I don’t like to dwell too much on the economics of growing vegetables in containers mostly because I do it as a hobby and not a way to save money. The second reason is that it is incredibly difficult to quantify the costs going in or coming out of this sort of project. However, I thought I might share a few thoughts on the subject in case people are interested. [...]
Read more
A couple of weeks ago I sneakily planted some marigold seeds in the garden. I didn’t mention it because I wasn’t sure if they would sprout so I didn’t want to get mine, or Adam’s, hopes up! Well, it looks like they have decided to sprout! I was so pleased to see these little shoots come up about a week ago but it has been raining ever since, so I [...]
Read more
I have seen quite a few people making these cool newspaper pots for their seedlings on Pinterest so I decided to give it a go. The advantage of these pots is that the newspaper will degrade into the soil so you can just plant the whole thing, pot and all, once your seedling is big enough to be planted out. This seems like a really great idea so if it is [...]
Read more
Planning what to grow in a small area is so difficult! I have been chasing myself around in circles for a couple of weeks now, trying to decide what is in and what is out. First I line up all the vegetables I love to eat and would love to grow, then I cut out everything I cannot grow in a container. Finally I try to make some attempt at [...]
Read more
Look at this cute little bento lunch! This year we have been really good about making all our own lunches for work. It is a great way to save some money and time every day (I don’t want to spend my whole lunch break standing in a queue for a sandwich). The downside of taking your own lunch is that it can get boring sometimes. So I have been trying [...]
Read more
We had roast chicken for dinner the other day. We love buying a full chicken, roasting it and having plenty of chicken for a tasty dinner and enough leftovers for sandwiches. Adam has introduced me to the idea of making chicken stock with the finished chicken carcass. I love that this makes it even more economical and we get some really tasty stock for our freezer. The only problem is [...]
Read more
Well, we tried. We have tried to make compost on our roof terrace by putting it in a tub and maintaining it. I tried to balance the wet with the dry, to air it regularly and to mix it all up every week or two. But we opened it yesterday after being on holidays for two weeks and the smell was quite overwhelming! Sadly, we have had to do away [...]
Read more
I hate to admit this, even to myself, but after waiting months for our tomatoes to ripen, after nurturing them from seeds up to four impressive plants, after driving 20 miles with them tucked up in the back of the car and carefully moving them into their new home, after all the love and affection we have poured on them… we are both pretty much tired of eating them already! [...]
Read more
Recently we have started making our own muesli and it has been really easy and really tasty. The main reason to make it, for me, is the cost. Muesli can be expensive to buy from the supermarket. I think the main reason for Adam is probably for health. Muesli in the supermarket often (but not always) comes with a lot of added sugar and/ or salt. Another good reason is [...]
Read more
We found the time this evening to make a self watering container. We bought two storage crates and pipe last weekend. Some rooting in the recycling turned up an empty ice cream container and a few off-cuts of wood. For tools we used a knife and a saw. The first step was to mark the shape of the ‘reservoir’ container onto the upper crate and cut a hole for it. [...]
Read more
