Does anyone have the answer? It can’t just be the hobbies I’ve chosen to do over the year that have all been expensive! 
Previous hobbies rock (semi precious) collecting, sewing, embroidery, knitting, jewellery making, beading, woodworking. Still do all of them occasionally . 

Disclaimer GARDENING IS NOT A HOBBY! it’s a passion, necessity and good for your health.


I’ve just worked out for my next crochet project I want to make, will cost me £23.08 + P&P for the wool (January sale prices) £ 6.41 for the pattern. 

Don’t even get me started on Bobs hobbies. Wood turning ( longest running hobby), bee keeping (new hobby, money going out the door, not a bee in site!), orchid collection (previous hobby), ferreting (got bored, I had new pets). He’s worse than a bloody child! 
Makes me feel better about my £30 ish crochet project     . 

Anyone else? Or is it just me?

A small plastic widger and dibber plus 4 labels  and a pencil   £8.99  p&p is free though.
https://www.gardenersdream.co.uk/4pcs-pl...-set-p6554

Hope you have a very Happy Birthday Veggie 
Help yourself to a big slice of chocolate birthday cake

   

Please note that Square Yard Gardening (SYG) is very different to Square Foot Gardening (SFG) and Square Metre Gardening (SMG).
SFG means dividing a bed into one foot square sections and growing a different veg in each square. SMG seems to mean much the same thing - divide a metre square bed into 9 and grow a different veg in each square. Both too fiddly for my little brain. 

As you know, I struggle to grow anything in rows, probably because the rows are too long and they start wandering off course (much like me). Today, playing about in the garden, I weeded a patch at the end of a long bed, a patch that was approximately a square yard. I could reach into the middle from both sides and it seemed manageable. My little plan is to divide the beds into yard wide strips and subdivide these into yard long mini beds (bits of cane will do). 

In each SYG,  I could sow 3 rows of the same veg - say, carrots, but sow them successionally, maybe at monthly intervals.  Three x 3' rows = a 9' row in a big bed. When the first row is harvested, sow more in its place. There'd be room for intercropping between the rows, maybe spring onions or lettuce. At the end of the season, this carrot bed would move to another SYG for rotation. 

The more  I think about it, the more I like it! It may actually be a plan I can stick with. Its more orderly than I'm used to but still interesting enough that I wouldn't get bored. 

What do you think? Does anyone do this or similar?

What goodies have you bagged for your garden? 

Today we picked up some pipe. each pipe is 5m (16ft ) long with a 30cm (just under a 1ft ) diameter.

   

A couple with be used for drainage. A couple will be turned into a big version of this.

    With pipes cut completely in half. Not just a section taken out the top.

  52-week-organized-home-list-2024.pdf (Size: 131.62 KB / Downloads: 15)
I saw a FB Group that aims to have its readers declutter an area of their house every day for a year. Each declutter project takes 15 minutes (so they say).  There's a downloadable calendar with each day's project listed. For me, 15 minutes is very optimistic but I thought I'd use the list as an idea of where to start. There's also a weekly list which summarises the weeks - I hope I've posted a link to that if you want to join me!
This week its Kitchen counters and sink.

Who's sowing tomatoes this month?

What's on the menu today?

Is it sun hat or umbrella weather?

What do you hope to do on your plot in 2024? 
Aims, ambitions, plans?

2023 thread https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1744