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This month`s gardening problems
Q: Gail Toups asks: How do I get rid of coco grass?
A: I think I know this as
couch grass, which is of the same family and habit as coco grass.. It is very
stubborn, not receptive to weedkillers and can grow up to a depth of about 1 metre.
With a lot of perseverance you can weed it out but you have to make sure you get all the
roots out because if you miss even one piece it will start to grow again. It will
mean digging the area thoroughly to make sure you get all the roots and tubers, and
being quick to remove new shoots almost as they appear.
Q: From Maggie: My mother has
recently been having trouble with her electric wheelchair getting stuck / bogged down in
the grass in her garden. She does not want any more paving, and so I am trying to find
some kind of mesh which we can place permanently on the grass which will allow the grass
to grow through and then be mown like a normal lawn.. Can you help or do you have any
suggestions
A: I have had a look around for you
and found just the thing on the website below. They do various types of lawn
re-enforcement mesh. I hope this helps with your mother`s problem.
http://www.netlon.co.uk/_turfsystems/introduction.htm
Q: Marge asks: My husband and I
bought a smaller house and want to put a garden where the old gravel drive was. Problem:
The previous owner changed motorcycle and car oil there and spilled, we don`t think it`s
safe for veggies. Is there any product that will clean the soil or decontaminate?
A: I double checked with my
husband on this one, as he is a builder.. You will need to remove the soil that
has been contaminated as there is no way to clean it up without further polluting it.
That`s the bad news - the good news is that the oil won`t have gone very deep, probably
only a foot at the most, and it will be contained within a specific area where the
guy worked. So before you get the earth movers in, try having a dig around yourselves. The
guy may have put some sand down too, to soak up the oil, so it probably isn`t as bad as
you first feared.
Q: From Carol who is
fighting a losing battle with aphids and says the sprays don`t seem to work any more..
A: There do seem to be more
aphids than ever in recent years and I also found that bug guns do not seem to have that
much effect on the little critters. So I have followed the advice that Alan Titchmarsh has
recently given, and gone for `natures way`.. So no bug guns or sprays, just let the
ladybirds and other `good guys` take over from the chemicals. Aphids become immune
to the stuff we spray on them, in much the same way as us humans become immune to
antibiotics.
I wrote off some of my plants for the last year and possibly this year
too, to see if I can achieve a natural balance.
Q: Emma in North Devon who wants to
know if she can grow snapdragons in her part of the world..
A: I like snapdragons myself and I
believe they are gaining popularity once more. I live in the Midlands and find that they
will happily self seed themselves around my garden, therefore I am sure that in temperate
North Devon where you live they will be even more likely to do so ... I have put a little
information below, but recommend that for further comprehensive information you ask the
search engines to find websites dealing with the subject. I have looked on the Amazon
website for books about snapdragons but there are none that deal exclusively with them.
Again, look at some online seed catalogues such as Thompson & Morgan, for cultivation
information.
""Antirrhinums, or Snapdragons are
considered hardy annuals (which means they can withstand cold temperatures and light
frost) and are easy to grow from seed. The seeds can be started indoors as early as
January and put in a cold frame or greenhouse by March for early June flowering. Or you
may try saving the seed and scattering it directly onto the borders around September time.
(I do this with many hardy annuals and just let them grow where they like. I can always
thin them out in the Spring.)
Antirrhinums have a wide range of flower colors
and can be grown in three different sizes, depending on the cultivar; however, the
intermediate size is the most popular. The flowers bloom profusely from Spring until
Autumn. They require sun to partial shade, with well-drained soil. The word
"antirrhinum" refers to the snoutlike or noselike shape of the flower. If
mulched, they will survive the winter where winters are mild.""
* Of course you can always buy new ones each year
from your garden centre, but it is not so rewarding as producing your own plants from
seed..
Previous editions of your gardening queries:
Edition 1
Edition 2
Please e-mail me
with your garden problems, comments, or ideas for this section of laterlife.
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