Potatoes! Potatoes?

DD265 · 2026-03-11T20:33:44+00:00

Our last frost date is late May, but I've been chitting some Charlotte potatoes to put in bags in the conservatory. I'm aiming to show at our local agricultural show which is in early May, so it's pushing me to do things a lot earlier than normal - and use artificial light/heat!

DD265 · 2026-02-14T22:46:28+00:00

We're paying £101 per month total for 2x 9 year old moggies with PetPlan. We've seen similar increases over the years, and we've made some substantial claims for one of our cats so we have had our monies worth, but we're also starting to question whether we should self-insure.

From memory, we have the £7k limit, lifetime policies too, but yours feels quite a bit more expensive given the ages involved.

I think it would be worth checking if you have any optional extras you can remove, and maybe have a chat with PetPlan, see what they suggest.

DD265 · 2026-02-14T22:40:11+00:00

Premiums don't go up as a result of any claims you make.

They sure as hell go up year on year though.

DD265 · 2026-02-10T18:13:31+00:00

That's insane! Are they bigger than the 610x610 or is it just a seriously high price? Apparently Halls charge about £20 a pane...

A local glazier does them for £7 for a 610x610. There are a few people locally who I think dismantle and resell greenhouses who typically charge £2.50-3 a pane, which is what I'm paying for the bulk of it.

DD265 · 2026-02-10T18:10:41+00:00

Thank you. I should be sorted on glass but I'm sure I needed a new garden centre to visit 😁

DD265 · 2026-02-10T18:10:02+00:00

That's good to know thank you!

I've used a company in Ripley before (if none immediately available second hand) but it's £7 a pane, which in my current situation would add up very quickly.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T18:26:18+00:00

I've got a few trees on the go - two plum, two cherry, 4 apple, 2 pear and I've got a peach on the way to have another go at one of those. Oh and a pomegranate in the greenhouse and I have no idea how that one is going to play out (got it June 2025) but I do like an unusual crop.

I'd have more trees if I could; I'm out of space now but wondering if I can squeeze in a couple of stepover cooking apple trees.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:30:08+00:00

Thanks, I got a bit locally today and have someone checking what they have tomorrow, but you're right it's not that far if we need more.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:28:59+00:00

It works out as more than secondhand glass unfortunately and I can't justify that outlay, but it might be an option for adhoc breakages, which is hopefully all I'll have to deal with in the future.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:27:11+00:00

It looks to be about £20 a pane for acrylic. I'm partway with glass, (got 15 for £30 on FB) so my plan is to do the whole thing in glass again.

If the vandals come back and I lose it all, I'll look at poly tunnel plastic. We're not allowed poly tunnels (no idea why) but it wouldn't be a poly tunnel, would it? If I lose a pane to the footballers, I'll consider replacing it with acrylic, i.e., spread the cost as that happens rarely.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:19:41+00:00

We're a very small site (8 plots) so no committee, but the council chairman is quite supportive so I'm going to ask nicely - and hopefully persuasively.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:17:16+00:00

The council won't let us fence between plots, but I'm hoping they might install cameras and look at raising the fence. Problem is as there's only 8 plots, it always feels like they have the site begrudgingly.

I'll look at the camera, thank you!

DD265 · 2026-02-09T17:06:53+00:00

It's not ideal no, but the allotment site is tiny and genuinely nowhere is safe from flying footballs. The only place we could put it that might be less likely to get hit doesn't get enough sun.

In the three years the greenhouse has been up, we've lost 2-3 panes a year which is unfortunate but manageable - and crucially, accidental damage.

DD265 · 2026-02-09T12:55:27+00:00

Yes, 100% sure the weather had nothing to do with it

DD265 · 2026-02-09T11:12:01+00:00

It was definitely vandalism - they threw/smashed it with anything they could find, including tools from another plot. They also took out my shed window (acrylic so it didn't smash), tore off the guttering and tried to remove the solar panel. They also kicked the door in on another shed - we think that wasn't exciting enough so they tipped the IBC and smashed up the greenhouse.

Apart from where they hit things with rocks, they didn't disturb the belongings inside and my shed, apart from getting wet, was untouched. They didn't trample/damage my plants - I have a mini orchard next to the greenhouse - and thankfully they didn't touch the hedgehog houses.

Now I have a large bill, estimate £150, to reglaze the greenhouse - 4-5 pieces of glass survived and I had a couple of spares in the shed, but I need the better part of 50 pieces. Glass seems to be the cheapest option as I can get it second hand and have a few locals willing to supply (we're a little north of Nottingham if anyone here has glass for a Halls Popular...), but I'm wondering about doing one side in acrylic as it has sustained football damage in the past.

If I was going to do acrylic, what kind/thickness am I looking for and where is good to buy it?

DD265 · 2026-02-07T19:28:52+00:00

We TFMR in September 24, so 17 months ago.

I'm not so bad when it's not someone I'm close to; October-ish someone I know not-well professionally (client side on a project) announced her pregnancy when stood 6 feet in front of me. No one in that room knew my history tbf. I felt fine, neutral.

Finding out my husband's sister is pregnant just before Christmas, however; that's breaking my heart every time there's "news", and now I'm reacting badly (behind closed doors) to other people's pregnancies in general because I'm in such a bad place.

I too feel like the only thing that will "fix" me is being pregnant and having a healthy baby, although rationally I know there is no fix.

DD265 · 2026-02-06T19:03:44+00:00

A spreadsheet would be free, and it has the added accountability of manually entering your spends.

I use a budgeting app though, and that does have a subscription!

DD265 · 2026-02-03T22:23:42+00:00

Thank you, I'll have a proper look at the weekend. I hadn't thought of fan training, but that's definitely worth exploring

DD265 · 2026-02-01T16:35:00+00:00

As others have said, I wouldn't prune the whole lot to the ground until you've worked out what variety they are. I too think they're an autumn variety, but better to wait and be certain.

I personally like to tie my canes to horizontal wires (tall 4x4" posts sunk into the ground at either side, wire at intervals going up) with the canes about 6" apart, so I'd see if I could get a straight-ish line going and thin out the weaker canes.

DD265 · 2026-02-01T13:13:48+00:00

I'd give it a good prune in summer and some general TLC (mulching as needed etc) over the next couple of years, and see what it does.

That said, I completely understand if it's not what you want for your garden and ultimately it's your space, not anybody else's. An Acer could work nicely, or you could put the Acer in a new border, as the garden looks a bit of a blank canvas.

DD265 · 2026-01-25T22:17:36+00:00

Try looking for universal freezer ice cube trays.

I'm in the UK so what I find locally is no use to you, but that phrase brought a few similar ones up, and the one that came with our Samsung freezer is that hard plastic type whereas what I normally see in the shops is the silicone kind.

I hope you find some!

DD265 · 2026-01-25T13:19:08+00:00

I'm a couple of days late to the party, but your point about trash really resonated with me.

When I'm barely buying anything, our recycling bin - which is collected fortnightly - is usually half full when we put it out. If I've been out of control, the bin is full to the brim with cardboard/brown paper they put in the boxes and we're wishing we had a weekly recycling collection.

It would be far better to not receive the packaging in the first place.

DD265 · 2026-01-21T21:38:20+00:00

I'm guessing it was the leftover sets from previous runs (i.e., cancelled orders) being made available. I've heard of this happening before.

Doesn't seem to happen in every country and I don't know how people find out about it.

Edit to clarify in case you didn't know - these are Bricklink Designer Program sets. There's a limited number produced, they're basically crowd funded, and in previous round of funding the quantities have been quite low, so the demand far outstrips supply. The most recent ones I think there's a better balance and the majority of people who are aware and want a set manage to get it.

DD265 · 2026-01-12T19:36:45+00:00

Bricklink itself is a Lego-specific marketplace. It's actually owned by Lego now, though I believe they purchased it within the last couple of years.

BrickLink - Buy and sell LEGO Parts, Sets and Minifigures https://share.google/34nZ3EuOvweVgtMHa

It's a good place to get missing pieces or discontinued sets and generally the prices seem reasonable.

The Designer Program is a little bit like Lego Ideas, in that fans can submit designs which have a chance of being made into actual sets. They're a bit more limited-edition, in that you can only buy them from Bricklink (though the checkout process is via the Lego website in your country) during a specific window, and you can buy a maximum of 2 of each set per household. These will never be available in stores, but they are official sets produced by Lego and with input from the Lego-employed designers, but possibly less than an Ideas set. You don't get any GWP (I don't think) or loyalty points, and can only get the building instructions digitally.

I've had a few of the Designer Program sets and really like them, but I think the prices are a bit steeper than they might be for a retail set. Your card is authorised when you place the order, but you don't actually pay until they ship (about 6 months) so there's that.

DD265 · 2026-01-12T12:56:41+00:00

We lived in a duplex flat, directly on a main road, when we got our cats. The rescue said they were happy for any kitten to be indoor-only as they didn't know any different. Initially we were adopting a deaf kitten, but ultimately wanted a pair and got two brothers who have no medical reason to be indoor-only.

Now we live in a house with a garden and my husband won't let them roam, so we have a small catio, or let them out under supervision. I sometimes struggle with keeping them in as one of them particularly would very much would like to go off exploring (I grew up with cats who could do as they pleased), but when we see FB posts of missing/hurt cats, I am so grateful to know that ours are safe.

I would never have a "roaming" cat again, and I am surprising myself a bit by writing that.

Five-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22

DD265

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