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Crystal ball job this!My first thoughts are: Get rid of it altogether!You describe what you can see in it which is fine, it is what is in it that you cannot see that may cause a problem at a later date!IMHO: At best put it on the compost heap otherwise find a bit of waste land to put it on!
This reply isn't about the water, but just a few things you've said.Mulberry in a pot - they're a lot better in the ground, I tried one in a pot, eventually got rid of it as it was so poor but now I have a bigger garden I put one in about 2 years ago (It was bought pot grown from a good supplier and about 4-5ft high) and it's done really well, now about 12 ft high and had a few fruit last summer - birds got most of them! You can prune to grow them as a bush, you don't need to let them get tall.I found that my raspberries have done so much better in the new garden with a sandier soil, they don't get waterlogged.Gooseberry bushes in pots - am trying pots myself for last 4 years, have found they need big containers 18" or more" diameter, proper pruning and lots of feed spring and summer, and watering every day except in winter. crops have been good, and it's convenient for me as the pots are placed on bad ground that I couldn't have used anyway, and I can net them off easier.Bluberries, have done in pots but got no decent crops, have also grown in the ground at old place (heavy clay) and here (sandy loam) but both times I dug pits (about 2-3ft dia and about 2 ft deep) and filled with a mix of ericaceous compost and well rotted compost with plenty of organic matter to hold the moisture. I didn't have to water the blueberries much on the clay soil, but I water thoroughly every other day now when the fruit is forming on the bush on the sandier soil. Crops have been good, I'd say about 2-3 kg each bush (now have only 3). Also netting them off is vital, the birds will take the green berries as well as the black.Hope this helps
Rat-tailed maggots are actually hoverfly larvae and extremely good for your garden - they are voracious hunters of aphids etc..A pot full of soil, water and dead organic matter is not going to be a problem for any plant - the only issue would be really strong manure slurry which can 'scorch' some plants.Non-organic matter is a different issue... anything contaminated with lead paint is very bad and should disposed of according to the rules - if you find painted timber from before 1960 you need to dig around it and dispose of everything including the soil within at least 2cm of any visible flakes. The same thing applies to any tannalised timber (chromium/cadmium salts) that has been in the soil for some time. Copper is processed by living things and is no problem in normal use as the sole preservative or corrosion on brass etc. It only becomes an issue at high concentrations on sites contaminated by mining or other industrial processes.Plastic is not good, especially when it is flaking. There are questions about its effects on tiny life in the soil. It's always worth removing anything like bags/sheeting before it has a chance to flake - if only because it avoids a niggly job later.Cheers.
Rat-tailed maggots are actually hoverfly larvae and extremely good for your garden - they are voracious hunters of aphids etc..
Quote from: Vinlander on February 01, 2017, 11:36:26Rat-tailed maggots are actually hoverfly larvae and extremely good for your garden - they are voracious hunters of aphids etc..Many hoverfly larvae feed on aphids but rat-tailed maggots aren't one of them - they feed on decaying organic matter in stagnant water where the tail acts as a snorkel for breathing air. The adults of the commonest species (Eristalis tenax) are honey bee mimics in late summer / autumn.
Quote from: PondDragon on February 01, 2017, 14:08:39Quote from: Vinlander on February 01, 2017, 11:36:26Rat-tailed maggots are actually hoverfly larvae and extremely good for your garden - they are voracious hunters of aphids etc..Many hoverfly larvae feed on aphids but rat-tailed maggots aren't one of them - they feed on decaying organic matter in stagnant water where the tail acts as a snorkel for breathing air. The adults of the commonest species (Eristalis tenax) are honey bee mimics in late summer / autumn.Well, I was aware the larvae don't have a ready supply of underwater aphids to eat, sorry for using 'they' once too often in my post - I have been known to criticise others for this mistake so the biter bit is only natural justice!However I was entirely mistaken about the adults - it appears they are vegetarian! - I actually wasn't aware there are non-predator hoverflies - a pity really, and despite being merely (entirely accidental pun) pollinators I can't actually call them 'useless' (even to me). It's a bit worrying that the larvae can live in the human gut though - so I'm afraid the rat-tailed maggot has now officially lost its free pass to my garden.Cheers.
Quote from: Vinlander on February 02, 2017, 13:28:05It's a bit worrying that the larvae can live in the human gut though - so I'm afraid the rat-tailed maggot has now officially lost its free pass to my garden.I think the number of cases is so small you are more likely to get hit by lighting. If you look at Wikipedia and then their sources they have been 4 cases in the last 100 years worldwidehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverflyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly
It's a bit worrying that the larvae can live in the human gut though - so I'm afraid the rat-tailed maggot has now officially lost its free pass to my garden.