Moan, Moan, Moan - 2011

[David Nicholson]

I haven't had a drop of malt whisky since leaving Scotland!

I haven't had a drop in 67 years.

It's OK Michael, I think I've had your share as well as mine

[Anthony Darby]

I'm still smarting at having to leave several bottles behind. There's only so much you can drink in a short space of time! I think I tried whiskey in Dublin a few years ago (Jamieson - an Alloa chappy who could make it in Scotland so emigrated to the Emerald Isle). I'll stick to the real stuff.

[Lesley Cox]

I may be wrong but I think Scotch whisky costs less here than in its homeland. Something to do with the rate of excise charged by respective Customs depts.

[Anthony Darby]

I'll investigate.

[Brian Ellis]

I'm still smarting at having to leave several bottles behind.

I'm sure it went to a good home Anthony.

[mark smyth]

Can we have some rain please!? Just like last year my daffodils and Tulips are suffering.

[Palustris]

Just had a very hard afternoon. Friend gave us some Lysimachia Firecracker a few years back. In her poor stony soil it is a well behaved plant. In our richer stuff it has spread like mad. So I have cleared about 20 square metres of it. That is not the moan though. In doing so I had to dig up a fair number of clumps of Narcissus. In every clump at least half the bulbs had Narcissus root fly grubs in them. I hate them things!

[mark smyth]

In every clump at least half the bulbs had Narcissus root fly grubs in them. I hate them things!

Very easy - chemical or fly swats. I have 5 around the garden. Three in the front and two at the back. As soon I see one I dont take my eye off it get the nearest swat and whack

[ranunculus]

In every clump at least half the bulbs had Narcissus root fly grubs in them. I hate them things!

Very easy - chemical or fly swats. I have 5 around the garden. Three in the front and two at the back. As soon I see one I dont take my eye off it get the nearest swat and whack

Quite good for zealots and double-glazing salesmen as well!   

[annew]

Cats are too fast!

[mark smyth]

dead right and they always stop a few meters away and glare back and check what is about to be thrown

[Lesley Cox]

Probably just as well to have cleaned out the Lysimachia then because the flies will have been laying where the bulbs have been undisturbed for a long time and there is a good source of food for the grubs.

I have this nasty feeling that one doesn't see the flies until after they have laid their eggs so swatting is shutting the door after the horse has bolted. For Narcussus fly I go with a severe chemical remedy, suSCon Green, in my case, sprinkled in the planting hole when I plant (why do they spell it like that for heaven's sake?) or every time they are repotted if in pots. A very little stops the problem.

[mark smyth]

I was told suSCon is coming off the market

[Lesley Cox]

I wouldn't be surprised Mark. It's nasty stuff. It can only be bought here if one holds an agricultural contractor's certificate and for professional use. I don't but Roger does.

[Michael J Campbell]

I posted on another thread(can't find it now) that all my Trilliums had been killed by the frost,not so.It has now been established that it was a certain brand of Organic potting compost made from organic waste(no name given to avoid litigation) that I used in my compost mix. My brother who has a small nursery on the east coast has also lost thousands of plants using the same compost.Fortunately he discovered his mistake in time to re- pot some of the plants and save them. It had obviously not been given a conductivity test and contained some salts which killed the plants. Just wanted to warn others out there ,be careful what compost you use.