artjak

Latest posts by artjak

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What you haveeaten today?

Posted: 08/03/2013 at 17:00

Good grief Tiger; are you running a 5 star restaurant? The presentation is impeccable

MOB rants

Posted: 08/03/2013 at 10:51

My French colleague has to take a car full of plastic bags back to her elderly parents in France every summer; they use them for giving presents of fruit and veg to their friends!

I have 3 rather smart cloth bags that I bought at Primark about 8 years ago; they live on a hook on the inside of the front door, so I can't leave the house without being reminded of them. They get washed 2 or 3 times a year and should last another 10 years or so. My pet hate at the checkout, especially when I am only buying about 5 items is; 'do you need help packing?'

One very happy Birthday Girl:))))

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 20:33

Bless: chaps and their chocolates

Garden Achievement

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 20:30

Bookertoo; I loved your post, it reminded me of Joan Rivers comment about housework.

'I don't know, you wash the dishes and make the beds and six months later you have to do it all over again!'

MOB rants

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 19:52

Highland Jennie, if it is worth saying once, it is worth saying twice

This thing about packaging; in a supermarket, the cheapest produce is often the un-packaged, but you have to put it in a plastic bag for the checkout; why can't they use brown paper bags as they still do in a lot of street markets (and you can bet those barrow boys have chosen the cheapest option!) Or, because the till personnel need to see the contents, why don't they use cellulose bags, which are very biodegradable. and can be manufactured from easily repeatable crops, not just trees. Though I have to add a rider; I am no scientist and may be innacurate in the details above.

One very happy Birthday Girl:))))

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 10:06

Busy Lizzie, That is the most useful book, I love mine and use it a lot.

Growing potatoes in pots

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 09:15

When you get your seed potatoes, set them in egg boxes with the eyes facing up. Put in a light frost free area, a north facing window sill perhaps. After 6 weeks they will have sprouted (chitted).

You can get some soft plastic containers called potato planters, v. cheap from pound shops and Wilkinsons. They can be emptied and folded away for the winter. They are about 450cm high and 400cm wide, with drainage holes in the bottom. Put about 15 cm of copmost in, rest the seed potatoes (about 3) on the compost and cover with 10 cm of compost. When the leaves start growing through, add a bit more compost to cover. Keep doing this until the leaves form a big canopy above the container.

Keep the label from the seed potatoes as that will tell you when to harvest that variety. I tend to wait until the foliage starts to die back. You can gently rootle around to check if the crop is of a good size at this point.

And remember to water throughout. Also don't put these containers outside if there is still a lot of frost. It all sounds complicated, but is in fact very easy.

MOB rants

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 09:03

I'm all for the long vest/t shirt, it stops the howling draft on my lower back when I'm gardening

How tidy is your garden?

Posted: 07/03/2013 at 08:55

With pruning and hedge clipping I put down a tarpaulin then it is easy to clear away. Am having the Big Spring Clear-up at the moment; so starting at the back and working towards the house, raking up the last of the Autumn leaves, tidying up the odd flower pot, weeding, raking gravel etc. Up here in the Fens people keep very tidy gardens, I couldn't believe it when I first moved here, maybe it is something to do with the flatness of the land.

431 to 440 of 989