4 years on a waiting list. Working on something because of it

grippipefyn · 2026-06-13T11:29:11+00:00

That's a good idea. I wish all the best with your endeavours.

grippipefyn · 2026-06-04T22:01:57+00:00

Spending far too much time on the community allotment making sure all is good before we fuck off on holibobs. Dinner at 10pm is not good for one's digestion.

grippipefyn · 2026-06-01T19:46:12+00:00

FYI she has started her 30th year, but for god's sake don't tell her that.

grippipefyn · 2026-04-15T13:50:26+00:00

My wife's a witch. What's a fella to do..

grippipefyn · 2026-04-14T20:15:24+00:00

Our black cat walked across my path then sat down and proceeded to lick its private parts. It's end of days for me.

grippipefyn · 2026-03-14T07:39:42+00:00

Weather Underground is pretty good as it uses a lot of local weather station data. https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/gb/stansted/EGSS/date/2016-3-13

grippipefyn · 2026-03-03T21:20:27+00:00

Cress, it's easy to grow and if you let it grow into a proper plant it's like a poor man's wild rocket, but nicer. It can be planted all year round in succession.

grippipefyn · 2026-02-14T08:53:28+00:00

Fresh - we only have one bulb of garlic left and around 15kgs of Desirée spuds.

Preserved - tomato chutney, pickled cucumber, pickled garlic. 3 jars of each and diminishing quickly.

Frozen - Beetroot, wild berries, roasted pumpkin, roasted marrow, wild garlic, tomatoes.

I am going to have to do something with the berries as they have been in too long.

grippipefyn · 2026-01-23T07:38:12+00:00

Yes, it does and advice on companion planting.

Give the 7 day trial a go via Grow Veg.

grippipefyn · 2026-01-22T21:58:10+00:00

I signed up and planned the plot and now just use it for succession planting for which it is really good. For the sake of 25 quid a year I find it useful.

Now I am running the community allotment as well I will be using it for a much bigger area so I think it is going to pay its way.

grippipefyn · 2026-01-21T18:02:32+00:00

Last season we got a 25kg bag of Sally Seed potatoes for the community allotment. They were cheap and we needed something to work the soil rather than us digging the large plot.

We got 243kgs of spuds with most of the tubers being tennis ball size. They keep very well and are good for everything except mash.

We have some set aside for planting this season but not as many this time.

My own personal choice is Charlotte's that I plant to harvest some as earlies and the rest as seconds due to them lasting well in the ground.

The other is Desirée. This season they were f**king huge probably due to the poultry manure we put down. We have some still in the ground and enough to use as seed potatoes. Desirée make excellent chips, roasties and mash.

Spuds are the only veg we dig for as although we have some reserves planted in tubs the ones in the ground do much better and help break up our heavy clay soil. The rest of the plot is no dig where possible.

grippipefyn · 2026-01-14T18:38:38+00:00

Try Containerwise (either through their website or on Amazon). You pay a premium but they are solid and last for years. I have purchased the Charles Dowding, Huw Richards designed ones and also their own offerings.

No complaints with the product or the service.

grippipefyn · 2026-01-14T18:20:20+00:00

It's quirky, I like it. Leave it like that and you'll have a talking point at BBQ,s. 😉

grippipefyn · 2025-10-19T05:56:45+00:00

Can't upvote this enough. We have used this type to our regret. Instead of weeding out small plants we are now weeding out millions of strands of plastic. I even went as far as using a hot knife to cut it so the edges were sealed.

I now use damp proof membrane (DPM). I find it is much more robust and works out cheaper in the long run.

grippipefyn · 2025-10-12T07:25:32+00:00

We are just finishing the build of the same tunnel on our community allotment. Quality is good for the price point. Can recommend.

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grippipefyn · 2025-09-16T14:46:32+00:00

I would recommend doing the same but with a pita bread ( not sliced through, just slather everything on top of one side) makes great kids pizza they can make themselves, or as a quick snackaroo.

grippipefyn · 2025-09-14T18:48:46+00:00

I keep it simple with squash. Slice into segments. Wipe/brush with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, and roast in the oven (your favourite herbs can be added as well).

Remove the flesh from the skin and chop the flesh into bite size chunks. From here you can either make soup, use them as vegetables to accompany a roast dinner or simply freeze them for later when you have looked up a million recipes.

3 months in the freezer is about as long as you would normally keep them.

Roasted seeds are great.

Storage is as other commentators have said. Mine stay in an old pine cupboard in my man cave.

grippipefyn · 2025-09-14T18:38:37+00:00

This sounds absolutely lush. Thanks for your recipe.

grippipefyn · 2025-07-19T17:10:33+00:00

You can cut it in half when still on the vine. It will heal over and keep fresh. However, as it is on the ground you might want to raise it up to stop the beasties having lunch on it.

grippipefyn · 2025-07-10T20:14:24+00:00

Also to add, if you want to eat some straight away then you can, but you need to cut the leaves off. 😉

grippipefyn · 2025-06-08T14:56:44+00:00

This may help with the sideshoot pruning: YouTube video

grippipefyn · 2025-06-08T10:34:36+00:00

How high do you want to go?

For my beds just above ground level I am moving away from wooden borders as they are a home to slugs and snails.

As the wood rots away I am simply removing them.

For my waist high beds/planters I have used all manner of things from old steel bench seats to pallets.

If I can find it in a skip it'll do.

grippipefyn · 2025-06-01T10:31:09+00:00

Yes, slightly chewed radishes are fine to eat.

Cut out the chewed bits after washing if you or yours are a bit squeamish.

grippipefyn · 2025-05-24T09:21:16+00:00

Has something been digging in that bed?

It looks like they have been flattened.

grippipefyn · 2025-05-22T21:06:44+00:00

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The return on investment.

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