A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

westcoastscot

HariboJunkie wrote: »

WCS, I have done pea shoots from dried peas bought in Tesco. Just sow them quite close together in seed trays and they produce edible sized shoots fairly quickly. No need to buy expensive seeds.

ooh hadn't thought of sprouting dried peas - I sprout a lot of seeds so you would have thought that would have occurred to me wouldn't you?

Thanks Haribo - will give it a go - am always looking at ways to get fresh greens in winter, the shops here are dire for fresh anything!

WCS

Finally had chance to read on, thanks everyone for your input - def going to try those, they were lovely, really fresh-pea tasting!!

Jolaaled

I've not posted in a while, but just had to share with you, this cake recipe that I made today. It is lush..so moist and, if you like dates, very 'more-ish'!

The recipe is:

[FONT=&quot]Sticky Date Cake[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]200g of dried dates
275ml of boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g soft light brown sugar
150g butter, room temperature
3 eggs, beaten
175g ounces self raising flour[/FONT]

1. [FONT=&quot]Pour the boiling water over three-quarters of the dates[/FONT]
2. [FONT=&quot]Leave to soak for 30 minutes[/FONT]
3. [FONT=&quot]Preheat the oven to 175degC[/FONT]
4. [FONT=&quot]Blending together the butter , sugar and the soaked dates ( incliding the soaking water)[/FONT]
5. [FONT=&quot]Add the eggs and finally stir in the self raising flour and bicarbonate of soda[/FONT]
6. [FONT=&quot]Finally stir in the remaining unsoaked dates[/FONT]
7. [FONT=&quot]Pour into a 30cm square lined cake tin[/FONT]
8. [FONT=&quot]Bake for 40 minutes until firm to the touch[/FONT]
9. [FONT=&quot]Allow to cool , cut into squares and serve[/FONT]

I found it on this website:

http://girlinterruptedeating.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/sticky-toffee-date-cake/

Can highly recommend!

Possession

kidcat wrote: »

Possession - last year I grew all of my stuff in Ikea bags, it was so easy as I could move them around the garden and when we moved we simply loaded them up and brought them with us. Potatoes were the simplest, and most prolific, I used some seed potatoes at first but then used some old potatoe sthat had started to sprout and they all worked well too!

Do you mean the blue Ikea bags? Or do they sell grow bags? We don't have an ikea near us so I don't know it very well.

Possession

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Possession: as advised you can grow things in almost anything as long as you account for the root depth. A couple of those Gro-Bags (Ikea blue sacks: brilliant!) could keep you in courgettes for the whole season. Or at least until you're sick to the back teeth of them.

Thanks! Bits of my garden don't get much if any sun. Are there veg that would do well in the shade does anyone know?

kidcat

Possession wrote: »

Do you mean the blue Ikea bags? Or do they sell grow bags? We don't have an ikea near us so I don't know it very well.

Yes, the blue shopping bags, I seem to remember someone used Tesco wine carriers last year too. Our b&m sell garden bags for growing too, I think they were about two pounds for two.

Mrs_Chip

Afternoon all!

Spent four hours in the garden, and managed to finish clearing the back wall of all the accumulated debris of god knows how long. Totally knacked, as usual I wanted to set myself a goal so pushed on longer than I should have. But I now have a nice relatively level surface , free of weeds and carp, onto which I can build raised beds. I have loads of lovely soil to put back in, plus about 40 bags of leafy carp we shovelled up in our yards to add in for a bit of structure to the soil.

We only had a small garden in London, and I had a 6 x 4 raised bed filled with bagged compost. I was able to grow sufficient carrots (lovely they were too) for both of us to have a nice feed about twice a week until September. I think the trick with carrots is to have really loose soil like bagged compost, they seem to grow better if they dont have to fight to go downwards.

I planted Living Salad in the other half, and that worked amazingly well, giving us cut-and-come-again lettuce leaves until the lettuce seeds I planted grew, and we were having it most days - all from a reduced to 50p tray.

I kept the bed covered at all times - poly in early season, enviromesh once things had warmed up, and I am sure this helped keep carrot fly and bugs off.

Tayberry is a great bush to plant if you like soft fruit, mine produces loads of berries over a long period, and I did nothing more that cut out the old canes and tie down the new ones once a year.

Lots of other stuff grown in pots, herbs and toms, worked really well, and potatoes in old compost sack.

Sorrel is dead easy, never died off and came back year after year, if fact became a bit of a pest.

My plan is for this growing season is to grow stuff we use a lot that is nicer home-grown - carrots, toms, salad leaves, spring onions, strawberries, runner beans, and stuff that is expensive to buy - mostly herbs. And probably some chillis as they are fun.

I grew Cavolo Nero one year (Black Kale Mard) and that was lovely and really hardy so will stick some of that in, along with purple sprouting and parsnips.

I'm sure I will be tempted by other stuff, I usually fall for something in the seed catalogue :rotfl:.


GQ hope all is ok, it's not like you to be so quite!
Hugs for those who need them

silvasava

Hi all - hope everyone is having a good weekend. Its a chilly wind down here but quite sunny so I've put a line of washing out (mainly jeans) in the hope that it gets mostly dry!
LizzieB - You've spurred me on to plan my veg patch. My tomatoes didn't ripen until end of September last year - don't know why but I'll try a different variety this year. I grew 2 'mini' cucumbers in pots & they were brilliant (25p each from the garden centre)- they were festooned all round the greenhouse & becuase they were small you didn't have to wait long to pick them. Will def do again this year. I've got strawberries & raspberries & three fruit trees so we're OK for fruit. Going to try onions this year (red ones) & potatoes in tubs (again!)
Will also have a go at SGD'S 'Coddle' - sounds yummy & just the sort of thing DH likes (me too - I'm all for 'one pot' cooking)

Byatt

kidcat wrote: »

Yes, the blue shopping bags, I seem to remember someone used Tesco wine carriers last year too. Our b&m sell garden bags for growing too, I think they were about two pounds for two.

Oh, what a brilliant idea! I have used bags I got on sale from a SM but need some more so that's ideal. I also got loads of cheap pots from the recycling centre, aka the tip!

HariboJunkie

westcoastscot wrote: »

ooh hadn't thought of sprouting dried peas - I sprout a lot of seeds so you would have thought that would have occurred to me wouldn't you?

Thanks Haribo - will give it a go - am always looking at ways to get fresh greens in winter, the shops here are dire for fresh anything!

WCS

I know. I was over your way last week and popped into the co-op. I think the prices are worse there too. My MIL has taken to coming here weekly for her shopping to avoid that Co-op.

Let me know next time you're over here and you can pop up for a coffee. x

paidinchickens

LavenderBees wrote: »

Good for you, looking after these poor puss cats. They'll realise that they are safe & warm/fed, and settle, bless them. But well done for making the time and effort to do this. I've followed your story with great interest.

I don't have room to do this (no garden to speak of) but years ago I volunteered at a cat charity place fairly near me. Thought it would be ideal to help them. The woman who ran the place really put me off though. As she showed me around, she complained about this volunteer (can't put brushes away) and that volunteer (only volunteers 3 days a week!...I'd "only" offered my Sundays...so felt I really wasn't measuring up to whatever standard she thought she had in place). Anyway, after a morning of listening to her complain, though I loved the kitties and enjoyed THEIR company. I decided that place wasn't for me. Shame though. It could have been good for them and me. As I live reasonably remotely, there isn't really a great choice here, which is a shame as I have weekend time I could spare.
Am very glad you are doing this though. Well done :T


xx

I think ALL charities have people like that working for them. Or they are run by people who are paid a ridiculously high wage, both make me angry.

Luckily I don't have to have much to do with anyone as the kitties are in my care to treat as my own I do donate and go to the jumbles they hold and listen to the sniping . I also volunteer at jumbles for another cat charity but the lady who runs that is a one man band and is lovely.

I am VERY lucky DH supports me and that by all the frugal tips on here we have saved the wage I used to earn and can scrape by on just one wage, enabling me to have more time at home with the kids and moggies.

Thankyou everyone and keep posting :T


PIC x