Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

Hippeechiq

charlies-aunt wrote: »

Hippeechiq - you could think about giving the Buddleia a really good pruning - you could be quite radical as they always seem to spring back like magic every spring

For the pond - you would try using it as a compost pit this autumn and winter for all your fruit and veg parings and maybe look for a source of free/cheap compostable material (we're talking 'orse poo here!) to fill it up and then just top it with a layer of compost.

Our tiny garden has a thin layer on soil on top of the underlying bedrock and shale - we have walled it all the way round with stones from the garden and upright paving slabs and infilled the area with this kind of mixture...periodically topping it up with horse muck and compost to keep the soil in good condition.

Don't bother buying bags of [STRIKE]horse poo[/STRIKE] organic manure from the garden centre . . .ask any horse owner - they will let you have as much as you can collect for free and will probably hand you some nice big sturdy plastic feed bags to shovel it into ... come to our field and we'll even help you shovel the stuff! :rotfl:

I wouldn't know where to begin with the buddleia charlies-aunt it's got to be 15' tall at least....it may even be 20, and hangs over next door neighbours garden and the street. Maybe I should ask the council to do it. They gave it a severe pruning before we moved in 4 years ago, but since then it's grown beyond belief.

I have a bash at the lower branches at least 4 times a year but I can't get to the top or have the necessary equipment to cut it.....it's way to hefty for secateurs.

I live in a town, so not sure where I'd get horse manure from, but I no longer have a car since mine failed it's MOT in April, so I wouldn't be able to collect it anyway.

I'm doomed, I say, doooooommmed :rotfl: but thank you for the suggestion

Shame about your tea - wish I could get my adult children to be as energy conscious, although they're a lot better than they were. Aren't fish n chips a price these days?!!! I remember when they used to be a cheap treat at a weekend for tea, but not any more!

greent wrote: »

g
Hippie-Chiq- I was also going to suggest filling the pond with hm compost - they make great mix for peelings etc. It's surprising how quickly a compost heap will grow. Most of my veg this year were grown in compost from my compost bin - costing me nothing I bought a couple of cheap growbags and that was it. (ANd I grew loads in pots/ bags etc and used HM compost for anything planted in the garden)

None of the neighbours have pets, and they're not the kind of neighbours you'd ask anyway, IYKWIM.
So, can I create a compost heap without manure? With just veg peelings? And will it not smell? .......sorry, but I really have no idea about any of this, and I know you lot do

charlies-aunt

Hippeechiq - I don't think you wll have much of a problem with the smell - if you have a some old carpeting to cover it, it will help it break down much quickly ...and hrm-m-m- if you sprinkle human urine on the heap every now and then - it really helps the decomposition (gross but true) You can add other things like dried swept-up leaves, used teabags and smallish amounts of shredded paper.

I would be really tempted to hack/saw the buddleia down from the base - it will come again! Lovely plants but a bit of a nuisance as they tend to be overpowering for a little garden...and it will get bigger by the year if left to its own devices!

LovelyLollipop

Hippeechiq - as everyone else has said, just keep bunging in whatever organic matter you can create/beg/acquire, and your pit will soon be full You could add a layer of shredded paper (junk mail etc) and card to the bottom, it all helps Every so often I dig a hole in our side garden and put in loads of paper matter, then cover it back over. 12 months later when we dig the garden, it's nowhere to be seen

Edited to add - the heap won't smell as long as you add decent amounts of brown waste as well as green (ie all grass clippings and cabbage will be slimey and smelly, all wood prunings won't go anywhere fast....you're after a nice balance). And weeing in it helps....truly.

The recipe for the dumplings follows.

Dumplings Taken from The Victory Cookbook by Marguerite Patten

8oz self raising flour or plain flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
good pinch salt
2oz grated suet, margarine or cooking fat
2oz raw potato, grated
(optional) Dried parsley, or chives, or sage or mixed herbs to taste (think I added a good teaspoonsful)
water, to bind

Sift flour with salt (I didn't, I just stirred it in)
Add fat, herbs if using, and potato
Mix well
Add cold water gradually until a soft rolling consistency is reached (ie 'til you can make balls out of it!)
Divide into 16 balls with floured hands (you with floured hands, not the balls )

Drop into casserole and cook briskly (ie boil) for 10 minutes (I turned them each once so that they were all coated with gravy)
lower the heat and cook for a further 5-10 mins (I'd err on the side of 10)

Serve - yummy!!!!!

charlies-aunt

Nargleblast wrote: »

. Does anyone know any interesting crab apple recipes?

Crab apple wine is yummy - loads of recipes on t'internet :) and if you want a volunteer to quality test it for you...you only have to say

Nargleblast

Mmmm, sounds interesting...crab apple wine.....better get surfing and see! Could be the way to sort the Christmas booze stocks!

ceridwen

charlies-aunt wrote: »

Crab apple wine is yummy - loads of recipes on t'internet :) and if you want a volunteer to quality test it for you...you only have to say

....errrr...was that my name you put forward for that?...:rotfl::rotfl:. Always happy to oblige :beer:

Pitlanepiglet

[Big sigh & feeling sorry for myself mode] Is it just me that sometimes feels that I'm doing all of this on my own and that nobody else is pulling their weight at home? [/feeling sorry for myself]

Nargleblast

I'm tempted to leave some of the cordial for a while to see if it ferments - or maybe there might be too much sugar in it. Gorgeous colour, though, a rosy pinky reddy colour.

Nargleblast

Pitlanepiglet - welcome to my world. As fast as I try to be frugal and save money, OH finds something else to spend it on.

ginnyknit

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

[Big sigh & feeling sorry for myself mode] Is it just me that sometimes feels that I'm doing all of this on my own and that nobody else is pulling their weight at home? [/feeling sorry for myself]

Oh I do know how you feel, somedays its like rowing against the tide! Even little things like we have a new recycling bin for food ie bones and stuff and lo and behold they emptied their plates and stacked them neatly but.. the bones were in the kitchen bin. :mad: Dh is not good at the moment and so is very depressed and wants to buy fishing stuff - spending doesnt get rid of problems it creates more !!!!! Mind you I feel guilty about that as he is very pennypinching and may not get to fish much longer - he now goes to a water very close to home and is coming home earlier and earlier as he is getting worse by the day.