Garden/Allotment

[andrewo]

The only thing I would love is a greenhouse, a neighbour of mine is putting up an 8' x 6' and says I can use it to start off seedlings and leave some tomatoes and melons in - fab - as I don't have any room in my garden for one. That's the only thing I miss from the allotment, that and the company, loved pricking out in gangs, drinking tea and just chatting.

[pigletwillie]

We do both, have a greenhouse at home and on the 2 plots plus a tunnel. We start stuff of at home and transplant later. We do use the home greenhouse later for tomatoes and cape gooseberries

[sewer rat]

Andrewo
Do you know, I haven't got a clue how big my garden is - will go and pace it out now!

[sewer rat]

My garden is approx 20m x 20m of growing space. Sandstone walls on three sides (if you count the back of the house as one of the walls, the other two being approx 7 or 8 ft high - I'm 6'2" and can't see over them )and a larchlap fence dividing me from the Texas Baptist Church next door. This area does not include my working area containing two sheds, two log stores and loads of timber, sawbenches, plastic pipes etc etc.

[Shortie]

I had stabilisers on my bike until I was about 9

Okay, in for a penny in for a pound... I took ages to come off stabilisers and when I finally did I think it was sheer luck and momentum that kept me going, not balance. Anyway, didn't ride a bike for years and then when I first met my OH i tried to ride again and I've totally lost all aspects of balance now and the additional embarrassment of being mid 20's and learning to ride a bike stopped me trying again.

My OH wants me to cycle with him this year and has offered to help me learn balance this time and he only marginally sniggered when he offered to buy me stabilisers I don't even have the reason of falling over a wall and down a hill, I just simply can't balance!

Hom hum... another thing I probably shouldn't have shared at the forum.

[Shortie]

One thing eveyone will learn about me (if they haven't already) is that I'm very quick to laugh at myself and don't mind others laughing at me, especially when it's true

.... like when my physio told me I could do with losing a few pounds last night

But then there's good excerise in gardening.... isn't there.....?

[poultrychat]

shortie, maybe you need to get yourself a couple of goats to pull a cart for you

[Shortie]

shortie, maybe you need to get yourself a couple of goats to pull a cart for you

I don't think the neighbours (my Mum and Dad) would be impressed.. they we're happy with the chooks!

That said, I LOVE goats chees so could be persuded (not the first clue about goats cheese production though... oh well)

[smallblueplanet]

Its very easy to make a soft 'curd' type cheese from goats milk and it tastes delicious.

2 pts goats milk
2 tbsps lemon juice (or cider vinegar)
chives (optional)

1 Bring milk slowly to rising boiling point (but don't let it boil over!)
2 Add lemon juice or cider vinegar
3 Strain (through muslin)
4 Add chives & pinch salt (to taste) and mix well

[andrewo]

Oh that sounds nice.

[Shortie]

Ditto Andrewo. Goats or not, I might have to try making that... SBP.. how long would that keep in the fridge?

[nick the grief]

If your seeing a physio you'll loose more than a few £'s Shortie When I had my trapped nerve last year, I think the one I saw had just split up with her husband and was taking it out on me!! I saw bit's of my body I've only ever seen in the mirror before And some of the manoevres are very effective at moving trapped wind

I've got a book about home dairying somewhere, I'll dig it out & look some recipes out for you.

[smallblueplanet]

Dunno Shortie, don't think it lasted long :-) ! - days to a week?

We knew someone who kept goats and they gave us a few pints of fresh milk.

[dogsbody]

At home only, and that takes all the spare time left over after work, motor-racing, visiting garden centres to buy stuff to grow etc., etc.

I have a 220m2 plot with 2 greenhouses, 4 raised beds, 4 delinquent chickens, 1 natural (new) hedge, lots of pots, large shed, small concrete patio, and a vast amount of it still covered in weeds! Need to get the clearance folks in to clear it, level it and dig the big wildlife pond for me, if I could just find the time to ring them up.....

[Shortie]

And some of the manoevres are very effective at moving trapped wind

Sounds like when I used to do karate. Terrible to try and hold it in when everyone's concentrating on their stance and then someone else cracks one! Very hard to pretend you didn't hear