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Henry's Garden Hints & Tips 3

Guides to growing vegetables, hints & tips to help you get more from your plot from forum member mkhenry

Moles in the Garden

If you see a mole hill you should be delighted .Depending where it is of course. Why? because what you could do is scoop as many mole hills up that you can find. Put the soil into a biscuit tin and pop it into an oven at 200c or 400f for a couple of hours, Let it cool down and be very careful removing it from the oven. What have you got? Lots of cheap John Innes Type Sterile Compost

Avoiding Backache

Most of us have given ourselves a bit of a bad back or an ache or two having dug, picked, hoed or sown down at the allotment. Some times we have even given ourselves a very bad back and can hardly move. Well do you realise that a lot of bad backs are not caused by the work but by the choice of seating after we have stretched and warmed our muscles? Plonking one cheek on a box or squatting on a corner of anything available is sure to bring on the pain.

You owe it to your back to provide the best possible seat while your body cools down, and if you want it to last you should start to take care of it from now on..

Take a good look at your garden seat. If its good, then great you are doing the right thing. Remember to sit and give your muscles a chance to cool and heal. If not, look around you will soon find something that will do the job properly and give your mobility a few extra years.

Stop Birds Eating Your Strawberries

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How is it that no matter what netting you put up the Birds will always try to get to your strawberries before you do? Well here's one extra way to stop them.

Paint a few stones red and lay them just outside your netting. Make sure that in size and shape they resemble strawberries. The birds will soon swoop down to peck them and get a real shock instead of a treat. Soon the birds will give up and leave your luscious fruits alone.

It is fun watching them pick up the stones and shaking their heads when they peck down. They sometimes do a little dance, perhaps in frustration.

Getting Caterpillars off Cabbages

To get rid of caterpillars from your prize cabbages. Add a half cup of salt to your watering can. Stir well until salt dissolves and using a fine rose pour over any infested cabbages or spray with the saline solution. Don't worry, they won't taste of salt when you pick them, but the caterpillars will hate the salt and fall off. Repeat as necessary.

Brassicas don't mind a little salt and it won't harm the soil as long as you don't grow them in the same place every year.

Storing Onions Tip

It's always a shame when your carefully stored onions start growing extra green leaves, spoiling the look and flavour. To avoid this just hold the root end over a naked flame for a few seconds. The shock totally stops any further growth without affecting the look or taste.