Wednesday, 4 February 2015
That's Home and Household: Aldi launches new Specialbuys Workshop range
That's Home and Household: Aldi launches new Specialbuys Workshop range: Tackle jobs around the house or even on the building site with the fantastic quality Aldi Specialbuys Workshop range. Featuring a great ...
That's Home and Household: Aldi launches new Specialbuys Workshop range
That's Home and Household: Aldi launches new Specialbuys Workshop range: Tackle jobs around the house or even on the building site with the fantastic quality Aldi Specialbuys Workshop range. Featuring a great ...
Monday, 2 February 2015
Eagle-eyed remedy for slugs
If you have an infestation of slugs in your garden and prefer not to use toxic slug killing chemicals where children, pets and wildlife may come into contact with them, you can treat your slugs to their very own 'Hotel California experience'.
How? By using strategically placed shallow dishes or deep saucers of beer in your garden.
Why do we call it the Hotel California experience? Because after drinking the beer, the slugs tend to check-out, but they can never leave!
How? By using strategically placed shallow dishes or deep saucers of beer in your garden.
Why do we call it the Hotel California experience? Because after drinking the beer, the slugs tend to check-out, but they can never leave!
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Lawn care
The grass is long.
How tempting it is to get the lawn mower out and to give the lawn a nice cut. Only to find the lawn being ploughed up, leaving nasty, muddy patches!
To stop this happening, please remember to check to ensure that your lawn is not too damp to safely mow.
Better to let it look a bit too long for a week or so, rather than mowing the lawn if the ground is too wet!
How tempting it is to get the lawn mower out and to give the lawn a nice cut. Only to find the lawn being ploughed up, leaving nasty, muddy patches!
To stop this happening, please remember to check to ensure that your lawn is not too damp to safely mow.
Better to let it look a bit too long for a week or so, rather than mowing the lawn if the ground is too wet!
Water the birds!
Bill Oddie's asking us to think of wildlife and put out fresh water for birds to drink and bathe. "Water the birds!" says Bill.
"I'm not suggesting you hose down Blackbirds and Robins. That's NOT the kind of watering I'm encouraging! No. It's as basic as this: provide fresh drinking and bathing water for birds, daily if you can, and you'll make life easier for them. You'll enjoy watching them splash around. It's great fun, and it costs pennies. Get the kids involved.
"If you haven't got a bird bath, go out and get one. Please! Or use a shallow dish/plate, ensure you make filling it part of your daily regime. Clean it regularly, too, you'll be awash with happy birds," says Bill.
Birds bathe to keep clean and also to keep their feathers in good condition. A few species, like Starling and House Sparrow, like to bathe in groups. It's great to see eight or more birds bathing at the same time! Get the camera out. Bill's asking you to share your photos on twitter, #waterthebirds.
"We know it's only days before the weather changes. But providing fresh water, daily, is a great habit to succumb to as birds need watering all year round - even in winter!"
(EDITOR: It is best to use tap water rather than from a water-butt.)
"I'm not suggesting you hose down Blackbirds and Robins. That's NOT the kind of watering I'm encouraging! No. It's as basic as this: provide fresh drinking and bathing water for birds, daily if you can, and you'll make life easier for them. You'll enjoy watching them splash around. It's great fun, and it costs pennies. Get the kids involved.
"If you haven't got a bird bath, go out and get one. Please! Or use a shallow dish/plate, ensure you make filling it part of your daily regime. Clean it regularly, too, you'll be awash with happy birds," says Bill.
Birds bathe to keep clean and also to keep their feathers in good condition. A few species, like Starling and House Sparrow, like to bathe in groups. It's great to see eight or more birds bathing at the same time! Get the camera out. Bill's asking you to share your photos on twitter, #waterthebirds.
"We know it's only days before the weather changes. But providing fresh water, daily, is a great habit to succumb to as birds need watering all year round - even in winter!"
(EDITOR: It is best to use tap water rather than from a water-butt.)
Recycle in your garden
Canny gardeners have always been into recycling, decades before it became fashionable.
But what can you recycle? If you have an old hob kettle or a teapot that no longer holds water, or which leaks tea, you can, perhaps after drilling some holes in the base, use it as an interesting garden planter. If you don't want to drill it, just stand a plant pot in it, but be careful not to let it get waterlogged.
Anyone can make seedling pots from newspapers if you buy one of the easy use kits. There's no glue or chemicals required so it's a safe, fun project for the next generation of young gardeners.
But what can you recycle? If you have an old hob kettle or a teapot that no longer holds water, or which leaks tea, you can, perhaps after drilling some holes in the base, use it as an interesting garden planter. If you don't want to drill it, just stand a plant pot in it, but be careful not to let it get waterlogged.
Anyone can make seedling pots from newspapers if you buy one of the easy use kits. There's no glue or chemicals required so it's a safe, fun project for the next generation of young gardeners.
Bees. What can you do to help?
According to reports, bees and butterflies are not thriving. There are a variety of reasons: Pesticides, poor weather, diseases, loss of habitat.What can you, as a gardener, do to help? Be careful which pesticides you use, if any.
You can attract bees and butterflies by choosing to plant brightly coloured, large flowering bedding plants. Bees like to get to the centre of the flower so avoid 'double' flowers and plant bedding with 'daisy-like' flowers instead.
Bright orange and yellow flowers attract pests like aphids, so planting marigolds or nasturtiums will draw aphids away from vegetable plants.
If you want to help moths, night scented stock is a good option.
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