Preparing for Winter V

PipneyJane

@jozbo - thank you for the warning about coloured chard stems.  Hope you feel better soon.  @Primrose thanks for the suggestion re Fordhook Giant.  I will look for it but first choice is purple sprouting broccoli because I already have some seeds here.    @nannygladys, I’ll try Premier Seeds if I can’t find them.

- Pip

MingVase

I can do all that Laura, bat the grass cuttings. Got nothing to use as mulch here.

greenbee

I can post you some grass clippings Mar

Laura_Elsewhere

greenbee said:

I can post you some grass clippings Mar

Ah see, the generosity of the Winter thread! Willing to go without your grass clippings to help out another...  

@MingVase - I bet you can ask around and find someone in your area willing to drop off a binbag of them - I'm in a rented top-floor flat with no garden but have a nice arrangement with the one-man-business who clip our shrubs and clear the gutters in the carpark, that they leave me grass clippings and autumn leaves just by my guerilla garden at the corner of the communal carpark  

jozbo

Another idea is collect fallen leaves on pavements or in parks. We used to have a large beech tree outside our house and more than a couple of times saw people come to collect the leaves to use as leaf mould.

cornishchick

this post can come under at least two headings so is truly THRIFTY lol anyway I have been looking for a thin mat I can put inside by my front door for winter as last few years the wet and mud has got onto my carpet and I have struggled to find on that is thin enough to fit while being robust enough to take it.
yesterday I had a brainwave as I replaced the mats in my car where the drivers side had worn out, The spare passenger side one would be perfect for there. It's slim, robust, antislip and waterproof. so prepping for winter and MMMing 

Primrose

Oh that's a good idea.   We have built in coconut fibre matting inside our tiny entrance lobby (seemed a good idea at the time !!) but I didn't realise how hard it is to clean and get all the muddy footmarks off, so I use another one on top where wet muddy feet first step, but that slips and slides all over the place and I'm continually having to bend down to relocate it.      I'm wondering now if some kind of thin car mat would work, but it would probably slip on coconut fibre matting too.

cornishchick

Primrose said:

Oh that's a good idea.   We have built in coconut fibre matting inside our tiny entrance lobby (seemed a good idea at the time !!) but I didn't realise how hard it is to clean and get all the muddy footmarks off, so I use another one on top where wet muddy feet first step, but that slips and slides all over the place and I'm continually having to bend down to relocate it.      I'm wondering now if some kind of thin car mat would work, but it would probably slip on coconut fibre matting too.

mine car mat has little nobbly bits on the bottom for the non-slip part, might work to grip the fibre? gotta be worth a try lol 

Grabs39

We have a fairly decent sized doormat in the porch, but having a big dog, wet and mud still get trampled in.  I want to "carpet" the whole porch with doormat-type material but haven't found any at a reasonable price for the size I need.  About 2.5x2.5m.

Anyhoo, it's 8C and windy out.  The heating turned itself on (so close to making it to October!) this morning, and I had to have porridge after walking the dogs.

Jellytotts

I splashed out on the washable marvel mats from dun elm about 8 years ago, they're thin, rubber backed and wash up a treat.  We have them at the front and back doors and I bought matching a matching runner recently for the hall.  I had a parquet floor in my old kitchen so used to keep one in front of the oven for any spills too and it coped with spilt oil and food really well.  (I've tried the cheaper versions and they're not great)