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Charles, you mention in your recent August update that you were about to treat you brassicas with BT. I have searched for this product without success except at pro green where it is £45 /500g . Where do you buy yours?
BT seems to have been removed from the retail market.Thank you, Charles. My son brought the Kuri seeds back from a trip to Holland and all the info on the packet was in Dutch. I looked up Stormy hall seeds which I didn’t know about although I do know of the Camphill community. On the Stormy Hall home page the introductory statement about biodynamic growing and sourcing seeds in Europe is signed by Hans Steenbergen. Is he Dutch? Maybe our Kuri seeds are related?
As a beginner gardener I find your forum so useful and encouraging and the new image uploading facility is great addition.Hi Charles
I hope the yellow mottling isn't CMV on this newly planted Kuri squash (photo attached). If it is could I simply remove the affected leaf or do I have to ditch the plant?
I have had problems with the peat free compost that I have grown this squash in and I wondered if maybe the yellow spots could be down to magnesium deficiency. (desperately clutching at a lot of straws!)
What do you think?Hi Charles,
Like other brands of peat free compost the bulk of NH multi purpose is ‘ composted bark and timber residues’ with the addition of some minerals and a byproduct of sugar-beet processing called Vinesse, which is I think a source of nitrogen.
When making my home compost the wood is the last to break down and locks in nitrogen from the surrounding materials to aid its decomposition. Can I assume that the same action is taking place with the twigs and pieces of wood I find in peat free compost? I wondered if this robbing of nitrogen might have contributed to the poor development of my seedlings.Also, the garden centre where I purchased my NH compost don’t store it undercover and it had been raining for 3days and the compost was very wet. Could any water soluble nutrients have been leeched from the compost?
When I returned the 2 remaining bags of NH multipurpose compost I replaced it with 2 bags of Arthur Bowers seed and cutting compost which I also had to return because it was so wet I could have squeezed the water out of it.
So maybe the source of some of my problems lie with the retailer.I would like to make my own seed sowing medium using my own compost and other ingredients but I don’t know how to overcome the problem of weed seeds present in my compost. Any suggestions?
I have a large amount of 2 year old leaf mould and came across a recipe for seed compost by layering up comfrey leaves and leaf mould, setting it aside for a couple of months to rot down. Do you think that’s viable?
Thank you very much for answering this beginner’s queries.Hi Charles,
Like other brands of peat free compost the bulk of NH multi purpose is ‘ composted bark and timber residues’ with the addition of some minerals and a byproduct of sugar-beet processing called Vinesse, which is I think a source of nitrogen.
When making my home compost the wood is the last to break down and locks in nitrogen from the surrounding materials to aid its decomposition. Can I assume that the same action is taking place with the twigs and pieces of wood I find in peat free compost? I wondered if this robbing of nitrogen might have contributed to the poor development of my seedlings.Also, the garden centre where I purchased my NH compost don’t store it undercover and it had been raining for 3days and the compost was very wet. Could any water soluble nutrients have been leeched from the compost?
When I returned the 2 remaining bags of NH multipurpose compost I replaced it with 2 bags of Arthur Bowers seed and cutting compost which I also had to return because it was so wet I could have squeezed the water out of it.
So maybe the source of some of my problems lie with the retailer.I would like to make my own seed sowing medium using my own compost and other ingredients but I don’t know how to overcome the problem of weed seeds present in my compost. Any suggestions?
I have a large amount of 2 year old leaf mould and came across a recipe for seed compost by layering up comfrey leaves and leaf mould, setting it aside for a couple of months to rot down. Do you think that’s viable?
Thank you very much for answering this beginner’s queries.Hi Charles
I too have had considerable problems with New Horizon multi-purpose peat free compost. I sowed sweetcorn, summer and winter squash and cucumbers in large modules at the beginning of May. When I opened the bag I knew I was in trouble because the texture was so coarse with recognisable twigs and uncomposted wood about 3cm long. Within 4 days the surface of the compost was covered with a white mould. Later, once the seedlings appeared, tiny mushrooms also developed. The compost holds a lot of moisture and even though the surface may dry out, underneath this crust the compost is very wet.The plants look pale and puny; the sweetcorn leaves are thin and yellowing at the tips, I don’t think I can use them.
( As an aside: Is it too late to direct sow sweetcorn?)
The squash is also pale and has taken an age to develop their true leaves. Does this indicate a mineral deficiency? This compost is supposed to have enough nutrients for 4-6 weeks growth.Reading around this subject on the web the common complaint about peat free compost is inconsistent quality and the absence of an industry standard to refer to.
I noticed Charles that you have done several comparison trials on compost in recent times, but if each company isn’t providing the same product from one year to the next the trial results are very quickly obsolete. New horizon MP compost, for example, was reformulated for 2014, which may explain Dan’s problems.
Is there a peat free compost you would recommend?Hi Charles,
Interesting you should mention possible effect of trees. My garden is long and narrow and my neighbours’ gardens running the length of my garden on both sides each contain several large trees including 60ft eucalyptus, even taller sycamore, numerous leylandii-type evergreen trees also fully grown. Our gardens are all the same size(10mtr x 35mtr).Because of the position and influence of the eucalyptus I have placed my wooden-sided, raised beds in the middle section of my garden and although this particular tree doesn’t block out any light I can see it’s effect on the growth of the sweetcorn which is the veg nearest to it.
But how would these trees which are not overhanging the beans stop them from setting?
I have just seen my first harlequin ladybird here in Nottingham – shiny black body with two red spots – but like you Ros I haven’t seen any of our common British species.I also have few beans although the plants are healthy and rampant. I have watered regularly and was a little concerned about over-watering.
Charles, I hope you’re right and the ladybirds are on their way and meanwhile should I be pinching out the tips of the beanstalks to encourage the production of beans?