From debt to freedom...

Cherryfudge

Ooh, you have lilacs already?! Ours are in bud but we don't usually get them till May.

savingholmes

Our local FB buy and sell group also sells plants... another option to consider

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Jan, SH, Cherryfudge & Sashybo. 

Thats a good idea - I will go and see what is sold on EBay / Facebook, although DS1 might have to help me with Fb as I don’t have it.

I was at work for most of Monday.  It was quite interesting, exploring different options to ensure we do as much as we can for our children. On the way home I had to stop for a few minutes as a herd of cows with calves were being moved from 1 field to another. In a way, it was reassuring, that in the midst of this time of great uncertainty, some things do carry on, cattle still need moving onto fresh grass, lambs are still being born, bluebells are flowering. 

It took me a while to get tea on after which I popped to the allotment to water the plants and check on what had been planted out on Saturday. Thankfully the rabbits haven’t eaten  anything .  I’m getting quite low on compost so need to think about where to get some. Often Mr T has compost in the entrance to the shop, but I haven’t noticed any for a few weeks. The local garden centre does home delivery but you have to spend £50, which is more than I can spend in one go.

sashybo

Honeysuckle, I got compost from Mr M's if there are any near you, they were doing 40L bags for £3 which isn't too bad. We normally get ours from B&Q but our local one has only just reopened and there are apparently huge queues to get in (several hours wait 😱). 

Glad to hear that the rabbits haven't eaten anything at the allotment. My roses are already being attacked by greenfly. 😖 My gooseberry bushes are starting to flower, I only noticed because DS pointed out the bees going to the bushes (he was shouting "Don't touch the bee!" His favourite phrase atm 😂). I'll need to try and get some netting to stop the magpies getting the gooseberries before us! I don't mind them having some as we have 3 bushes but they took them all last year the cheeky beggars. 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Sashybo- a good reminder t9 get the netting ready. I have a jostaberry that I have yet to try the fruit of, despite having it for 6 years, the birds always seem to get  them at that perfect point of ripeness😒.

I had to pick  up a prescription today so while I was in the town, I did go to Bee and Emm. They had compost 🥳 and no queue 🙂.  They were only small bags but I have never been so grateful to buy compost!! I did ring around the garden centres before heading out but one had a full answer machine message so couldn’t get through, one wanted a minimum order of £50 and the other was answered by someone who would gladly have helped if there was compost or people on site. At least I know where I can get some if I run out again.

This afternoon was more work related but then I escaped into the garden.  Having the compost meant I could pot up the last tomatoes, sow some sunflowers, courgettes and runner beans and pr*ck out more of the antirrhinum forest! At the allotment I have taken a risk and planted out 3 butternut squashes. Hopefully we won’t get any more frost, we are usually done by this point in the year. The6 were starting to look stifled in their pots so thought they could do with being planted out.

Cherryfudge

Well done on finding compost! I'm making do with last year's seed compost which is in a few tubs and fairly weed-free, and home made. Not sure how that will all pan out.

savingholmes

Glad you got some compost and were able to plant some more things. Exciting... We have a cherry tree but the birds always nick them too

janb5

Millionaire’s shortbread

100 g/3 ½ oz caster sugar

200g/7 oz butter softened and sliced

300 g/10 ½ oz SR flour sifted

Salted peanuts if wished

200g/ 7 oz milk chocolate broken into pieces.

 

Preheat the oven to 180 deg/fan 160/Gas 4.  Line the base of a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.  Either use a food processor or simply mix the flour butter and the sugar together until mixture reassembles fine breadcrumbs.  Put mixture into tin and and smooth down with palette knife.Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown then remove and cool in tin.

 Caramel sauce

 150g / 5 oz butter

150 g / 5 oz dark brown sugar ½ white sugar/ ½  brown sugar

Can of Carnation condensed milk ( Lidl do this too )

 Use a heavy duty pan.

Heat the sugar and butter.  Add condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil stirring continuously.

Cook for 1 -2 minutes until thickened. Add to shortbread base

Pour over shortbread base and chill until set. Add nuts now

 Chocolate sauce

 I melt the chocolate in a Pyrex dish set over a pan of gently boiling water.  I find using the MW tends to `seize` the chocolate.  Add a little golden syrup to melted choc. Add to base.

janb5

You can buy ready made Ducle de leche/caramel sauce but I find it a bit runny.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Cherryfudge, SH and Jan,

I haven’t has Millionaire’s shortbread for a long time! My grandmother always used to make it for picnics or holidays. I tried to make it but I seem to burn the caramel, but perhaps using a ready  done jar of caramel would be the answer🙂.

Thursday was a work day, at home. I worked until 4, then decided that I needed to be outside. We went on a circular 3 mile walk that avoids the village and keeps to the fields and lanes nearby. We have to walk up quite a large hill, so the views are always spectacular- you can see for miles around. The grass is getting longer in the fields. It won’t be long before the tractors are doing their first cut of grass for silage. Lots of wild garlic out in the hedgerows and bluebells are everywhere 😀. I love the colour and fragrance of the bluebells. 
 I couldn’t take the elderly lurcher as it would be too far for him these days, so I took him for a stroll to the allotment after tea, so that he got out and I got the plants watered.

Unfortunately it looks like a creature has been in the greenhouse. Not quite sure how as all the glass is in place and I can’t see any evidence of any holes. The plants are all fine except for the newly sown runner  beans, which have been uncovered and nibbled 😠 .  One plant that is intriguing me is the cucamelon. I’ve  not grown it before but apparently the fruits look like miniature watermelons. The plants are still small at the moment but look like they will need quite a decent space in the greenhouse.

I’ve been looking around the garden at home ( most of my attention goes on the allotment so the home garden gets a bit overlooked at times). There is a long  raised border in stone, which I planted up with blackcurrants when we first moved here ( before we had the allotment). These blackcurrants seem to have had a real drop in growth over the last couple of years so am wondering if they haven’t been pruned  enough. There does seem to be a lot of old wood, so am thinking of digging them up and moving them to the allotment where I’ve got more space for them and neatening up the garden with some flowering shrubs.