It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Larumbelle

Peppers I've never really had a problem with. We've a glut at the moment of both sweet peppers and chillis The secret is to start them on the windowsill absurdly early - third week of January we planted ours this year. Water like mad and get some chilli focus - dearer than tomato feed but makes them grow like mad!

There is really quite a lot that you can still plant - peas, broad beans, runner and french beans, chard, carrots, florence fennel, baby spuds, spring onions, root veg... that's off the top of my head! And all will do okay in containers.

Also forgot to say, Aldi, Lidl & Wilkinsons own brand do really cheap seeds, and it is perfectly okay to buy them in the end of season sales ready for next year

mardatha

When do they have them on sale SC ? I wanted to get stocked up for next year so that I dont leave it too late again..

Larumbelle

mardatha wrote: »

When do they have them on sale SC ? I wanted to get stocked up for next year so that I dont leave it too late again..

I'm not sure there's a 'time' to be honest. My local Aldi had them for 10p per packet a couple of weeks ago and they're all gone now, but the one near my friend's house hasn't reduced any of them yet! Wilkinsons I think usually reduce theirs around September. I'll keep my eyes peeled and alert everyone when I start spotting bargains

We are having a barbeque today :j The match will be on first, I've made the boys promise they won't sulk and ruin the atmosphere [STRIKE]when[/STRIKE] if we lose. We've got home-brew and beer from the Tesco glitch (on the grabbit thread) and yesterday OH and I went to the butcher for the meats and the greengrocers/our garden for the salads etc. It came to £30 :eek: and I said to OH that's over a week's shopping for us to. He gave me a funny look and pointed out there was going to be 14 adults and 6 children so it's like 20 dinners :rotfl: which made me feel a lot better! Plus everyone's chipping in, so it's not like I have to find it all from my housekeeping. This got me wondering if communal living could be cheaper (or give a better quality of life) and if so why more people don't try it? I know that hell is other people and all that, but actually I still believe that any two people can get along under any circumstances, as long as they both want to.

ceridwen

silvercharming wrote: »

This got me wondering if communal living could be cheaper (or give a better quality of life) and if so why more people don't try it? I know that hell is other people and all that, but actually I still believe that any two people can get along under any circumstances, as long as they both want to.

Now thereby hangs a tale which it would be interesting to hear methinks:D:rotfl:

I tend to think by now that there are always going to be two totally opposite viewpoints about any topic under the sun - and the chances are that the person with the opposite viewpoint might be rather prone to "making joint decisions on their own". I do sometimes wonder if the greater the number of people in any given venue the higher the proportion of "biting one's tongue" is necessary....:rotfl:.

If there is one phrase that instantly "brings out the devil in me" its anything along the lines of "I think I speak for everyone when I say that..........". It certainly causes me to leap straight in and point out that there is another viewpoint as well as the one of the person concerned (having done so once so far today.....).

I've often wondered about communal living - but I think the same "rule" applies to that as to more conventional set-ups - ie that the people concerned need to share the same set of Values.

ubamother

I think there are lots of things we can do (or maybe do do) that support living in a community, which is slightly different to communal living. I'm a huge believer in community and community living - freegle/freecycle is a great example. Community living don't have to be 'official'. Sharing a car run for shopping/kids' clubs etc. between friends is community living, just cutting the public verge outside your house and doing your neighbours at the same time is community living. The whole "random act of kindness" idea is a celebration of community and stops the whole 'who is in my community' thing - everybody is the simple answer!

ginnyknit

Communal living does work for some people as long as it has a system so that one person ( usually the most capable) doesn't not get landed with a lot of the organising and work load. I know because I tried it - well it sort of evolved into a community. I tried to get everyone doing their bit but sadly they weren't prepared to put in the work to make it a fair system. We even had an allotment but as I was working long hard hours I realised I would end up doing all the work there too. Sadly after i finished work and my income dried up the group were less understanding than I expected so I left them -' In the lurch' was their view. I am not the kind of person who gets 'used' and genuinely did the whole thing to share my life with people I had a lot in common with I guess I was unlucky.
There are many communities in Britain who do live very successfully but with ground rules.

Primrose

ginnyknit makes a good point about those who contribute to the community. Often there are those who are quite prepared to sit back and accept the goodwill and activities of others without contributing anything themselves. Indeed it often gets to the point where they accept it as an antomatic right. Then when the poor hard working volunteers decides for some reason they can't continue, or they've simply had enough of being taken advantage of, those who've accepted their service suddenly act as if they've been betrayed and let down.

Hippeechiq

silvercharming wrote: »

Hippeechiq. It is not too late for lettuce - especially if you find it somewhere shady. Containers could be anything - an old recycling box, old storage box, old carrier bag.... compost could be soil from yours or anyone elses garden, wasteground etc. It's a bit late for tomatoes and peppers from seed this year but many seed swappers will be happy to donate 'starter packs' of seed to beginners from their own extensive collection away from the MSE boards Plenty of people grow too many plants then give them away too, so check out Freegle.

I live in a town, so no waste ground nearby and have not lived in the house I'm in now for long, so don't know the neighbours well enough to ask any favours from them, although that's not really my way IYKWIM, but thank you for the ideas of what you can grow things in.....wouldn't have thought of the carrier bag/storage box idea but I suppose a carrier bag isn't so different from a grow bag.

smileyt wrote: »

If you're quick, you can sow runner and climbing french beans too.

None of us are a fan of runner beans but thanks for taking the time to tell me anyway smileyt

Anyways - since you have plenty of "planning time" before you're good to go then you might like to do a bit of "research" first - so you can start off on a good footing. Try borrowing these:

"The Patio Kitchen garden" - Daphne Ledward
"Self Sufficiency in a flat" - Joy O.I. Spoczynska
"Indoor Farming" - David Wickers
"The Indoor Kitchen garden - vegetable growing in limited space" - Joy O.I. Spoczynska

I suggest buying these:
"Window-box allotment - a beginner's guide to container gardening" - penelope Bennett
"Vegetable, Fruit and herb growing in small spaces" - John Harrison

Excellent ceridwen Thank you for all those. I think I'll see what my local library has so I can see which ones I like the look of/apply to me before I buy one ready for next year

mardatha

I have a biggish back garden but we can't physically do the hard digging any more, so I got some of these one-ton bags that the garden centres sell gravel/sand in; and next year 4 of these will be my veg garden. Much easier to water and shade and weed, etc. and the real garden will do for hanging out the washing and sitting on the swing.

mumoftwo

mardatha wrote: »

I have a biggish back garden but we can't physically do the hard digging any more, so I got some of these one-ton bags that the garden centres sell gravel/sand in; and next year 4 of these will be my veg garden. Much easier to water and shade and weed, etc. and the real garden will do for hanging out the washing and sitting on the swing.

All you need is some decent weather in Scotland for the veg to grow and you are sorted :rotfl: