Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

Mrs_Cheshire

We tried vertical gardening last year without much success, think it was due to the positioning of the planters. Will try again this year in a different area of the garden that gets more sun.
I've just mentioned to DH about planting the tomatoes earlier this year, thank you to the person who mentioned it! We've got loads of seeds so need to check out when they need sowing and write out a plan, may leave that for hubby to organise next week when he's off!

cheerfulness4

Is that strawberries you've grown in there too Ginny? I was looking at my milk bottles today and thinking 'better start saving them.' How did you attach them to the board?


Love the idea of free containers. I saved the pop bottles and used the top half to act as a cloche for my baby broad bean plants. They very successfully kept the slugs off them!


Mrscheshire - the year I grew my toms early I had over 50 plants in the garden of so many different types. I'd joined a seed exchange and I had something of everything. People were so kind to me.
I had no idea you could grow black, green, white, orange and yellow toms. Pear shaped ones, sausage shape and beef steak massive ones. I had so much fun and a freezer full of pasta sauce until April the following year!

Don't get me started on cucumbers, my second love.

bubbs

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

We all need a gran like JackieO and indeed a SailorSam in the kitchen!

I'm wondering what she would do with baggy sleeves on knitwear. I've a couple of home knits were the cuffs have lost their shape. Must be something that can be done to make them like new again.
If you read this another time Jackie0.......

Here's the knitting bag mum made me a while back with another part of that curtain.



She learnt to sew in the factories when she was a girl in the late 40's-early 50's and eventually worked making for Burberry and Aquascutum. She later made handbags, coats, dresses, just about anything with her jobs. All that knowledge which she's sadly beginning to forget a little in her 80's.

I just baked some scones and choc muffins from that packet mix I didn't do yesterday. Morrisons should be ashamed. They are awful. Only bought them because they were from Approved foods and their M & S ones were excellent for the price.
At least that is the last of them used and the space will come in handy.

I just don't have the room in this house for lots of stocks. Most of the foods we eat are easily bought regularly anyway as we live on YS foods and Aldi's super 6.

I've made a huge mistake with toiletries, too. I bought lots of Body Shop goodies when the offers were crazy a couple of years ago. Taken us ages to get through it and naturally I had to have a smell of all the lovely body butters and shower gels, soaps etc.
Now they smell of nothing too much.
Worse, some smells decidedly off it.

I am in the fortunate position that both Boots and Clix research regularly send my things to test, cosmetics, skincare, toiletries, etc and really they could keep me going with many things. Its years since I've had to buy day/night cream and serums.
That being the case, no more wasting money on online deals when the frenzy kicks off with code stacking, etc. I DON'T NEED THEM.
Boy am I going to become a tightwad this year. I've got plans for this saved money.

I was just seeing what everyone here was saying:o infact i was being nosey:rotfl::rotfl: and saw your mum worked at 'scutum as we called it, i worked there too in the 90's as a hand sewer, (7 stitches to the inch!)
I worked at Kettering, your dm didnt work there did she?

Mrs_Cheshire

Love tomatoes and thankfully so does my DH and my DS1, Ds2 doesn't eat them raw yet but will eventually I hope, he's only 3 1/2 and fussy about skins. Definitely going to find out if there is a seed exchange locally!

cheerfulness4

bubbs I'll have to ask her but I assumed London as that's where she was born. Having said that she got about a bit. Remember a stint at Cambridge but can't think she went to Northamptonshire.
(think that's where Kettering is. )

Mrscheshire, my grandson (2) has only discovered you can 'make' your own tomatoes this year and I have to make sure he only picks the red ones.
Last week when he came round he spotted a planter outside the backdoor that included one of those little winter plants that has orange ball like things on it. I thought he was going to strip it bare! :rotfl:

Do you enjoy getting the seed catalogue out each new year? Rarely buy from them but look up what I've had in the seed exchange.

Fireworks have started outside already. :eek:

bubbs

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

bubbs I'll have to ask her but I assumed London as that's where she was born. Having said that she got about a bit. Remember a stint at Cambridge but can't think she went to Northamptonshire.
(think that's where Kettering is. )

Mrscheshire, my grandson (2) has only discovered you can 'make' your own tomatoes this year and I have to make sure he only picks the red ones.
Last week when he came round he spotted a planter outside the backdoor that included one of those little winter plants that has orange ball like things on it. I thought he was going to strip it bare! :rotfl:

Do you enjoy getting the seed catalogue out each new year? Rarely but from them but look up what I've had in the seed exchange.

Fireworks have started outside already. :eek:

Yes is Northamptonshire , they had factories Corby, Kettering Bedford not sure about anywhere else , although shops London

ginnyknit

Yes cheerfulness they are strawberries, well out of the way of pests. I forgot all the things I grew I grow soft fruit in the actual garden as thats all the pests leave lone. Every thing else grows in tubs, tyres and now my vertical garden. I have rigged up 3 frames upto now and have 3 more fence panels empty.

I also learned to sew the 7 stitches to an inch like proper tailors and it stays with you. My Dd worked for a fashion designer when I was young and I spent my holidays helping out there - such an amazing childhood which formed who I am.

cheerfulness4

Didn't really think about the advantages of getting the crops off the ground. First time ever this year I got the attack of caterpillars on my spinach. Beautiful but so destructive!


I had no idea that top end sewing was so precise as that. Someone must have been going blind checking the 7:1 rule.

Finefoot

My next challenge is sorting my undies. I'm really annoyed that my knicker elastic is already parting company with my waistband. I'm hoping its not the tumble dryer that's making rubbery 'strings' hanging down, too.
There's nothing wrong with the fabric but at this stage I normally cut my losses and chuck them away. Well that's got to stop.
Has anyone else dealt successfully with this problem?

Tumble dryers ruin elastic on knicks.

Effyb4

Can I join you all? I am part of the not buying it thread and this one seems to go hand in hand with it. I can knit, sew and taught myself to crochet. I am hoping to be growing my own vegetables this year too.

I've always found it easier to hand sew zips, rather than use the machine.