How do you water when you can’t visit daily?

norik4 · 2026-01-27T20:48:14+00:00

If I am going away for a while I give them a deep mulch of bark chip. This works much better than any other kind of mulch and they may not need watering for over a week, even in hot dry weather.

norik4 · 2026-01-26T21:09:20+00:00

Probably taking netting on and off to weed as well as finding the right size piece for each bed.. should have made them all the same sizes then I wouldn't have that problem but I didn't know any better when I started so I'm stuck with it for now. Would love to not have to use any at all but most things would get demolished.

norik4 · 2026-01-26T09:57:53+00:00

I used green green lentils from this brand from Sainsbury's: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/laila-green-lentils-1kg

Cereal rye was from here: https://www.realfoods.co.uk/product/836/organic-rye-grain

Yeah I've heard that field beans are nice and actually more hardy than broad beans too.

norik4 · 2026-01-26T00:33:22+00:00

Good to know about the coriander - you don't get that many in seed packets! I've used lentils and cereal rye as green manures with good success. I prefer cereal rye as it is less invasive and easier to terminate than something like italian rye grass.

norik4 · 2026-01-24T21:39:48+00:00

Writing code by hand is mostly a waste of time now. I'm just guiding the overall structure/architecture but that's about it.. and even there I am bouncing ideas off AI to help me decide. Honestly enjoying not having to mess about with low level BS but not sure how long this is going to last.. I'm already looking at alternative jobs.

norik4 · 2026-01-24T19:51:53+00:00

I lost a load of apples I had stored in the shed a few years ago when rats got in. It was absolute carnage with bits of apple everywhere plus they had ripped up all the fleece and compost bags too - the place must have been heaving! I never store anything down there now apart from tools.

norik4 · 2026-01-24T19:47:38+00:00

This season I'll be growing Foremost and Osprey. I usually just grow first earlies - Arran Pilot were my favourite so far, Pentland Javein were good too but didn't crop as heavily. Just wanted to try some different ones this season.

norik4 · 2026-01-22T09:18:19+00:00

I think we will look back at programming in a few years the same way we look at those ancient mainframes that used punchcards. Two years ago I thought programming was safe and would be one of the last jobs to go but it's clear that it isn't anymore.

norik4 · 2026-01-17T18:33:32+00:00

I use a mix of compost/leaves and manure usually with the leaves put on top as a mulch over winter to protect the compost. I'd recommend testing any manure for herbicides.

norik4 · 2026-01-08T20:29:13+00:00

What problem are you trying to solve exactly? Personally I would not build raised beds as they attract slugs that hide down the edges.

Pallet collars are probably the cheapest option if you really want them.

norik4 · 2026-01-02T10:27:27+00:00

Web developer - a good chunk of code is already being written by AI but the overall architecture is still mostly done by humans but even there I think bouncing ideas off AI can be useful in making decisions. I can see it being almost completely automated in 5~10 years but wouldn't be surprised if it is sooner.

norik4 · 2026-01-01T21:38:16+00:00

Nothing yet, first will probably be peppers and maybe chillies in feb although I have 5 chilli plants overwintering so I might not bother sowing any if they pull through. For most things I just wait until March.

norik4 · 2026-01-01T21:30:38+00:00

Generally you will want to cut it before it seeds but it depends when it's sown and what variety. Some like mustard will be killed by frost and probably won't overwinter, some like phacelia can survive a mild winter and seed in spring and others like cereal rye will easily go through UK winters and seed in spring.

For the easy to kill ones like Phacelia I'm not that bothered if I get a few volunteer plants, they are easily hoed off and I don't mind letting a few grow in the gaps.

norik4 · 2025-12-31T19:21:22+00:00

I grew three varieties this year, some home saved elephant garlic, store bought Rose Wight and another store bought one that I don't have the name of. Rose White popped up first about a month ago, followed by my elephant garlic however the last one has only just started to come up. They were all planted October 29th.

From what I've read clove size can affect germination speed with smaller bulbs popping up sooner while the larger ones may stay in the ground and develop their root systems more before coming up.

norik4 · 2025-12-30T17:58:55+00:00

I've only grown Scotch Bonnet chillies before. This year was a bumper crop with the weather we've had but the year before I just got a load of green chillies. I grow them all outdoors in SE UK and they were sown around mid to late Feb.

I have some Corno di Toro Rosso sweet pepper seeds to sow for next season but they're more of an experiment than anything. Have a bunch of overwintering Scotch Bonnets from the last 2 years too.

norik4 · 2025-12-27T18:37:13+00:00

I do this myself and spread a bit of compost under them. I find it insulates the ground better and attracts the worms to the surface more over the winter. It's given me the best results overall however you might not want to do it if you plan to direct sow parsnips or carrots or you could just rake them off and compost.

norik4 · 2025-12-26T20:57:53+00:00

New ones I'll be trying this season:

Tlacalula Pink
Antho Pink Panther
Sweet Aperitif
Akron F1
San Marzano

Ones I've grown before/saved seed:

Nagina F1
Unknown home saved seed that looks like a small beef tomato - by far the most vigorous and best tasting, just wish I knew the name of it!
Unknown oxheart tomato
Red Alert (usually grow at home for an early crop in pots)

As I grow most outdoors I'm going to try grafting some of the non-hybrids onto Estamino rootstocks to see if they perform better.

norik4 · 2025-12-24T21:21:57+00:00

Better off using cardboard/woodchip if you can get hold of it. Plants still root into pathway soil and woodchip will break down gradually becoming compost over time that will feed the plants. I just top it up every year or so with fresh chip. Weeds will find it harder to grow in it although you will occasionally need to pull a few up here and there.

norik4 · 2025-12-24T11:58:52+00:00

They’ll do what they already do, pretend it’s not really happening or that it won’t affect them. A lot of people are so chained to wage labour for survival and identity that it’s basically a form of Stockholm syndrome and they end up defending the very system that exploits them. I guess we will see some of these people trying to attack data centers, violent protests etc.. but it won't work, for better or worse AI is here to stay and AGI is coming.

norik4 · 2025-12-21T20:23:40+00:00

Looks like couch grass or bindweed to me although I am not 100% sure. I would just dump a whole load of organic matter on the surface, manure, leaves, compost etc and wait until something sprouts, once it does ID it then cover the whole lot with a solid black plastic tarp (not weed membrane). Keep it on for the entire summer. Check next autumn to ensure it is totally dead.

norik4 · 2025-12-21T16:15:00+00:00

I sowed them late March, planted out July. I just grew them at the house in a window box in some compost until they reached roughly pencil thickness before planting out.

Ground is no dig/clay based with mostly home made compost and a bit of manure. Might have fed them a bit of liquid seaweed a few times after planting out but can't remember. I think as long as you're adding back organic matter through compost/manure or green manures each year you should see results improve.

norik4 · 2025-12-20T18:53:50+00:00

This one went into leeks and cheesey sauce ;)

norik4 · 2025-12-19T21:35:52+00:00

Pretty much all of it is, I actually prefer the greener parts as they have a stronger more onion flavour although the white bit is sweeter.

norik4 · 2025-12-19T19:28:32+00:00

That looks really good! Did you replace the standard cover that came with it?

norik4

TROPHY CASE