Gardening Equipment and Tools

Disintegrating fleece.

waxwing — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:02:17 GMT

Hello. This year, I've had two batches of fleece that have disintegrated before the end of the season. In the past, fleece has gone through 2 or 3 seasons before having to be discarded because of wind damage. The current fleece seems to have suffered from UV damage and turned to powder. The garden centre could give no advice and there was no indication on the product as to how long it should last.

Has anyone else encountered this problem and found out how to get hold of decent fleece that will last? I suspect that the manufacturers see more profit if we have to replace the product within months but it's not good enough. Am I being cynical or was it a dud batch of fleece?

Pond-friendly decking cleaner

Caxton — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:56:16 GMT

We have an area of decking around the summerhouse which leads onto a small (very small) jetty into a pond. The pond is rich in wildlife - newts, water snails etc. The decking is lethally slippery and needs cleaning. Any suggestions on what to use which won't harm the wildlife in the pond?

How weighty are greenhouse bases?

Gro-way — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:25 GMT

I plan to site a glass 6 x 8 greenhouse next spring up near a external wall due to space and not wanting a lean to. I wondered how weighty the steel bases are(that come with greenhouse) as I did not want to invest in other base holding materials. Are bases designed to hold the greenhouse okay in gales etc. I assume this is what they are designed to do? Thanks again!

How can I remove coolglass from Polycarbonate.

Gro-way — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:34:51 GMT

I am a little irritated as I followed the instructions of Bayers Coolglass designed for glass and most polycarbonates. I was told to paint some on in a corner first wait a few days and see if it comes off first for the polycarbonate. I did this and it removed fine. However the coolglass does not come off after being on there through out the summer. I have tried vinegar, bleech,Meth. spirit ,window cleaner ,toothpaste(often good believe it or not)and it wont come off. I had sprayed a weaker solution of coolglass and wonder if this is why it wont come off. ie-If I had sprayed a correct thicker solution it would not have stuck to polycarbonate and actually removed- You might think the opposite but appears not. So it could be my fault possibly.

If I get my finger nail and try to scratch it off it does come off with perswasion without scratching surface. It might be I need a tool which can act like my finger nail so to speak but hopefully not damage the polycarbonate. I dont mind taking the risk here with something. It cannot be to abrasive. As alternative ideas(not tool based) I have even thought of paint striper. I have not tried white spirit yet and am a little worried about the paint stripper halming polycarbonate a little.Bicarbonate of soda recommends mixing with vinegar ,is another one I am about to try,but haven't yet.

Can anyone recommend a tool to scrape or a chemical that would remove this other than my attempts?

So here is a lesson for us all ,spray the correct fuller concentration in the beginning, if we have polycarbonate! I guess you live and learn. Would appreciate any tricks people can think of. Many thanks indeed!

What is the best garden knife

Always Diggin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:17:36 GMT

I'm writing my letter to Father Christmas and am going to ask for a garden knife, I know there are different types but as I am going to be mainly taking cuttings so I am thinking a general purpose one will be most appropriate.

But which is the best make? Can anyone give me any pointers?

What Hollow Aerator?

pwgarden — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:06:28 GMT

Afternoon,

I'm going to tackling my heavy clay lawn with a hollow aerator to get some oxygen and nutrients back into the soil once I cover with my home compost. I've got quite a lot of lawn to aerate and I wanted to know what people recommend to use. I worry that the cheaper versions which you step into the lawn like a fork may be very hard work pulling back out of the clay lawn. But I don't want to spend the earth and get a motorized one.

Does anyone have a recommendation on an aerator which is good value, easy to use and will remove plugs of earth from the soil?

Thanks for your help and happy gardening!

Robert

looking for a garden tiller

Alison Munro — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:40:33 GMT

I am thinking of buying a garden tiller for my quite large veg garden - my father used to have a Merry Tiller, but I am told they are no longer made. What brands are recommended, and is there somewhere where second hand ones are on sale. Thanks.

tool for getting rid of acorns?

Lynsey — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:11:10 GMT

Hello everyone,

I've just moved in to a new house with a big oak tree at the front and I'm a having a very hard job at the moment collecting all the falling acorns and I wondered if anyone knew of any amazing acorn collecting tool for the garden. I was hoping for a sort of outdoor hoover. Does such a thing exist?

Many thanks

Lockable outside tap

LisaH — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:37:42 GMT

I am desperate for an outside tap to be installed so that watering the vegetable garden at school is easier but am coming across a lot of resistance. At the moment we have to fill watering cans inside one of the classrooms which often leads to wet floors and cross teachers :( This also has the problem where watering can only be done when the classroom is empty - so basically lunchtimes and no weekend or holiday watering can be done once I have emptied the water butt. I am really after either a lockable tap or tap cover or another method we could use so that I can have my tap and naughty kids can't come and turn it on - is there such a thing?

Rechargeable lawnmower comments please

kandeakay — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:24:04 GMT

I wonder if anyone has tried the Bosch rechargeable lawnmower? My lawn is getting ever smaller as I indulge my plant addiction and I'm thinking of replacing my petrol mower for one of these - but would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has tried one.

Thank you in advance.

Sharp shears

Hellyanthus — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15:07 GMT

I need a recommendation for some good handshears that will last and sharpen up well. I have a couple of pairs (one wavy edged, one plain) which have been fine for a while, but once the factory sharpness has worn off I find it hard to get them sharp again. I have some good sharpening tools and manage to keep other hand tools bright, but shears just don't seem to last. They also seem to bow like a banana, in spite of (or maybe because of !) the tightening nut and grass particularly, just slips between the blades. I would like telescopic ones if possible, but if the quality isn't there, I'd settle for fixed handles with good quality blades.

Gardening tools

John1985 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:27:00 GMT

Hi Guys Please recommend me some websites for gardening tools. Yesterday i stumbled upon http://www.quickvouchercodes.co.uk/blogcomments/add/9 in searching for the wheelbarrow for my garden got some good snaps but i need some more to choose the best one. Please help!

Looking for a donation of topsoil....

Wimbish Kitchen Gardens — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:49:17 GMT

We are a group of gardeners who live on Carver Barracks, Wimbish near Saffron Walden, Essex.

The Barracks land is managed by Defence Estates and we have just gained permission from them to establish a plot of allotments for military families on an adjoining airfield site. 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)) who are based at Carver Barracks are able to clear the land for us, and we have secured funding for the small amount of fencing we require. However, we are in desperate need of some topsoil – the soil here is heavy clay!!

Does anyone where we might be able to get a donation of top soil? We have access to some organic matter (composted leaves and grass cuttings) so this can be applied to our plots, but it’s not enough on its own! We are looking at clearing an area of 10m x 70m.

Many thanks for your help!!

Japanese Weeding Knives?

Rama Lopez-Rivera — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:23:41 GMT

I am interested to know if any one has used or seen people using Japanese Weeding Knives? What do you think of them? I got one in the USA while doing an internship.interested.

Actabacta and heavy clay

Anthea — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:18:51 GMT

Some years ago a brilliant gardening friend of mine introduced me to stuff called Actabacta - or something like that - which was a black powdery stuff which you sprinkled onto heavy clay and it broke it down after a year or so. It worked really well and lasted for ages. I have now moved house and left the remains of the sack behind for the new owners. (Thinking about it they have probably thrown it away which is a tragedy!) Where I have moved to also has heavy clay and I am trying to make a garden out of virgin field. I could really use this stuff but cannot find it anywhere. Can any of you help me or let me know what it was made of so I can try and recreate it.

Garden storage is breeding

Charlie Roberts — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:52:45 GMT

Up untill last year we had a 6 x 8 ft shed at the bottom of our garden, quite adequate in my opinion to keep the kids bikes, lawn mower etc etc in. However my hubby's mate bought himself a rather large shed though not sure of the size. My OH then decided that we needed a bigger shed so went and bought a 8 x 12 ft shed and insisted that we kept the smaller shed for the kids bikes etc as the new shed was his 'work shop' for restoring his lambretta. Needless to say its still in bits. But I digress the other week OH came home from work with not 1 but 2 of the plastic garden storage boxes. When asked why he simply stated that 1was to keep the kids paddling pool footballs etc in (Whats wrong with the shed they've always been kept in god only knows) and the other was for all his pond paraphernalia. In case you were wondering no the sheds are not fit to bursting in fact the larger of the 2 sheds is relatively empty, we did not need more garden storage it just seems to be taking over. Does anyone else have an other half who is obsessive or is it just me.

Spade Handles

marc — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:10:06 GMT

I am an art student needing to complete my major project, I need any old spade or garden fork handles, if anyone has anything like an old spade or garden fork and does not really need it I would be most grateful if I could have it to help my project.

I could pick it up if in London, or I could pay for the postage if anyone wishes to send them to me.

This would be much appreciated

Thanks

Marc C

Children watering hanging baskets problem

LisaH — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:36:49 GMT

I run a gardening club at my local primary school and we want to put up hanging baskets. Does anyone know of any gizmos that would make it possible for the children to do the bulk of the watering of these as I'm a volunteer and spend too much time there the moment as it is without having to come in to do daily watering A hose attachment isn't an option and whatever it was would have to be relatively inexpensive. I'm already going to mix in water retaining granules to make it slightly easier.

Spraying tall trees

Jaume — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:22:18 GMT

Hi: I wonder if you can help me with this annoying problem. We have a bunch of different trees on our garden. Most of them are tall now (more than 10 mts) and the problems arise when I need to spray them (against fungus or aphids). I tried with a high pressure water cleaner, but they are thought to take the water from the mains and not from a container with the right mixture. Do you know any solution? Thanks in advance.

thief proof windowboxes please

Tina F — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:32:31 GMT

Hello,

A light fingered (as opposed to green fingered) person has been taking off with small pots and window troughs from my front window. I have resorted to removing my larger window box in case that disappears too. Does anyone have any suggestions for securing pots in such a way that won't damage the window sill? I noticed that another forum member recently asked about securing pots with brackets as these were at an upper level. I would really like to have flowers at the front of the house but maybe I should simply give up on the idea. I have considered using a very heavy wrought iron trough but that might seem even more desirable to a thief who has a mate to help lift it. Help!

Grafting Roses

cathouse — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:44:33 GMT

Hi everyone

Only just found this site. Looks very useful.

I am going to give rose grafting a go this summer. Does anyone know where I can get the specially designed rubber patches to put over the graft. Basically its a strip of rubber with a pin in one end?

Could I improvise in the meantime by making up some out of disposable rubber gloves and a bit of bent wire? Not sure if it would decay at the right speed though.

Chase Barn Cloches

liz — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:03:04 GMT

Hi- I've been given 3 chase barn cloches and thought they'd be just like the ones my Dad uses...ie. easy to assemble. Not so! I've foraged on the net but with little success. Does anyone have a diagram/close up picture of one that's put together? Thanks

Mowers

Seafarer — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:05:11 GMT

Need to replace old rotary blade mower. Comments/reviews(good or bad) sought on which make to purchase

basis following critrea

Area: c. 1000 sq.metres roughish grass, definitely not tennis court!!

Definite Requirements

Type: Rotary Blade Petrol Driven, not push, 50 cm cut width, blade brake/clutch to avoid having to stop engine to empty collecting bag. Mulching facility.

Like to have Requirements

Rear and/or side discharge

Easy starting

Not Important

Engine Make

Colour

Hi, I wanted to propagate alpines. I am going to buy a growhouse-Need Advice on ASPECT!?

Gro-way — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:57:17 GMT

I am mainly concerned about light levels in winter once the alpines have been potted on. I wanted to house the alpines in a grow house/green house(or similar). My question is if i bought a polycarbonate structure to house them over winter and put this in a south facing aspect -would this be 'enough light' for them to grow a little in the colder months. I thought due to a lower light level than say 'glass structures' the alpine may suffer discolouration to the foliage. If this is likely to be very marginal and I am worrying about nothing here, please let me know, as glass is alot more expensive if i were to purchase a lean too etc.

I am more specifically asking about light levels and alpines than I am about 'which' structure. Although if any one does know a suitable purchase for my situation then that could be usefull also.

A couple of questions about polycarbonate 1.2m growhouse-Can u Help?

Gro-way — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:53:33 GMT

I have bought a polycarbonate growhouse from gardman.The people that sell coolglass as a shading for greenhouses say it will spray onto most polycarbonate. I have twin glaze polycarbonate-is this okay?

Also the instructions say you can use plugs to screw down your grow house to slabs. i have the relatively cheap standard concrete slabs that you buy on a budget from B&Q. If you use a quick speed hammer drill will this be fast enough to drill these slabs as i fear a slow speed would split them . My DIY is very poor. As i say the instructions seem to say slabs in general are okay. I assume it means most rawl plugs will do the job as long as you drill enough holes to spread the weight of the growhouse. My slabs are about 1.2 inch thick but i sense it might be good to drill right the way through the slab and have a similar size rawl plug. would u need extra grip plug. If u have done this before can u suggest best plugs?

I have the basic cheap rawl plug with slight protrusions-am hoping this could be adequate?

Thanks folks!