How much of the wet stuff have you had.... I was hoping to dig another bed but we have had such little rain that everything has dried up. All the water butts are empty too

   

In case you didn't know, Bren is self-sufficient in lettuce.
A few weeks ago I watched a You tube video by Huw Richards in which he talked about "Part -time Self Sufficiency". My version of what he said -

Its not possible to be completely self sufficient - there are some things we simply cannot grow - climate, time constraints, space to grow.
However, it is possible to be Part-time self sufficient (SS)  - and you can do this in a number of ways...............for example:-
You could grow enough Tomatoes to be SS between June and November
.......enough lettuce not to buy any all year round (like Bren)
.......you could choose a day of each week to make a meal solely from what you've grown. 

It doesn't matter how small your SS goal seems to be when compared to those who say they are 100% SS, everything that you can provide for yourself is worthwhile. Even a pot of herbs could mean that you never have to buy parsley or mint etc.

Also, Huw said, factor in your time  when deciding what is worth growing. He used Chickpeas as an example. Yes, they can be grown but  waiting for them to dry, then podding for a return of 2 chickpeas per pod is a lot of time to spend to make a bowl of Hummus when you could make it from another bean that grows more prolifically.

Finally, he advised collecting recipes for the veg that you grow in quantity - like courgettes so that you don't tire of them or waste them. 

 I'd be interested to hear how many of us are P/T SS and in what.

I know PP started some but I was wondering if they are worth growing as a cut flower?

How many stems do you get in a year? How close do you plant. Will start from seed this month - so I'm looking at what I will be able to cut neat year.

Hi Folks

Not sure what to do now as I do not believe they are big enough to plant out?

If not big enough yet shall I just plant them on mass into a bigger pot or prick out?

Green pot Zebrune other leeks

   

TIA.

Morning all
I’ve got this nasty white stuff on my matthiola arborescens (tree stock). Have sprayed it with Roseclear, but doesn’t seem to be working - any ideas??
It’s just about to come into full flower, so didn’t really want to decimate it by removing all the affected leaves and burning them.
But I will if I have to - there’s always next year (we hope!)

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We are almost 2!  Any suggestions for a celebratory competition?

I know some of us purchased greenhouses from BandQ when they sold them at silly prices, me included.

I need to find out the measurement of the door rollers in order to purchase some replacements. Could someone who purchased one please have a measure for me?

I have been wanting to add some water for increased biodiversity to our garden for a while but have been wary of open water due to small children concerns. 
I have recently had a thought due to some recycling opertunities coming along. 
I have a broken recycling box which is split down one corner and not useful as a recycling box any more. Also due to some recent house refurbishment and some hard landscaping I have some thick black plastic to use and a large quantity of rocks and stones of differing sizes. 
My thoughts are could I effectively make a submerged sump with the box and plastic, fill it with stones then fill with water? 
Could it be useful as a source of drinking water for birds, insects etc? Would it be useful at all and if so how?

I’m going to have to buy a few plants for my garden. At some point 
Where would you recommend buying from? Obviously not T&M .
I’ll use David Austin for roses 
I’ll probably be after some clematis & camellia and flowery shrub type things that take ages or don’t do well from seed.

I have to accept that one of my seed-grown artichokes is actually a cardoon. Last year I hoped and hoped, but when it made two plus metres and produced abundant tiny (but pretty) flowers I had to admit that this was no artichoke!
A quick interweb suggests the plants need to be harvested in late summer or early autumn, or another from December to spring! A friend from Provence says that they eat it as a gratin at Christmas, which fits with the winter harvest.
So, anyone grown, and more importantly cooked and eaten cardoons?

   

The beast in the summer last year. And now of course, instead of one giant there are three fighting for space!