Grow Your Own Magazine

Whilst clearing out the post Christmas rubbish from the workshop I found some damaged bamboo canes in the kindling pile that had been used in the greenhouse last year.

I cut them into 6" sections with a hacksaw and have tied them into sideplate sized bundles with wire and left a loop so that they can be positioned about the plots as insect houses for lacewings etc.

I just ensured that all of the ends were open and just used a nail to open up any blocked bits of cane. Twenty minutes work left 4 insect houses ready to be hung in place, hopefully to inhabited by lots of greenfly eating lace wings.

I shall plant some lacewing friendly plants nearby.

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated Monday 28th April at 11.50hrs

What would those lacewing-friendly plants be?

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SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

SS, anything that attracts greenfly I suspect would be lacewing friendly so probably nasturtiums for starters.

Heelllppppp!!

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated Monday 28th April at 11.50hrs

Don't most of the 'insect houses' used by the insects, lace-wings, mason bees, etc only get used for them to overwinter in? Our lacewings seem to use the inside of our metal shed eaves as a B&B for winter.

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

Apparently tansy, fennel and dill attract lacewings (see http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/0...ol-article.htm for more planting ideas)
I wondered why I've never seen any lacewings on my plot...apparently they're nocturnal. So there you go.

Lovely idea PW.

Mr MB used our old wooden bread bin to create a space at the allotment for friendly creatures. It was supposed, potentially, to be a hedgehog house, but nobody told the hedgehogs yet!
He threw away all the old canes on our site during his 'parentally induced' manic tidying phase, before I got him conditioned to recyling properly. Never mind, we keep a lot of things lying around now, so under the rotting wood, buckets boxes and bits of everything I hope we're building an ecological space for nature. Will keep an eye on the skip for thrown out pea canes though!

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Regards, Jane
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? The creative adult is the child who has survived.
Ursula LeGuin
http://www.etribes.com/madderbat

Here's a really cool idea for a different type of 'insect house' MB.

"The stag beetle, Britain's biggest native beetle, is a globally threatened species, protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and listed as a priority species for the UK and London Biodiversity Action Plans. The number of stag beetles has been in decline since the 1940s.

The primary factor in their decline has been attributed to the loss of appropriate habitat – dead wood. The stag beetle requires dead wood to complete its lifecycle, as larvae feed on it for up to seven years before emerging briefly, usually in May, as mating adults."

stag beetle info - pdf


Bury Buckets 4 Beetles


stagbeetlehelpline.co.uk

__________________
Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

PW - I bought my father in law one of those little houses for fathers day! He was very amused! He loves gardening and wildlife, but I think even he thought "what on earth?!". He put it up in his garden and my neice Ella was able to watch all the insects etc. during the summer. DDL

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

Well I never did make my stag beetle bucket, maybe this year. I see from the map there are a few stag beetle sightings in Wiltshire.

Anyone else making insects 'houses'?

ps Mods/Admin would be great if we had a seperate 'Nature' forum.

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

I won an insect house (for ladybirds, lacewings and bees) as part of my MOM-dom. I have plenty of old bamboo canes so I'll more than likely make some like piglets and have them dotted about. I have a pile of old dead wood that I cut from the apple tree last year, no idea if anything has taken up residence though. I've also got some old bricks and tiles left in stacks that will hopefully house something.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - UPDATED - 11th June

http://www.sloganizer.net/en/style2,HeyWayne.png

My bug hotel seems to have plenty of spiders in it but then it is in a fairly exposed position, I have made a few more and put them by the shed.

Here is a picture of the original in action.

__________________
Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated Monday 28th April at 11.50hrs

Thats well cool PW, you could make them to sell I reckon!

We've a bought 'bug hotel' that didn't see much action last year, where they are sited seems to be important. I thought I'd put it somewhere a bit protected, but I think the insects took that to equal dark and gloomy - they need to be in sun I think. I've not checked our homemade one for a while, its down the bottom of the garden. I'll hunt it out and check it tomorrow cos the year before last it had lots of its holes blocked up with mud and occupied.

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

I know it's been mooted before but just to add my voice to the crowd!

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http://thankyouforthedays.blogspot.com/

Stand up now diggers all

I was told of a way of making a DIY version the other day involving some corrugated cardboard , straw and a large pop bottle

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Well give us a clue then NTG cos that piccy sure doesn't (not your usual standard!)

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

OK then,

Cut the bottom of the 1 litre bottle. Leave the top on. Get some corry card and some straw and roll it up like a swiss roll with the straw as the filling. and then fit it into the pop bottle. Tie some string round the top of the bottle and make a loop in the string and hang it up . The bugs climb up the bottom if you pardon the phrase and the pop bottle will keep the rain orf.

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Lol! see what you mean NTG. I thought you might have some piccies of them in 'action' in your jardin?!

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.