Natural Alternatives to Cleaning Products etc.

[erica]

Originally Posted by angie1

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

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!

[erica]

Originally Posted by colmsmum

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!

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.

[colmsmum]

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.

[erica]

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!!!

[The Mammy]

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

[erica]

Or maybe get a cat??

[carissa]

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

[colmsmum]

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.

[The Mammy]

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

[erica]

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!

[kilk]

Originally Posted by angie1

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 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

[colmsmum]

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!

[noni]

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!

[carissa]

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

[noni]

Here is a photo of the strawberries.