Hello

[lessismore]

Hi

Just registered for the first time. I used to regularly pay visits to selfsufficientish in work when the boss was out, but now I have internet at home I decided it's time to join up :)

I'm not a practical downshifter at the moment. I'm currently spending most of my spare time studying high end web design as I am a graphic artist specialising in print and want to move to the web, as it's way more fun than print.

If it wasn't for that I'd be trying to live the dream. I've had a few attempts at baking bread. I've picked up a few macrame skills which I have yet to fully explore and I'm starting out in growing herbs, albeit rather slowly and clumsily. I can't be bothered following the instructions so I tend to just stick things in pots on the windowsill to see what happens.

Anyways, hi y'all

[ina]

Hello and welcome

Don't worry, we all started out small... Baking bread is a good point to start, I think, at least I get a very high degree of satisfaction out of it. (The smell as much as the taste! ) And there were times when I didn't have a garden, either, and my window sills were getting more and more crowded with pots. (They still are, particularly at the moment, because with all those ground frosts we've still bee having here up north everything seems to take ages to germinate outside, so I've now decided to start a few more things off indoors... A bit late, I know.)

Sometimes instructions on seed packages don't make sense, anyway. They seem to want everything planted at 30cm, no matter what size the plant! You'll find out yourself where it is better to follow instructions and where common sense keeps you on the straight and narrow. And in case of doubt, you can always ask somebody here. No question too simple, none too difficult.

Cheers
Ina

[Andy Hamilton]

welcome, I think that we end up getting many people in trouble with their bosses for coming here when they should be working

I think herb are a good way to start growing, might I suggested getting some perenial herbs? Rosemary is a good one that is very easy to grow. You can pretty much stick it in the ground and leave it. Best thing to do is to nip down the local garden centre and buy one that is already grown a bit.

Fair enough with the just doing a bit we are after selfsufficientish

[Wombat]

G'Day Lessismore!

I do all my stuff out of a (small) suburban backyard, as Andy says, we are all self sufficientish!

Welcome to the site and forum.

Nev

[couscous]

Hi Lessismore - welcome
Whereabouts are you?
I started off making bread got really good at it too. So good that the local health food store had a few loaves every day. Then it all got out of hand so I taught my husband how to make bread so he's the muggins who now gets up at 5 a.m. to make it. So if you need any advice; I'm the gal to ask.
I like macrame too - my friends always used to tell me to get knotted!

[TheGuerillaGardener]

Hi

Thanks for the great welcome. I originally posted under the name lessismore as I was getting confused how to work this board.

But now that I think about it I might change my name by deed poll to Les Sismore :) My actual name is Ian and I forgot to say I'm from Glasgow and coincidentally my current experiment actually is growing rosemary so I'm very glad that I picked a good place to start.

I'm looking forward to trading chat with you all. Thanks

Ian

[greenchi]

Hi and welcome.... I'm a new here too but the natives seem friendly so do stay a while

Isn't Rosemary lovely........ it's the herb of remembrance.
It's winter here and at night I toss a few sprigs onto the fire surround ( a box wood burner) the smell fills the house........ and such a nice fragrance it has too.... only to be out done done by the smell of freshly baked bread.... do you ever add Rosemary to you r bread...yummmm

look forward to hearing more from you.

[TheGuerillaGardener]

That sounds good Greenchi. I had never thought of doing that but I'll definitely give it a try.

[ina]

Glad to see there's another "Northerner" around - even if constant late frosts and far too much rain won't bother your plants in pots! I lived near Glasgow for a while, actually, I worked on an organic veggie farm, and went to Glasgow on my days off - plus I sometimes had to deliver veg in the centre of town on Friday afternoons - absolute hell!

Does that statue - forget who he is - still have the traffic cone on his head? I read in some paper that measures were to be taken to stop that "dangerous nonsense" !

Ina

[shiney]

Hi Ian or Guerilla.

Welcome!

Rosemary is probably my best home grown thing I have ever done. I took some cuttings five years ago and I have two large bushes now.

I chop a bit off to put in with my lamb. Chop it up finely with a load of garlic, mix it with a bit of butter and spread it over lamb before putting in the oven. Delicious. No friends on the breath front, but I don't care!

I love bread making, either in the old bread machine, or just making the dough in there and making rolls and small light and fluffy loaves finished in the oven.

[couscous]

Rosemary is a noble herb indeed. I pinched a couple of cuttings from a friend of mine of a 'lax' variety which look stunning in a pot.
I'm always torn between rosemary and mint for me lamb chops. I love mint sauce. I've never tried rosemary in bread. My best loaf is a half and half mixture of wholemeal & white with walnut and pumpkin seeds.

[TheGuerillaGardener]

Hi

Thanks for all the great rosemary tips. I just checked out the rosemary page on the main website and I'm getting a kick out of considering all the possibilities, so i'll have to try them all.

And yes they still have the traffic cone on the statue. I think it's actually put there by Glasgow city council as some of their official events guides use images of the statue with the cone on it's head as though it expresses the spirit of Glasgow LOL

Reading all your posts has got me in the mood to plant more stuff. I've got a bunch of packets of seeds which I am sure I've missed the recommended planting date on but what the hey, I am going to plant them anyway to see what happens. :)

P.S. feel free to call me Ian

[ina]

Hi Ian

I find that here in Scotland recommended sowing/planting dates are just a rough guide, anyway. It's been so cold at nights (and some days) that anything I sowed at the "correct" time didn't get going at all, so I am now having a second try, far too late, supposedly... And I have resolved to start everything (well, almost) off in pots first. Direct sowing isn't worth it. Last year a few things were out so late that they then overwintered, and funny enough, that seemed to work for some. I'd never have expected lettuce to survive snow for example, but it did, and it is only now making proper heads.

Do you have any kind of outdoor area or are you restricted to windowsill gardening at the moment? Good for that is basil, too - it doesn't grow outside in our climate anyway, indoors you can have it all year round. And just for once stick to the instructions and don't cover the seeds, basil needs light to germinate.

Ina

[Millymollymandy]

I covered my basil because the instructions didn't tell me not to and they all germinated! I often sow it direct in the ground and no probs that way either!

Back to the rosemary bread - yesterday we ate my delightful rosemary plaited loaf sprinkled with poppy seeds - yum! The one I'm looking forward to trying is rosemary and lavender bread but that one is in the freezer. It smelled wonderful coming out of the oven.

[greenbean]

Hi Ian,
Glad to see another person in Scotland. I work in Glasgow, live in Stirling. New to veggie gardening, having great fun.
Pam