help needed
 

hi just wondering does anyone know how i would get green water marks off gold taps. ive tryed the usuals baking soda,vinegar,ketchup im all out of ideas anyone out there knows the answer let me know kind regards angie1

Hi Colmsmum,
My dad had the same problem and was as upset a little Colm..(He's a Kid at heart) so he made a dome from chicken wire and netting..it is easy now to watch the progress of the berries and keep the Birds away..
Good Luck
M

netting
 

hi colmsmum,
i think i have a little bit of that netting erica mentioned, i'll have a look tomorrow, if its only a few plants you could criss cross some wool or twine over them, if the gap is smaller than the wingspan they wont fly in, watch out for slugs too, crushed egg shells around the plants will keep them off,
hope thats of some help, good luck with it :)

If you put some straw under the plants, to keep them up off the clay, the slugs will be less likely to get at them.

Thanks erica, your a great help. I'll buy a bit at the weekend, if i post a wanted ad i may not get it in time (if at all) & the birds will have a field day. I wouldn't mind but i have feeders for them but they're obviously impressed with colms work!

If you have limescale round your taps, soak kitchen towels or rags in white vinegar and wrap round your taps covering the offending lime-scale completely and making sure that the area is saturated. Cover with a plastic bag in order that the rags stay wet. After a few hours, you will be able to wash the limescale off. A less environmentally friendly way is to use Cillit Bang!

I suppose you could try the small bits of netting that cover boxes of fruit, if your local friendly shopkeeper would be kind enough to let you have some! I'm guessing your strawberry patch is not huge.

To The Mammy, carissa & erica
 

Wow! Thanks for all the tips, your all very quick, obviously not typing with one finger like me, lol!

They're in a plant pot, you know the one with the pockets on the side, i think it's a strawberry pot, so i'd only need a little bit to cover it. There's only 5 plants in it but thanks to carissa's previous advice i'll hopefully have more next year when i take the babies off the mammy plants (sorry can't remember what you call that).

I haven't noticed slugs yet, i have the pot on gravel, would that prevent them?

Also, is the pot ok on the ground? I'm always afraid of rats pee (sorry), we live beside a cow field & had some last year, they climbed up my shed & knocked down my bird feeders, then dragged them under it, i watched the whole thing out the kitchen window. I don't suppose they'd eat strawberries though.

Sorry for all the questions.

Gosh! I never thought rats would go that far for food! I've never heard of them going after strawberries either, but I could be wrong! Rats give me the heebie jeebies.... Ugh, to see a rat just running across the road in front of the car makes my skin crawl!!!

Re Strawberries
 

Colmsmum

Birds/Cow field/ Rats...its the making of a good horror movie..lol... Now what you need to do is Train That Big Dog of yours to be on Bird/Rat watch and hope that He does not take a liking to strawberries in the mean time..
Cheers M

Or maybe get a cat??

netting
 

i bought my netting in atlantic, it was 6 or7 euro, its well worth it, you get loads of it, plenty for your strawberries & next yrs runners, you can use it for peas & beans, i know you dont have a veg plot so heres an idea for colm if he wants to expand next year, get a large pot & put 3 bamboo canes or similar branches into it, tie them at the top with twine like a tee pee, set pea or bean seeds &wrap the netting round the canes & the peas will climb it, i did this for a friends 7 yr old daughter & she loves it, yeah i think the gravel will help keep the slugs away, you wont see them during the day, check after dark, if you find any a ring of salt around the base of the pot will work, cant help with the rats, there are gadgets you can buy that omit a sound or something to keep them away but i think they are expensive, you can always wash the fruit in a mild milton solution if you're worried

Oh Mammy, you have me in stitches! If you had of heard the wind & rain here the other night you would have thought you were in a horror! Did i mention the chickens & cockerel our neighbour has, lol! As regards Ben keeping the rats away, he's worse than me, he wouldn't go into his kennel one night because there was a slug in it, so i've no hope there!

Yeah erica they went that far, i didn't know they could climb like that until i saw them at it & the were BIG. I'm not afraid of them at a distance but i'd go mad if they got into the house. Haven't seen any this year so hopefully it was just all the digging for the new road that uprooted them last year.

Birds, rats, rain.......Stephen king & Hitchcock are coming to mind, better go to bed before i'm afraid to go up the stairs alone!

Night all.

Colmsmum
I have one of those plug in, insect thingy's That carrissa mentioned so if you want it's yours, but I'm not sure of the range it covers..You might have to plug it into a socket in the shed..
Let me know if you want it.
Good Night all. you should be all in bed by now....
The Mammy

Birds, rats, rain.......Stephen king & Hitchcock are coming to mind, better go to bed before i'm afraid to go up the stairs alone!

And then there's "the birds"..... have you ever seen that movie!! Scary! My brother was watching it one night and scared out of his wits when suddenly there was an enormous bang on the window. He looked out and there was a dead bird, which had smashed itself, kamakazi style, against the window. He nearly s*** himself! (sorry Chris).

Speaking of kamakazis.... does anyone know why kamakazi pilots wear helmets??

Goodnight!

hi angie, there is a product called Barkeepers friend, yu may have to look on net for it,otherwise try bleach and cold water. the green colour comes from the hot copper pipes i suspect, and soft water too most probably. hope this helps.
kilk

Carissa, thanks for the tips. Is it too late to plant the beans/peas this year? I grew the beans a couple of years ago in a hanging basket, don't know what variety they were but they had lovely red flowers, wouldn't mind trying to grow them again, colm would enjoy it too.

The Mammy, thanks for your offer, i'd be delighted to take the insect repeller, i'll be in Lucan today so i'll send a pm.

Erica, thats the film i was refering to, i haven't seen it for a while but i remember it did freak me out, brilliant film though. Your poor brother, did it take him long to recover from the shock, lol. Birds are always flying into our windows as well, i find around 4-5 dead one every year, the others recover from the shock, poor little things.

Thanks All!

alternative ways
 

To Colmsmum,
As the strawberries are in a planter why not take it indoors? I have some in
large pots and when the fruit sets I then take them indoors I have lovely red strawberries at the moment. If you dont have a sunroom just put them near a window on a small table or similar, you will have to water them more often and dont forget some organic feed and Colm can check them every day its well worth it Next year you can also try cherry tomatoes the same way.

Enjoy growing your plants!

colmsmum .......peas
 

hiya, it is a little late to set seed , mine are set since early may, but ive checked the packet & it says march-june so i would chance it, soak a few seeds in water overnight before you set them that might help them germinate quicker, they like manured soil so if you can get some of your neighbours chicken droppings, or some rotted cow manure to add to the soil it will do them the world of good, when they come up feed once a week with tomato food......if you've got the bug its not too late for, scallions, lettuce, beetroot, all you need is a couple of window boxes, old toy box, baby bath etc, just make sure to drill holes for drainage

Here is a photo of the strawberries.

Pea's for Colm
 

We have a very small garden but we do grow pea's. Using a garden pot with bamboe sticks, like a wigwam ( tipee ). However the pea's that we used are the fresh ones from Tesco ( small packet ), you can use them for eating, but they germinate very quickly in a saucer covered with wet kitchen paper.
The resulting pea's are very sweet in taste.

They have been growing probably since may, but the beans/peas are being picked and eaten fresh straight out of the shell by wife and daughter.
the wife is the one with the green fingers.

To Noni, carissa & Leo8237
 

Thanks so much for the brilliant tips. I'm going to have to print this thread & keep it for next year, as usual i'm late for everything! I'm definitely going to try the peas & beans even though i'm late but i'll put your tips to use & hope for the best. Carissa i forgot to mention the milton idea was great, i'd feel a lot safer letting colm eat them if i do that first. Noni your strawberries look gorgeous, mine (colm's) don't look that great yet, the birds had a feast on a lovely big red one yesterday & the rain & wind has battered the plants so as per your advice it's indoors they come! Leo is it just the normal peas from the fruit & veg aisle you mean?

Thanks all,
colmsmum.

P.S- i'll post a pic of the strawberries & herb basket, if the rain stops long enough to get one!

peas from tesco or other store.
 

Hello Colmsmum,

The pea's we got are from the fruit and veg department.
In the mean time the daughter planted some pea's from a seed packet last week in a pot ( straight into the ground ) and they they are allready sprouting.
This weather is great for plants in the garden lots of rain, a bit sunshine here and there.
regards

Peas
 

Thanks Leo, i didn't know you could do that (show's how much i know about veg growing!), sounds very easy, i'll give it a go in a pot & hopefully they'll grow for me. I'm raging this thread wasn't started sooner, i'd have everything up & running by now, ah well there's always next year.

bread soda/baking soda and water also work a treat as an exfolient!

strawberries & herb basket
 

Hi All,

Here's the pics (sending to admin) of my strawberries & herb basket.

The strawberries are coming on so hopefully soon enough colm will get to try one.

The herb basket is looking a bit worse for wear as the wind & rain has battered it! I bought the basket ages ago at the local village fete for a couple of euro, it ended up in the attic until i found this idea in a gardening book i have, i just lined it with a black bag with holes on the bottom for drainage. I have bay, coriander, parsley, chives & thyme in it & keep it at the back door for easy access when it's raining!

alternative remedies
 

Hi Colmsmum,
The strawberries and herb basket look great, if you have any room you can pop in a few lettuce plants and pick the leaves as you want them.

looks great, good use of the basket

herb basket
 

That's wonderful and there is nothing like the taste of freshly picked herbs. Well done! Nice to meet you yesterday!

Noni, Carissa & unapam
 

Thanks so much for your kind comments, i'm so happy that they're still alive, usually my outdoor plants die after a couple of weeks! I left the strawberries out today as the weather was fine, a while later i noticed colms windmill stuck in the pot, i was about to give out to him until he said he was scaring the birds away with it and right he was! I didn't see one bird go near it all day, i'm gutted a 5 yr old came up with a solution & i didn't think of it, lol!

You wouldn't believe it noni but carissa gave me 3 lettuce plants along with tomato & pepper plants at the fete yesterday, thanks carissa, so now i'm going to try locate a crate for the lettuce as suggested by fizzywitch on another thread. I'll post a pic when they come on!

It was lovely to meet you too unapam (& carissa & lindaleagh) it was a bit crazy there yesterday, pity we didn't have time for a proper chat but at least we got a few bargains & great weather!

Best regards,
colmsmum.

Colm's Windmill Idea
 

Out of the mouths of babes!

Colm has a natural gift for repurposing!

Hi all, here's the lettuce plants carissa gave me last week, i found another basket in the attic, i think it's just perfect for them. I used the same principle as the herb basket, black bag etc. & it's working so far, the plants are really coming on. Thanks carissa!

they look great, did you cut a few holes in the bag for drainage? if it gets waterlogged the roots will rot, a few crushed egg shells will keep the slugs off, wont look as pretty but you wont see them when the plants get bigger

Yep, cut holes in the bag & put in a few stones as well. I'll get the egg shells into it over the weekend, thanks for the tip. Going to plant broad beans today, you've passed that bug to me, lol!

good lassie, your learning, wont be long till you're passing on your own tips & advice

Burnt saucepans
 

Anyone boiled their spuds dry? Hard scrubbing after isn't it? Well 3/4 fill the saucepan with water and put it on the heat. When it starts to steam put in a good dollop of baking soda, it should fizz up immediately and let it work away on the heat for a few minutes. The burn marks come off easy. I too am going to print off these pages and keep them as my bible from now on. I've been looking for tips like these for ages. The two women on "how clean is your house" are great believers in natural cleaning products too - they use vinegar to clean nearly everything! Thanks a million everyone.

I too use bread soda/vinegar for lots of things.

To clean your oven use very hot water a good dollop of bread soda and cheap brown vinegar. Using a pot scourer use to clean oven, if there are stubborn stains on floor of oven make a paste of bread soda and water cover floor of oven with this and leave (cover with wet kitchen paper ) You can also use this solution to clean glass door of oven. After a while use wet kitchen paper to remove grime from oven. Once you have your oven nice and clean and sparkling cover the floor of oven with sprinkling of bread soda and leave there. When it comes to cleaning your oven the next time simply use a flat lifter/turner to remove dry bread soda and use solution of bread soda/vinegar to freshen your oven. Your oven will now only take minutes to clean as any spillages are absorbed by bread soda and are easily removed.

Bread soda/vinegar also good for cleaning insides of ceramic teapots, flasks stained teacups and brilliant for windows. Also use this solution for washing tiled/laminate floors, disinfects and cleans at same time!

Never go on holidays abroad without a couple of packs of bread soda. If anyone suffers from bad sunburn, run a tepid bath and lots of bread soda and this will alleviate the sunburn/pain. Alternatively, make a paste of bread soda/water and paint onto burnt area and leave on as long as possible. It will dry to a powder and you rinse off, never fails to cure bad sunburn, better than any aftersun creams/medications you can buy. Have used this cure on daughters several times and it never fails.

For cleaning around taps in bathroom, keep an old toothbrush handy and use either the bread soda paste above or toothpaste on brush to get to awkward parts of taps.

Natural cleaning
 

I got a great book called Natural Cleaning Products & Methods by Sarah Green, printed by Kandour Ltd. The ISBN is 1-904756-39-5.
It gives hints and tips room by room and the garden too.
Your local library will order it for you, if you don't want to buy it, and it may spread the word better in the library too!
By the way, just wanted to say, what a bunch of night owls on this site!

Vinegar, white
 

thanks for all the tips on the cleaning. Can someone please advise on where/how to get quantities of white vinegar for cleaning around the house?? I take it we're not talking cider/ white wine vinegar, ?!?!?
Corker

You can get regular white vinegar (the type of stuff they use in the local chipper) in the supermarket.

Also, I think I found this site with natural cleaning recipes via a link on another thread, but I thought I'd post it up here as it's topical.

Another way of getting rid of black and green fly in the garden is to use a spray made out of rhubarb leaves. Boil the leaves in some water for a while, allow the liquid to cool, put in a spray bottle and spray the flies with impunity. No nasty chemicals on your plants, just the natural nasty chemicals from the rhubarb leaves. Make sure to clean the pot you use for the boiling afterwards, as rhubarb leaves are poisonous to humans.