Advice for a hopeless gardener

[jansman]

Home brewed compost needs turning regularly. Ideally you need three points. One you fill,when full,turn it into the next,and you can start filling the first again. Then move second to third,etc. It also needs a mix of ingredients. You can’t just make it from grass clippings for instance.

Ours get kitchen waste,garden waste,lots of Bocking 14 Comfrey, straw and rabbit/ hen droppings,and next doors grass too. I don’t have a lawn- it’s a waste of energy to *me*.

Thanks Jansman.

Experts recommend that your compost should be turned at least three times a week. However, turning should be limited to once a week as soon as your compost begins to mature.

Beggar that! The form of the bins doesn't make that easy.
But you confirm I was ok to turn it now.

It's probably 5:1:1 grass:browns:other which is a bit too heavy on Grass. One had far more dead leaves go into it and fared better. I'm amazed how the cardboard disintegrated.

So today I emptied one. Turned the other into it, and turned the first lot into the second. Along the way, I layered in a few trugs of dropped leaves. Got a lot more air into it and added some water.

Feel a bit conspicuous harvesting dropped leaves from the street, where we have some big trees. Plus I blag next doors grass clippings when I can. it's treasure. What kinds of fool fill the brown bin?

If the majority of compost content is grass,it will take longer to decompose.I am fortunate by having animal waste,which is THE way to deal with making compost. However, the high nitrogen level needed is easy to deal with: You can buy stuff like Garotta or other compost ‘ activators’. Or you can simply add urine. Simple,and always there!

[jennyjj01]

Feel a bit conspicuous harvesting dropped leaves from the street, where we have some big trees. Plus I blag next doors grass clippings when I can. it's treasure. What kinds of fool fill the brown bin?

If the majority of compost content is grass,it will take longer to decompose.I am fortunate by having animal waste,which is THE way to deal with making compost. However, the high nitrogen level needed is easy to deal with: You can buy stuff like Garotta or other compost ‘ activators’. Or you can simply add urine. Simple,and always there!

It gets plenty of 'Activator' especially on these dark nights.

I do hope, that it's worth the effort and that I can use it to get a good harvest next year.

600 litres.... Hmm about £60 worth?

[jennyjj01]

Feel a bit conspicuous harvesting dropped leaves from the street, where we have some big trees. Plus I blag next doors grass clippings when I can. it's treasure. What kinds of fool fill the brown bin?

Well, that's topical.
As I look out of my front window, I see the kerbside gutter filling up nicely with fallen leaves from the estate's trees.

And then I discover on Facebook that Cardiff Borough council* is introducing a scheme to encourage volunteers to sweep up and bag up such dropped leaves. Going down like a lead baloon!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 099&type=3
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/south-wa ... 2359538129

If you emptied are green bins we mite think about this. But I am not going to fill my green bin for it to sit there all winter full.

I'm in two minds on this. The small mind says 'what a cheeky council' but the bigger mind says 'What a golden harvest'

I'll continue being delighted to bag this up each time it gets deep enough to be easy. It will be a sad day when the council guy gets there before me. It won't go in my brown bin, it will be stacked up in tough poly bags to form leaf mould and composted as best I can.

I refuse to feel embarrassed from benefiting from my civic duty. Even if the neighbours do think I'm a loon.

I suppose the council are a BIT cheeky, when they cut brown bin collections at the same time.

Opinions???

*Not my council.

[jennyjj01]

An accidental harvest...

So, I was tidying out the planters and growbags of dead foliage when I stumbled on these big beggars.
Two foot long courgettes happy as larry slumbering below the dead foliage.

There was a surprising mini harvest of tomatoes too, from long dead and forgotten plants

What the dickens can I make of these monsters.

[jansman]

An accidental harvest...

So, I was tidying out the planters and growbags of dead foliage when I stumbled on these big beggars.
Two foot long courgettes happy as larry slumbering below the dead foliage.

There was a surprising mini harvest of tomatoes too, from long dead and forgotten plants

What the dickens can I make of these monsters.
20221017111305_IMG_20221017_110212.jpg

Marrows! Cut them in deep rings,skin,fill with sage and onion stuffing,drop of oil and bake in the oven. Lovely!

[jansman]

Or dice the flesh and put it into a stew. Lovely!

[jennyjj01]

An accidental harvest...

So, I was tidying out the planters and growbags of dead foliage when I stumbled on these big beggars.
Two foot long courgettes happy as larry slumbering below the dead foliage.

There was a surprising mini harvest of tomatoes too, from long dead and forgotten plants

What the dickens can I make of these monsters.
20221017111305_IMG_20221017_110212.jpg

Marrows! Cut them in deep rings,skin,fill with sage and onion stuffing,drop of oil and bake in the oven. Lovely!

Thanks,
I keep reading that they are 'a blank canvas' A GREAT BIG FAT HEAVY pair of blank canvases.
Big problem of the day is that my tasting panel won't eat them if they see them coming, and I've got about 3kg of the beggars. Add in any kind of stuffing and I'll be eating them for a month ! They have to get eaten by just me!!!

I'm reluctant to make this free food cost me an arm and a leg in flavouring ingredients, or a fortune in oven time.
So, the plan so far is to try augmenting with stockpile ingredients. Maybe some sort of slow cooked stew, curry, etc. and something I can preserve.

Off to google.

[jansman]

An accidental harvest...

So, I was tidying out the planters and growbags of dead foliage when I stumbled on these big beggars.
Two foot long courgettes happy as larry slumbering below the dead foliage.

There was a surprising mini harvest of tomatoes too, from long dead and forgotten plants

What the dickens can I make of these monsters.
20221017111305_IMG_20221017_110212.jpg

Marrows! Cut them in deep rings,skin,fill with sage and onion stuffing,drop of oil and bake in the oven. Lovely!

Thanks,
I keep reading that they are 'a blank canvas' A GREAT BIG FAT HEAVY pair of blank canvases.
Big problem of the day is that my tasting panel won't eat them if they see them coming, and I've got about 3kg of the beggars. Add in any kind of stuffing and I'll be eating them for a month ! They have to get eaten by just me!!!

I'm reluctant to make this free food cost me an arm and a leg in flavouring ingredients, or a fortune in oven time.
So, the plan so far is to try augmenting with stockpile ingredients. Maybe some sort of slow cooked stew, curry, etc. and something I can preserve.

Off to google.

A classic in our house: A lamb or beef stew,with added veg,chickpeas,DICED MARROW,in a tomato based gravy and chilli to taste. Bang on!

[GillyBee]

Grated or fine dice and they dissappear into stews and sauces adding a gentle layer of thickening and extra flavour.
Grated and in the freezer in portions to use more slowly
Then there is marrow and ginger jam or marrow and ginger cake - both of which take hiding the veg to new heights.
I wont mention chutney but that is another classic if you like it.

[Arzosah]

I'm reluctant to make this free food cost me an arm and a leg in flavouring ingredients, or a fortune in oven time.
So, the plan so far is to try augmenting with stockpile ingredients. Maybe some sort of slow cooked stew, curry, etc. and something I can preserve.

Fry or dry-fry? They end up like an oatcake