Miserable News

pavlovs_dog

Kaz2904 wrote: »

The slugs have declared war on my tomatoes and a couple of my lollo rosso lettuces.

a cheap OS answer is at hand. it may already be waiting for you in your fridge!

next time you boil eggs, save the shell. wash it, and crush it into little pieces, and use this to protect your plants. slugs and snails hate to crawl across it.


you can also use empty pop bottles. cut off one end of the bottle (cut triangles up and down is best, helps it stand in the earth). place over sprouts, seedings, young plants and push down into the soil. the bottle should also create a mini greenhouse effect, which will encourage growth - winwin situation!

hang unwanted free cds in the garden to scare off cats.

mary43

originally posted by calley
What about raised beds rather than pots gives you a little more room and more options. And the raised beds can be small just a couple of feet either way.

We're mainly concrete calley...........created a sort of raised bed for the herbs and last year we got a fair crop of runner beans and potatos.
One side of the garden is so shady not a lot grows there except shrubs and a few wild flowers (weeds to some people but if they're pretty I leave them be)
and the bottom half of the garden is all wildlife area, pond etc.
Friend of ours has an allottment and if he has any spare he pops them round which is handy.
A lot of the concrete area has tubs on it,strawberries growing out of one of them and we're aiming to create a sort of salad garden under the windowsill and pop a few veg in among the tubs of flowers so hopefully we'll have more than last year.

Claire70_2

ceridwen wrote: »

Such an obvious point P.P. - if only more people followed that one. Not to mention - not getting the car out at all for a journey that can be made by public transport instead. I am frequently horrified by the way people will leap in a car for what would only be a short walk.

With this - there is a silver lining to the cloud - ie fewer cars on the road than there otherwise would be (air that is a bit more breathable and reduced amount of traffic noise). It aint all bad news.

Im sorry, only half way through the topic... but.... I cant walk that far.. no Im not disabled but waiting for an operation which means I cant walk far and I wouldnt be able to carry the shopping back if I did... Next time you see someone in a car who isnt obviously bisabled and therefore you can see why.. think.

I do agree that some people use the car out of habit not necessity but some dont

Claire70_2

At the end of the topic now... It does sound bad doesnt it.. everything going up, Brown borrowing money to give donations to other countries so he looks good for the election. Whats the answer? Dont think there is one.


Im as OS as I can be now, if we cut back anymore then we wouldnt be eating or doing anything.

Good news is the mortgages are going down but the gas bills are going up so you dont gain anywhere.

Seems to mne this government looks after the rich and the not haves and forgets about those in the middle, the working man paying tax to fund everything Brown is giving away

JailhouseBabe

pigpen wrote: »

not being eligible for some kind of tax credits would imply to me the family has more income than they are realising..

Not always the case - DD is 19, so no child-targeted benefits, although I do charge her board (which I hate having to do - I would anyway because I think kids need to learn the lessons of life, but I hate having to rely on that to supplement my income IYKWIM). I still have a mortgage, council tax, water rates, etc. that I am in effect the sole breadwinner for.

pigpen wrote: »

a night in would pay for a weeks worth of food.. even in my house! Time to look at switching credit cards again? utility providers? Drop a tariff on the mobile phone? ..

My nights out now consist of 1 night a week at a friends house with a couple of cheap bottles of wine. Mobile phone PAYG, approx £5 every 6-8 weeks. I've long run out of places where I can cut costs! Although, am happy to report that a work colleague gave me 2 tomato plants today - gave him a home-baked banana loaf in return. :beer:

mary43

OH has just been given yet more tomato plants and some runner bean plants so at least we dont have to buy those now.

We don''t have nights out any more unless we're on holiday -holidays normally consist of visits to family and then we have a night out.

I've got my bus pass so can travel free but to go the 20 miles there and back for bargains such as they have in wilkinsons, poundland etc I'd never be able to carry them back.
Plus I'm a great believer in supporting our local shops where possible. It might cost a bit more sometimes but then compared with petrol (if OH had to take me out of town to get something) and car parking charges it can work out cheaper.
I can't drive due to disability so rely on him or the bus.

ceridwen

Claire70 wrote: »

Im sorry, only half way through the topic... but.... I cant walk that far.. no Im not disabled but waiting for an operation which means I cant walk far and I wouldnt be able to carry the shopping back if I did... Next time you see someone in a car who isnt obviously bisabled and therefore you can see why.. think.

I do agree that some people use the car out of habit not necessity but some dont

Just a little point of clarification here - the "being horrified" at people leaping in a car for journeys of less than 3 miles. The operative word here I guess is "leaping" - as in I reckon we are all just taking it for granted that those who we are thinking will walk up to 3 miles are those healthy enough to do so. Guess I take that as read - as that includes me. Sorry for not being clearer:D

The people I am thinking of here are a couple of perfectly fit people I know who I often see getting in their cars for journeys that would take me just 10-15 minutes to walk and a fit work colleague who drives their car to work whenever they can (though its only 2 miles).

Claire70_2

No offence meant or taken Ceri and I know exactly the sort of people you mean


I wonder what will be next with this government. As said early it may come to the point where all the salarys are paid directly to the government and they give us what THEY think we need. I know it sounds extreme but how many of the things happening today we would of though extreme 10 years ago

Penelope_Penguin

Claire70 wrote: »

I know it sounds extreme but how many of the things happening today we would of though extreme 10 years ago

Could you explain what, exactly

Penny. x

Claire70_2

Like we are an oil producing country but our petrol is dearer than most other countries...