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Normally I don't criticize other peoples work, but a few days ago,after a game of tennis, we went to our opponents house for a glass of wine on their new patio. I was horrified to see that the patio, laid in random Indian sandstone had been laid upside down! Sandstone slabs edges are angled at around 60 degrees and the gap between the slabs should be wider at the base than it is at the top face. This allows for a wedge of mortar to be locked securely in place between the slabs. Of course being upside down the mortar could be very easily knocked out, but it also means that you have a very ugly and wide mortar joint, which in places was nearly 2 inches wide! Not nice! So please beware if you are doing it yourself, or if employing others that they know which is right way up.. with turf it's easy!
Still on the subject of patios... I hate the laying of slabs on a bed of 5 spots of mortar! The strength of a patio is not in the slab but on the underlying layer of a strong mortar mix of at least 30-35mm in thickness and a well compacted sub base of scalpings. Don't cut corners.. it really isn't worth it.
Spraying for pests and diseases is frowned on in most quarters these days, and I agree that where possible biological or cultural methods should be used. However there are some real nasties out there such as the red lily beetle which if left unchecked will dessimate your lilies which are now just coming into flower. One product that I can really recommend is Provado ultimate bug killer, and it does what it says on the tin! It is systemic which means it is absorbed into the plant tissues and lasts for up to 8 weeks.They say that it could be used on tomatoes etc in a glasshouse as well, but I think I would only want to use it on ornementals for obvious reasons. Remember please only spray this and other pesticides in the late evening when the bees and other beneficial pollinating insects have gone to bed and ALWAYS follow the instructions on the bottle.
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