Nice People Thread Part 9 - and so it continues

lemonjelly

michaels wrote: »

All of you lot with your green fingers makes me think of havign a small vegetable patch but in all honesty we struggle to find the time to cut the grass and keep the brambles under control so a veg patch would never happen. I think about half our weekly food bill is on fruit and veg, I can't help thinking there must be a huge mark-up on these and that a well organised internet business could clean up offering slightly more reasonable prices.

Honestly it doesn't take masses of time.
Plus, you might find the kids get into it. I'm sure there could be some fun taste the difference tests too.

For me, there tends to be one or two busy days in march or april, where you potter about getting stuff out of sheds, planting seeds, putting greenhouses up, and sorting trays etc. That usually only takes an afternoon each time.

It's then a case of adding bits of water, initially every 2/3/4 days, gradually getting a little more frequent. However that is just 15-20 mins a time. Very therapeutic to do this on getting home from work!:) Hugely de-stressing.

Every once in a while, you repot stuff or plant it out. 15 minute job.

I find I spend a ludicrously tiny amount of time on it. There's no real work - you just put seeds in mud, water & watch them grow.

Tastes lovely though.:)

silvercar

lemonjelly wrote: »

Honestly it doesn't take masses of time.
Plus, you might find the kids get into it. I'm sure there could be some fun taste the difference tests too.

For me, there tends to be one or two busy days in march or april, where you potter about getting stuff out of sheds, planting seeds, putting greenhouses up, and sorting trays etc. That usually only takes an afternoon each time.

It's then a case of adding bits of water, initially every 2/3/4 days, gradually getting a little more frequent. However that is just 15-20 mins a time. Very therapeutic to do this on getting home from work!:) Hugely de-stressing.

Every once in a while, you repot stuff or plant it out. 15 minute job.

I find I spend a ludicrously tiny amount of time on it. There's no real work - you just put seeds in mud, water & watch them grow.

Tastes lovely though.:)

I sound like PN talking about exotic foods, but

I have no potting implements, sorting trays or greenhouses. No spare pots or trowels or mud.

When I have bought any grow your own sets (complete with soil, feed and pot) I have never managed to produce much fruit. A chilli plant produced 2 chillis, a tomato plant 3 tomatoes.

Some of us have green fingers and some don't.

zagubov

SingleSue wrote: »

Apparently, that is the joy of the book, it has been written for students who have absolutely no idea what implement is which or the posh terms for things...oh and lots of photos. It has also been done with 'normal' ingredients, not the hugely expensive and weird ones and has a section for ultra cheap dishes (under a pound).

That's a brilliant idea. When I went to uni the only thing they had was Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking for a Bedsitter" which assumed you had no fridge, let alone a freezer. so ice cream would be stored in a thermos wrapped in blankets under your bed (the coldest part of the room). It was so quirkily written that I believe it was turned into a stage play.

My mum made me learn how to cook curries, chillis and spag bol. As a 17-year old first year student that seemed like an amazingly varied menu!:rotfl:

I expect that all comes in packets now or else students just buy them prepared from Iceland and defrost them when needed. If we wanted pizzas or cheesecakes we bought the kits and made them ourselves. Seemed to remember my food budget was £3 per week (mid/late 70s).

SingleSue

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had a quick look through, it used things I've never owned (e.g. fish slice)

Today I've had: a vacuum packed part-baked baguette, cooked yesterday - had half for lunch, with some cheese and beans in it - and the same for tea
Total cost 20p for the baguette, 5p for beans, 10p for cheese.
35p for the day.

Lol, a fish slice was, at one point, the only utensil I had...it is a great multi use utensil and particularly good for pancakes.

lemonjelly

I think some of it is luck, plus a bit of trial and error.
I started just by growing tomatoes (because I like them) & lettuce (because that's easy). I'd changed jobs & thought I might make use of a bit of travelling time I no longer had to do.

I tried beans the 2nd year because again someone said they were easy.

I've had failures too - tomato blight wiped out a years endeavors. I tried 3 years running to grow peas (my favourite veg) & every time I've tried, they've died. Got nowhere with them.

I think the taste etc is very motivating, and like I say, I find it very de-stressing, out pottering about with a cup of tea.

Seeds cost very little. Pots etc are dead cheap in wilko's or similar. Someone you know is bound to have some sat around doing nothing.

People on the greenfingered sub forum are also very helpful!

zagubov

lemonjelly wrote: »

One of my favourite names for a band ever, is:
We Were Promised Jetpacks.:)

Like Snow Patrol, they're Glasgow- based now IIRC. Originally from Edinburgh like Django Django, whose name is vaguely redolent of The The.

Whether any are a silly names match for Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti or Life Without Buildings I dunno.

When OH lived abroad there were local bands with lovely names names like Rash of Stabbings and Xana Don't!:D

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

You beat me to Half Man Half Biscuit whose every song title is a work of art.:D

Some great lyrics too:

Oh God
How I long for a dangerous wave, so I
Can surf myself towards an early grave, I would
Rather talk to plankton than to dance with you
And I hope your plane back home's a DC10

Someone get a message through to Captain Snort
That they'd better start assembling the boys from the fort
And keep Mrs Honeymoon right out of sight
'Cos there's going to be a riot down in Trumpton tonight

Me and my girl – sealclubbing
Me and my girl – out on the ice

Spirit_2

The little tractor is gone. DD's chum texted to say he is 'broken'.

We had cooked lunch today. Home cooked gammon, coleslaw and puy lentils braised with courgettes, carrots, celery.

Dinner was a tray of chips on Bournemouth beach:)

Leonard Cohen was excellent. Fabulous backing and musicians that made you appreciate what a production each song is. DD was with us and lowered the average age.

Nothing else booked (except our holiday) to look forward to.

PasturesNew

silvercar wrote: »

I sound like PN t.... I have bought any grow your own sets (complete with soil, feed and pot) ...

You're streets ahead of me

I do plan to buy a chilli plant though - and if that goes well, maybe 1-2 other herbs that will get used. I'll also plant a rosemary bush.

PasturesNew

Spirit wrote: »

Dinner was a tray of chips on Bournemouth beach:)

How common!