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Garden produce

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  • Debt_Free_Chick
    Debt_Free_Chick Posts: 13,276 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Swiss Chard

    Use it like spinach. I've got a recipe for a Swiss Chard tart ... will need to dig it out and post it later.
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
  • Sarahsaver
    Sarahsaver Posts: 8,390 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    mushroom spores are only £2 in poundstretchers. You need compost and straw which must be rotted before the spores are 'planted'
    I'd have thought the cupboard under the sink would be ok for those.
    Member no.1 of the 'I'm not in a clique' group :rotfl:
    I have done reading too!
    To avoid all evil, to do good,
    to purify the mind- that is the
    teaching of the Buddhas.
  • Curry_Queen
    Curry_Queen Posts: 5,589 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sarahsaver wrote:
    mushroom spores are only £2 in poundstretchers. You need compost and straw which must be rotted before the spores are 'planted'
    I'd have thought the cupboard under the sink would be ok for those.


    Hmmmm sounds a little more involved than I thought ... doubt I could get all that online :(
    "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
    ~
    It is that what you do, good or bad,
    will come back to you three times as strong!

  • mink35
    mink35 Posts: 6,068 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Swiss Chard

    Use it like spinach. I've got a recipe for a Swiss Chard tart ... will need to dig it out and post it later.

    That'd be great DFC, thanks.

    Apparently it's very quick to grow and it's the earlier bits that you use like spinach. After about 60 days it's a little more rhubarb-like to look at and you can cook it (boil/steam) and serve it with butter as a veggie :confused:
    Mink
  • Galtizz
    Galtizz Posts: 1,016 Forumite
    Swiss Chard recipes

    Gary Rhodes likes it with cheese

    It's really good for you too.

    I might have to get some of this, it says it easy to grow too, which helps, I'm not very green fingered.
    This year I am having a grow at:

    Tomatoes (trailing and normal)
    Corgettes
    Aubergines
    Lots of herbs
    Garlic
    Chillies
    Peppers

    They all have to go in pots because I've only got a tiny garden.

    Last year I grew tomatoes, peppers and chillies. I got a handfull of trailing tomatoes and everything else died :o I'm blaming the weather, we'll see how I do this year.
    When life hands you a lemon, make sure you ask for tequilla and salt ;)
  • mink35
    mink35 Posts: 6,068 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the links Galtizz!

    I'm really excited (childish I know!) - I ate some really nice tomatoes last Saturday (10 days ago) so decided to try and dry the seeds and grow them. Got 28 seeds out of half a tomato and dried them (they are baby plums - Pomodorino) and ended up planting 21 on the Sunday. Today I've got 5 little tiny seedlings - woo hoo! :D

    Hope some more of them grow mind you!
    Mink
  • DSmiffy
    DSmiffy Posts: 791 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    pol wrote:
    I grow my potatoes in compost bags. It's easy to start them off and just keep filling up the bag as they grow. Then when they are ready, no digging, just tip them out.

    I grow my spuds in tyres !!! Went to Halfords and spoke to the guy on the Service and repair desk and told him I wanted some old tyres for growing potatoes. He was only too glad to get rid of them (so recycling and moneysaving all in one go, well done me !!)

    I fill the bottom one three quarters with compost and stick about four or five seed potatoes in and cover them over upto the top of the tyre, then, as they grow, stick another tyre on top and keep filling it with compost as the plants keep poking through until they reach the top of the tyre. then just keep watering them until the stalks die off, and they are ready !!!

    Harvesting them is a bit like the Bran Tub, a prize every time. I have a root around and just collect as many as I need for dinner and leave the rest in, they keep for ages!! So no need to store in sacks either.
    Best thing is you can use them year after year, and you get loads of spuds out of them.
  • foreverskint
    foreverskint Posts: 1,009 Forumite
    500 Posts
    great tip DSmiffy. have just finished a discussion with DP on how to grow in tubs, but this will save money on buying expensive pots. saw some seed potatoes in the warehouse store today, nice and cheap and some interesting varieties such as pink fir apple. Am I in time to chit and plant them?
  • Xbigman
    Xbigman Posts: 3,915 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Well I have the plot dug and the seeds in (hope they survived the last frost) but what I'm really interested in is storage. I put in a third of the seeds and plan to put in a second third in about 6 weeks. I should have a good supply (Carrots, onions, spring onions, beetroot) but whats the best way to store them? I have a small freezer but it gets over loaded already. Anyone have any tips on keeping stuff fresh for a month or more at a time? I don't want to pickle anything so thats an extra challenge.
    Regards


    X
    Xbigman's guide to a happy life.

    Eat properly
    Sleep properly
    Save some money
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    Xbigman, have you looked at the rivercottage site? Lots of stuff on the forum there in the fruit and vegetable and processing sections. Also here
    in the section on building a potato clamp (and other methods).

    HTH
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