Hello all,

I'm looking for recommendations for companies that may be good for planning and installing a new kitchen. Obviously national brands, rather than local to you as I probably can't get anyone to pop over from Wales or down from Mull! I've been told about a few to avoid, but not any to actually try.

I have a very dated kitchen with several challenges when it comes to putting a new one in: it's tiny (maybe I should be knocking down a wall or opening up a doorway - I want a company I can talk through options with), the consumer unit/meters are in a really awkward place and need to go somewhere else, there are windows and doors everywhere so limited options for where things can go, the leak has left some of my floorboards and probably one joist rotten, the plumbing is probably from the 50s and needs replacing, there also needs to be a full rewire though I will probably arrange that separately, I want to somehow squeeze a dishwasher into the available space as well as a fridge-freezer and a washing machine (though maybe the washing machine can go in the back porch?), and I'll probably be staying in a different town while they work so won't be around to monitor progress or micro-manage outside tradespeople.

Anyone know of any good companies that I can actually sit down and have a conversation with and who will come back to me with suggestions to make it work? The kitchen almost put me off buying the house but I hoped inspiration would strike me when I actually moved in. Sadly it has not, and I really need someone who knows what they are doing!

With the aims of Reduce and Recycle, I'm going to work my way through the Alphabet, looking for items of clutter that I can either Reduce (dispose of) or Recycle (give away). 

Today's letter is A. 
Feel free to list your own Clutter and whether you have any plans for it.  Reuse, Reorganise, Repurpose etc are all acceptable plans!

Happy Birthday to Jen,
Twenty one again, 
and again, and again and again ++++++
Happy Birthday to Jen. 

This has grown in an interesting way this year. I have grown it before and not noticed this but it is growing upwards and fruiting higher up the plant as time passes so the courgettes are easy to get at and pick. I have 2 plants and both doing the same.



   

I have just ventured into bread making and didn't realise it was so satisfying and easy. It's much tastier than the bought equivalent and at least you know what's went into it.
Living alone I go through very little bread and usually buy a yellow sticker loaf, bung it into the freezer and just take out the slices I require.

Haven't fully thought out my plan yet for switching to home made bread? The loaf I have made should hopefully stay fresh for three days or so with a damp tea towel over it? If there is any left I suppose I could slice the remainder and bung it in freezer to use as required?

Your thoughts please?

Its not just your veg that are suffering this year, read this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62575247

I've been trying to save lots of sweet pepper seed this year, which requires something like organza bags to isolate the flowers and prevent cross pollination. Just yesterday I was taking one of the bags off and noticed a lot of these red larvae underneath a few of the leaves. One of the problems with bagging a plant is any pests on the leaves under the bag will proliferate with wild abandon. As is the case with hot summers, aphids have been a problem in the greenhouse and it seems they had been having a party under the organza bag, until a helpful friend turned up. 

This year in the greenhouse I've seen hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, ladybirds and minute pirate bugs, but I'd never seen bright red larvae before. These are larvae of a predatory midge called Aphidoletes aphidimyza and they feed on over 70 species of aphid. They paralyse the aphid by injecting a toxin in to their legs, then suck the juice out of the aphid's body. An adult midge must have squeezed through the bag opening, or had already laid eggs in an aphid colony before I put the bag on. You can see some dried out aphid bodies in the photo.

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Seeing SC's first harvest from her own garden reminded me of our very first harvest here back in 2010 which was beetroot. 
But can you remember the very first thing you ever grew and harvested? I suspect mine was good old mustard and cress on the window sill!

A lot of the thug blackberry fruit have white drupelet syndrome. I only know this because I've googled it, until 10 minutes ago if someone had asked me what a drupelet was, I would have accused them of being naughty  .  It seems that the hot afternoon sun has caused the fruit to be stressed and caused them to have albino patches.  Another victim of the weather.  Anyone else got it?

Just seen this Challenge aimed at supporting British Farmers - to eat only British Grown Plants for a year. https://stockfreefarming.org/eat-only-br...for-a-year.
Its a Vegan site so is more restrictive than it would be for omnivores.
I'm tempted to try it but it would mean that I'd have to be more selective with the free food I'm given. No more bananas for example.

There's a list of UK Suppliers at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P5Cm...H_MO4/edit 
and, if you're on FB, lots of ideas for making substitutes for imported foods and recipes. 
I'm going to go halfway - not BUY any fruit or veg that's not UK grown but accept any free items that aren't to save them from the dump.