Ok, so I'm having a mare, I've been attempting to make sourdough for about 6 weeks now, and on every occasion something goes wrong.

I've made it too dry, too tight, too heavy, too wet to manage, forgotten salt, broken the surface tension, not left it rise enough, forgotten to fold to create gluten structure and it's starting to drive me a bit dippy. I've watched just about every video possible, and read a lot of books including PH's Bread. I keep doing something wrong, often its something really small, today, I broke the surface tension on one ball because I forgot to flip the ball oven on the bench and ended up folding the base onto the top instead of the other way around. 

My two boule's are sat waiting for me to bake, they should be ready to go in the oven around 12. I'm not sure who else makes sourdough here but, this is, without doubt, the hardest learning curve of my life, there are so many permutations that could go wrong, and you can't follow a recipe as the weather and temperature makes the process different for every bake. 

I have my own starter, which is like looking after a baby, the OH thinks it's time for me to give up but, when you taste commercial sourdough you realise that the real thing even with the above mistakes is far superior to anything you can buy from a supermarket.

I'm not really sure what I'm after, I'm probably just venting as this is driving me up the wall. I think it's made all the worse because unlike making a standard loaf which I can do with ease, the process is an investment of 2-3 days work, and for it to fail in the final step before baking, is really frustrating. 

Yes I know I'm very critical of myself, I want one of those sourdoughs which are high round balls, with, a perfect dark brown hard crust, with a beautifully pocket holed centre. Everything else is second best, oh to get there just once.... 

I have some potatoes growing in the poly tunnel and during the week noticed a lot of greenfly on the flowers. I sprayed them with Bug Off,  but they keep coming back. I’ve never experienced green fly on potatoes before, has anyone else ?, any comments or suggestions please.

Anyone grown it?

I was listening to a Rick Stein cooking programme while making a birthday present   and he was on a trip in Mexico. I love tomatoes, fish and herbs - and the herb he used was epizote.
Epizote is a herb similar to thyme? Or so he said. I would be interested to try this. Apparently it grows like a weed in Mexico!

Hello Folks
 
Any thoughts / advice on the little fella in the middle. All plants purchased and potted on same day same compost??

   

Sorry mods wasn't sure where to post, doh!

Whilst OH in bed yesterday afternoon I watched this weeks Alan Titchmarsh prog about growing at home. 
Normally, it’s background noise while I read but.........

One of the presenters who has a smaller garden than mine (so iris possible) said about a window box to grow scrap veg in.  

Eyes glazing over, brain cell kicking it’s stroppy neuron into action and trunk quivering I watched enthralled. 

The lady presenter used leek, spring onion, celery and fennel root ends. 

Put into glasses and left to root. She did say as she planted them into her window box she didn’t know what would happen once in compost. 

This is my experiment.

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Fun Quiz!

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-inse...24,40EBX,1

I'm a Dragonfly. 

Barring accidents, I'm assuming the GH might be erected by mid July at the latest.  The border soil is ok but not brilliant and improving it will be a work in progress.  I've more than enough beans, cucumbers, courgettes  and tomatoes.  What bright ideas have you all got for me to sow/plant in July to make me feel the new GH is mildly productive.  I could sow now in modules if necessary but haven't got a potting place (it's full of tomatoes and cucumbers )
I'm thinking maybe some carrots to last into the late autumn.

Have you ever had a Russian Doll - not the flesh and blood ones - but the dolls that nest inside each other getting smaller and smaller until you reach a tiny one in the middle?

Imagine a series of flower pots that do the same.
If you can't, here's a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrkvOE6dDhQ

It looks a great way to take lots of cuttings in a small space without the roots getting tangled together.

I'm not ready to make a Cuttings Babushka yet so I'm trying a Salad one from seeds. Red and green Salad Bowl lettuce in the outer ring,  then Spring onions, then radish and Little Gem lettuce in the centre.
Made a couple of bent wire hoops and covered it with a carrier bag.

No photos 'cos I've already done it and bagged it. 

A cuttings one will be next.

Thanks to Covid we've had limits placed on the distance we can travel - 5 miles for most/all of the UK at the start. In Wales, we 're still restricted to 5 miles until 6th July.

 It seems a hardship to us now but our ancestors would have accepted 5 miles as quite normal. If you traveled everywhere on foot, or horseback if you were lucky, 5 miles might have been enough - perhaps you'd reach the next village, then you'd have to walk back carrying whatever you'd bought.

Everything you needed would be locally sourced, unless you lived near a port or market town perhaps. 

There's a map drawing website that lets you draw a radius from your postcode. https://www.freemaptools.com/radius-from...stcode.htm

What if everything we ate and drank was produced within that circle? Some of us would fare better than others. About half of my 5 mile circle is residential - not much growing there - and the other half is hillside, woodland and grazing. There is a farm shop so that would help.

If it was a 10 mile circle, I'd have far more choice, including the organic veg farm and its veg boxes - but, would I walk the 20 mile round trip to pick up a veg box? I doubt it!!

All this had made me realise the importance of providing for yourself, as far as possible. That tub of raspberries I've just picked has saved me a walk to the nearest PYO farm . 

Could you survive within the limits of your circle?

Does anyone grow Kohl rabi and have any advice please?
I have several packets of seed but keep overlooking them in favour of something I recognise. 

From the packet information, they can be sown March - July;  are ready to eat in 7-10 weeks and can be eaten raw as crudites, grated in salad or cooked like turnips.
The leaves are also edible and can be used like kale.

Sounds to be too good to be true!  Do they taste awful?