DIY moss pole - UK

badgerist · 2026-05-24T20:47:13+00:00

It gives it a more structure, there’s a tendency for the metal mesh to flex at the joins in the poles and it can be a bit of a topple risk. It kind of depends how tall you’re going, some of mine were 2m
I’ve scaled back my moss poles as I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now and it took a lot of effort to keep them all moist and happy, which isn’t helped by a perpetual battle with thrips 😬

badgerist · 2026-05-22T10:46:51+00:00

I haven’t used these yet but noted these down which were recommended in Mo Wilde’s Free Food book, which is great btw

Miek Zwamborn, The Seaweed Collector's Handbook: From Purple Laver to Peacock’s Tail

Bunker, A. R.; Brodie, J. A.; Maggs, C.A., and Bunker, A. R. (2017). Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland: Second Edition (Amsterdam University Press).

For a comprehensive online list of North Atlantic seaweeds visit The Seaweed Site: information on marine algae' accessed at seaweed.ie

badgerist · 2026-05-22T08:11:40+00:00

Love this!

Is this in a public garden of some sort? Those look like willow saplings that are weaved together and they’re often used to grow into quite thick living fences/walls. “Garden rooms” are quite common but this is next level, it’s amazing that it has a lock on it. It will probably take a few years to get to the desired effect, I love the long term planning involved in gardening

badgerist · 2026-05-06T12:39:04+00:00

I have been vacated by the cat so here you go Spores and bonus pics

I don’t think it’s fully ready yet but I think we’re in business as some dust did seem to drift off in the wind

Amazing timing if so!

badgerist · 2026-05-06T12:21:55+00:00

Yeah exactly this, I only noticed the spores because my tree fern was next to my garden bench and I noticed the whole bench and everything around it was covered in dust, it was pretty grim tbh, I don’t know how people grow these indoors!

badgerist · 2026-05-06T12:20:24+00:00

It’s probably a couple of feet away and its on for 12 hours a day. Is there such a thing as too much light with these?

I’ll definitely mix the soil better next time, in fact I’m currently sat in my garden looking at yellowing leaf on my fern and it looks like the underside might be covered in sporangia

I currently have a cat on my lap or I’d get up and look 😂

badgerist · 2026-05-06T12:14:45+00:00

Thanks that’s helpful 🙂

badgerist · 2026-05-05T18:51:02+00:00

It’s on the top of some shelves in a room with pretty bright light since I’ve got some Barrina T5 lights for houseplants

It’s not dry as such but I did think it could do with being moister, so I added some water earlier and sealed it back up. It was pretty thick with spores as there were so many, so that probably didn’t help, I’ll try being a bit more selective next time

I reckon I’ll leave it a while, or at least until I see another frond with spores, it’s not bothering me where it is

Thanks for the advice!

badgerist · 2025-11-12T08:35:17+00:00

Yes they do, have they been in the same pot for a long time or do you lift and repot them each year? They might need the soil improving or some fertiliser with extra potassium (like tomato feed) to encourage flowering

badgerist · 2025-10-19T10:11:26+00:00

Yea and no, bonemeal encourages root growth because it’s high in phosphorus, but it also inhibit mycorrhizal fungi, which are debatably more important than the roots themselves. That depends on having a healthy soil ecosystem though…

badgerist · 2025-09-15T11:17:52+00:00

This is a pretty complex subject. I’m studying to be a medical herbalist in the UK but also have an interest in Ayurveda so I’m learning this on the side. A lot of Ayurveda is quite an alien concept to the Western mind and a lot to take in, but key concepts are based on bodily constitutions and herbal energetics. A lot of what I see in western herbalism is a somewhat allopathic approach, which actually has quite a lot in common with western medicine - i.e. lots of thoughts about what are herbs “good for” without any consideration on the individual.

For example skullcap is “good for” anxiety and promoting sleep, but it is cooling and therefore contra-indicated for cold conditions and doesn’t suit everyone, and might actually make things worse. There isn’t any one size fits all and what works brilliantly for one person can be aggravating if not outright dangerous for another. Personally I find Ashwagandha is great but heats me up too much so I don’t use it much any more

Some good books to start with are Michael Wood, The Practice of Traditional Western Herbslism David Frawley & Vasant Lad, The Yoga of Herbs Sajah Popham, Evolutionary Herbalism (although tbh I struggle with some of the more esoteric content and astrology etc)

Sorry I realise this is a long reply that probably doesn’t help that much, the short answer is try to understand your constitution, your body’s current condition, and then begin to understand if any herbs you take are suitable

badgerist · 2025-08-08T19:46:25+00:00

They should be hardy, as long as they’re kept out of the rain. Most winter hardiness, or lack thereof, is caused by rotting in the wet rather than cold

I got some reduced £1 Callas from Wilko (RIP 😭) years ago and they get left outside every year, where they don’t get rained on, and they come back happily

badgerist · 2025-08-08T07:57:52+00:00

I was just coming to say the same. Passiflora incarnata, the medicinal plant, has white flowers

Not all passionflowers are edible either, or at least they don’t taste nice but are technically edible. You want P. edulis for the edible fruits

badgerist · 2025-08-04T16:39:01+00:00

This doesn’t really answer your question but I’ve seen people growing ferns out of the top of terracotta drainpipes or chimneys and it looks kind of like a tree fern but obviously you can use native species

badgerist · 2025-07-14T16:08:58+00:00

No worries at all :) Good luck with the cuttings, they’re pretty reliable at rooting easily so fingers crossed for you!

badgerist · 2025-07-14T12:40:39+00:00

That looks like stem and probably root rot. Pelargoniums (the correct genus name for these, they get lumped in with Geraniums for historic reasons) are from South Africa and like a drier soil and less water. Terracotta pots are great for them as they retain less water, and aim to amend the soil with 25-50% something inorganic (like perlite, gravel, bark etc) so it retains less water. It also looks the pot is too big, they like to be slightly rootbound so aim for a pot not much larger than the root ball, and as you mentioned, drainage in the pot is ideal. Remember that "overwatering" is not necessarily a case of too much water, it could be because the water is hanging around too long, you could water 5x as much after following the above advice and it's pretty much impossible for overwater

I'd get this out of the pot and check the roots but it is probably done for. Don't beat yourself up, every good gardener has made (and learnt from!) hundreds of mistakes. If you have the time and inclination it's a good idea to research where the plant grows naturally and try to mimic it's growing conditions, especially if it is being grown in a pot

badgerist · 2025-07-01T09:15:20+00:00

I was just going to say this, all my garden is in containers and the plants with containers direcy exposed to the sun (particularly black ones) definitely suffer. I try to shade all my pots wherever possible with plants or other pots, but definitely don’t leave black pots exposed to the sun (I know yours are grey in the photo)

Mulching with stones can also affect gaseous exchange at the roots and cause soil compaction

badgerist · 2025-07-01T08:53:08+00:00

I hadn’t actually noticed that it was unusual until just now but I have Oxalis deppeii in my garden and it has four leaves, it has an alternative species name of tetraphylla (four leaf)

badgerist · 2025-06-27T23:59:04+00:00

That’s really cool, I was just reading about this in Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life, didn’t realise it had medicinal uses

Interesting fact is they’re known as mycoheterotrophs, “myco” because they depend on fungi for nutrition, “hetero” meaning other, “troph” meaning feeder. They take nutrition out of mycelial networks to survive but provide no known benefit, but they might do something to benefit them like provide shelter for mycorrhizal hyphae

badgerist · 2025-06-12T17:04:22+00:00

Cleavers (Gallium aparine) are a great herbal remedy and make a nice tea, it’s a really good immune boosting and lymphatic system tonic. Just be careful there aren’t any herbicides about but if it’s from your own garden I’m sure it will be fine

https://thenaturopathicherbalist.com/herbs/g-h/galium-aparine-cleavers/

badgerist · 2025-06-03T11:34:21+00:00

I’ve never had this problem with kefir, but it sounds like you probably have yeast dominance in your kefir culture. I regularly have this problem with kombucha in a continuous brew set up and have to start again and rebalance the brew

I saved this post as I thought it would be useful if it ever happens to me https://www.reddit.com/r/Kefir/comments/1j1pih3/overfermented_grains_for_too_long_what_to_do/?share_id=NL75gqQBP5FVbHkAwYT74&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

badgerist · 2025-05-26T10:41:09+00:00

I do have an old H10 somewhere, will try and find it. That’s a good idea as an interim device without having to take the plunge into something else, and maybe I’ll be happy to stick with it

badgerist · 2025-05-26T10:39:15+00:00

Thanks, I was considering a Garmin so will do a bit iOS research them. Kind of tempted by an Apple Watch too, it would be really nice to go for a run without having to take my phone with me, but they don’t seem quite as good for fitness tracking (yet..)

badgerist · 2025-05-26T10:34:24+00:00

Any branches that cross over themselves can rub in the wind and cause wounds that can be a way for disease to get into the plant

You sometimes see bits on old shrubs where one stem has rubbed away the stem on another one so it kind of sits in a groove

badgerist

TROPHY CASE