No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

CCP · 25 January 2012 at 3:57PM

Thanks for the soup recipe, kittie - I've got a butternut squash that's been sitting around in my kitchen for long enough to make me

- I might actually get around to turning it into soup this weekend now I've got a nice-sounding recipe.

flowertotmum · 25 January 2012 at 5:29PM

O dear sorry you didn't like the river cobbler..but the smoked stuff is lovely..give it a go..

Kittie..hiya..ooh i love my allotment book..i sit and plan what i'm going to plant and how many..also what yield i get off them in total..sad i know but i enjoy going through it and seeing where i can improve...your not the only one who seriously overstocked for the winter(what winter)..and christmas..got lots of lovely treats all hidden away and which will at some point be brought forth for our dinner or just a slap up tea...
Scottishminnie..hun your welcome at mine anytime for lunch...

P.s..kittie thanks for the butternut squash recipe..i have been slightly bewildered by the amount i have in my spare room..24 is an awful lot..and they seem to be weathering well too..not one has gone funny..
take care all.
ftm

[Deleted User] · 25 January 2012 at 7:39PM

FTM coincidence or what, I also had 24 squashes and kept in a cool room and still going strong. 2 butternut hunter plants, that`s all. Ooh I can`t wait to get back out, quietly weeding on my hands and knees in the fresh air. I can be out there for 3 hours and never think of snacking but am so tempted from time to time at home. I ordered new glasses esp for gardening and cycling ie biggish old fashioned frames with distance (not varifocal) lenses which go dark in the sun.

I have sown seeds of peppers and chillis in a propagator and have a posh seed box with dividers for the months, so am well sorted. Last week I transplanted a load of strawberry runners (mara des bois) and they are ready to take off soon, all in troughs in my patiogro

So bloomin sad or I think it is waking-up hormones kicking me out of hibernation. All I can think about is getting sorted for gardening. Arghhh, what do I do with zillions of home frozen beans. I`ve got to get everything used up by the end of the hungry gap. That reminds me, if you crave easy fresh salad veg then grow sprouted seeds. Alfalfa is best and quickest and takes only four days. All you need is a kilner jar, a stocking and something to lean the draining jar on
http://www.backyardnature.net/simple/alf-spr.htm

D&DD · 25 January 2012 at 9:03PM

FTM glad to see you back!

I wondered where we'd disappeared off to then spotted this so hellooo everyone again:D

My garden is still reasonably productive atm and we had some of our xmas spuds tonight for tea along with homegrown peas,runners and carrots.(Peas and beans from the freezer,pulled the carrots fresh.)

I'm trying to resist the lure of the garden centre and seed catalogues but its hard work

scottishminnie · 25 January 2012 at 11:03PM

kittie wrote: »

FTM coincidence or what, I also had 24 squashes and kept in a cool room and still going strong.

I have sown seeds of peppers and chillis in a propagator and have a posh seed box with dividers for the months, so am well sorted. Last week I transplanted a load of strawberry runners (mara des bois) and they are ready to take off soon, all in troughs in my patiogro

/QUOTE]

D&DD wrote: »

My garden is still reasonably productive atm and we had some of our xmas spuds tonight for tea along with homegrown peas,runners and carrots.(Peas and beans from the freezer,pulled the carrots fresh.)

I'm trying to resist the lure of the garden centre and seed catalogues but its hard work

Were the squash easy to grow - I'm liking the sound of having them this late.

I still have carrots which hubby says will be frosted but they are in a tub so I may pull them at the weekend and see what we have. There won't be a lot but getting anything would be a bonus.

Should I be starting to put things in propogators on my kitchen window ledge? I don't have a greenhouse but last year I got 2 of those little plastic greenhouse things from Lakeland. They are in the garage awaiting me building them. I wonder if I should start earlier this year than last. I haven't got round to reading my new gardening journal yet.

I've thrown all the seed and bulb catalogues out as soon as they arrived as I could spend an absolute fortune. Daffodil and tulip bulbs are my weakness. I bought hundreds a few years back and the wild rabbits ate the whole lot - I can only hope they had severe indigestion (or worse:D)

[Deleted User] · 25 January 2012 at 11:22PM

yes very easy just don`t sow seed too early, read the seed packet and go by what it says. Hunter and Harrier (I think that is the name) were bred for northern climes. They produce big weed-supressing leaves and the roots are just under the initial plant. You just feed and water and pick in about late september, they keep until spring. I grew 2 plants.

Carrots should keep well in soil in frost, just cover in fleece on frosty nights

Its too early to sow anything yet except peppers and chillis and they need warmth. Mine are at 28 degrees. Wait a while, sit on your hands.

Kaz2904 · 25 January 2012 at 11:58PM

FTM, we're only decorating our hallway with white textured paper. It's a very dark hall and needs the brightness of the paper. It has pretty little white stars on it though so it'll be lovely when it's done.
Wrt: seed sewing; we generally start ours off indoors around February time but the last two years we've lost nearly everything around April/May with high wind or sudden cold. The best year we ever had was our first year growing. I think it was our 4th summer here so 2008. We got started really late and I remember sewing courgette seeds on my birthday weekend with BiL in the garden chatting to DH. I popped them in individual seed cells and covered them with a plastic bag as I didn't have anything else. They were whoppers when they grew and we had absolutely tonnes of them. I was taking them into work because we just couldn't eat them as fast as they were growing!
Oh how I wish we could get crops like that again!
We can't grow carrots here. They do absolutely nothing. No idea why?

MiL gets a good amount from her allotment and I think she'll get more this year as she's retired now so will have more time down there. I love stuff fresh from the ground. Tomatoes warm from the vine are the best aren't they?
Chillies we seem to get coming out of our ears too

Hoping for a later summer this year but I'm almost convinced that the seasons have shifted a little.

[Deleted User] · 26 January 2012 at 9:43AM

can I remind you that seville oranges (for marmalade) are in the shops right now and they don`t stay there for long. I made 40 lb last january so am not making any this year. I did not slice the peel but I set up my mincer on a table and minced the peel coarsely and it was very quick and easy and something I will do in future. I have an os porkert mincer, a cast iron thing that you clamp on a table

have a good day all. I am going on the bus shortly to get my new gardening specs

Kaz2904 · 26 January 2012 at 10:18AM

What are gardening specs kittie? (I'm very nosy!

)

thriftwizard · 26 January 2012 at 10:26AM

Hope you don't mind if I join in? I'm at home today, having been daft enough to fall out of the loft trap a couple of days ago & sprain my ankle. Luckily I made my marmalade just before - I used a food processor that my neighbour was throwing out to do the mincing - or I'd be throwing my Sevilles in the freezer where I'd find them again in July, when I don't have any jam jars left because I've used them all for redcurrant jam...
What I need now is a good seed catalogue! Failing that I shall get on & make some more things to sell at the next vintage & handmade market.

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No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

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