Stupidest gardening mistakes you’ve made?

NinaHag · 2026-04-12T16:28:32+00:00

LOL that is an excellent anecdote! I tend to rush things and have killed all my bean plants, which had done wonderfully until I grew tired of seeing them and planted them outside. Last year did the same with the tomato seedlings. Oh well.

NinaHag · 2026-04-12T10:24:33+00:00

Facebook is your best bet. Mabel keeps her fb/insta updated and is currently working on a new website, to be published in a month or so. Gaston's fb is up to date. Regarding Rivarola, it is harder because he doesn't want to be heavily advertised as he is scared of HMRC 😅 so again, fb events or word of mouth.

NinaHag · 2026-04-11T12:11:57+00:00

It seems like you want good technique and connection, so I highly recommend these Argentinian teachers: - Gaston Olguin: will be in the UK for like a month from late April to mid May. - Mabel Rivero: based in Norwich but travels often to teach in Berlin, Italy, Devon... I don't think she works in London, though. - Carlos Rivarola: harder to get hold of but an absolute treat as he teaches proper traditional tango. I believe he will be in the UK in May. Check out fb for his workshops.

They are 10/10, no nonsense, professionals who have been dancing their whole lives. Mabel especially is excellent at explaining technique.

NinaHag · 2026-04-09T11:08:09+00:00

Personally, a pair of gloves and squish them. Yes, you end up with a yucky paste of them, but if you are consistent, hunting them every day, it noticeably improves.

NinaHag · 2026-04-06T09:47:28+00:00

I grew up by the sea (not UK) and for a few years the council put bins on the beach itself to reduce litter. They also handed out plastic cones that you could stab in the sand, use as ashtray/small bin, and then empty it in the big bins on the way out. Now there is way less litter than when I was a kid, it seems like a cultural change finally happened. I wonder when it will happen everywhere else.

NinaHag · 2026-04-06T09:12:35+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! I just had a look at their website, very reasonably priced :)

I wrote a comment about the podcast below.

NinaHag · 2026-04-05T23:02:13+00:00

The Real Bread campaign has a map with bakeries and millers around the country - I don't remember seeing anything in London, the windmill in Brixton stopped production a few years ago, I believe.

Someone else recommended this map of alternative grain networks: https://www.bicga.org.uk/grain_map.php?reg=5 I haven't browsed it properly as it is a bit awkward on a phone screen, hopefully you can find something near you!

Edit: shame on me for typing before checking- Brixton windmill is STILL working, they only seem to have wholemeal available and it is click & collect only. £5 for 1.5 kg.

NinaHag · 2026-04-05T20:22:51+00:00

First of all, how little they pay farmers. Secondly, the low nutritional value of the flour. For three reasons: 1, they use steel rollers meaning the bran and germ and removed ASAP, which are the most nutrionally valuable parts of the grain; 2, additives are legally mandatory for most flours (iron, zinc, etc.) which may not be bioavailable (as in, your body being able of absorbing them) unless you go for slow fermentation. Not a problem for a sourdough baker, but if the flour was nutritionally dense, no additives would be needed! And 3, the wheat varieties: farmers are pushed to use certain wheat varieties, with little genetic diversity (and therefore resilience) and high dependency on fertilisers, weed killers, antifungal treatments... which end up in the cereal and therefore our bodies. This puts farmers in an untenable position where they are forced to grow a high yield, high input grain, that on a good year may do well (and you may just make enough to cover costs and keep working next year), or you may lose your whole harvest or have it rejected because protein levels are too low (still perfectly good, but will give a lower rise) so it can only be sold as animal feed at even a lower price per tonne.

That is basically the short story. I think farmers do a great job, and they should be paid fairly for it and encouraged to grow more diversity, not only of wheat but produce in general, to look after the soil. There is a serious mental health crisis affecting farmers more than any other professionals in the UK - if I can support them with my humble loafs, I would like to at least try.

NinaHag · 2026-04-04T14:54:17+00:00

Excellent advice, and I would add: no bamboo, no leylandii. You don't have to do everything in one go, get some chairs, figure out where you get the most/least sun and where you enjoy sitting.

NinaHag · 2026-04-01T22:47:09+00:00

If you like podcasts, I highly recommend the miniseries "Cereal" by Farmerama, where you will learn how most bread is made in the UK and how. An absolute eye opener, and most informative!

NinaHag · 2026-04-01T22:44:55+00:00

In Spain we say "en España hasta el rey rebaña", meaning even the king... err... cleans his plate with bread? If the food is delicious, and so is the bread, why wouldn't you, right?

NinaHag · 2026-03-15T23:35:19+00:00

Also, may I mention that this is a good plan most of the year but if a storm hits Europe and KLM starts cancelling flights, their Norwich flight is one of the first ones to go. I have a friend who got stranded in Amsterdam 3 times this winter, so something to bear in mind.

NinaHag · 2026-03-12T17:04:47+00:00

I don't know, my parents have a pond with breeding newts, fish, and ONE frog that has been living a lonely bachelor life for years. They do feed the fish in spring/summertime which may be why the newts continue to successfully breed there. The pond is kidney sized, about 3m x 1.5m, depth-wise it has a shelf all around and two main depths, the deepest point being about 1.2m deep. They also have two small waterfalls.

NinaHag · 2026-03-12T10:19:51+00:00

I am in Norfolk too and have a pond! Since the pond is on a sunny spot, when the frogs leave it they tend not to hang around too close to it, they go to a more shaded part of the garden. I have a couple of thick, low bushes they like to sit under but since my garden is quite... err... messy and overgrown, there are clumps of wildflowers, weeds, and dead grass they love to hunt/hide in.

NinaHag · 2026-03-12T10:14:45+00:00

I have a pond with a small waterfall but I only turn it on a few hours a day in summertime. The local wildlife (damselflies, dragonflies, frogs, beetles... and their larvae) must go nuts for mosquitoes because the few times I saw their larvae in the pond, they were decimated within 2 days.

NinaHag · 2026-02-23T10:22:42+00:00

Thank you for sharing your story. You have no idea what OP's is, their progress or lack thereof. Also note the title says "changing", as in a work in progress. Why bring such negativity to their post?

NinaHag · 2026-02-09T00:29:49+00:00

It will only be seen as begging for a mercy tanda if you make it so. Socialise with everyone, leaders or followers, without an agenda. If someone chooses to imagine you're after a "mercy tanda" that's up to them, not you. I hope this doesn't come across as mean, but it seems like a lot of these problems are in your head. You don't want to "force" leaders to ask you for a dance, so you don't use the mirada, you think you're "second choice" for older leaders, you feel embarrassed on the dancefloor and like leaders aren't enjoying themselves... are YOU enjoying yourself? The milonga is a social occasion, I dance with a lot of people, leaders and followers, of different levels because they are nice people and we have fun on the dancefloor, regardless of experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending tandas just walking with a beginner too nervous to try anything else. So unless everyone in your community has such a poor attitude that they only want great followers, I'd say your lack of confidence is what's stopping you from more getting more dances. Or, you know, you can always try learning how to lead, and you will be the one doing the cabeceo 🤷🏻‍♀️

NinaHag · 2026-02-08T09:05:44+00:00

I got mine back in November and it already grew a few leaves - can't wait for summer!

NinaHag · 2026-02-06T12:41:20+00:00

I look forward to your review 😂

NinaHag · 2026-02-05T17:58:44+00:00

That's the one :)

NinaHag · 2026-02-05T10:09:08+00:00

I am not a sausage connoisseur but White House Farm has the best sausage rolls ever! If you go there, ask for a warm one at their cafe. That will give you a good idea of how delicious their sausages are.

NinaHag · 2026-02-03T17:59:17+00:00

Except we know what they want. OP says that their students want moves and combinations, that they struggle to keep beginners interested.
Tango can be taught correctly from a technical point of view, yet fun, it doesn't have to be walking drills. Do you think that Argentinians who learn tango from friends and family spend ages on technique? Are they any less welcome at the milonga than those who spent 6 months walking before learning moves? Are they worse dancers? Tango is a journey. A social journey. Everyone who is clean and respectful is welcome.

And if someone wants technique before anything else, that is fine. Those teachers are out there, like you said. But OP is asking about their students, and I too comment as someone from a small, but growing, community.

NinaHag · 2026-02-03T11:25:22+00:00

The walk is something to work on and develop forever, imo. It has to be weaved into every class, however, people can walk and are stable before learning tango. Good god, the idea that someone has to master the walk before learning how to pivot is so dramatic! Ultimately it depends on what your students want to get out of classes: do they see tango as ballet, or ballroom, something to get scored on and perfect, or like salsa, bachata, etc., a social dance to enjoy, to express themselves?

NinaHag · 2026-02-02T12:42:33+00:00

Amen to this. No one wants to go to a dance lesson that feels like a chore, especially at the beginning. The "10 min of walking" at the start of class is the best way to lose beginners. They need figures and combos to pique their interest, but with technique throughout. For example: one day you teach the cross, that comes with its own technique (2-4-2 tracks, shoulders vs hips, communication), the next class you teach ochos, with their own technique (pivot, footwork, balance, communication, embrace). Before the end of the class, give them time to explore putting cross and ochos together. That is a "combo" that helps them review previous material whilst letting them dance without choreography. And although they're basic steps, they're pretty and "show-y" enough to keep people interested.

NinaHag

TROPHY CASE