In my jungle....

[Shirls]

Thank you guys. xxx

[Shirls]

I'm too ashamed of my front garden Hezz to show you a picture, but perhaps I'll take one from now and hopefully when it's a bit tidier and show some time in the future!!!

[OP]

I gather the fox(es) can jump from your neighbours shed over whatever you have between their shed and your garden. Is it a fence perhaps? If it is something like that, could you put something to deter that way in?
They are not called crafty for nothing are they.

[Marianne Marlow]

Shirls I hope my comment was not insensitive. I was not implying that I didn't think you were doing enough.

[milliej]

So sorry to hear about your chooks Shirls

[Hezz]

Shirls, please do take a "before" photo, to compare your efforts to. I didn't with mine, like you was less than happy with the weedy look and overgrowth of singapore daisy that is the hardest thing to completely eradicate. Now I wish I had to remind me how horrible it was and how nice it is going to be, once the new plants grow up properly.

[Shirls]

Don't be daft Marianne Marlow. No offence taken at all. We have done most things possible to keep these pesky foxes out and most of the time it works.

However, on this occasion both Lola and Bea were broody and together in a very large cage set up on the patio, it wasn't secured - being on the patio. When they are broody you have to get cool air circulating underneath them to stop them from being broody - so said cage was up on bricks with a temporary wooden roof. It's a bit complicated to explain but the cage was upside down and being on bricks air could flow underneath. The chooks have to sit on the cage floor (uncomfortable and not broody inducing). Being as the cage would normally be on the ground it could have been secured. But, as it was upside down I had to give it a roof and this is where the cunning fox managed to manipulate it so that the roof collapsed in.

Any other time the chooks would have been in the coop in the run which is completely secure.

I must add that OP's link about fox proofing is really helpful. It seems foxes don't like change, so we can deal with that and I have already, so fingers crossed. They won't break into the run, so lesson learned about keeping chooks outside the run even when caged.

[Shirls]

Back to my jungle..... I was researching something on-line yesterday, (oh the internet is invaluable!!!!) and found that one can use white vinegar as a weed killer!! How much do all those expensive weed killers cost I ask you? It mustn't be sprayed on the ground as it can alter the PH etc., and make the ground infertile for up to a couple of years. So, the method I would use is to cut the top off of a huge water/squash bottle, invert over the plant and spray in the bottle. That way the vinegar goes on nothing else but the weed and not on your precious plants and flowers. How cool is that?

I have some photo's of some weird plants in my jungle and would be interested to know if any of our members can tell me what they are before I destroy them as weeds? I will continue to research on-line but searching by picture alone is a very long task!!! Any help/advice you could give would be much appreciated. Pictures to follow.

[Shirls]

Here we go:




The first one is huge and the leaves are about 10 - 12" long if not longer.

[samwiseg]

They look interesting! I wonder what they are?

[Hezz]

I don't know much about weds etc, but the first two looked familiar to me and I went looking ..... I hope that first, very large leaved one is not a giant hogweed? It seems this is a very nasty plant to mess with. The second one brings to mind one of the commercially grown flowers, but I can't picture the flower.

[milliej]

None of them look like weeds to me just flowers in the wrong place but I don't know what they are either! Hogweed I know can be a killer, it's poisonous, nasty stuff! We have some ground creeping sticky yellow stuff that's a monster and so difficult to get rid of, we just have to keep pulling it up when it appears! I do like the idea of white vinegar though, wonder if I can persuade my OH? He loves destroying anything 'out of place' with insecticides and our gardens here (back and front) are very small. I kind of wish he'd leave some disarray for the birds to enjoy!

That first photo, couldn't be a wild orchid could it?

[skysmum]

Shirls I am so so sorry about your chooks, absolutely heart breaking, I don't know how you cope with it , sending a hug x

With your plants, wild garlic is very very invasive and will overtake if allowed to.

The first picture is, I think, Acanthus Mollis or Bear's Breeche's, the other two are indeed weeds and both from the Spurge family, one is Caper Spurge and the other is Petty Spurge, pretty though

[ffiscool]

I am also so sorry about them too. So upsetting

[helenmat]

May 28, 2016 7:56:44 GMT Shirls said:

Here we go:




The first one is huge and the leaves are about 10 - 12" long if not longer.

The second and third picture are uphorbia, they will grow into big plants, they are not weeds but the sap inside them will bleed white when cut, be careful it is an irritant! The first picture looks like one of the thistle family I think.

The definition of weed is an unwanted plant so it's up to you really.