Cheery's country living adventure

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  • rtandon27
    rtandon27 Posts: 4,536 Forumite
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    Wow Cheery - your own lettuce - Fabulous!
    4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)
    (With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)
    ...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)
    17 YEARS 4 MONTHS LEFT OF 20 YEARS
  • edwink
    edwink Posts: 2,968 Forumite
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    edited 10 July 2018 at 11:30PM
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    Hi Cheery

    With regards to feed for your growing plants we put comfrey and nettles in one of our water butts and allow it to soak for a few weeks before using it. You can use it as a quick and easy all purpose feed. When it rains and the water butt fills up we add more nettles and comfrey. Then all you need to do is use the tap to get some of the liquid feed out in to a watering can. To be honest I never measure it very well because I just guess. But, roughly 10% liquid feed in a big watering can and top it up with water from another water butt and feed that directly to your plants at least once a week. Nice and quick, cheap and easy to do without having to strain the liquid. We just tip the water butt out once a year and put what is in there in to one of our compost bins and the next year we start again with fresh nettles etc.

    Or here is a link from Gardeners World which shows you how to make it another way but it needs straining. Personally for me I think it is a lot more work than using a spare water butt.

    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-make-nettle-and-comfrey-feed/

    Hope that is some help.

    Edwink
    **3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5282209
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460 Forumite
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    Edwink, can I just butt in (ha!) and ask about the nettles? I've got a lot that have grown over from next door, and I'm about to deal with them on Friday ... but they've got seeds on them now. Is that soaking method still okay to do? I learn so much on mse, and the *variety* of what I learn is staggering!
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • edwink
    edwink Posts: 2,968 Forumite
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    Karmacat wrote: »
    Edwink, can I just butt in (ha!) and ask about the nettles? I've got a lot that have grown over from next door, and I'm about to deal with them on Friday ... but they've got seeds on them now. Is that soaking method still okay to do? I learn so much on mse, and the *variety* of what I learn is staggering!

    We use ones with seeds on with no problems. Ours come through from our neighbours too so with gloves on we just tug them out and more often than not they have their roots attached too. We put the whole lot in the water butt.

    HTH

    Edwink
    **3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5282209
  • Cheery_Daff
    Cheery_Daff Posts: 15,710 Forumite
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    Funnilyenough I did throw a load of dandelions in a water butt weeks ago, but it literally hasn't rained since and after I've finished lugging watering cans round the garden I just haven't been bothered to bring more water out to fill up the water butt... :o

    Annoyed with myself today - faffing about led to me having to spend £10 on a taxi!!! :eek: my own fault too :mad:
  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,429 Forumite
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    Cheery_Daff wrote: »
    Annoyed with myself today - faffing about led to me having to spend £10 on a taxi!!! :eek: my own fault too :mad:


    Needs must sometimes Cheery - and don't forget to give yourself a :T when you walk to places, car-share or cycle........ i'm sure they are much more the norm, looking at the big picture..........;)



    Greying X
    Pounds for Panes £2,590/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (April) -  £8/£15  (Camping TTD - £60/90)
     
    Grocery spend April £214.28/215
    Non-food household spend April £29.23/25
    Bulk Fund April 0/£10

    Knitted items for charity 1/24 (inc. Blankets 1/6)
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460 Forumite
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    Thanks edwink! I suspect we're going to get a lot of rain quite soon, the skies are really threatening, so this is a good time.


    Cheery - listen to Greying! Taxis are not the norm for you, the big picture is fine :)
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 7,898 Forumite
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    Thanks for the tip Edwink - I knew comfrey was good for plant food but didn't know about nettles and the water butt system sounds so easy compared to some ways I've read of doing it!

    Cheery, these things happen - don't let it get you down. Your veg sound like they are coming along well (and reassuring me that mine have still got time to grow yet!).
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


  • starnac
    starnac Posts: 5,917 Forumite
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    Edwink what great advice. Thank you.


    Cheery well done on the lettuces. Ours are almost big enough to eat and we have 1 flower on one of our tomato plants :rotfl:
    Goals for September
    Declutter 10/20
    Money Made £56.52/£200
    Overpayments £0/£200 not this month as need to put into savings instead
  • Cheery_Daff
    Cheery_Daff Posts: 15,710 Forumite
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    Thank you, you lovely lot :kisses3:

    Well I FINALLY got round to doing YNAB and banks - obviously being pesky and misbehaving from having been left alone for too long :eek: Even managed to lose something in the bank account and had to put it under Budget Fiddling :mad:

    Hey ho.

    Not having too bad a time of it finances wise. Went to an event at the weekend which was planned - £50 for accommodation and food (I use the term 'accommodation' loosely as it was camping and I slept in the car :rotfl: ) Food was nice though :D Came home early though so missed some of it...

    Still harvesting our lettuces :j and I actually harvested a bowl full of raspberries today! :j :j A small bowl, but even so :j :j SO excited about this - I LOVE raspberries, and I've never had enough to harvest more than 4 or 5 at a time :o We got these canes from a woman who was moving house through Freegle, a few weeks after we moved in, and they've been great :j

    Cucumbers and beans have got flowers on now :j and there are a few more tiny tomatoes developing... :j

    NOT impressed with the sandals I bought last week for £20 :eek: I bought them in a rush and wasn't entirely convinced, but now the straps have actually started to come away from the sole :eek: Not exactly good enough after a week of wear, especially from an 'outdoors' shop! :eek: They'll be going back when I get the chance...

    Er, what else? Worked at home today, and tomorrow, and having Wednesday off :j Friend is coming, so we can eat lunch here :j (I do have to have a repair done to the car in the morning though...)

    Thursday I'm working at home but meeting someone for lunch in a pub :o

    Friday I'm in town, unusually.

    Tried and tried to get my timetable sorted out for September but it's looking like some weeks I'm going to have to be in the city 4 days :eek: Most unfortunate but there doesn't seem to be a way of sorting it out sadly :( Hey ho, it's only for a few weeks...

    Right, food shopping calls... yawn...
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