http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Bicycle Gardening (OT) en Sat, 27 Jun 2026 22:17:43 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-74146 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:16:22 +0000 kaputnik 74146@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The soil has been bonemealed, and had the various bits of glass and plastic and metal picked out of it. Some sort of plant that was growing was transplanted in a better spot. If it survives, we'll find out what it is.</p> <p>Two bramble suckers were twisted around cane tripods to try and tame / train them.</p> <p>It's beginning to look good. Just needs some plants! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-74101 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:18:33 +0000 gembo 74101@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Saw squashed hedgehog outside Winehouse in Currie today. You don't see any for years then it is two dead ones three weeks apart in two capital cities </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73987 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:03:48 +0000 sallyhinch 73987@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Mint will escape from pots - I planted mine in a pot in a planter and it's well on its way to getting out of the planter. </p> <p>You'd be surprised at how much you can get away with planting even now, especially the winter veg. It's not too late to plant quick maturers like salad, beetroot, radish, spring onions &amp; peas and you could probably get away with leeks, purple sprouting broccoli and kale. Some people plant seed potatoes on midsummer day to harvest them as new potatoes for Christmas, although if you get much frost I doubt that would work. Probably not worth wasting shop bought seed potatoes on but if you had any sprouty looking potatoes in your kitchen cupboard you could probably bung them in now and see what happens... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73928 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:27:16 +0000 Nelly 73928@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have seen no hedgehogs in edinburgh for ages - are they in bother? Does Foxy Loxy eat them ?? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73926 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:15:49 +0000 gembo 73926@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Would need 24 blackbirds for the snails. Wish I could train my neighbours sparrow colony to eat slugs, they are very angry birds and will take on the cats</p> <p>SRD - I only noticed the mint at the weekend so maybe yours will come back further into the summer.</p> <p>Would be great if you could go into the pet shop and buy a hedgehog. Saw a flattened one down London way a couple of weeks back and that was the first I had seen in ages </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73925 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:10:53 +0000 SRD 73925@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I dug out all my mint earlier in the year, then wanted some on the weekend and couldn't find any! Was sure it would come back! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73924 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:10:32 +0000 Instography 73924@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Get a hedgehog and your slug problems will be gone. And a blackbird or thrush for the snails. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73923 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:05:16 +0000 gembo 73923@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I like mint too, it just goes mental. Last year I ripped all of it out of my raised bed in a savage brutal assault and it has still come back</p> <p>Slugs win every time,my early potatoes are huge of leaf but no flowers yet, the slugs are having a field day </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73897 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:30:53 +0000 Nelly 73897@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I had heard all the stuff about mint going crazy - it does, but I like it (and use so much) I dont mind that really.</p> <p>re - slugs, cest la vie, you will never stop them !! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73896 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:29:51 +0000 kaputnik 73896@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Some sort of breakfast plant-exchange required. If we could be guaranteed a nice morning we could do coffee in my back garden and point at the earth and scratch chins etc. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73893 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:12:15 +0000 Instography 73893@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yeah, a pot in the ground is the usual suggestion. I have a bed with mint going wild in it so could give you a mature plant to be getting started. Great for tabbouleh. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73889 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:01:27 +0000 kaputnik 73889@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I like mint. Perhaps if I plant in the ground in a pot? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73886 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:41:29 +0000 gembo 73886@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Slugs rule the world.</p> <p>Rhubarb is good</p> <p>Avoid mint </p> <p>Parsley works, biennially </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73879 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:11:39 +0000 Instography 73879@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Be carefully with mint - very invasive - and rocket self-seeds like a weed if you don't keep it under control. Both might be better in pots. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73878 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:02:50 +0000 Nelly 73878@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Rosemary is great, plus chives, and mint thrives too (summer Mojitos, yum yum!). Happy to donate some ivy if you want quick cover - seems to root easily.</p> <p>Good tip re curry plant dave, our neighbors cat is lovely but uses our front garden as the loo :-( </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73875 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:13:11 +0000 kaputnik 73875@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Rosemary and cat-repellant-plant sound good. Neighbour's cat is adorable but a bit of a nuisance. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73871 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:33:38 +0000 amir 73871@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Tatties are good for covering ground - but a bit late for this year. Rocket and sorrel are great - very robust. Edible wise - it always nice to plant odd varieties or species that you can't easily get in the supermarket e.g. old fashioned colours for carrots.</p> <p>Ornamentally - some clematis are more robust than other. Clematis montana is nice and vigorous - that's important in our climes. We have had rosemary and Ceanothus in our garden but they have been killed off by the recent cold winters. </p> <p>Curry plant smells nice but can be used as a cat deterrent. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73863 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:08:03 +0000 SRD 73863@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'd quite like some rosemary if it subdivides (?)....and my peas could use some bamboo to grow on (old, not new). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73862 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:06:19 +0000 wingpig 73862@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>If you want any 14-foot-tall bamboo the root-chunk that my parents took to London in a carrier bag for my sister has successfully started re-growing, though introducing triffids would cause less of a problem in the long term. I've also a few ferns still in their easily-uprootable-and-transplantable phase and a rosemary bush which needs halving to get it back to the size it was when it became our responsibility. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73861 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:04:53 +0000 SRD 73861@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've got various lettuces and spring onions just sprouting, also peas. do you want some seeds? I've got lots - mostly from last year - still good now, but ,according to packet instructions&gt; should not kept another year. v. happy for you to have them. (shandon local food group does a seed exchange where people drop off their old packets, which is quite handy). </p> <p>You may want to buy some netting to go over the soil though, as cats will dig and you-know-what where the soil is disturbed. Asda has some for £1 or so - intended for strawberies. tent pegs handy to pin it to the ground. garden centres sell special pegs. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73859 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:57:42 +0000 kaputnik 73859@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thanks chaps. I think the main thing I'd like to grow are edibles, once the small army of slugs and snails that were living in the mess I cleared up have found somewhere better to live.</p> <p>I think I might try growing Ivy or Clematis around the bike frame.</p> <p>I had some success with courgettes as a child. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73850 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:36:18 +0000 Instography 73850@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Not too late for salads and given Scotland's climate the sowing / planting out information on seed packets is often about two months early. I'd plant cucumber, french beans, courgettes, and anything else and see what happens. Seeds are cheap enough for a bit of experimenting. </p> <p>Have a search for square yard gardening, which often gives good ideas for sequential sowing and getting a good variety of things growing in not much space. This site has a good <a href="http://www.organicgarden.org.uk/">guide</a> although they call it SqFt gardening. I suppose we should call it square metre now. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73819 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:58:25 +0000 Nelly 73819@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>kaps,</p> <p>Depends if you just mean this year or permanent? Bedding plants will give nice colour but die out come autumn. You shoudl take a wee cycle/walk around the streets nearby and photo anything you like / ask the residents - you will be surprised at how many gardens have the same plants.</p> <p>Lavender are really nice, not too tall, grow well in our part of town, and are pretty hardy / low maintenance. They also encourage bees which is good in other ways.</p> <p>Ceanothus also do well (careful as some get very big) with hundreds of lovely pink/purply spikey flowers - lots of them around here too.</p> <p>We also put some Erysium in, they will provide good colour for months (usually purple although we just put in a yellow one - more your bag!)</p> <p>Orange blossom is a nice plant once established, but may take a few years.</p> <p>I say this like I have a clue, most of the planning is done by my wife - I am usually the labour element! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=7039#post-73815 Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:35:51 +0000 kaputnik 73815@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I bit the bullet and began to clean up "my bit" of the back green at the weekend. I now have a border about 4 metres long by not quite a metre wide that needs something to fill it. I also have a corner section where there are already brambles growing, so I'm going to try and encourage them to grow into more regular shapes to have a nice fruit-filled corner that will deter anyone from hanging trying to squeeze through there.</p> <p>Next year I'll put some veg in, a bit too late for this year.</p> <p>As mentioned in another thread, I've half an idea about using some junked bike parts and growing / training things around them. I saw a photo of some wheels half-buried and used as mini trelisses and also the bike rack is quite obvious.</p> <p>But I've no idea about plants. The soil is quite good, reasonably well drained, not clay. It faces west and gets good sun throughout the day after the sun has risen over the tenement (in full sunlight from about 11AM). Oh and there is not a tenement opposite ours on the western side of the garden, so it gets the sun pretty much until sunset time, although a bit more shady as it dips below the trees.</p> <p>Anyone know of any suitable easy-to-grow creepy / crawly / climby type plants that don't mind growing too close to the ground? </p>