Selfsufficientish.com

What can you do that helps to make you self sufficient? I can knit (but have to buy the wool as don't live with a supply from a sheep) so only half useful. I can sew well enough to do repairs on clothes. Did learn embroidery but don't feel that cushion covers, table clothes and such are exactly nece...

Can I have a pet seasonal gripe? It's getting to be the season where we are advised to buy useless tat (think it's called Christmas).

My pet gripe when I was a working gardener was often the customers.

Answers on a postcard to Weedo 1. A weed is a plant in the wrong place according to gardeners and growers 2. Of course humans spread plant species without any knowledge of its bad habits (Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed here) 3. People don't like change and want to see what they imagine their envir...

Oh I will so go with the gravel Skippy.

I've been known to take the garden fork to the bags to punch those holes. One stab works wonders.

Horse tail takes over the world despite being the most venerable of aged pensioners. If you have an allotment full of it, I can assure you that destruction is quite ethical.

It takes a couple of years for leaves to rot down so the fact that people have some from last year still in process is quite normal. I'm not convinced that the colour of bags matter at all as I have worked with green ones. However, if you can acquire free a large builder's dumpy bag that is open to ...

Depends on the light, temperature and you keeping up the watering/feeding routine.

And it was an interesting learning curve.

Yep there are years like that aren't there? When you are starting over it takes a year to learn.

Can't imagine what a telly would add to my life. But then most of my 72 odd years have been without one.

I suggest to go with where the digging is done and get it planted before the season is too far gone Penny. Think ahead next year and cross fingers that we get sunny days next year.

Your number 1 bin was too dry. Woodlice arrive when the heap is dry. Number 2 bin on a patio has a problem with being on a patio - the base is wrong. No drainage for a start. You need to ensure that the heaps are placed on soil, kept warm and moist but not soaking. And you need to take all the conte...

You got it right in one Penny. Am hoping that more lime and compost and muck will improve the soil enough on plot 2 to take some of the brassica family. The kale will be OK. The Swiss chard doesn't look too happy but it went in late. But anther winter another period of soil care.