pepper plants at the front of the house - they're south-facing, protected by the porch and receive radiated heat from the house behind them.

Normally I feed the peppers with tomato feed. This year they've had tea. Every day, after the daily pot, I topped up the dregs with cold water and delivered the contents, tea leaves and all, with each plant receiving half a teapotful.

And they've loved it. Tight-skinned, shiny peppers, no disease. A plus point was the increasing depth of tea-leaf mulch (which confused one passer-by, who wondered if they were receiving breakfast cereal), which creates a fast-draining surface that seems to discourage slugs and snails.

Is this an anomaly? It's certainly an experiment that seems to be a standard part of American school's science fairs.

Gardening Which? disagrees. In October 2010, in an article on old wives' tales, they warned that tea might be harmful, as it contains aluminium, fluorine and manganese which in high concentrations can slow plant growth. They felt that the nitrogen in tea probably wouldn't be very available to plants and said that regular watering and an occasional liquid feed would be better for the plants' health.

I'm sure that regular watering has played quite a part in the success this year. My peppers received a regular drench at the same time each day. It was easy to remember to do it, as we have a pot of tea at the same time each afternoon.

However, it's worth noting that dried tea leaves contain phosphorus and potassium, and tea also makes soil slightly acidic. Peppers like a bit of acidity.

Bell Boy red peppers started ripening towards the end of September on a south-facing porch

All I can say, as you can see from the picture above, is that it appears to have worked beautifully. I've saved on liquid feed and not had to sieve the tea leaves out of the pot to add to the compost.

I'll definitely do it again. If you've tried fertilising with tea, I'd love you to comment below on how you got on.

Men's desire for underwear will reduce plant pot options

With the RHS Flower Show season dawning, anticipation grows of what new materials might appear in the show gardens. And recent analysis by Twenga, the UK-based retail search engine, made we wonder about the future of one of the more bizarre recycled materials that's starred at Hampton Court in recent years.

Twenga revealed this week that web traffic seeking out - wait for it - the male thong is up by 10%. 

[Pause, while we all dwell on that flesh-conjuring thought.]

I'm pleased to say that UK men still prefer something a touch more substantial - boxers and briefs made up 51% of the traffic - but if the trend abroad is anything to go by, we may be seeing rather more manly flesh than of yore. The male thong made it into the top three underwear searches in Poland, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Germany and Italy. The Spanish, apparently, are fonder of the tanga.

But where does that leave recycled underwear plant-holders?  (They hadn't gone away, you know. There are instructions for these things on e-how.) The pants in the RHS's 2009 Hanging Bra-sket Garden would have been reduced to pockets just large enough for a daisy, had the leg-holes of thongs been sewn up.

But there is an up-side: I thought the Bra-sket display was ghastly. If we all encourage our men into thongs, the chances of it happening again will be minimal.

NB  The report says that thongs are increasingly popular because men (you poor things) are feeling the pressure of David Beckham's underwear ads.

I conducted my own research. Did Husband feel the need to bare, well, rather a lot, to compete with H&M's blue-eyed boy? I'm afraid I can't quote him, but his look was very pithy.

And I thought you might enjoy Twenga's underwear infographic, keeping its finger of the pulse of men's desire (so to speak):

Garden product review: Keira Watering Can

A newly designed watering-can seems a bit unnecessary. Most do the job pretty well, though some are better balanced and easier to tip than others. 

The new Keira, launched in the UK at Chelsea Flower Show this year, comes from the drawing-board of Croatian industrial designer Igor Juric. He seems to bend a little more towards vehicles, as he's responsible for Croatia's first electric car, a rather nifty-looking bicycle design, and a three-seater concept car, but is particularly keen on adding an enviro-friendly dimension to his work.

When he saw how much space was taken up by watering-cans in store and in transit, he turned his mind to creating a stackable design that reduces the space needed for transport and so saves on fuel.

The Keira watering-can carries other eco-credentials (as well as two, five or ten litres of water, according to the size of can you choose) as it's made of 100% recycled polypropylene, which itself is fully recyclable.

I was given the 2-litre size* and rather like it. The position of the handle makes it comfortable and easy to tip up and the long spout delivers water quite precisely to the spot you want, though if you're too enthusiastic and tip too quickly you risk a gush over your toes as it overflows the sides. If you need a fine spray for seedlings, obviously this isn’t for you.

I've also noticed that, after four months outside, the colour is beginning to fade on the handle and the top edge. It's not the sort of thing that bothers me, but some might find it irritating.  I haven't tried the larger cans, so can't say how easy it is to pour with the heavier weight of water.

What I particularly like, though, is that if you leave it outside you’ll catch far more rain in it than in conventional watering-cans because of its wide open top. This point has struck other designers, as can be seen in the Raincan, available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue. The Raincan is cheaper for its size, but when I played around with one in the Wisley shop I found its lid distinctly fiddly. 

The Keira can will be available from Bulldog Tools, who launched it at GLEE this year. They seem a bit tardy in getting their Keira website up and running; however, it is already on Amazon.

*By Keira, for review.

A stylish bird feeder from recycled garden pots

Earth-friendly writer John Walker first alerted me to the benefits of recycled plastic in Plastic Tears, his article that first featured in the now-defunct Organic Garden and Home magazine, but which you can read on his website.

In essence, he says we should use recycled plastic where possible to keep the oil we've extracted in circulation, rather than burying it in landfill. He mentions Filcris, who make recycled plastic lumber, among other things, saving a myriad plastic bottles from waste disposal. There are plenty of other companies to choose from, and not just for lumber.

Way back near the start of this blog I mentioned a Slate Effect Sundial. It's made by ashortwalk, a Cornish company that specialises in recycled plastic items for home and garden, who were a winner in the Cornish Sustainability Awards 2012. Their products include plant labels, a chalk board, herb kit and plant holders.

However, as each year sees mountains of plastic plant pots returned to garden centres, their rice-scoop/bird-feeder, made from recycled pots, caught my eye, especially with the birds disconsolately looking for food during all that snow. They also have a nifty spike feeder for apples, cheese etc.

I haven't seen any of their products up close, so can't personally vouch for them (John Lewis likes it, though), but I love the fact that, with a little ingenuity, we can find ways to keep the oil we've extracted for future use.

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!

 

Garden project : a DIY planter for succulents and cacti

Every so often you come across a design that is so basic that you can't believe it's so attractive (OK, so that's a subjective opinion - as Fred pointed out in CD Difference?), but over at the website of ReadyMade, the demised magazine, Kelly, who runs Succulent Love, a company specialising in designs with succulents, gives instructions for a brick patio planter and tealight that I think is charming. You need an old brick and a drill (and, possibly, a burly man on the end of it), but otherwise it couldn't be simpler.

Kelly fell in love with succulents while planning her wedding, and makes surprising use of them in her bridal bouquet . Possibly it works best in Californian sunshine, but it's stylish. If you're looking for inspiration on how to display your own succulents around the house, there are plenty of ideas in her gallery.

CD difference?

One of the most popular sections on this site is Recycled Items for the Garden, so I just thought I'd mention that one of my favourite ideas from Hampton Court Flower Show this year was these garden ornaments. 

Perhaps it's through the "benefit" of myopia that I was fooled by the materials, but only after ten unsuspecting minutes talking to Alex Bell, who designed The Deptford Project: An Urban Harvest, did I realise (OK, he had to tell me) that they're created from empty CD cases.

Painted on the inside in graduated shades of colour, they're surprisingly effective. Of course, these towers are inspired by towers of glass of the sort that I've blogged about before, and (feel free to disagree) I think this is one the most successful ways I've seen to recycle plastic in the garden.

A DIY squirrel-proof bird-feeder

The problem with opening a new restaurant is that you can't be sure who's going to want to try it. There you were, thinking you'd get a nice selection of enthusiastic gourmets, and what happens?  You get mobbed by gourmands wanting to stuff themselves silly.

Our neighbours' new bird feeder was full at 9 o'clock this morning. These pictures were taken early afternoon.

By dusk it was almost half empty. Not a tit in sight all day.

I predict a restaurant revamp any day soon.

This is a problem understood by my brother-in-law, who has spent some time searching for the perfect squirrel-proof feeder. He hasn't had any problems since buying one with a metal sheath that slides down when a squirrel arrives at the top. There's one of this design available from Selections for £13.99.

However if you fancy saving some money, Phil from Surrey gives full instructions for his DIY version (pictured).

And if you want a video demonstration of how the best squirrel-proof bird feeders work, check out this video of the Squirrel Be Gone Bird Feeder.

Oh, and if you have a spare Pringles packet, don't forget this DIY bird feeder that I featured last year.

Recycling Garden Tools is Good for the Heart

Do you love your old mower? I mean, really love it? So much so that you can’t part with it, despite the new, better one in the shed?

In what is surely a tongue-in-cheek press release, Recycle Now quotes psychologist Linda Blair in explaining why at least 40% of us find difficulty in relinquishing plug-in goods we no longer use.

“We value our electrical items because they make life easier and because so many of them connect us to the wider social world, either practically or because of the memories associated with them.

“Even when we no longer use them, we may be reluctant to let them go for a mixture of rational and sentimental reasons. A key factor is the sense of connection, control and safety these items give us. The attachment is similar to an infant needing a teddy or comfort blanket.

“This explains why we can end up having tantrums when the item breaks down and why some of them end up accompanying us everywhere - having their place at meals and by the bed for example."

Oh, bless.

Wine bottle water feature from Style Gardens: a DIY garden project

NB April 2016 Links to stylegardens.co.uk no longer exist, so I've removed them from the post below. 

Phew! Gorgeous day! And if there’s one thing to make you feel cooler, it’s sitting by water. Not to mention relaxing beside it with a glass of wine.

But what to do with all those wine bottles? Well, this idea from Style Gardens helped them to win Gold in the Royal Welsh Show in 2000 and nicely combines Adam’s ale with the nectar of the gods. 

Style Gardens’s website is, frankly, a puzzle to navigate, not least because all the pages seem to have the same address, so I can’t link you straight to the relevant pages. Find photos and description of the prize-winning garden and water feature under Garden Design on their Ideas page (see tabs along the top of the screen), and instructions on how to make it under Garden DIY on the Ideas page (you’ll need to click through a few more pages from there – just follow “projects”).

It is worth a mooch round their website, though, if you need some ideas and advice on garden design. Here’s an example: “One thing you learn when studying garden design is that circles ALWAYS work well... A circle is a very strong, geometric shape, and it 'draws the eye', as the jargon goes, meaning that it encourages the viewer to focus on the internal space, and makes it possible to ignore unsightly surroundings.”

Good. I’ve just decided on a round paved area in the middle of my vegetable patch!