I’ll apologise now. This may turn into a rant. It really annoys me     .

This morning I’ve been reading Decembers issues of GW. 
In 2 separate articles they are advising to bin out of date seed. It’s infuriating! It’s wasteful and unnecessary. Especially when they are spouting on about reducing the use of peat, plastics & pesticides earlier in the mag. It’s a little hypocritical I think.

   

   

Just, why !!? 

Granted some seeds will have a lower germination rate when out of date. But they’re not suddenly infertile because they’re 3 months out of date. People should stop being encouraged to bin perfectly good seed by so called professionals. 
Probably because those professionals are being paid handsomely by big seed companies. ( my cynical view, not fact based in any way) .

You all probably know this already but I have just supposedly had an email from the NHS titled NHS Certificates.

It asks you to apply for a digital passport allowing jou to travel freely if you have your jabs by clicking a link.

I have checked and this is deffo a scam so if you get a similar email just delete it.

But I spotted this in a charity shop on the top shelf and instantly thought of you Veggie!

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I’ve got a few spring bulbs arriving soon. 
I was thinking of planning them all in fish boxes until I can plant then in my new garden. Will that be ok ? 
They’ll have to be planted quite tightly together or I’ll run out of fish boxes and compost.

I found a ladybird in the garden today - she was just sitting on shrubby plant and, after thinking that she shouldn't be out this late, I realised that I had no idea what happened to ladybirds in winter.

The Duckduck told me that they hibernate and how to make them a hotel to overwinter in............so this is my job for tomorrow! I hope she's still there so I can move her into her new home!

http://uksafari.com/spottylodgers.htm

Vertical Veg (Mark Ridsdill Smith) runs a seed swap on FB. 

Has anyone ever joined it  or knows how it operates please? I'm curious how it can work!

From what I can gather, you pay some  money (£6 +) and you're emailed a spreadsheet on which you list the seeds that you have to swap. All these lists are amalgamated and sent to all swappers who choose the seeds they want from the list.  Once the list requests are over, the swapper packs their seeds individually for each requester and sends all the packs to Vertical Veg who shuffles them around and sends them back to the requesters.

My initial thought is what if I only have 10 beans to swap and 20 people want them? Who decides who has the beans and what about the 19 people who won't receive any?

I really can't understand how this swap takes place so, if you know, please tell me.

I'm making a list of the different herb combinations/recipes that I come across to get an idea of the plants that I have that can be used or that I need to grow. If you have any recommended combinations, please add them to this thread. 

First up, from the Twinings Cold infuse teas I've been given:-

Raspberry & Hibiscus + Rosehips, apple pieces, beetroot, Roasted chicory Root.
Mandarin & Rosemary + Stevia leaves (Like this one a lot).
Watermelon, Strawberry & Mint + Hibiscus, Beetroot, Rosehips, orange peel.
Pomegranate and Elderflower + Lemon Balm, Beetroot
Lemon, Lime & Green Mate + White Hibiscus, Stevia Leaves
Watermelon, Apple & Matcha + Green Tea, White Hibiscus, Stevia Leaves.

I "think" that the beetroot may be the colouring in the red teas so I'm not going to lob a slice of beetroot into my cup!
I'm going to start saving orange and lemon peel, drying rosemary & lemon balm, gathering elderflowers and rosehips in season and trying to grow Stevia and Hibiscus...............for a start.

With the price of all forms of energy on the increase, this thread can be used to share any tips you have.

One thing we have started doing is when boiling the kettle. It is not always possible to boil just the amount needed. Any excess, we now put in a flask to keep it hot for later use.

So after I'd planted up all my potatoes from spring for earlies I had a few tubers left over. I kept them to one side thinking I'd find space for them later. I never did find somewhere to squeeze them in so instead when I dug up my first spuds in early July I replenished the soil with some bfb and planted my left over spuds. I harvested some a few days ago as the frosts had got the tops and was impressed with the crop. Not as many useful spuds as first crop but plenty enough, certainly worth doing in the future.

Hey everyone, thank you for having me, I love gardens, I have a dog so of course I have to love them! the smell of flowers walking past them wants me to spend the day sniffing them, I love the colours in summer, aren't they just so beautiful? yes they really are!!!! shaunie