# A little thread of calm?



## Chris152 (18 Mar 2020)

I was working toward a wood fair we'd planned for late May, but it's starting to look like it won't be able to go ahead. That's sort of taken the wind out of my sails on that front, and my lathe's in a shared workshop which I'm less inclined to go to at the moment. 

A couple of days ago I went to the library to get some books and I'm now half way through the ones I got. Murder on the Orient Express; Thackary, The Warden (quite funny) and Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (a few too many words for my normal taste but maybe that'll turn out to be a good thing). Just heard the library's now shut til further notice, so I'll be rummaging through old books about the place in due course. 

I've also just created a veg patch for potatoes and about 10 seed potatoes are currently chitting (hope that's the right word). And I've started clearing around a very badly kept garden generally. 

Anybody else got plans - apart from woodworking, which has to be a perfect answer - for the coming weeks/ months/ whatever? 

If this turns into a thread people want to contribute to, let's keep it calm and positive?!
C


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## MikeG. (18 Mar 2020)

Mine is pretty much all woodworking, with downstairs doors next, a dresser and corner unit in the kitchen, cooker hood, some boxing, airing cupboard front.......Plenty to keep me occupied for a while.


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## novocaine (18 Mar 2020)

I have power back to the workshop as of today. Unfortunatly i also have enough work that i can do from home that i wont be getting out there any more than normal. 
Im hoping to be back on track in 3 weeks tops. 

I do have a load of books to enjoy too.


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## Trainee neophyte (18 Mar 2020)

I already work from home, so no change for me, other than no shopping trips just means more work. 

20kg of potatoes went in last month, but I have just put in the summer garden, with the exception of the tomatoes - it's still a little chilly at night for them. This time of year the garden looks perfect; all neat and tidy and organised. Usually I don't get a chance to look at it for months and it turns into a jungle. I don't think that will be a problem this year.

My plan is to get out on the water with the boards - all work and no play etc. I could be very poor, and very fit by the end of the summer


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## sunnybob (18 Mar 2020)

If youre an avid book reader and havent stocked up from the now closed library, I can recommend a paperwhite kindle.
Half a million books to choose from, finish one, download another , start reading, takes all of 40 seconds. Dont like it after chapter two (something thats happened to me a lot of over the years)? Return it and download another.
If youre a really fast reader, its well worth taking out an amazon prime account and you dont pay a penny extra for how ever many you read. Its going to be a boon over the next few months, I've just discovered i'm in the "most at risk" category.
I've read a humungous amount of books, but no longer bother with paper.

I'm keeping busy in the workshop making 100 mm blast gates, but cant finish my new system because the ducting company thats making my larger cyclone has closed for the duration.If only I had started the project a week earlier. :roll:


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## HappyHacker (18 Mar 2020)

One of the advantages of getting old is that I can now read books multiple times having forgotten most of the plot. I am currently on 1984 again.

I have so many books piled up about the place I could keep going for years and my wife has more.

But self isolating is proving difficult as my wife is already going stir crazy after a few days and is finding lots for me to do when i would prefer to be doing something else.


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## AES (19 Mar 2020)

+1 for sunnybob's recommendation of Amazon's Kindle.

I'm a VERY slow adopter of "new-fangled modern gear" but after SWMBO forced the issue a few years back by giving me a Kindle for Christmas I've never looked back. Wish I'd taken it up much earlier - apart from anything else it would have saved me a fortune on airline overweight bags charges when I was working all over the place, sometimes for lengthy periods, carrying half a dozen paper backs around. I now carry around a device about the same size as a normal paper back but much slimmer, and it's holding well over 500 full length books.

About the only thing you need to steer clear of with Kindle is if you want a "technical" book. There are plenty available for Kindle, and their "little black box" can (sort of) handle detailed drawings, sketches, photos, etc. But it's clunky to control the zoom function and overall it doesn't make a very good job of handling such stuff. Hard copy is SO much easier for that. Apart from that, IMO, Kindle's one of the greatest things since sliced bread.

Having been an avid reader since childhood, as is my good lady, naturally the house is stuffed full of "hard copy" books too, and as someone has said above, I'm at the age now where many get re-read. I'm also (VERY slowly) now starting to read novels etc, in German from my wife's collection. Improves my VERY poor German grammar.

And I'm also now getting back into my shop after quite a lengthy absence for back problems. That's allowing me to pick up where I left off on a major project I had to shelve about this time last year. One of the keys to my recovery is the fact that I should not be doing too much "too physically for too long". So after about an hour or so in the shop I come back into my office to see what's happening on UKW. Then back to the shop an hour or so later for another bash. One of the reasons why I've been able to be relatively active on here so far this year, but OTOH, progress is slow on getting that delayed project really "singing". But variety ...... "is healthy for my back" (say the quacks).

Both SWMBO and I am firmly in the high risk group but I'm a bit less so than she is so from now on it'll be me doing the shopping, etc, alone. That's "worth" a couple/three hours per week I guess.

That's about it here - no major panicking (or panic buying), just a lot of being rather cautious, lots of hand washing, no public transport, keeping my distance otherwise, and - unfortunately - no choir practice for quite a while either I guess.

But "we'll survive" and personally I don't find it too much of a hardship to be house-bound. I could even start properly cataloguing the contents of the workshop - something I've only been "intending" to do for at least 5 years now ;-)

Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm now VERY seriously considering having a go at "updating" my PC away from MS altogether and installing something else - probably Linux Mint. All "on my own" too. THAT should keep me busy (AND off line no doubt!) for months.


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## Rorschach (19 Mar 2020)

Just in case anyone here didn't know, there is a free kindle app that works on phones and tablets.

I don't have a kindle as such, I use an old 7" tablet I was given. Using the app it is now the way I read 90% of of books. Works great and with the wifi off and screen on a low, comfortable brightness I get hours out of the battery.

As for myself, I will still be working away, hopefully getting enough custom to keep things ticking over. We will have to rely on my partners income mostly.
This weekend I am making a list of all the jobs that I would have done over the course of the year and will get them done now if possible. Family also have jobs that will need doing and there are a few rooms that need decorating so that will get done.

Not planning on staying in all the time though, plenty of countryside near us so when the weather is fine it will be long walks and exercise. Probably save us a lot of money as well.


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## Doug B (19 Mar 2020)

I can’t remember the last time I read a book other than manuals :shock: if I am forced to lay off site work for a while I’ve more than enough customer orders to keep me busy infact it would be a nice hiatus allowing me to clear the pin board


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## John15 (19 Mar 2020)

I'm like a lot of members - 70+. Went to Sainsburys this morning for their 7 till 8 oldies only slot. Arrived at 6.45. There were hundreds in the queue and the store was jammed up with trolleys. I was the only person I could see who was wearing a mask - amazing, also wearing a pair of nitrile rubber gloves. Got most of the items I wanted but the shelves were emptying fast.
I've started my chest of drawers so will be spending 2 or 3 hours a day on that. Plenty to do in the garden. Lots of frog spawn and my sticklebacks have emerged from semi hibernation.
Keep safe everyone.

John


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## sunnybob (19 Mar 2020)

I couldnt help but chuckle when I saw it on the tv. Hundreds of people who are vulnerable and supposed to be on their own, forced into a shuffling mass by the companies that are supposed to be helping them to stay apart.
My daughter (in the UK) says there were a mass of "ordinary" people who got very angry that they couldnt get into the store.

Deep (solitary) breathing begin..

I have just taken up yoga, thanks to the wii fitness board I just pinched from said daughter. Its actually aimed at old and slow people (not me guv, 'onest :shock: :roll: ), and quite enjoyable.
Theres another way of passing the time. 8)


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## novocaine (19 Mar 2020)

amazon prime lets you borrow one book a month. Amazon kindle unlimited lets you borrow something like 7 a month. it isn't any title but it's a lot of books. 

I love my kindle, when I broke the last one at an airport is Azerbaijan I bought another before I got on the plane so it would be there when I got home. 

I don't watch a lot of telly, I read a lot of books instead.  

now, back to the peace and tranquility we are meant to have in this thread. just been for a run with the wife, no interaction with people, didn't come within 2 metres of anyone and didn't touch anything. it was great.


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## sunnybob (19 Mar 2020)

The kindles are organised by the missuss,so its only her account but I'm reasonably confident we have unlimited and I download a LOT more than 7 a month, sometimes three or four a week if its a good series. Occassionaly I will go through a few in a day if i decide I dont like the way its written or the subject matter. She also downloads books but not as much as I do.
I think our monthly total would be a lot nearer 20 than 7.
sadly, very popular authors like Terry Pratchet incurs extra charges whatever subscription you have.


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Mar 2020)

I have spent the morning very gently pruning olive trees with a hand saw. Climb up a tree, admire the view, remove a few watersprouts and tidy up anything growing in the wrong direction. Back down the tree, through the tall grass and wildflowers, and up the next one. Very therapeutic.

I didn't take any photos today, but here's one I took a couple of days ago:


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## sunnybob (19 Mar 2020)

Our weather has turned bad again so no nice pics from me.
lat week I was wearing shorts and sunglasses for two days. Today i have jeans, t shirt, long sleeve shirt, bomber jacket zipped up, and have to keep coming in to warm my fingers up, dodging the rain to do so.
It aint right mate, it aint right. :roll: :roll:


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## thetyreman (19 Mar 2020)

Trainee neophyte":1p7jhkfr said:


> I have spent the morning very gently pruning olive trees with a hand saw. Climb up a tree, admire the view, remove a few watersprouts and tidy up anything growing in the wrong direction. Back down the tree, through the tall grass and wildflowers, and up the next one. Very therapeutic.
> 
> I didn't take any photos today, but here's one I took a couple of days ago:



I could do with some of that, just looking at the photo made me feel more relaxed thanks


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Mar 2020)

thetyreman":2ajed1zr said:


> Trainee neophyte":2ajed1zr said:
> 
> 
> > I have spent the morning very gently pruning olive trees with a hand saw. Climb up a tree, admire the view, remove a few watersprouts and tidy up anything growing in the wrong direction. Back down the tree, through the tall grass and wildflowers, and up the next one. Very therapeutic.
> ...



One more, and we're done, but this one is from May a few years ago, taken at the ancient acropolis about a mile from our house. Normally I wouldn't, because it is getting on for spamming, but given that no one can come and stay with us anyway, given the issues, it hardly matters.


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## Vann (19 Mar 2020)

I was hoping for some extra time in the workshop (garage at home), but I'm in the unfortunate position of being employed in transport - and apart from logs, the goods levels seem to be holding up (so far). So probably no chance of a few weeks at home.

But then it's a situation that changes daily.

Mind, I did think this wold be mostly over in three months - six months tops. But now experts are talking about Christmas, or even 18 months :shock: 

SWMBO and I discussed the garden, but winter is approaching here in NZ, so there's not too much we could grow.

Cheers, Vann.


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## Phlebas (19 Mar 2020)

Trainee neophyte":ubrmlrhl said:


> I have spent the morning very gently pruning olive trees with a hand saw. Climb up a tree, admire the view, remove a few watersprouts and tidy up anything growing in the wrong direction. Back down the tree, through the tall grass and wildflowers, and up the next one. Very therapeutic.
> 
> I didn't take any photos today, but here's one I took a couple of days ago:



Yeah. And here's one of mine 3 weeks ago. 

Southern softies...


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## El Barto (19 Mar 2020)

Trainee neophyte":382k0kd8 said:


> I have spent the morning very gently pruning olive trees with a hand saw. Climb up a tree, admire the view, remove a few watersprouts and tidy up anything growing in the wrong direction. Back down the tree, through the tall grass and wildflowers, and up the next one. Very therapeutic.
> 
> I didn't take any photos today, but here's one I took a couple of days ago:



Is this for real? If so can I come and live with you?


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## Yojevol (19 Mar 2020)

We heard this morning that all Gloucestershire libraries are closing from this w/e so we've just been in to get a pile of books. They've granted an amnesty on late returns even before they're overdue. One of my borrowings is "Small Island by Little Trains". A collection of bits and pieces about narrow gauge railways in the UK. 
We'll be swapping books with friends and resorting to the tablet before this is all over.
Brian


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## novocaine (19 Mar 2020)

Think there are various levels Bob so no dowt you are right. Im to cheap to pay more than the basic but i do re read a lot of the books i get.


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## Tris (19 Mar 2020)

Hope the NHS holds up as I reckon there'll be a fair demand for maternity units early next year.


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## Andy Kev. (19 Mar 2020)

I've come to the view that it's time for the workshop, fitness work, books and wine.

I've just finished a biography of General de Gaulle. I read it because having for years had the impression that he was a bit of a t**t, I thought I ought to find out the truth. Now I know he was a complete and utter t**t. He was also a very remarkable man and had some sterling qualities. That said, I think the book needs a subtitle: "Too French for his own or anybody else's good".

I'm currently on Vol III of the official biography of Mrs Thatcher and am just getting to the bit where she got stitched up by her own ministers. Fascinating stuff and as well written as a political biography could be.

Then it's on to a stash of murder stories that are waiting to be read.

And the wine is in the cellar.


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## RogerS (19 Mar 2020)

What to do ? Mmmmm...let me see now

Finish orangerie
Make another seven internal panelled doors
Plus complex architraves to suit
100m of Georgian style skirting boards
Lay oak flooring in hall, landing, sitting rooms 2 and 3
Finish bathroom
Start my en-suite
Connect up whole house extraction system - been putting that off for years - I hate working in the loft.
Downstairs loo
Create and make cupboards for utility room and fit sink.
New front door
.
.
.
.
And next week....so anyone having nothing to do, workshop is large enough to maintain safe separation. Beer provided.

.


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Mar 2020)

El Barto":3ovqvj2w said:


> Is this for real? If so can I come and live with you?



It's a difficult life, full of stress and toil, but we soldier on despite the obvious shortcomings and tribulations. You do the best you can with what you've got.

I would love to have you come and visit, but unfortunately it's forbidden. Verboten. Απαγορεύεται. I will just have to make do on my own. Thank you for your support ;-)


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## Bm101 (19 Mar 2020)

Trainee neophyte":3o9hll6z said:


> El Barto":3o9hll6z said:
> 
> 
> > Is this for real? If so can I come and live with you?
> ...


Did you see that picture of Regent street I posted on the other less relaxed thread? 
Most of my days are spent there now. Or were. We'll see. Have to wonder what I'm thinking when I see your place of work. I like trees. I can prune them. I positively love wine and seafood. I fookin _adore_ warm sea and snorkeling. I'm good with children and have an unearthly affinity with dogs. A well rounded background in general building and (badasslevel unlocked in) dry stone walling and a romantic penchant for apple based drinks. 
I think you have your next visitor.
(homer)


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## Bm101 (19 Mar 2020)

Also if you get burglars.... can't say no more'n that. Legally.


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Mar 2020)

Before anyone starts trying to book flights that don't exist, I should point out that we are down to our last 400 litres of cider. It's a worry. Not that I am trying to put anyone off, you understand.


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## Bm101 (19 Mar 2020)

Like I said burglars.


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## sunnybob (19 Mar 2020)

I still got 5 cans of cider in the outdoor fridge, its barely past its date.
I 'spect a burgler would walk by it though.


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## Bm101 (19 Mar 2020)

sunnybob":11chqqui said:


> I still got 5 cans of cider in the outdoor fridge, its barely past its date.
> I 'spect a burgler would walk by it though.


If he had any sense he would. :mrgreen:


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## FatmanG (19 Mar 2020)

Trainee neophyte":6s55qxeg said:


> Before anyone starts trying to book flights that don't exist, I should point out that we are down to our last *400 litres of cider*. It's a worry. Not that I am trying to put anyone off, you understand.


400 litres Blumming lightweight I store more in my bladder :wink:


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Mar 2020)

FatmanG":opx0r0e7 said:


> Trainee neophyte":opx0r0e7 said:
> 
> 
> > Before anyone starts trying to book flights that don't exist, I should point out that we are down to our last *400 litres of cider*. It's a worry. Not that I am trying to put anyone off, you understand.
> ...



Hence the imminent panic! Can't resupply until August at the earliest, and it won't be ready until Christmas. :-(


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## sunnybob (19 Mar 2020)

Bm101":2w4wynic said:


> sunnybob":2w4wynic said:
> 
> 
> > I still got 5 cans of cider in the outdoor fridge, its barely past its date.
> ...



If he had any sense, he wouldnt be sneaking around my back yard looking for something to steal.






8) 8) 8) :roll:


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## Chris152 (20 Mar 2020)

Calm, SB, calm... 

Do you know if the cheapest Kindle (£70) emits the kind of light that can stop you sleeping properly? That light definitely affects me. Just got a few pages into Dickens and started to struggle already...

And - are these ready for planting out, or do I need to wait longer?


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## sunnybob (20 Mar 2020)

Chris, in all seriousness, some led lights can cause serious eyesight issues to some people. Make sure you dont have it too bright, dim it untill you realise you cant read as well as normal. maximum brightness should only be needed in bright sunlight (you remember that stuff? :roll: )
Have a read of this
https://news.sky.com/story/led-lights-c ... n-11721469
If it persists, go to an optician.

One man on an american forum said he started to have violent migraines from LED lighting.

Potato's hmmm, I'm an expert on them only after they have been chipped and during and after the frying process. 8) 8)


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## novocaine (20 Mar 2020)

not ready yet chris, few more days. 

I don't have a paperwhite or back lit kindle so can't comment on it but can you turn the backlight off completely?


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## Chris152 (20 Mar 2020)

Thanks both - taters stay where they are for the moment, then. 

I'm just looking at the Kindles online, thinking I might buy, but different devices (phones/ computers etc) seem to use different terms for the mode that doesn't stop sleep and I can't figure it out. Only the most expensive Kindle seems to have 'warm light' option and I wondered if that's what I want (but couldn't afford, that one's really expensive). My phone screen goes yellow-ish in night mode and that does the trick. 
SB - the issue with Dickens wasn't a device, it was the content (it's a hard copy, and I've not given up with it yet!) - the only issue I have is not sleeping after too much screen time before bed which I understand is common. But I definitely want to be able to read before nodding off at night. Our local chippy is taking orders by phone now so you can turn up when it's ready rather than hanging about in the shop.  

Another nice thing to do - I got my daughter a sewing machine last week thinking it'd be something good for her to get on with if she had a lot of time at home, and she's doing gcse textiles so I'd been threatening a while. We set it up yesterday, what a brilliant thing! Never used one before.


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## sunnybob (20 Mar 2020)

I have the kindle paperwhite. You really can read it in bright sunlight. In fact its better than a paper book because in bright sun the paper causes too much white to reflect into your eyes.

I can adjust the light brightness, by about 20 steps, but not alter the colour of the light.

I find my kindle is better than any knockout pills. Go to bed, start reading, wake up and find the mrs has come in, taken the kindle away, turned the light out and left me alone. :roll:


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## novocaine (20 Mar 2020)

not sure Chris but I think E-readers and E paper aren't counted as screens, they don't have pixels like a screen does. 
just the basic kindle, with no backlight is very much like reading on paper, at least to me. will have a play with the MIL's paperwhite over the weekend and let you know. 

if you plan to just read like it's a book there isn't a point in splashing the cash on the backlit option, only benefit is being able to read it in the dark after lights out (obviously under the covers).


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## sunnybob (20 Mar 2020)

I have read under the covers. Sometimes I wake at silly a clock and can turn the light low on the paperwhite under the cover. It's brill.


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## AES (20 Mar 2020)

FWIW my 1st Kindle Paperwhite had nil screen illumination. My new one (the old one's battery went kaput after MANY hours of reading) does have back light, but on mine anyway, you can not only adjust the background light brightness but also turn it off altogether.

Again FWIW, I find that the bigger I set the typeface (within reason!) the less brightness setting I need on the back lighting.

HTH


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## John Brown (20 Mar 2020)

I think the lighting on the Paperwhite is frontlighting, rather than backlighting. I could be wrong, but I think that's why they're so good in bright sunlight. The screen is reflective as opposed to transmissive.


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## AES (20 Mar 2020)

You may well be right John. I must confess that I'm not really sure of the difference (just by reading from it that is).


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## novocaine (20 Mar 2020)

I think you are quite possibly very likely rather correct.


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## Chris152 (20 Mar 2020)

I've no idea about back or front lighting! But I found this:
'Does the Kindle Emit Blue Light?
Many hand-held mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets use blue light spectrums for their backlighting.
Although many newer devices utilize better filtering methods for the blue light, some tablets such as the Kindle emit blue light at all times.
And although the Kindle Paperwhite does emit a meager amount of blue light compared to other e-readers on the market, it does still emit some of it.
Studies have shown that there is still enough blue light emitted from the Paperwhite to have adverse effects on your sleep, melatonin production, and disrupt your circadian rhythm.'
here:
https://booksummaryclub.com/does-kindle ... lue-light/
As I'm affected by blue light, would I really need to get the more expensive version if I want to read before sleep? Or might none of them work? Sorry to be so useless.


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## AES (20 Mar 2020)

novocaine":278i280m said:


> I think you are quite possibly very likely rather correct.



Yup, that's a definite maybe novocaine ;-)

@Chris 152: Sorry, I have no idea. I can only say I haven't noticed any ill-effects (he says as he shuffles away into the corner while twitching like a .....). Seriously, I've no idea at all but haven't noticed anything - really.


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## novocaine (20 Mar 2020)

Simple answer. Dont buy a paperwhite. Buy a normal not light emitting one and use a bedside light.


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## Smithy (21 Mar 2020)

Cannot recommend the Kindle paper white enough. We have had ours for 4 years now and would say they heve been one of the best value for money things we have bought. On top of that it also possible to buy books for not a lot of money. We follow an author L J Ross. Detective/thrillers set in the North East at €2.99 a book they are good value.


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## Rorschach (21 Mar 2020)

Something else to remember, you can borrow books from your library to read on the kindle and also there are a huge number of free books available. Pretty much anything out of copyright is available free.


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## Andy Kev. (21 Mar 2020)

A question which naturally suggests itself is that of the books to be read while housebound.

IMO they should ideally entertaining, thought-provoking and require close reading (one would soon get sick of an endless diet of schlock).

Therefore in that spirit I make my wholehearted recommendation of _Rotherweird_. I think it's like no other book. I reject comparisons of it with _Gormenghast_ as being too thin, with _Harry Potter_ as suggesting that the reviewer was drunk at the time of writing and with LOTR as suggesting that the reviewer hadn't actually read the book. (I love the first and third of those BTW.)


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## sunnybob (21 Mar 2020)

My all time favourite book story is "mission earth" by L Ron hubbard. Yes he's the nutter that founded scientology, but that trilogy (which is actually TEN books) is the most amazing fast paced action story that you just can't put down. =D> =D> =D> =D>


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## Droogs (21 Mar 2020)

He called it a Decology and claimed to have invented the word, But Jet Heller knows better


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## sunnybob (21 Mar 2020)

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> Preaching to the converted. =D> =D> =D> =D>


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## Bm101 (21 Mar 2020)

The Last Roundup trilogy by Roddy Doyle. 
Maaaazin.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books ... 0345808455

Pretty much owt by Doyle tbh. 
Anyone who writes lines like : 'he changed gear like he was pulling the heads off orphans' is worth a look in my humble.


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## Trainee neophyte (21 Mar 2020)

I would advocate for anything by Iain M Banks (the middle initial is important, as he wrote mainstream fiction as Iain Banks, but science fiction as Iain M Banks just to confuse). My personal favourite is probably "Use of weapons", but any of them are outstanding. Vast, towering works of imagination.


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## AES (21 Mar 2020)

Thanks for that "T n". Hadn't heard of him. Will look out for him. If you want "towering imagination" then if you haven't already, can I suggest Isaac Asimov, especially the Foundation "Trilogy" , which, with input from others, finished up at about 7 loosely connected volumes if I remember rightly.

Then of course there's Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, & John Wyndham to name just 3 others in that genre; plus (IMO, "popular classics") such a R.E. Delderfield, especially "To Serve Them All Our Days", + other titles too; 

and, and, and ..........


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## Droogs (21 Mar 2020)

dont forget the granddaddy of them all HP Lovecraft


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Mar 2020)

I read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land when I was about twenty five, and thought it the best thing I'd ever read. I tried to read it again at fifty and wondered why I'd read such tripe.  
About forty years ago I read two paperbacks of short stories by Asimov, one written pre war, one post. Every article had a postscript by the great man explaining what he thought when wrote them, what had come true and what hadn't. The majority had, and generally he was only adrift by the timescale.


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## Trainee neophyte (21 Mar 2020)

AES":28eyxep4 said:


> Thanks for that "T n". Hadn't heard of him. Will look out for him. If you want "towering imagination" then if you haven't already, can I suggest Isaac Asimov, especially the Foundation "Trilogy" , which, with input from others, finished up at about 7 loosely connected volumes if I remember rightly.
> 
> Then of course there's Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, & John Wyndham to name just 3 others in that genre; plus (IMO, "popular classics") such a R.E. Delderfield, especially "To Serve Them All Our Days", + other titles too;
> 
> and, and, and ..........



That would have been my standard reading list in my callow youth. Gene Wolf, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven (I'm a huge Known Space fan - Protectors and Grogs and Kzin and Pierson's Puppeteers etc)...the list goes on and on. Unfortunately someone invented cyberpunk, and it all got edgy and grim and depressing. I like huge, monumental spacecraft and mad science and ludicrous scale - Space Opera, but it was ignored for years. There still aren't many new authors doing a good job of it, except Banks, who died of cancer recently, which was rather thoughtless of him. Terry Pratchet died, too, which is less than helpful. Charles Stross and Peter F Hamilton are two modern writers in the same vein, but not a patch on Iain M Banks, but then nobody else is.

Edit: here's a list to work your way through: some of it may be awful, but quite a lot of it is outstanding: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... pera_media There's not much in there I haven't read, so I will now be hunting down the few that have fallen through the cracks.


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## novocaine (21 Mar 2020)

Starship blackbeard and the rest of the series are ok for a cheap read. 
Dennis e taylor (not the snooker player) and the bobverse for a bit of scifi humour
Joshua james and the luckys marines series is good for a few cheap hours of reading.
John walker rise of mankind was alright but fell down towards the end.
John scalzi old mans war series is pretty good, good enough for me to read it a few times now.
Final one for now, nick webb defiance series.

Thats about 40 books to keep you entertained for a week or 2 and excludes the expanse series. 

Happy reading folks.


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## Bm101 (21 Mar 2020)

Wha's this?
Sci fi monthly!?
I must try proper sci fi. Somehow it has always eluded me. But I've read Pratchett who I esteemed greatly sing its praises. 
Do I start on Asimov?


One guy that might appeal to some for his musings on our lost ways in the natural world is Tristan Gooley.
Pinch of salt for some of it but he comes up with some astonishing stuff. Some of it is like an explanation for stuff you already seem to know just never put your finger on. 
How do you find north from an isolated clump of trees? Go on it's a test. Clump of trees in a field. That's it. And no. It's not moss. 
Best guesses below. Bit of fun.

If you are interested in finding your way without maps then yes you are a fella so yes you will like it. If you like the outdoors the yes. You will like it.
Its fascinating stuff regardless.
Just started the reading water one.


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## Trainee neophyte (21 Mar 2020)

novocaine":22l4zj3c said:


> Starship blackbeard and the rest of the series are ok for a cheap read.
> Dennis e taylor (not the snooker player) and the bobverse for a bit of scifi humour
> Joshua james and the luckys marines series is good for a few cheap hours of reading.
> John walker rise of mankind was alright but fell down towards the end.
> ...



Just discovered I have a John Scalzi book (The Ghost Brigades) -started reading it...I may be gone some time...


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## novocaine (21 Mar 2020)

Read old mans war first. Otherwise ghost brigade isnt going to make a whole lot of sense. Still a good book though. Red shirts is worth a read for a standalone book at some point too.


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## doctor Bob (21 Mar 2020)

I'm hoping to keep working but think we will go into lockdown in about a week.
Apart from work not mixing with others.
I've run on and off for the last 7-8 years and the aim whilst socially distancing is to improve my running as much as possible. Aiming for a sub 20 min 5k if possible. I have a treadmill and TV set up. Running to box sets at present, done peaky blinders, Narcos, now on season 5 of breaking bad brilliant all of them ...............


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## sunnybob (22 Mar 2020)

Bm101":1wr4o2zd said:


> Wha's this?
> Sci fi monthly!?
> I must try proper sci fi. Somehow it has always eluded me. But I've read Pratchett who I esteemed greatly sing its praises.
> Do I start on Asimov?



Asimov is a long read, and now 50 years out date, so yes, read all of his stuff because he was among the greatest and earliest of sci fi authors (he invented the three rules of robotics which still stand to this day.) but take the age of the book into consideration. 
Terry Pratchet was the all time master of science fantasy (very different to science fiction) I have maybe a dozen of his books in my very small collection, one actually signed by him.
Tom Holt writes similar "alternative" scenarios (name dropping here, I know Tom, although havent now seen him since moving abroad)

If you want a REALLY long read to pass several days, Frank herbert's DUNE.
If you want a very amusing story, see if you can find Eric Frank Russell's The Great Explosion.

All through my early teens I went through the entire Library of sci fi of all types.
The "W" section was the most used.
John Wyndham, H.G.Wells, and Dennis Wheatley. 
Another 6 months of reading.


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## novocaine (22 Mar 2020)

With you that one Doctor Bob. Ive gone of the pace these last few years so im aiming for sub 25min 5k on a regular basis (currently around 26-27 on most) then try and pull it towards sub 20 again (managed it once or twice). 

No treadmill here though, i hate the things. They are for emergency hotel use only. 

I dont intend to go within 2 metres of anybody, no difference to normal there though.


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## Blackswanwood (22 Mar 2020)

I have resolved to get my lawn and garden in good shape. Normally I work away a lot at this time of the year so end up doing half a job on getting it set up for the summer. After the wet winter the moss has really taken hold so the rake will be coming out in a few days after I gave it a spray yesterday.

Stay safe everyone


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## Selwyn (22 Mar 2020)

doctor Bob":27kdm9dl said:


> I'm hoping to keep working but think we will go into lockdown in about a week.
> Apart from work not mixing with others.
> I've run on and off for the last 7-8 years and the aim whilst socially distancing is to improve my running as much as possible. Aiming for a sub 20 min 5k if possible. I have a treadmill and TV set up. Running to box sets at present, done peaky blinders, Narcos, now on season 5 of breaking bad brilliant all of them ...............



You can still run outside cant you?


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## Sawdust Sam (22 Mar 2020)

For those avid readers here’s a great website for free ebooks

mod edit: not legit.

Note the woodworking reference is just what I entered in the search criteria, once you open the site you can change this to whatever you want be it an author, book name you know or a category.

Downloads are pretty instant and it’s all free.

It works on iPads great to get onto your kindle you need to convert the file independently or subscribe on the site to download in ePub. I’m happy with iPad but no doubt some of you IT savvy folk will work out an easy way to convert for kindle, if anyone does I’d be interested to hear how for my better half who’s a kindle fanatic.

You’ll be surprised how upto date this site is.


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## Andy Kev. (22 Mar 2020)

Thanks for the link. I noticed that some of the books are fairly recent and therefore surely still in copyright. That makes me wonder if it is legal to download them.

There's another matter as well: if the books are still in copyright and if they routinely are downloaded on a large scale, the publishing houses will be reluctant to commission more books and so we all lose out.

Or are there other factors of which I am unaware?


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## Trainee neophyte (22 Mar 2020)

For anyone who has an extensive collection of ebooks, Calibre is a great database which will link to your Kindle/tablet etc, and can convert any format to any format. It keeps everything organized, and means you don't have to swamp your device with 20,000 ebooks. The original Kindle particularly didn't like that. https://calibre-ebook.com/


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## Chris152 (22 Mar 2020)

I just read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance for the first time, really enjoyed it. 
Anyone know of any good fiction books that relate to motorcars/ rallying/ engineering that'd be good for a 16/ 17 year old? He doesn't read fiction but probably should start.
ps Kindle's in the basket but waiting for a full load before I hit 'buy'.


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## Trevanion (22 Mar 2020)

Chris152":3s15frt1 said:


> Anyone know of any good fiction books that relate to motorcars/ rallying/ engineering that'd be good for a 16/ 17 year old? He doesn't read fiction but probably should start.



What about Jets? "Not Much of an Engineer."

Whilst not engineering or really anything you mentioned, If you fancy disappearing to the Jungles of Burma amongst the teak trees and elephants in the 20s, 30s and 40s for a few hours, I can whole-heartedly recommend J.H. Williams' "Elephant Bill" and his two other books on the subject "Bandoola" and "The Spotted Deer". Well worth a read for anyone, It's a very interesting insight into the relationship between a man and his elephant(s).


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## AES (22 Mar 2020)

It's more than "a bit old-fashioned" these days Chris, but a well-known novel about MODEL engineering, written by a bloke who turned out to be a model engineer himself, is "Trustee from the Toolroom" by Nevil Shute. It was written in about 1960 (his last book actually), but was set in the 1950s, and is not so much about engineering itself but uses model engineering as an "emotion enhancer/supporter" (would you believe). IMO a very good read and again IMO, better than Shute's most famous "On the Beach". And IF by any chance he is interested in the early days of "barnstorming" aviation in the 1930s in UK (Sir Alan Cobham's Air Days festivals) , then "Round the Bend" (same author). 

And going even further back, a book about explosive ordnance disposal in WW II, rather than "engineering" per se, is "The Small Back Room" by Nigel Balchin. (Blimey, my age is really showing)!

But these are the things I like most about reading anyway - an inbuilt "Beam me up Scotty" device which will take you absolutely anywhere, together with a time machine that effortlessly takes you back or forward in time, just as you like.


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## AES (22 Mar 2020)

Yup, +1 for "Not much of an Engineer" by Sir Stanley Hooker of R-R, and "Jet" (the story of the company "Power Jets" by Sir Frank Whittle).

But neither are novels, they're biographies/autobiographies (though none the worse for that).


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## Sawdust Sam (22 Mar 2020)

Andy Kev.":3kim02rn said:


> Thanks for the link. I noticed that some of the books are fairly recent and therefore surely still in copyright. That makes me wonder if it is legal to download them.
> 
> There's another matter as well: if the books are still in copyright and if they routinely are downloaded on a large scale, the publishing houses will be reluctant to commission more books and so we all lose out.
> 
> Or are there other factors of which I am unaware?



I have no idea regarding copyright or legality, I got the link from another forum. Ifs it’s felt inappropriate then the mods can delete it. Just trying to help and no offence intended.


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## sammy.se (22 Mar 2020)

doctor Bob":21nywr1i said:


> I'm hoping to keep working but think we will go into lockdown in about a week.
> Apart from work not mixing with others.
> I've run on and off for the last 7-8 years and the aim whilst socially distancing is to improve my running as much as possible. Aiming for a sub 20 min 5k if possible. I have a treadmill and TV set up. Running to box sets at present, done peaky blinders, Narcos, now on season 5 of breaking bad brilliant all of them ...............


Breaking bad is a masterpiece. You can then move onto Better Call Saul. Different pace of drama-dey, but same high quality

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk


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## sammy.se (22 Mar 2020)

Amazon have just launched a streaming site which has lots of children's audiobooks for free. You don't need an account or anything, you can visit here and stream them all for free through the website: 

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

It has adult classics, as well as (mostly) school age books

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk


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## Chris152 (22 Mar 2020)

sammy.se":2t0nak98 said:


> Amazon have just launched a streaming site which has lots of children's audiobooks for free. You don't need an account or anything, you can visit here and stream them all for free through the website:
> 
> https://stories.audible.com/start-listen
> 
> ...


Great - thanks for sharing, Sammy.
I don't think I've read it but will listen - this one's in the teen section
https://stories.audible.com/pdp/B002VA9 ... c_cntr-3-0
Gombrich, A Little History of the World. He was a brilliant historian.


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## Andy Kev. (22 Mar 2020)

Sawdust Sam":2x76r9f5 said:


> Andy Kev.":2x76r9f5 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the link. I noticed that some of the books are fairly recent and therefore surely still in copyright. That makes me wonder if it is legal to download them.
> ...



No offence taken. It's probably just an aspect of it that needs clarifying.


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## Bm101 (22 Mar 2020)

Chris152":2zwjzmhx said:


> sammy.se":2zwjzmhx said:
> 
> 
> > Amazon have just launched a streaming site which has lots of children's audiobooks for free. You don't need an account or anything, you can visit here and stream them all for free through the website:
> ...



That's an amazing book Chris. I read it as a young man after a random discovery and it took all the little parts of history I knew and gave them context and a place in time. It's meant for kids but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I kept my copy on the basis that one day I might have kids. I enjoyed it that much. 
I duly presented it to my lad with deference. Annnnd he found it a bit dated :roll: 
And it is if you are 9 and have grown up with Horrible Histories I suppose. I'll keep it for him. He'll enjoy it in a couple more years. 
Go for it.
Regards


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## Chris152 (24 Mar 2020)

Have to say, only being allowed to leave the house once a day feels a bit oppressive. More than happy that the measure exists but having taken the dog for a walk this morning, I suppose I'm stuck now. And I'm pretty anti-social at the best of times. 

Some books for the kids and a Kindle ordered and due for delivery soon-ish. As Amazon can keep delivering for the moment (if I've got that right) do you think people can continue to deliver cars? I'm trying to get an old Volvo 240 delivered from Cornwall so the boy can learn to work on it over the coming months, get an MoT in due course and have it as his car to drive. But the fella who is selling and was going to deliver it originally had to self-isolate on account of age as of the weekend, and as of last night the delivery man who I wanted to do it instead is not sure if he'll be allowed to now. Anyone know about that?


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## sunnybob (24 Mar 2020)

A drive from cardiff to cornwall and back for a car for a lad to practice on...
hhhmmmm, sounds pretty dire necessity to me. :roll: :lol:


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## Chris152 (24 Mar 2020)

I know - but as long as Amazon are delivering books about a Wimpy Kid, ponies etc...


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## Chris152 (24 Mar 2020)

On a less controversial note, potato patch just doubled in size, and that's my garden looking tidier than usual.





Should get another 10 plants in the extension.
I've been out digging in my t-shirt, what a beautiful day.
ps - included in the pic is the boy's last car. can't get rid of the thing.


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## welly (24 Mar 2020)

My order of wood from Travis Perkins was cancelled this morning as they're now closed. I was planning on refitting my bedroom (I live on a narrowboat, which is calming in itself) and wanted to get the wood in before lock down. Unfortunately was late by a day in my order. So I'm looking at what wood I have available to see what else I can make.

I'm planning to have a go at making a sled for my table saw. I've got a large sheet of plywood which I can use plus various other offcuts for a fairly rough and ready (but hopefully accurate!) sled. Plus I'm going to build a wooden storage box that will live on top of the boat.

So I have plenty to keep myself occupied and will hopefully up my skills a bit in woodworking.


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## sunnybob (24 Mar 2020)

You have a workshop with a table saw on a narrow boat? wow. :shock: :shock: 

But if you want to make some very clever table saw sleds, I can recommend these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfyoh5SZ6I&t=25s
You can buy the plans online cheaply, or just steal his ideas. I got the plans and have made two and use them a lot. 8) 8)


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## Trainee neophyte (24 Mar 2020)

Chris152":a98s5w7s said:


> On a less controversial note, potato patch just doubled in size, and that's my garden looking tidier than usual.
> 
> Should get another 10 plants in the extension.
> I've been out digging in my t-shirt, what a beautiful day.
> ps - included in the pic is the boy's last car. can't get rid of the thing.



Don't forget to feed your spuds - they need crazy amounts of fertilizer to do well. I put the same weight of fertilizer as potatoes at planting, and then another go of just amonia later. I.e. I plant 20kg of potatoes, and put down 20kg of 20-20-20 fertilizer at the same time (or a few days before if possible). I then throw another 10kg of amonia around at around 70 days, and harvest at 100 days. I expect to harvest around 400kg, fingers crossed.


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## welly (25 Mar 2020)

sunnybob":2apyqi7l said:


> You have a workshop with a table saw on a narrow boat? wow. :shock: :shock:
> 
> But if you want to make some very clever table saw sleds, I can recommend these
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfyoh5SZ6I&t=25s
> You can buy the plans online cheaply, or just steal his ideas. I got the plans and have made two and use them a lot. 8) 8)



Alas not a workshop but I do have a table saw! One of the Dewalt 54v ones, which works really well! I've been doing all my carpentry work outside. It's not perfect but don't have to worry about cleanup too much, the wind blows the dust away. Cheers for the link, I'll have a look!


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## Chris152 (29 Mar 2020)

Are these getting there?




The ones in my pantry seem to be producing shoots quicker. But I guess they're no good for planting? I can't get hold of any more seed potatoes, the garden centre's shut. But I'm thinking about getting some seeds by mail and seeing if I can cobble together something in the house/ makeshift greenhouse to bring on tomatoes and other things. Any suggestions on such cobbling very welcome!

And - now have my Kindle! Really pleased with it, tho the area on the left of screen for turning back a page is v narrow - at first I kept going forward, wondering what had happened and having to go back to the start of the chapter to find where I'd left off. Think I've got it now, which is just as well coz Barnby Rudge really wasn't doing it for me.


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## novocaine (29 Mar 2020)

Chuck em int he ground. While your at it chuck the ones you have in you cupboard in too. 
You can cut them up as long as each piece has an eye in it. A seed spud is just an under grown normal spud, normally with a few more eyes to get a good chance of growth. 

Glad you're getting to grips with the kindle.


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## novocaine (29 Mar 2020)

Oh good book for you. The martian by ansy wier.


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## Chris152 (29 Mar 2020)

novocaine":1sr1sizd said:


> Oh good book for you. The martian by ansy wier.


Just been chatting with a friend on FB - the Martian came up (he used poo as fertiliser, which'd solve another problem), as did Silent Running!





24 planted, unfortunately none of the fertilizer/ ammonia you mentioned Tn, as I can't get hold of any, and it's reclaimed lawn so maybe this'll lead nowhere. We'll see. But on the plus side, I was wearing my dad's old green Barbour gardening waistcoat, so you never know.

ps Just discovered a load of nice looking black stuff at the bottom of the composter, I'd completely forgotten about it, it's been there for years. I've broken it in to the soil above the potatoes, should wash down ok?


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

Last year I bought seed potatoes as usual and also planted some odds and ends from the vegetable box that had chitted.
Could see no difference in the results.


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

Chris.

I suspect your crop will be riddled with wire worm .  
Regarding fertiliser, growmore works fine.

When I plant spuds the spud goes into the bottom of the trench and then a layer of compost on the top. I find that this reduces scab.


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## Chris152 (29 Mar 2020)

lurker":2kzou60w said:


> Chris.
> 
> I suspect your crop will be riddled with wire worm .
> Regarding fertiliser, growmore works fine.
> ...


Oh dear! What have I done to deserve wire worm?? Is it the converted lawn thing? 
But maybe putting compost on after was a good thing (scab). I've been trying to not go out to the shops but perhaps I need to get kitted up and head out looking for fertiliser. I can always carefully dig the lot up and start again - it's not like I'm pushed for time at the moment.


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## novocaine (29 Mar 2020)

Leave them be. Didnt have the fancy stuff to grow spuds in the olden days and it didnt seem to stop people. All the new improved super fertilisers and magic soil combinations will do is improve your crop, none of it will guarantee it. 

I still chuck the odd spud in the ground when ive let them go to long in the cupboard. We maybe get 10kg a year this way with no real effort. Not much but its better than them going to bin.


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

Lawns are usually full of wire worm.
And leather jackets (daddy long legs larvae)

Both love spuds 

You don’t need any fertiliser until the leafs show 
You realise about earthing up?


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## Trainee neophyte (29 Mar 2020)

Chris152":35vjmikn said:


> lurker":35vjmikn said:
> 
> 
> > Chris.
> ...



No problem - you can go all eco-green-mentalist and make compost tea. It's marginally more of a faff than shopping, but only just, and it will be all organic and tasty! Endless internet info about it, but basically soak green stuff (lawn clippings, weeds, cuttings, anything you like) in water for a few days,and pour the results on the plants. It's really strong stuff, so dilute it 3 or 4 to 1. Some people strain it, some people don't. Some people put all sorts of weird extras in, other people don't. You can give this to your spuds pretty much constantly, I think, although I would recommend some research; my organic days are behind me, and I am a big fan of chemicals these days.

In about a month you'll want to earth them up - other than that, a little light weeding, and some Bordeaux Mix to spray after rain,if you have it- to stop blight.


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

Best gardening book of all time 
Adam the Gardener
I still refer to my grandmother's copy.
A second hand reprint can be had from Amazon for less than a fiver delivered.


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

Chris,
Don’t waste time looking for Bordeaux as it is banned in the uk.
Although I do use it because I stock piled beforehand.


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## Trainee neophyte (29 Mar 2020)

lurker":2jq4j0ec said:


> Chris,
> Don’t waste time looking for Bordeaux as it is banned in the uk.
> Although I do use it because I stock piled beforehand.



Wow! I didn't know that! Is it evil? Or just replaced by a patented Monsanto product? Will investigate. Must admit I have never grown spuds in the UK, so my experience is quite different - it's now too late to plant for eg, as it will be too hot and potatoes don't set of the roots are over 25°C. Probably a fact you don't need to know.


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## jeremyduncombe (29 Mar 2020)

I make my own Bordeaux mix now the shops have stopped selling it. Equal parts of copper sulphate and slaked lime, both easily and legally available via the Internet. I don’t grow potatoes any more, but it is a magic cure for peach leaf curl. I think it is banned because long-term heavy use ( eg in commercial vineyards ) leads to a toxic build up of copper in the soil. I can’t see it being a big problem if you use in in moderation in your garden, especially if you practice crop rotation.

There’s nothing to beat your own new potatoes - I used to have them on the table within half an hour from digging them up and they were delicious. Veg gardening is just too hard on my back these days.


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## lurker (29 Mar 2020)

jeremyduncombe":1d51atgi said:


> I make my own Bordeaux mix now the shops have stopped selling it. Equal parts of copper sulphate and slaked lime, both easily and legally available via the Internet. I don’t grow potatoes any more, but it is a magic cure for peach leaf curl. I think it is banned because long-term heavy use ( eg in commercial vineyards ) leads to a toxic build up of copper in the soil. I can’t see it being a big problem if you use in in moderation in your garden, especially if you practice crop rotation.
> 
> There’s nothing to beat your own new potatoes - I used to have them on the table within half an hour from digging them up and they were delicious. Veg gardening is just too hard on my back these days.



I am exactly the same, except I do grow a few early spuds.


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## Chris152 (30 Mar 2020)

I have a limited supply of Bordeaux but not planning on wasting it on the plants.
Lurker - yes, I've got the earthing up thing - thanks!
T-n - I'm going to mow the lawn today so I'll have a go at a little compost tea, hopefully I won't make the situation any worse. 
Cheers all - I'll report back on the potatoes in a month or so...


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## Droogs (30 Mar 2020)

Is it too late in the year to plant stuff? 
As we are all stuck inside (well I am) until June. I was thinking, that to ease the pressure on SWMBO having to go out to forage kind of thing, we might as well plant some veg etc. But I really don't have a clue about it. I only have space for pots really and would appreciate some advice. Lots of conflicting stuff on the tinterweb and what zone am i in

ooh and what do the little roman numerals on seed packets mean?


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## Chris152 (30 Mar 2020)

If I can add to Droogs' question, which do you think is the most bullet (silly person)-proof tomato plant to grow from seed? Ta.


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## jeremyduncombe (30 Mar 2020)

Chris152":ct14gv76 said:


> I have a limited supply of Bordeaux but not planning on wasting it on the plants.
> Lurker - yes, I've got the earthing up thing - thanks!
> T-n - I'm going to mow the lawn today so I'll have a go at a little compost tea, hopefully I won't make the situation any worse.
> Cheers all - I'll report back on the potatoes in a month or so...


What are you going to do with your Bordeaux mix if your plants aren’t getting it - drink it ? It might be a good cure for coronavirus.

In answer to Droogs - definitely not too late to start sowing things. You can sow herbs and salad vegetables from now up to June or July. If you are short of space, try growing mixed salad leaves. You sow them very thickly in the pot, and when they are two or three inches high you simply cut off as many leaves as you need. They will sprout again and with care you will get a daily crop for a week or two.


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## Phil Pascoe (30 Mar 2020)

Chris152":3bp29hs1 said:


> If I can add to Droogs' question, which do you think is the most bullet (Silly person)-proof tomato plant to grow from seed? Ta.


Gardener's Delight.


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## novocaine (30 Mar 2020)

hers an interesting aside. 
contrary to popular believe we don't irradiate our food supply before it reaches the shelf, so a fair few past it fruit and veg is perfectly acceptable as a seed source. it might not grow in your climate but no harm no foul. 
strawberries, tomatos, raspberries, potatos etc. are all for the taking. 
onions, when you chop the top off you can use the bit you usually chuck away to start from, then collect the seeds from the plant (Although growing from seed is tricky), garlic can be a couple of cloves to get you started. 

can't do it for things like carrots as they need the seeds that grow from the flower not the tuba. 
herbs can be tricky unless you buy them in a pot as they are all seed germinating.

don't forget about the spaghetti tree either, just stick a few lengths in a pot for a week or two before transferring to the green house, needs to be warm for that.


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## Andy Kev. (30 Mar 2020)

This enforced idleness could turn out to be really useful.

That's spuds sorted out, then.

What are the chances of getting the really big things sorted out:

a. Milk in first or second.

b. Dark matter.

c. Jam or cream first on the scown.

d. What's beyond the event horizon in a black hole?

That should be enough for the next fortnight. Obviously we'll never be able to do the really big ones like sharpening. One has to keep one's feet on the ground.


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## Chris152 (30 Mar 2020)

novocaine":1b966bu6 said:


> don't forget about the spaghetti tree either, just stick a few lengths in a pot for a week or two before transferring to the green house, needs to be warm for that.


once i've cobbled together something vaguely resembling a greenhouse that'll be the first thing to plant. Apparently there's a shortage in the shops so i could make some money on it too.


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## Droogs (30 Mar 2020)

What? we've now run out of greenhouses, will it never end?


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## lurker (30 Mar 2020)

novocaine":3fd3qvsk said:


> hers an interesting aside.
> contrary to popular believe we don't irradiate our food supply before it reaches the shelf, so a fair few past it fruit and veg is perfectly acceptable as a seed source. it might not grow in your climate but no harm no foul.
> strawberries, tomatos, raspberries, potatos etc. are all for the taking.
> onions, when you chop the top off you can use the bit you usually chuck away to start from, then collect the seeds from the plant (Although growing from seed is tricky), garlic can be a couple of cloves to get you started.
> ...



Not quite.
F1s which most bulk vegetable growers use, will not come true to type.
Also carrots will most likely cross fertilise with similar weeds .
Brassicas will cross fertilise and the resultant crop will be bitter DAMHIKT

I have been using Lidl seeds successfully for a few years. They are very cheap and plenty of seeds in the packet .

I do often buy growing herbs from the supermarkets, crop them and then transplant the roots into the garden for a second crop.


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## Chris152 (30 Mar 2020)

Ok, tomato seeds ordered from ebay (I went for Moneymaker in the end, I remember Dad growing them), coming in about a week. I found a very old bag of compost that the ivy's had a fine time stripping of its nutrition. But, is it possible to put nutrition back into the compost/ other soil by using this sort of thing?





Both old, I found them in my shed.

ps And if I poke holes in the bottom of plastic take-away food containers (about 35mm deep) will that do for planting seeds in?


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## Phil Pascoe (30 Mar 2020)

If you buy supermarket herbs such as mint, basil and even parsley you can break the plants into two or three and re pot - they'll grow for several weeks on a windowledge, but don't leave the plants until they're exhausted before you plant them on. Parsley doesn't really do well transplanted, but as long as you don't try to tease out individual plants it does OK.


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## lurker (30 Mar 2020)

Moneymaker is excellent, in fact I have gone back to growing a few after going all exotic and the results not living up to their promise.

You don’t need to fertilise at all until the plants are transplanted.
Do this as soon as they have true leaves 
Then little and often is the secret.
I use Wilko own brand liquid tomato feed.
You more than a month away from needing any .


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## Chris152 (30 Mar 2020)

Phil - I did try that one year with basil, one plant from the shop was enough to produce a whole growbag full of plants. We ate lots of basil that summer!



lurker":2yiv1ikc said:


> You don’t need to fertilise at all until the plants are transplanted.


Is that right even if I'm using really old compost that's been pretty much stripped of its nutrition? Cheers.


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## Tris (30 Mar 2020)

Most compost only has enough fertiliser in it for 4 weeks growth so you'll be fine with seedling transplants.
Dilute the feed at half the recommended rate to begin with until the Tom's are established. 
Milk diluted 1:10 as a spray used to be used for mildew/blight protection.


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## lurker (30 Mar 2020)

Chris152":1ugqa5i6 said:


> Phil - I did try that one year with basil, one plant from the shop was enough to produce a whole growbag full of plants. We ate lots of basil that summer!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes.
Seeds carry their own food supplies to get them going


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## Trainee neophyte (30 Mar 2020)

This thread is suppose to be "a little thread of calm", and we've moved on to gardening? It's on a par with push sticks or sharpening stones - any minute now some contentious use of twine is going to cause ructions.

I'm definitely going to step back with the advice, because we seem to have some real gardeners on the case. My approach to gardening is plant it, and come back in three months and try to find where I planted it,and if is it still alive. A bit hit and miss, in other words. It gets the !east priority of everything.

I can recommend looking into "square foot gardening", which is a brilliant, productive system of growing in pots. Also look into "peeponics", because it's fun. Everything else is not my fault!


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## lurker (30 Mar 2020)

Chris152":3tle3cuc said:


> novocaine":3tle3cuc said:
> 
> 
> > don't forget about the spaghetti tree either, just stick a few lengths in a pot for a week or two before transferring to the green house, needs to be warm for that.
> ...



It's essential you plant this on the first day of April


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## Nigel Burden (30 Mar 2020)

My tomatoes have germinated two days after sowing. I'm growing Russian Black, a large purple-brown tomato with firm flesh and a sweet salty flavour. Green Zebra, a medium sized tomato with a strong tangy flavour. I bought the seeds last year from Plant World Seeds of Newton Abbot, and a bonus packet of seed called Tombola, which as the name suggests meant that you never knew what you'd get. Last year it was one red, and two cherry tomatoes, and one whitish yellow beefsteak tomato which I didn't like much. 

Nigel.


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## Tris (31 Mar 2020)

The great thing with tomatoes is you can save the seeds as long as you aren't growing F1 types.
They self pollinate so there's no need to keep them apart. 
Some sources suggest 'fermenting' the seeds to get rid of germination inhibitors before drying and storing them but I've often just squeezed the seeds out on to kitchen roll, dried it out and stored them like that then sown the whole thing like a seed mat the following year and still had good germination.
This has been a good way to keep varieties I haven't known the name of.


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## Phil Pascoe (31 Mar 2020)

Old varieties like Gardener's Delight come true from seed. Moneymakers are very productive, but are quite possible the most tasteless tomato developed although anything home grown will be better. I had more consistency year on year with older varieties - F1s seemed to do really well one year, then often not so well the next. I had a four and half pound truss on a Shirley one year, and didn't do at all well with them the next - different weather? Who knows?

https://www.realseeds.co.uk/ are good for somewthing a little off the beaten track.


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## Tris (31 Mar 2020)

Phil, can you recommend a good supplier of Gardeners Delight? The last couple of packets I bought weren't great, too large and rather lacking in the flavour you'd expect from them.


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## Phil Pascoe (31 Mar 2020)

No, sorry, it's a few years since I had a greenhouse, and I've long given up trying to grow them outdoors. Many people who grow old varieties save their own seed - maybe someone could send you some?
Look at https://www.realseeds.co.uk/tomatoes_vines.html - they have a supposedly Irish variety which at least is small.


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## Tris (31 Mar 2020)

I'll give them a go. I've had a few things from them over the years and like how they do things.


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## flying haggis (31 Mar 2020)

Ailsa craig for me. Funnily enough I tried Black Russian last year (wasnt impressed but could be my growing technique? :lol: ) I also grow Piccolo which are slightly bigger than grapes and nice and sweet.


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## Phil Pascoe (31 Mar 2020)

Yes, I did well with Ailsa Craig. Some of the tumblers that grow well in baskets are good as well.


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## AES (31 Mar 2020)

@PhilP: It's really "interesting" to hear that you QUOTE: .... had a four and a half pound truss on a Shirley one year. UNQUOTE: ;-)

Q: For people down your end of the country, is "a Shirley" like a "Sheila" in Oz????

Seriously, I am absolutely NOT a gardener, not under ANY circumstances, but I couldn't resist that one!

AND, BTW, though not at all interested in gardening in any way shape or form, I find it really good how this thread has developed on into even more of how it started off - "A little thread of calm" - in marked contrast to the somewhat "robust" comments that have appeared on another Corona thread here. Really a refreshing thread of "niceness". More power to your collective elbows good Sirs.


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## Chris152 (31 Mar 2020)

Reading 'An Invitation to Murder' on my lovely new Kindle, one of the characters described how she cooked and served nettles to her employers without them realising what they were. I'm now out of fresh greens and trying to avoid the shops, so thought I'd give it a go.





There's a bit on how to do them here:
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-t ... th-nettles
Anyone tried it? I have plenty in my messy garden so it could be a bit of a winner.


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## novocaine (31 Mar 2020)

nettle soup is a good if you add enough pepper and salt to hide the fact it's nettles. 

hawthorn leaf makes a good addition to your salad.


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## Chris152 (31 Mar 2020)

Well, I like spinach but have to say, nettles are at least as good, probably better!




That small quantity of leaves was plenty for one - I rinsed them, then boiled for about 60 seconds before rinsing and then frying in olive oil with some pepper. I put a bit of soy sauce on, and it tasted great. 
(With apologies to anyone who really didn't want to see my dinner...)


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## Chris152 (31 Mar 2020)

novocaine":zsdnefv5 said:


> nettle soup is a good if you add enough pepper and salt to hide the fact it's nettles.
> 
> hawthorn leaf makes a good addition to your salad.


I'll be trying both - thanks!


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## Droogs (31 Mar 2020)

Dandy-lion soup is a good one, I remember from an escape and evasion course I did years ago.


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## flying haggis (31 Mar 2020)

all together now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMBh-eo3tvE


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## Trainee neophyte (31 Mar 2020)

There is a Greek tradition of eating wild greens - dandelion leaves are keenly sought out, but all sorts of things that most people would consider sheep fodder get put in a pot, boiled until soft, and then splodged onto the plate in a sodden gloopy mass. It needs lemon juice and olive oil, and salt obviously. Very bitter, and definitely an acquired taste.

This time of year the hills should be full of little old ladies wielding knives, cutting the tops off "wild spinach, fennel leaves, nettles, poppy leaves, dandelions, purslane, amaranth, beetroot leaves, to name but a few", (I got the list of some vegetarian's blog, as I have no idea what shrubbery is considered good eating).

Unfortunately, it would seem that the ladies are staying at home, which means the dogs have no one to bounce. Coronavirus has some extreme knock-on effects.


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## flying haggis (31 Mar 2020)

very clever people out there

https://youtu.be/8KPbJ0-DxTc


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## Bm101 (31 Mar 2020)

I used to eat nettles all the time. Pick only the newest tips when the plants are young otherwise they are overbearing. Better to pick lots of young leaves and dry them. By the time they flower you don't want to be eating them at all . As a early spring delicacy in soup with goats cheese or similar they are beautiful. Spinach but a little stronger. Lovely. Free is even better.
Most wild food is similar in that it needs cooking gently.
Richard Mabey wrote the original book if people are interested. Doubtless there are untold newer books. 
Met a family of east Europeans over here for the crop picking last autumn in the woods. They were a bit suspicious and no shared language other than signing and basic words. Once I'd signalled I was interested in the mushrooms not their right to forage they became effusive and friendly. Good people. I believe mushroom harvesting is a major social occasion in some countries. We seem to have lost touch here or see it as esoteric or such. Shame that in a generation or two hedgerow food that was common to our grandparents has become so alien.
:| 
Ideal time to start. Spring is blooming.
:wink:


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## Phil Pascoe (1 Apr 2020)

Not wild, but nearly so in some cases - later in the year, nasturtiums. The leaves, seeds and flowers are edible. The leaves are quite peppery and go nicely in egg mayo sandwiches.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Good-Thing ... 0030572967

Is a brilliant book if anyone's seriously interested.


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## Tris (1 Apr 2020)

I'll be picking some nettles for cordial at the weekend, lovely flavour and great colour. It has a flavour that's hard to describe, part melon, part sherbet.

Lime tree leaves are good in a salad too. 
If you have dandelions in your garden do what the French do and put a plate over them to make them less bitter, especially useful after flowering when the leaves toughen. 
If you like rocket in salad then try hairy bittercress, the leaves are tiny but really pack a punch and make a great pesto.

Good excuse to get out for a walk at least. 
Tris


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## Andy Kev. (1 Apr 2020)

Bm101":2980tq12 said:


> I used to eat nettles all the time. Pick only the newest tips when the plants are young otherwise they are overbearing. Better to pick lots of young leaves and dry them. By the time they flower you don't want to be eating them at all . As a early spring delicacy in soup with goats cheese or similar they are beautiful. Spinach but a little stronger. Lovely. Free is even better.
> Most wild food is similar in that it needs cooking gently.
> Richard Mabey wrote the original book if people are interested. Doubtless there are untold newer books.
> Met a family of east Europeans over here for the crop picking last autumn in the woods. They were a bit suspicious and no shared language other than signing and basic words. Once I'd signalled I was interested in the mushrooms not their right to forage they became effusive and friendly. Good people. I believe mushroom harvesting is a major social occasion in some countries. We seem to have lost touch here or see it as esoteric or such. Shame that in a generation or two hedgerow food that was common to our grandparents has become so alien.
> ...


Mushroom harvesting is indeed a major social thing in some (particularly eastern European) countries, as presumably are the small number of funerals which the activity gives rise to every year.


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## Nigel Burden (1 Apr 2020)

Bm101":1nnykyrs said:


> I used to eat nettles all the time. Pick only the newest tips when the plants are young otherwise they are overbearing. Better to pick lots of young leaves and dry them. By the time they flower you don't want to be eating them at all . As a early spring delicacy in soup with goats cheese or similar they are beautiful. Spinach but a little stronger. Lovely. Free is even better.
> Most wild food is similar in that it needs cooking gently.
> Richard Mabey wrote the original book if people are interested. Doubtless there are untold newer books.
> Met a family of east Europeans over here for the crop picking last autumn in the woods. They were a bit suspicious and no shared language other than signing and basic words. Once I'd signalled I was interested in the mushrooms not their right to forage they became effusive and friendly. Good people. I believe mushroom harvesting is a major social occasion in some countries. We seem to have lost touch here or see it as esoteric or such. Shame that in a generation or two hedgerow food that was common to our grandparents has become so alien.
> ...



I used to do a lot of mushroom foraging in the 1980-90s. It became very popular due to Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo. The situation became so bad at one time due to the high prices achieved in London restaurants, with gangs coming down to the New Forest from London to forage commercially, that the Forestry Commission put a 1 kilo limit in force. It wasn't only in the New Forest though that limits had to be imposed.

Nigel.


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## Tris (1 Apr 2020)

It seems it's not just mushrooms now Nigel, the woodland Trust put up wildlife cameras at one of their sites only to find a local florist carrying away armfuls of foliage for their shop :shock:


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## Chris152 (14 Apr 2020)

Just discovered this!





Do you think they'll be ready for tea tonight, or best wait til tomorrow?


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## Chris152 (19 Apr 2020)

Tomato seeds arrived...




Does that look about right? I can get about 12 plants into what's currently the dining room/ will become a greenhouse, so after I planted those seeds i put some more in an egg box, and then all in a clear bag on a window sill:


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## Phil Pascoe (19 Apr 2020)

It's easier to put then in yoghurt pots or even the cardboard tubes out of bog rolls - you just tip them out and stick them in a hole, you don't need to tease them apart.


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Apr 2020)

I cheat and buy ready plants rather than seed, but I would put the seeds in individual pots so replanting isn't going to be difficult. I plant out when they are about 6" tall, so have a pot / lavatory roll big enough to cope. The cardboard roll method is really good, btw. Must post a photo of my poor excuse for a veg garden.


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## Chris152 (19 Apr 2020)

Ok, thanks for the heads up fellas. Would you say mine are doomed to fail/ less than likely to succeed? I've had a rummage and can't find loo roll centres nor yogurt pots etc. I found four smaller plant pots, having recently given a load away to someone who wanted - wait for it - to grow vegetables from seeds. 
If the trays I've done are likely to fail, could tin cans (regular size) with holes drilled in the bottoms work?


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## Chris152 (19 Apr 2020)

Trainee neophyte":24huityk said:


> Must post a photo of my poor excuse for a veg garden.


Yes, I'm sure it'd pale to insignificance compared with mine.


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## Nigel Burden (19 Apr 2020)

Chris152":nq8n2dxq said:


> Ok, thanks for the heads up fellas. Would you say mine are doomed to fail/ less than likely to succeed? I've had a rummage and can't find loo roll centres nor yogurt pots etc. I found four smaller plant pots, having recently given a load away to someone who wanted - wait for it - to grow vegetables from seeds.
> If the trays I've done are likely to fail, could tin cans (regular size) with holes drilled in the bottoms work?



No, they're not doomed to fail.

I sowed mine, four to a four inch pot and pricked them out into four inch pots when the first true leaves developed. They are now between four and six inches high. They alternate between the greenhouse in the day, and a window sill at night. I've done this for years and never had a problem, but sowing individually in cardboard tubes would be better as it would avoid disturbing the roots.

Nigel.


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## Chris152 (19 Apr 2020)

Ok, thanks Nigel! I might try a few in tin cans and the little pots I have to hand, just in case - I can always stick them in the ground outside if I have too many. And anyway, unravelling knotted roots could prove an exciting pass-time during lockdown.


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## Trainee neophyte (19 Apr 2020)

Chris152":3ophwj9q said:


> Trainee neophyte":3ophwj9q said:
> 
> 
> > Must post a photo of my poor excuse for a veg garden.
> ...



I may plant a of of stuff, but quite often I don't harvest anything at all - it all starts off with the best of intentions, and then I get busy, and forget, and before you know it your veg patch has become virgin forest again. It is quite normal to lose plants completely, and only discover them again when I am ripping everything out to start again. Usually a bit late by then. This year the pressure is on, but we won't have any tourists to distract us so fingers crossed it may work better. 

The seedlings will be fine as is - you will just need to transplant sooner, to individual pots. Either way, you are going to need some more pots, or a much bigger pot would work, too. Space at 4"? 

I have a rule: plant double what you need, and expect to lose three quarters. I am not a good, or conscientious gardener. I don't actually know why I do it.

(I have learned a really good trick for potatoes: I give a friend a sack of seed spuds, and a sack of fertiliser, and three months later he gives me back about 400kg of his potatoes when we all go and help harvest his field. It's the most successful method yet. Of course this year I will have to socially distance myself, at least until after he has lifted them...)


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## Nigel Burden (19 Apr 2020)

Chris152":1j9jbowl said:


> Ok, thanks Nigel! I might try a few in tin cans and the little pots I have to hand, just in case - I can always stick them in the ground outside if I have too many. And anyway, unravelling knotted roots could prove an exciting pass-time during lockdown.



The roots shouldn't be too tangled if you prick them out when the first true leaves have developed. Mine will go into 10 inch terracotta pots when there's no risk of frost, but they're ok for another three weeks yet . I have put them in old plastic paint buckets with holes drilled in the bottom before now and they've been successful. I grow them in the greenhouse but I have ten plants this year, and as my neighbours don't ever seem to want any surplus I will have to grow some outside in pots as we don't have a vegetable garden.

Nigel.


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## Tris (19 Apr 2020)

Chris, take a look at a paper Potter. They are easy to turn from odds and ends then you can make your own pots as you need them. I've used one for a few years and the great thing is you plant the whole thing out with no root disturbance.


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## Chris152 (20 Apr 2020)

I did one Tris - does that look right? I put 3 seeds in and covered - do I now put it on a tray and water sparingly (I assume it'd fall apart with too much) and cover with a plastic bag as the others?




I'll do more if that looks right.
edit - excitement got the better of me - i did some smaller ones, watered and now in place on the window sill.




If we have far too many I'll be able to sell them on, together with the pasta plants which are coming along a treat.


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## Tris (20 Apr 2020)

Those look spot on, I find a broadsheet paper works for deep pots for sweet peas, beans, sweetcorn and so on, tabloids do smaller pots for everything else. I cut the paper into 'quarters' then fold in half lengthways before forming the pot and have found this holds together well even when wet. 

Might try an experiment to see if there's any difference in growth according to which paper they are in.

You'll need a deeper pot for the spaghetti


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## DrPhill (20 Apr 2020)

Tris":3w3snniv said:


> Might try an experiment to see if there's any difference in growth according to which paper they are in.



Sun and Mail should be best - more 'nutrient'..........


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## Chris152 (23 Apr 2020)

edit - on reflection, the post was a bit buried here under lots of vegetable info - I'll do a separate thread for it!


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## Chris152 (26 Apr 2020)

Tomaters (first batch i planted):





Pertaters (the net's to keep basketballs out):




And if you've got 10 mins to spare, a friend made this recording of birds at dawn in deepest Cornwall this morning:
https://soundcloud.com/the-wagging-pole ... 15LlXrO-QA


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## Chris152 (12 May 2020)

They're coming along nicely, I think.

Are these ready for moving out of the trays into small pots, or can they go straight into grow bags?





And do I have to keep earthing these up? I'm running out of soil between the rows.




Thanks!


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## Phil Pascoe (12 May 2020)

Chris152":17hta83a said:


> And if you've got 10 mins to spare, a friend made this recording of birds at dawn in deepest Cornwall this morning:



jackdaws and gulls everywhere.


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## Chris152 (12 May 2020)

Phil Pascoe":2hz5uf9l said:


> Chris152":2hz5uf9l said:
> 
> 
> > And if you've got 10 mins to spare, a friend made this recording of birds at dawn in deepest Cornwall this morning:
> ...


He's been recording the dawn regularly since then, apparently they're starting to quieten down now.


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## Phil Pascoe (12 May 2020)

Your toms will go into grow bags. Make sure you tie your strings around the bags if in a greenhouse, it saves struggling to get them around the bags when the plants are larger. Also think about a way of watering them easily - inset a flowerpot or a part of plastic bottle with small holes in it, grow bags dry out while you're thinking about them and are quite difficult to water once dry. Or else find something that holds water to sit the whole bags in -in the summer they won't go more than a couple of days without needing watering.


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## Phil Pascoe (12 May 2020)

Chris152":3p4q6np2 said:


> He's been recording the dawn regularly since then, apparently they're starting to quieten down now.


They've now found their mates.


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## Trainee neophyte (12 May 2020)

Your spuds look great - the earth is to stop daylight hitting the new tubers as they grow, so should be fine. 

My first disaster of the year: I planted two rows of sweetcorn - 60 to a row, and two seeds to a hole to make sure there were no gaps. 5 have germinated. I have had to buy more seed, and this time I have chitted them to make sure they work. Will be planting them this evening. Fingers crossed. Very relaxing, this gardening thing.


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## Nigel Burden (12 May 2020)

My tomatoes are around eighteen inches high and some are in flower.
I could do with getting them in the greenhouse but we had a frost last night and the forecast is still giving the possibility of frost in the next couple of weeks. I have had to transplant into larger pots, but not so large that I can't bring them in the house overnight. They will eventually go into 10 or 12 inch pots and six will live in the greenhouse, the others will have to go alongside the back fence and hopefully not get trashed when the dog crashes around the garden during a ratting spree.

Nigel.


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## Trainee neophyte (12 May 2020)

Nigel Burden":e4pgwun5 said:


> My tomatoes are around eighteen inches high and some are in flower.
> I could do with getting them in the greenhouse but we had a frost last night and the forecast is still giving the possibility of frost in the next couple of weeks. I have had to transplant into larger pots, but not so large that I can't bring them in the house overnight. They will eventually go into 10 or 12 inch pots and six will live in the greenhouse, the others will have to go alongside the back fence and hopefully not get trashed when the dog crashes around the garden during a ratting spree.
> 
> Nigel.



I'm sure you know, but tomato flowers need the beating wings of a bumblebee or similar to fertilize them. Allegedly you can replicate this with a beard trimmer other vibrating domestic item  

I have never tried this, but it would be interesting to find out if it works.


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## Nigel Burden (12 May 2020)

Trainee neophyte":53bl1ifn said:


> Nigel Burden":53bl1ifn said:
> 
> 
> > My tomatoes are around eighteen inches high and some are in flower.
> ...



In forty years I've never had a problem with tomatoes, there seem to be plenty of bees buzzing around at home.

As I am not in the position of vibrating domestic items I'll give that one a miss. :lol: 

Nigel.


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## Chris152 (29 May 2020)

Potatoes showing the first flower buds, tomatoes ready for transplanting into grow bags in what used to be the dining room. Obviously you're all dying for pics but you'll have to wait a couple of days til I've built some sort of frame to support the tomato plants. 

Am I right to water the potatoes a bit every few days now? The ground here is incredibly dry, we were trying to remember and think it's only rained one daytime in the last 3 months, and a few nights. It's been a bit of a godsend tbh, when cabin fever sets in there's always the garden to fiddle about in. 

Still not allowed to travel here in Wales, I'm quite happy with that generally tho I was hoping today we'd be allowed to go to the sea to exercise. That said, it looks like RNLI in England have been busy saving lives the last week according to the news.

For some reason the waist on my jeans has shrunk a bit the past three months tho? Strange.


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## Trainee neophyte (29 May 2020)

Chris152":1ogeyu7b said:


> Am I right to water the potatoes a bit every few days now? The ground here is incredibly dry, we were trying to remember and think it's only rained one daytime in the last 3 months, and a few nights



I want to say yes, absolutely, but I have never grown potatoes in the UK, other than in Cornwall, and they never needed watering at all, obviously. Here, we water constantly, but it was 35°C last week - completely different conditions. I would think use your judgment - if the soil seems too dry, give it a good soaking.


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## Chris152 (1 Jul 2020)

The potatoes look to be doing fine




but it's now 3 months since I planted them and no flowers have actually come out - they seem to have gone backward!




So I dug one up (it was looking a real mess anyway):




small crop, 400g and small tubers that would have grown larger (they vary from tiny to about 2.5"). 

Has something eaten the flowers? And should I wait til I dig any more? We'll eat the ones I just dug, but not sure about digging more for a while.

The tomatoes are looking good - 12 plants indoors, about 3' tall and two sets of flowers on most. And several outdoors as I had too many in the end.

Thanks
C


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## Trainee neophyte (1 Jul 2020)

I was thinking just the other day that your spuds must be close to ready. 

Potatoes need 100 days from planting, at least in my neck of the woods. However, you can just wait for the tops to start dying off - every day they have greenery means more starch being stored in the tubers, so it won't hurt to leave them. It probably won't be more than a couple of weeks now anyway - they will start to look a bit manky and decrepit from here on in, which is normal. 

About the flowers - some varieties flower a lot, some not at all. Some varieties can actually be grown from seed, which is fun. Modern seed potatoes are from varieties which are cloned, so tend not to flower so much if at all ,and almost never set seed.

Your only worry now is blight...


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## Phil Pascoe (1 Jul 2020)

Chris152":3iymu4ha said:


> The tomatoes are looking good - 12 plants indoors, about 3' tall and two sets of flowers on most. And several outdoors as I had too many in the end.
> Thanks
> C



Get a small paint brush and go flower to flower on your indoor ones - you won't have many insects indoors to do it. If you can't be bothered, shake the flowers.


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## Trainee neophyte (1 Jul 2020)

Phil Pascoe":1ebmkt20 said:


> Chris152":1ebmkt20 said:
> 
> 
> > The tomatoes are looking good - 12 plants indoors, about 3' tall and two sets of flowers on most. And several outdoors as I had too many in the end.
> ...


Even easier is hold a beard trimmer or other vibrating household device close to the flower. It is the beating of bumblebees wings that does the job, allegedly. Paintbrush or shaking may also work. I freely admit to never trying any of these methods, as my toms live outside.


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## Chris152 (1 Jul 2020)

Thanks both. I'll try the spuds again in a couple of weeks. The Tomatoes are by a patio door that spends most of the day open and they get hit by the breeze and some insect life, but I'll have a fiddle with a brush just in case!
Much appreciated.


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## Nigel Burden (2 Jul 2020)

Just started picking the first tomatoes, an unknown yellow bush variety from a packet of seed marked Tombola, so basically pot luck. One red bush variety hasn't set very well, but the others are ok.

Being completely useless with things technical, I've never managed to post photos on forums.
So sorry, no photos.

Nigel.


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## Trainee neophyte (2 Jul 2020)

After years of planting interesting coloured veg, I have come to the conclusion that they usually don't taste as good as the traditional stuff. Yellow raspberries, orange tomatoes, purple carrots - all tried, and always a bit of a disappointment. Except once with some yellow cherry tomatoes - wonderfully flavour, huge crop, and none of the seeds we kept ever germinated. 

My toms are a bit weird this year - very bushy but not getting much height. Lots of fruit, so I should be making tomato sauce in a week or so. Beans are outrageous this - year, giving 15kg every three days, but cucumbers are a complete failure. Lettuce was entirely for the benefit of tortoises, but at least they didn't eat much of everything else. 400kg of spuds lifted a couple of weeks ago. Good in parts, as it is most years. We plant far too much of everything, on the understanding that most of it will fail. Occasionally things go well, and panic ensues. This year will be a year for beans, it would appear. Good job we have 3 chest freezers. Photos currently inaccessible in the cloud. Will try again later.


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## Phil Pascoe (2 Jul 2020)

Nigel Burden":2c1v1zbz said:


> Just started picking the first tomatoes, an unknown yellow bush variety from a packet of seed marked Tombola, so basically pot luck. One red bush variety hasn't set very well, but the others are ok.
> Being completely useless with things technical, I've never managed to post photos on forums.
> So sorry, no photos.
> Nigel.


Curiously the earliest I picked ripe tomatoes was July 2nd, my sister's birthday.


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## Nigel Burden (2 Jul 2020)

This is the earliest that I remember picking tomatoes in forty one years. It's usually the end of July up here in Dorset.

Nigel.


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## Chris152 (6 Jul 2020)

Thought I was doing rather well til I read your last posts fellas. Wait til next year...


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## Trainee neophyte (6 Jul 2020)

Chris152":114i7p79 said:


> Thought I was doing rather well til I read your last posts fellas. Wait til next year...



The day you sit down to a meal and the whole thing is from your own produce is quite an achievement. Today I am going to make green bean chutney, mostly out of desperation. Anyone know where the volume switch is on a bean plant?

I'll get the hang of gardening one day.


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## Chris152 (16 Jul 2020)

Dug one up just now. A couple on the top were green so I chucked those, but a few from deeper have little green patches - can I just cut those out and proceed toward lunch, or is it best to avoid those altogether?





(Look carefully, they don't show up too well in the pic! But they're definitely quite small...)
Thanks


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## Phil Pascoe (16 Jul 2020)

The green doesn't matter once cooked.


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## novocaine (16 Jul 2020)

I've found that the best way to deal with greenish spuds is to cut them in to careful lengths of approximately 10mm square across the length of the spud, soak them in salt water for 20-30 minutes then carefully lower them in to ~160c temp hot oil or fat of some description for 6-8 minutes. remove from the oil and allow to cool for 10 minutes then repeat for 3-4 minutes. allow to drain on a rack then add vinegar. 
I've decided, due to the shape of the lengths to call it chipping, I'm not sure it will catch on. I'm going to try it with the flesh of sea based creatures, perhaps also treated in a similar manner, although i'm concerned the flesh maybe to weak to take the process so may enrobe it in some form of flour and egg based substance. As said, haven't tried this yet so I'll let you know how it goes, don't think it will be great but you never know.


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## Chris152 (16 Jul 2020)

Thanks both. I chopped the green bits out in the end - I know it's a basic thing most grown-ups know the answer to and little to do with growing your own, but it had passed me by. They were delish, sort of salad nicoise, even the kids ate it.

Novocaine, sounds like complete madness to me.


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## Trainee neophyte (16 Jul 2020)

Well done that man! The start of an extensive market garden business!

The green on potatoes contains oxalic acid, and is poisonous. Everyone panics over this, but if you eat an entire plateful of green chips, you _may_ get a slightly upset stomach. I just clean mine up with a peeler and get the worst of it off, because it's a bit bitter. 

For next year, they go green because of daylight, which is why you earth up your spuds - to make sure they stay hidden even if they grow a foot long. Too many green ones just means more earth next time.


[youtube]_M1372Z1Ldg[/youtube]


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## Chris152 (16 Jul 2020)

Trainee neophyte":6phc6zw9 said:


> The start of an extensive market garden business!


Ha, I'll draw the line somewhere this side of making my own sausages tho...


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## novocaine (16 Jul 2020)

What's wrong with making your own sausages? 
I do it every few months, or i did anyway, cant get the skins at the moment. 

Our greens arent doing so well? We got some pees going ok but the toms are a bit stunted. Reckon im going to turn some of the old windows in to cold frames for next year.


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## Trainee neophyte (16 Jul 2020)

Chris152":2gby0qtk said:


> Trainee neophyte":2gby0qtk said:
> 
> 
> > The start of an extensive market garden business!
> ...



I admit sausages are a bit of a faff, but try making bacon: it's easy, fun, cheaper, and tastes way better than the weird slimy stuff you get at Tesco.

As I understand it, boatbuilding requires many bacon butties, with extra egg. It's a law.


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## Bm101 (16 Jul 2020)

My brother bought a whole pig to butcher himself. I have never laughed so hard at the tales of him running outside to honk then going back in to butcher a bit more, then running outside to gag again because of the smell.


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## Chris152 (16 Jul 2020)

novocaine":3179qamc said:


> What's wrong with making your own sausages?


It was a somewhat gory post a while back from Tn that i had the misfortune to read first thing in the morning, up to his elbows making sausages. Not that i don't like a nice sausage as much as the next fella, just not so taken with the idea of making them from scratch. 

I've taken a paintbrush to the indoor tomato flowers a few times now, but none seem to be converting to tomatoes, but the ones i left outside are. I'm starting to wonder if I missed the boat on the pollination. Nice looking plants, nice little flowers, no tomatoes yet.


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## Trainee neophyte (16 Jul 2020)

Bm101":1uxucq7z said:


> My brother bought a whole pig to butcher himself. I have never laughed so hard at the tales of him running outside to honk then going back in to butcher a bit more, then running outside to gag again because of the smell.



Do your butchering outside - it's easier on the sensitivities. And think about bacon at all times...

Mmmm...bacon....


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## Chris152 (21 Jul 2020)

My tomatoes are now 4-5' tall and a few tomatoes are developing. At last. Some have 4-5 bunches of flowers, others less. Given that we're heading toward August, should I lop the tops off the plants now to encourage growth of the tomatoes rather than the plants? I'm concerned if they don't get a move on they won't ripen at all. I know you can do that but not sure about the timing.


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Jul 2020)

They're usually pinched out at five trusses. Any flowers from now on won't come to anything.


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## Chris152 (21 Jul 2020)

Thanks Phil, I'll get on with it today.


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## John15 (21 Jul 2020)

As Phil says although I only allow 4 trusses. Probably depends on how early you plant them.

John


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## Droogs (21 Jul 2020)

lol mine are about a foot tall but then everything happens much later up here


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## Chris152 (21 Jul 2020)

Thanks John.

Just been sizing them up. Where new flowers are appearing right at the top (this is on about 5 out of 12), should I just lop those off too given how late in the season it is? Seems a shame but I do want those lower down to develop fully.


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Jul 2020)

Droogs":35neqxz7 said:


> lol mine are about a foot tall but then everything happens much later up here



Some of my neighbours have already finished.


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Jul 2020)

John15":17r37nyc said:


> As Phil says although I only allow 4 trusses. Probably depends on how early you plant them.
> John


 My record was a "Shirley" planted in February - I stopped that one at four trusses as it was getting heavy. I had a four and a half pound truss. :shock: :lol:


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## SammyQ (21 Jul 2020)

> I had a four and a half pound truss.



Must have been fun at A and E... :| 

Sam


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## Phil Pascoe (22 Jul 2020)

Droogs":1naqine2 said:


> lol mine are about a foot tall but then everything happens much later up here



I picked blackberries this afternoon.


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## Trainee neophyte (23 Jul 2020)

Yesterday was an all day cooking event - boiled up huge saucepans of tomatoes to put in jars, blanched and froze 100 corn-on-the-cob, and made ketchup, badly.

Also peppers and beans for the freezer. 

This is what happens when you plant too much of everything.

Ongoing disasters (same procedure as every year): have planted cauliflower and broccoli seedlings, which have disappeared thanks to the tortoise invasion. They are also bulldozing all the onions, and when you knock an onion top over, the onion stops growing. The problem is - how can you be angry with free-range, wild tortoises? I have one who parks in my toolshed at night, after a hard day of eating all my veg. Turns out I'm just a big old softie. Still- someone should probably do something...


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## novocaine (23 Jul 2020)

landmines?


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## Phil Pascoe (23 Jul 2020)

Soup?


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## novocaine (23 Jul 2020)

I believe one leads to the other. Comes in a prefabricated bowl as well (assuming it falls the right way up)


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