helo from northampton. this is great

[ianchambers]

read the article in the Chronicle today after seeing Dave in the pub.
this site is great, full of useful stuff and cool tips.
my partner and i have a small town garden into which we manage to squeeze a greenhouse, raised beds, compost and 4 chucks. we've also got allotments which in our third year should be much easier to work. I'm also eagerly awaiting my first nucleus of bees sometime in the next few weeks.
I'll keep you informed

[Andy Hamilton]

Hello there mr Chambers welcome to the forum.

Have not seen the chron thing yet is it a good article?

Sounds like you make the most of what you have got, always good to hear. Glad to hear that you find the site useful. Feel free to ask any questions that you might have, I think we have a few bee keepers on here.

[Wombat]

G'DAy Ian, nice to meet you, I want to get bees one of these days myself!

Nev

[shiney]

'Ello Ian Chambers!

Welcome to this great forum. I am new here too and the welcome, help and information given has been fantastic.

A right good bunch they are!

[couscous]

Hi Ian and Welcome

I am new here too and have found everyone very helpful. I love all the recipe ideas and helpful hints, although I havn't yet mastered how to make pots out of newspaper! Was never able to follow diagrams though.

I would like to keep bees but have never fancied all the gear you have to wear to get near them and then there's all the expense of honey extraction machinery - or is there a way round that?

Hey Shiny - how have you managed to do 62 posts in 5 days? Love your new 'slogan'

[shiney]

Hi Couscous,

I managed to send so many posts cos I work from home and spend a bit of time on the ol' machine! So I can jump on and off the forum as I wish.

I was talking to the OM this morning about newspaper pots. We are gonna have a bash at them today.

I also have to say that all the info here is wonderful and I can't stay away for long!

[couscous]

Hi Shiny

DO let me know how you get on with the paper pots. I just couldn't get the one end to slide neatly into the other. Maybe I was folding the paper the wrong way. Maybe I was using too small a jar or maybe I AM just as dumb as I look.

Good luck

[shiney]

No Lanie,

They are tricky little things to make, we've just had a go. The OM was so much better at me and I thought I was the crafty one. Perhaps he was more technical with it. He made a really good job of his very first one.

I'll keep you updated!

[Lyds]

I agree, theyare tricky but jolly handy to pop straight into the ground instead of disturbing the poor plant. Also, very handy to give away with seedlings or cuttings in as you dont loose a pot and you can pass on the skill(?) of paper pot making to someone else

I saw a paper pot making gift set at £10.99 in my local garden shop! Just a wooden cylinder with a handle - how sad...

[shiney]

Crumbs 10.99 ~ you could buy a tonne of seeds for that!

[Lyds]

I think its the kind of gift you give to the 'ladies who lunch', we have plenty of them around here. For example, I need a new bread pan but my local cook shop only had one at £8.39! Like a fool I said I could not afford it and the owner replied that all her bread making ladies were using them. I expect gold plate for that price!

[Andy Hamilton]

Newspaper pots can be a bit fidily, you can leave the bottom off them and put them on a tray if it is easier.

[couscous]

Life is too short to fiddle with these paper pots. Oh I am making them - but using a paper clip to hold them together. The paper clips can, of course, be re-cycled.

I have a very dear friend who 'lunches'. She went out into the garden to prune the lavender dressed in leopard skin (fake) pants, high heels and carrying a very fashionable trug. She couldn't understand why I roared with laughter. Mind you; I love to visit her and enjoy all the luxury. Over the years I have come in for a lot of her 'discards'. I have a lovely juicer, coffee grinder, liquidizer etc. Never could fit into those leopard skin pants though. We have remained, amazingly, very good friends despite the fact we are so miss-matched. She always maintains that she has to have 'jabs' when she visits me!!!

[shiney]

Lanie,

That is so funny. A real Margo of your own!

I am kinda middle of the road as far as self sufficient goes. I do my bit and get a lot of pleasure from things I grow and make myself.

I did toy with the idea of paper clips, but have now sussed the little blighters. I made four pots before bed last night.

[wulf]

I've found newspaper pots are fairly easy to make - especially once I realised that using a straight sided glass as a 'form' made it easier to slide the pots off than a tapered one!

Wulf