Preparedness for when

craigywv

good morning all,sat last night with seed box and have decided i am going to grow more f&veg after my eye opener in mr t. we all going to end up with scurvy at therate of price increase. ilive in an end door and have a side garden also surrounded by an 8 foot brick wall its actually lovely even though itsounds like wormwood scrubs. so oh has instructions to remove most of my plants up side of house these can be re planted into tubs and crammed into back garden somewhere:o.i amthinking blackberries,goosegabs,raspberries,blackcurrants, i have at least 10 old hanging baskets donated to me over the yrs so will plant strawbs in these.anymore ideas? its sunny fromabout 8.30 am till about 3.30 then sun goes to other side of wall but the hanging baskts will still get the sun as they will be high up. thinking more potatoes and beans/peas for up the big wall what else? i amsick of buying pears and putting them on window sill to ripen only for them to still be hard as [EMAIL="h@ll"]h@ll[/EMAIL] and mouldy. any ideas welcome thanks folks xxxxx

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Thanks for the cake info, Bob and nuatha, I learn somthing new every day thanks to MSE.

craigy, I'm wondering if you'd like to look at growing top fruit as espaliers on your wall? you could try reading up about if and seeing if what it needs matches your situation. The old line about growing pears is sow pears for heirs, as they take a while to be productive, but apples are less tardy. HTH.

Pears are a peculiar fruit in that they can be bullet-hard on the outside, especially Conference pears, and actually starting to over-ripen from the inside and decay. My life has been a little more peartastic since I read that the way to test pears for ripeness is to gently press the top beside the stalk. If that yields to the touch, she's ripe.

I do think a lot of us moderns don't have any idea about what fruit and veg can taste like when staight off the plant or lifted from the soil. The sheer carrotyness of a garden carrot, the sweetness of a pea plucked straight from the vine.

One of my Grandma's modest pleasures was to nip a peapod off the vine when pegging out the washing. The sugars in peas turn to starch in as little as 30 mins from harvesting but if you eat them fresh-picked raw, you'll barely recognise the taste.

I've introduced several people to the wonders of the pea and some of them were astonished. Take that, you well-travelled urban sophisticates, you!

I think more and more of us are going to be getting acquainted with growing our own as an antidote for rising prices. On the subject of tinnery, I stocked up on tuna last year when I saw the Princes 4-packs in Iceland at £3 and am so glad I did. Better than money in the bank, some days.

Righty, time for breakfast, a little internetting, then back up to that lottie. I slept like a log after my digging yesterday - and my joints are feeling more than a little wooden today. ;p

[Deleted User]

CRAIGY you can grow tomatoes in hanging baskets, we've had a lot of success (and a lot of tomatoes) with a variety called Tumbler but I think there are many new varieties around now that are developed specially for hanging baskets, worth a look? Cheers Lyn xxx.

We are still watertight here, no overnight leaks from the hot water tank so very pleased with that!!!

BigMummaF

I'm keeping an eye on me poor ole muvva & obviously, her mental well-being is often scrutinized for 'blips'. I would like to remind folk to consider asking their medicoes to check for urine/bladder infections at the first sign of dodgy behaviour, as these little peskies are often the cause. Mum's just finishing a short course of fairly mild antibiotics for this reason & is already vastly improved on how she was only 5 days ago.

The elderly are renowned for not taking on enough fluids as they fear 'accidents' will occur if they take a bit longer to reach the bathroom, so dehydration will not only encourage urinary tract infections, but also cause symptoms of confusion on its own.

pineapple

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

CRAIGY you can grow tomatoes in hanging baskets, we've had a lot of success (and a lot of tomatoes) with a variety called Tumbler but I think there are many new varieties around now that are developed specially for hanging baskets, worth a look? Cheers Lyn xxx.

Plus can I hijack this to say that one year I grew tree cabbage from seed and successfully grew them in hanging baskets!

pineapple

BigMummaF wrote: »

I'm keeping an eye on me poor ole muvva & obviously, her mental well-being is often scrutinized for 'blips'. I would like to remind folk to consider asking their medicoes to check for urine/bladder infections at the first sign of dodgy behaviour, as these little peskies are often the cause. Mum's just finishing a short course of fairly mild antibiotics for this reason & is already vastly improved on how she was only 5 days ago.

Plus it's always a good idea to get B12 levels checked
Deficiency is more common in older people and can produce symptoms of dementia.
http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/vitamin-b12-deficiency
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-b12-deficiency-can-be-sneaky-harmful-201301105780

short_bird

Cast Iron Frying Pans...
can also be a bit fragile and crack easily.

ginnyknit

I have never been able to grow cauli's or cabbage in the actual garden so this year I have planted a couple of seeds in some 8" pots and am going to see if that works, they may well grow into those miniature veg so loved by fancy restaurants . My kale is happily growing away on one of those sort of big carrier bags that you grow spuds in, and it overwintered in there sheltered from the cold. I have done the tomatoes in hanging baskets and they were very successful, hundreds of tiny toms perfect for salads.

You are right GQ there is nothing better than picking a pod of peas and eating them, I taught DGS last year how to do it and he was amazed by them. Mind you he would happily live on raw fruit and veg, he had a small bowl of cereal then little bowls of currants and cucumber this morning - his choice because he can now open the fridge and point, and reach the pot of currants on the work surface :rotfl:

lovefullshelves

westlothianlass

I've just started buying essential oils, so far I have rosemary, lemongrass, bergamot, lavender, grapefruit and Patchouli (for the old hippy in me ) can any of you clever peeps suggest any others that would be good to get?

Lemon oil is good for getting sticky things off and for sore throats(and in cakes).
Tea tree for everything,
lavender(for smelling like a nana) for calming, sun burn, stress! Peppermint for indigestion, heartburn (after some of my cooking)
ylang ylang cos its nice!
sweet orange can be used in cakes and is a mood lifter
clove for toothache,
clary sage for lady things!
basil oil for cooking and muscles.
and a good fractionated coconut oil (its runny not solid)as a carrier oil
Theres so many!!
And the sun is shining here:) my little courgette plants are loving it! And my watercress is germinating Happy day:)

craigywv

thanks for your replies gq will google espaliers, lynn love the idea of toms in the baskets and the lady who grew cabbage in a basket good on you! i have grown cauliflower last year in an old done cauldron bbq and a metal bucket . on subject of cast iron i too find it cracks quite easily, my last griddle was c iron never again!!! well awaytogoogle some info have a great day all xxx