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What about using comfrey or nettle feed on strawberries? I mulched them with well rotted horse manure in winter….
Some I give away as presents or use as a swap, some I plant wherever there is space in the garden.
Digging up an old post as I’ve just come across grafting.
One of my neighbours on the allotment was telling me about the grafted cucumber, aubergine and tomato plants he’s bought (at quite a cost I think).
I hadn’t come across grafted plants, apart from trees….and to be honest while my neighbour was talking to me I had this image of a “Frankenstein looking plant taking over his polytunnel” image in my head.
I did read up on grafting after that and it seems to be done to improve plants with regards to crop size, taste and robustness.But can all these things not be done with selective breeding through open pollinated seeds and plants?
It does worry me that we tinker so much with plants, wanting bigger, better and more at the cost of loosing old heirloom varieties.
What are people’s thoughts on this?
I’m wondering…you can eat the foliage/leaves from Ocas. Or you can put them raw into salads. Would that be an idea?
Correction: Incas (not Mayans)!
There was a documentary on the BBC recently about the Mayans and how they successfully grew crops on a steep hill. They terraced their beds, used stones in their beds so they could be heated up during the day and during the night the stones would release heat and so on. Have a look on I player it’s probably still available to see. Sounds like a really exciting project. I’d go with the contours of the land as much as possible. Beds can be contoured and fluid, use the stones to your advantage. Have a look at Hügelkultur from Sepp Holzer for ideas as well.
I strimmed the grass really short first on my allotment, then added a layer of black felt and on top of that some chip bark. Seems to work well. I’ve had the odd weed come through in the first year which I just dug out.
I’ve used Seedaholic a few times now. They have a nice selection of seeds. Good quick service and I like the info sheets that come with the seeds.