Gardening advice

[dirty harry]

Hi all,

I am the opposite of green thumbed, but my daughter is desperate to grow some trees / plants over the summer, and I thought id check if there were any experts on here...

We have an apple and cherry trees that are going well, as well as strawberries and a load of root veg.

But my questions are around others, we have planned orange, Lychee, melon and lemon seeds, but also Nectarines.

We've had a little look and prepped all the seeds as appropriate, Nectarines in the freezer for a day etc...

Anyone had any joy, or could share any tips on any of these growths?

Thanks

 

[Ddanno]

In this climate (assuming Wales) the citrus and lychee just won't work. The trees may grow but any fruit they produce will be disappointing at best. We've had a great summer for them this year, but next season it will probably just rain like ******** and kill them all.

You'll have better luck with melons, depending on the variety, and nectarines should be fine.

What sort of soil do you have? (Chalky, clay, or will she just use raised beds and compost?)

 

[dirty harry]

In this climate (assuming Wales) the citrus and lychee just won't work. The trees may grow but any fruit they produce will be disappointing at best. We've had a great summer for them this year, but next season it will probably just rain like ******** and kill them all.

You'll have better luck with melons, depending on the variety, and nectarines should be fine.

What sort of soil do you have? (Chalky, clay, or will she just use raised beds and compost?)

Mate I have to be honest, I read all of that waiting for the abuse, but this was incredibly helpful and honest, and I cant thank you enough!!!

We bought multi purpose soil and have some compost, some we've seeded into small pots to transfer into bigger when ready, the melons are canary.

I froze the Nectarines for 24 hours before sending them, apparently that helps germination?

Tbh, I have no idea, im a growing novice, and would appreciate any tips or advice

 

[Ddanno]

You're a tad late in the year to he sowing anything other than cabbages to be honest. (Sow some cabbages though and make some bubble and squeak with gravy in November)

Are you looking to grow nectraine trees from seed? Probably looking at a three year+ project there, but you can slash that by buying saplings if you're inclined. It's probably a very good time to both get decent specimens and to plant them. You'll have to do a bit of research on replanting them properly as I've no direct experience.

I also have no experience with canary melons but the general rule of thumb for melons is keep them warm and watered, so a south facing greenhouse and a nice dowse before and after the sun arrives.

Same deal with the nectarines, they need loads of sunshine (this is the bit I do know) so be mindful of where you place them

 

[Yulia]

As previously said, you may grow it from seed,but it won't give you fruits (better buy already grown hybrids that are convenient for your climate).
Important: use fungicides before planting such trees as a preventive measure ( or use it on already planted trees)

 

[Ddanno]

Important: use fungicides before planting such trees as a preventive measure ( or use it on already planted trees)

Really good point. You'll lose them to root death if you neglect this.

 

[Yulia]

Really good point. You'll lose them to root death if you neglect this.

Yeah... trying to save my beautiful blue spruce as well as my pear tree now....

 

[Ddanno]

Mate I have to be honest, I read all of that waiting for the abuse, but this was incredibly helpful and honest, and I cant thank you enough!!!

I'm only  half an arsehole

 

[dirty harry]

I'm only half an arsehole

Join the club, although id go with 60%...

 

[dirty harry]

You're a tad late in the year to he sowing anything other than cabbages to be honest. (Sow some cabbages though and make some bubble and squeak with gravy in November)

Are you looking to grow nectraine trees from seed? Probably looking at a three year+ project there, but you can slash that by buying saplings if you're inclined. It's probably a very good time to both get decent specimens and to plant them. You'll have to do a bit of research on replanting them properly as I've no direct experience.

I also have no experience with canary melons but the general rule of thumb for melons is keep them warm and watered, so a south facing greenhouse and a nice dowse before and after the sun arrives.

Same deal with the nectarines, they need loads of sunshine (this is the bit I do know) so be mindful of where you place them

Ye we have cabbages on the go.

Tbh we are trying to start a bit of everything, we are moving home next year, so are trying to make a start in pots etc, with a view to planting fully after the move...

Essentially we have no idea wtf we are doing

 

[dirty harry]

Yeah... trying to save my beautiful blue spruce as well as my pear tree now....

I planted a pearl tree about 10 years ago at my old house, my ex never really paid attention and it was ugly and bared nothing until thos year, it absolutely flourished with the tastiest pears ever!

 

[Yulia]

I planted a pearl tree about 10 years ago at my old house, my ex never really paid attention and it was ugly and bared nothing until thos year, it absolutely flourished with the tastiest pears ever!

I planted mine just this year, as well as other trees,but only apple one gave me great apples the rest are too young (cherry and plum tree had a couple of flowers but that was all, this year). The pear one has unfortunately phytophthora and I'm trying to save it (already had some success but it's still lasting). Unfortunately didn't use fungicide before to plant it...so

 

[dirty harry]

I planted mine just this year, as well as other trees,but only apple one gave me great apples the rest are too young (cherry and plum tree had a couple of flowers but that was all, this year). The pear one has unfortunately phytophthora and I'm trying to save it (already had some success but it's still lasting). Unfortunately didn't use fungicide before to plant it...so

What is phytophthora?

My old pearl tree never looked good, but it randomly became a monster this year lol.

The apple tree planted the same time was productive from yearb2 onwards

 

[Yulia]

What is phytophthora?

My old pearl tree never looked good, but it randomly became a monster this year lol.

The apple tree planted the same time was productive from yearb2 onwards

I don't know how to describe it correctly in English but it's a microorganism that affects the root and,later,the whole "body" of the plant (its' trunk/branches/leaves). First of all it strongly slows the growth of the plant and then you see first signs such as brown spots (especially if surrounded by white area),brown leaf tips (looks like dried dead) , also you can see brown spots on the trunk etc,step by step your plant dies if you don't use fungicides and don't cut affected areas (but during a long period so when it just starts you may not recognise what is it if you've never seen it before).
I found an article on Wikipedia:

Phytophthora infestans - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They call it mostly a "potato and tomato disease" but this microorganism affects almost all the types of plants including decorative ones (and conifers).
For example it affected my blue spruce (on a spruce you can see its branches getting brown/dirty pink, than getting "dried" inside etc ,also you can see cracks on the trunk etc)

 

[Ddanno]

What is phytophthora?

My old pearl tree never looked good, but it randomly became a monster this year lol.

The apple tree planted the same time was productive from yearb2 onwards

Root rot, basically tree cancer.

Sounds like you have a nice window to just experiment a bit before the move - a good thing because gardening isn't really an exact science and you'll have a bit of experience going into the new garden.

I wouldn't 'waste' any time/money on trees because you'll have to either leave those behind or end up likely killing them trying to transplant them (assuming you aren't growing them in massive pots - which your back will not thank you for and restrict their growth anyway). Spend a bit of time finding some good nurseries that sell fruit tree saplings in the meantime and get some lined up.

And find a place with a south facing garden if you can

 

[Yulia]

Root rot

Yep. We call it "schutte" in general,not sure if you use this term in english though

I wouldn't 'waste' any time/money on trees because you'll have to either leave those behind or end up likely killing them trying to transplant them (assuming you aren't growing them in massive pots - which your back will not thank you for and restrict their growth anyway). Spend a bit of time finding some good nurseries that sell fruit tree saplings in the meantime and get some lined up.

Good comment! I'd also recommend saplings or very young trees. My neighbour bought an adult beautiful spruce that also had schutte (or root rot, caused also by phytophthora from what I've seen) , and wasn't doing anything until his tree finally dead...then bought another beautiful spruce even higher than the previous one, and it's also dying (extremely quick those months btw). He has another spruce in his yard that looks ok at this moment but I've also noticed first signs of schutte...and another adult plants treated the same way: he's just waiting until they die and then throw his money buying another adult trees..
And I try to save my young and pretty small spruce (that costed coins for me) instead of just doing nothing to help it and throwing it once it dies)

 

[Which Tyler]

Raised bed I put in during 1st lockdown has died - 5 years feels about right for a shitty construction (used scaff. boards); so Ali has decided that, rather than replacing a couple of boards, she wants some decking in that corner of the garden - which means shifting 2 tonnes of soil from the raised bed (looking like it'll be more), the full compost bin, and about a tonne of slate chippings.

Oh, and whilst we're at it, if we're going to be sitting there, why not have a bigger pond? (I'm not convinced she has any concept of the work involved in that).

Oh, and if we've got decking right next to the pond - why not have the deck overhanging the water?

I've been told off or making it too complicated by wanting ventilation under the deck boards, and considering 1 curved edge, rather than 5 straight edges.

I'm considering divorce.

 

[dirty harry]

Raised bed I put in during 1st lockdown has died - 5 years feels about right for a shitty construction (used scaff. boards); so Ali has decided that, rather than replacing a couple of boards, she wants some decking in that corner of the garden - which means shifting 2 tonnes of soil from the raised bed (looking like it'll be more), the full compost bin, and about a tonne of slate chippings.

Oh, and whilst we're at it, if we're going to be sitting there, why not have a bigger pond? (I'm not convinced she has any concept of the work involved in that).

Oh, and if we've got decking right next to the pond - why not have the deck overhanging the water?

I've been told off or making it too complicated by wanting ventilation under the deck boards, and considering 1 curved edge, rather than 5 straight edges.

I'm considering divorce.

I feel your pain, I have the same issues, she wants the decking to have specific look despite being in the process of moving, and she requiresa very certain look in the garden while she doesnt lift a finger...