What's the hardy annuals that you like to sow the autumn before to help you get earlier flowers next year? if you need ideas here are some suggestions brambleandbeyond.com/best-seeds-to-sow-in-september/
I sowed my hardy annuals at the end of February and popped them in the coldframe and greenhouse and they were fine ,all were popped out after hardening off the end of March and most were in flower by July so I'm going to stick to that as it's lovely and quiet in Febuary garden wise 🙂 I tried those 60 cell Dowding trays and hated them .I blocked a lot and that was much better .
That sounds like a great plan. Theoretically, there isn't enough warmth and daylight at that time of year for me, plus I don't like gardening in the cold😂 but if I've killed everything by them I will give it a go
Ooo… that two tone Labyrinth is a bit ‘Granny’s knickers’ for me. 😄 Some of my dahlias are really late blooming this year. Still hoping they burst into life soon. Lovely tour, thank you!
Lovely to see your patch and to see I am not the only one feeling a bit frazzled at this stage of the growing season. I have adopted the belt and braces approach to seed planting, half the seedlings go out into the patch and half stay safely inside the polytunnel to grow a bit bigger and hopefully can stand up to the brutal slug/snail attacks. 🤞
Snapdragons showed up on their own in my flower bed last spring. I let them grow and loved them, but I didn't really do much in the way of harvesting seeds. This spring, I had a bunch more snapdragons growing, so I'm assuming the seeds fell to the soil and did their own thing. I'm in Canada. We had temps of -30C and still they did fine. I added a few of the seed pods from the previous year and they took off, too. Love them so much, I went to a green house and bought a few extra. And the really great thing where I live ... the deer don't like them! Deer eat so many other flowers, but they don't touch the snapdragons or marigolds, so that's what dominates my flower bed.
I really like your Caitlin' Joy and Peaches. Perhaps your Café au Lait is one of the newer varieties that is more pink. Thanks for sharing your beautiful flowers.
I love your Sweet Nathalie, thanks for sharing, I'll be growing it next year! A top slug tip (which I got from Halls of Heddon) is to make "slug hotels" and then you can pick off the slugs easily. I use a plank of wood, or old roof tiles and the slugs love to hide under, I check and dispose of slugs on a daily basis! After a few weeks the slug population is all but gone. Jowey Winnie is a superb dahlia, I've grown 5 plants this year, long vase life and worth growing. Thanks for the video, very enjoyable.
I’ve had this plant for two years, outside my front window not so many shoots this year, I will try what you showed me, I think it’s great, I sit in my chair and watch bees . I now say ‘verbena Bon , because I couldn’t pronounce, 😊. Thank you .
Hi, l have a plastic compost bin with a lid as only have a small garden. How does this work compared to your open compost bins as turning would be difficult . I mix fill mine with shredded paper, grass cuttings, veg waste from kitchen old finished soil from pots. Do l need to buy anything to help brake down the contents within. Thank you for any help. Pauline
I used to have a dalek compost bin and they work just fine, you just need a bit of time. They are excellent for containing the heat and keeping the weeds seeds out, unlike mine. I just found they fill up really quickly for me so needed something bigger, hence the rustic setup😀
I’m a first year dahlia grower. I just found your channel a few weeks ago and subscribed as I enjoy your style and find your videos relaxing. I was sad when I realized the last video was 4 months old. Now, here you are. I’m glad to see you and that you are well! Sorry you are disappointed in this year’s garden but, carry on! -Debbie in Santa Cruz, California
In denmark we have had lots of rain since october 2023, nearly every day. During the winter I wasn't able to walk my fields because of the soil being a swamp. I have so much slugs as never before, my chickens are not able to keep up eating them ... and additional to that it's so cold, that my direct seeded plants don't germinate. Many of those, I germinated indoors, meanwhile died from the lots of rain, leck of sun and low temperatures. 🫣 It's a mess ... I'm glad to have perennial flowers!! 🤗🌻🌸
I too have slugs and snail on a unprecedented scale, and the wet winter followed by a cold dry spring has made this year a bit of a disaster. Beer traps caught lots of slugs but nearby dahlias were still munched into non-existence. Your dahlias are much better than mine - take heart!
Thanks, hopefully yours will pick up soon, mine were definitely on the 'they are not going to flower' list 2 weeks ago, and a bit of sunshine seems to have changed things around a bit. There are some that I'm just hoping the tuber survives and grows and we'll start again next year!
thank you so much for the tips! my boyfriend gave me potted snapdragon flowers for our one year and i really want to keep them alive and happy, and hopefully collect enough seeds that i can grow a flower patch with them! if you have any other tips and tricks, i’d love to hear it. thank you for sharing ❤
They weren't the best I have to admit. The petals kind of curled up into nothing so that no colour was displayed. I'm just in the process of drying some more in a warmer (quicker) environment to see if it makes any difference - the jury is still out so far
Just wanted to thank you for your previous recommendation to grow biennials...I grew some last year and now they look fabulous when not a lot else is out! Happy sowing.
Drying indoors is definitely quicker, as the temp is more consistent, the barn is very weather dependent. Indoors I would say it takes about 3 weeks to dry most flowers but the barn can be 3 weeks to 3 months 😂
Good question! Generally brought in on new dahlia plants, although it could be in the soil. I suspect it was on one of the new plants I bought in the spring and didn't spot it when I planted them out.
The ridge on those seed trays train the roots downwards so they dont just keep wrapping round and round. Also it works to help the structure and stableness of the trays and may the plugs pop out in a single piece without breaking apart
