Squeezyjohn's 2013 UK Grow Blog

[squeezyjohn]

Just a quick update to say that the Del Gold I planted doesn't seem to be the dead loss that I thought it was ... 3 plants seem to have come back from the brink and are starting to make decent sized leaves - they're way behind the YTB that's already topped and the black stalk mammoth that's making huge leaves - but they're going properly now!

 

[squeezyjohn]

Great video John, now put that pint in the fridge and let it get cold! I still don't get our cousins the Britt's and warm beer. I always heard it was because y'all use Lucas oil in the refrigeration compressors. (a/c man's joke)

Nah Workhorse! That would kill all the lovely flavours we have in our beer. I've tasted American beer and I know why you keep it ice cold ... so you CAN'T taste it at all!

If I want a drink that's cold - I'll break out the gin and tonics with lime and ice - or maybe Pimms and lemonade with ice, mint, cucumber and citrus fruit in a jug ... that's the civilised way to do it!

 

[Chicken]

i got exited watching the bacca video,,, till you said '' those are not opium poppies ''...lol

 

[Chicken]

you mentioned you had issues with '' moles''

i grow '' CASTOR BEANS '' each year for camoflouge, and to let my vines grow up...

BUT . the castor bean is a natural deterrent to moles, they wont come near it,

if you lined your allotment with these plants, your mole problem will go away, plus theyd give you a little of a wind-block,

i can gladdlly send you a couple hundred seeds, come around nov. hit me up for some then

 

[Chicken]

heres what they look like, they are taller than me planted 3 rows deep

>

 

[squeezyjohn]

That's good advice Chicken - and thanks for the offer. I may have to do a bit of internet digging to find whether your US moles and our British ones are similar species!

 

[johnlee1933]

That's good advice Chicken - and thanks for the offer. I may have to do a bit of internet digging to find whether your US moles and our British ones are similar species!

Moles here feed on insect larvae. In my area it is Japanese Beetle larvae. Kill off the larvae and the moles disappear. Don't know it it's that way where you reside.

 

[squeezyjohn]

Just got back from a weekend away and the weather has turned thundery and rainy here ... and the tobacco plants have grown a lot in such a short space of time! I had one yellow twist bud fall over in the wind as the leaves are getting quite heavy and I'd forgotten to tie it to it's stake at the top! Easily rescued though.



^^ that's my yellow twist bud king plant that I'm going to save seeds from ... at the moment no other tobacco is flowering but I need to get a bag on it pretty quick - they're still increasing the leaf size.



^^ and this is the king Black Stalk Mammoth plant - the biggest leaves are still growing and approaching 3 foot long!!



^^ Now I know what these little fellows are ... and they're good guys! It's the larva of the european ladybird and they do nothing but eat aphids and small bugs - I think they're attracted to the tobacco as there are all sorts of little black bugs getting stuck to the sticky leaves. These ones weren't doing much moving though and I can't tell if they've been poisoned by the nicotine (which would be awful for my allotment) or are starting to metamorphose in to fully grown ladybirds. I'll keep an eye on them!

 

[squeezyjohn]

Moles here feed on insect larvae. In my area it is Japanese Beetle larvae. Kill off the larvae and the moles disappear. Don't know it it's that way where you reside.

No - the diet of Northern european moles is almost exclusively earthworms. If I get rid of those I'd lose all my soil structure. The main deterrent used here is sonic - you can buy expensive devices that produce ultrasonic signals that the moles don't like - but I've just learnt a great tip which is to get an old cheap transistor radio, fit new batteries, turn it on and tune to a music channel then wrap it in a few plastic bags and bury it in to a molehill in the middle of the troublesome area ... apparently they hate pop music!

 

[workhorse_01]

You'd probably run all of them out of England and in to the ocean if you played rap. We could call you the pied rapper.

No - the diet of Northern european moles is almost exclusively earthworms. If I get rid of those I'd lose all my soil structure. The main deterrent used here is sonic - you can buy expensive devices that produce ultrasonic signals that the moles don't like - but I've just learnt a great tip which is to get an old cheap transistor radio, fit new batteries, turn it on and tune to a music channel then wrap it in a few plastic bags and bury it in to a molehill in the middle of the troublesome area ... apparently they hate pop music!

 

[johnlee1933]

No - the diet of Northern european moles is almost exclusively earthworms. If I get rid of those I'd lose all my soil structure. The main deterrent used here is sonic - you can buy expensive devices that produce ultrasonic signals that the moles don't like - but I've just learnt a great tip which is to get an old cheap transistor radio, fit new batteries, turn it on and tune to a music channel then wrap it in a few plastic bags and bury it in to a molehill in the middle of the troublesome area ... apparently they hate pop music!

somewhere I read that if you drove a metal pipe or rod into the soil and hung tin cans on it with wire so the wind would rattle them it had that effect. Damn site cheaper and wind powered. Perhaps the random noises put them off?

 

[squeezyjohn]

Well I am a musician!

Well sort of - I'm an accordionist - I reckon that could scare a few off!

 

[squeezyjohn]

somewhere I read that if you drove a metal pipe or rod into the soil and hung tin cans on it with wire so the wind would rattle then it had that effect. Damn site cheaper and wind powered. Perhaps the random noises puts them off?

Now this method I like the sound of

 

[johnlee1933]

Well I am a musician!

Well sort of - I'm an accordionist - I reckon that could scare a few off!

OK I understand but where do you put the iron pipe?

 

[AmaxB]

Patch is looking pretty good there squeezy starting to fill up. Like the photos of the ladybird bugs is a bit of information I can store away.

 

[workhorse_01]

My parents bought these and ran the moles out of their yard. http://www.harborfreight.com/windmill-mole-chaser-47987.html

 

[workhorse_01]

My wife has a wisteria in the front yard that is just full of them, I didn't know if they were good or bad, so I left them and watched for problems.

Patch is looking pretty good there squeezy starting to fill up. Like the photos of the ladybird bugs is a bit of information I can store away.

 

[Markw]

Hi there Squeezy
That Black Stalk Mammoth is looking good there. It is nice when they start growing fast after the long weight. All of mine are in flower now. Just a quick question, that Yellow Twist Bud looks very tall. I was trying to grow the YTB last year and it was like yours it was very tall. I called it the mystery plant. In the end it turned out to be an Ottomon HY some of the seeds I was sent got mixed up. I am growing YTB this year and it is not anyting like the one I grew last year.
Keep up the good growing Squeezy they be some hanging to start soon.

 

[Knucklehead]

Nice, healthy looking plants squeezy. Running down the home stretch with the finish line in sight. Good job.

 

[squeezyjohn]

A couple of little updates ...

Firstly - the ladybird larvae seem to have died from nicotine poisoning on the leaves of the YTB ... very sad as they're such efficient predators of aphids - they were just looking for a nice shady leaf to sit on and turn in to the adults while near their food supply. Ah well!

Secondly - The plants that have been topped about 2 weeks ago have started to yellow and go blotchy with some small brown spots on the leaf ... I don't have pictures yet so I am aware that a diagnosis is unlikely - but if anyone could tell me if this is normal then I'd be grateful.