hi, another newbie here :o)

[flowers-v-spuds]

Hi folks, found this site as the bit 'ish' in the name caught my eye.
Got a large garden (80 odd foot by 30 odd foot) which is (hopefully) going to turn into a bit of an allotment in parts (still want to keep some 'garden') .

Havn't grown a thing before (infact known to kill houseplants ) so going to be studying books, the net, looking for hints and tips etc and 'see how it goes'.

It's been something that I've thought about a lot - I do a lot of make do and mending and on a very limited budget- so it makes sense to go that extra yard.

Looking forward to trying some recipes and making soap and stuff from the threads in this forum - I shall sit with pen and paper engrosed for the rest of the night!

Anyway, just thought i'd post this to say hi - " HI "

ps. I got the good life box set for xmas - yippee!!!

[Millymollymandy]

Hi F v. Spuds and welcome. You've come to the right place - plenty of advice floating around here!

Know the feeling, flowers are pretty, veges generally aren't so much. You can make a pretty potager with flowers planted amongst the vegetables. I've done that in the past but I bet in no time at all you'll want all the space for more veg, as you get bitten by the bug!

Happy planting

[nick]

Hi, jsut wait for a couple of jars of preserves or pickles hit the table. It becomes very hard to keep any flower garden.

[ina]

Hi and welcome to the site!

Just grow edible flowers - that way you have the best of both worlds! Or grow attractive veg like rainbow chard... I had a wonderful bean this year (Painted Lady, I think) with very pretty red and pink flowers - who needs "proper" flowers with that kind of plant!

I'm sure you'll find your own way along those lines. And I think we've all managed to kill plants with too little or too much tlc . That's what we are here for, to swap our experiences and, hopefully, avoid repeating the mistakes other folks have made before!

Ina

[Andy Hamilton]

Hi there fvs and welcome

I personally think that houseplants are a lot more difficult to grow than any veg. I am trying to keep my 2nd allo vera plant alive and its not looking too healthy. But year on year the veg keeps growing.

[flowers-v-spuds]

wow thanks for the welcome you guys! Shame I can't see your replies as I type this though, forgotten all your names already(sorry)

Glad I'm not the only one who has trouble with houseplants though - I think it's genetic as my mam can't keep a plant long either.

Mmm edible flowers? I have been known to eat clover leaves in my time (very bitter and probably not recommended, but hey easy to grow ) I think my 'flowers' will be herbs - I've got a nice pot of lavender still going, and did okay with parsley through the summer (bought the pots reduced from supermarket so no gardening techniques involved, 7p if i remember rightly) and have a nice cat mint place for the moggies (search the net for cat mint recipes, some good ones for colds mostly) - had a greenhouse, one of those material green coverd ones but it got all but destroyed with the wind so my dad took it back

Anyhoo.... last night, started my vegetable plot notebook (just need graph paper to plan it all properly) and noted when things get sown, how long they take, how deep to sow, how far apart etc... so a start

Only thing is, what soil I have is clay and a big part of the garden is hard ground as in cement so going to look into container type growing. I do know that these gardens were mini allotments during the war though so I have hope

Btw i'm female and in my 30's and have a lot of cats

[Shirley]

Hiya Flowers!

Scotland somewhere - whereabouts would that be then?? We are in Aberdeenshire - have several chickens, a puppy and a kitten - oh and a partner and three kids too.

Shirley xx

[ina]

wow thanks for the welcome you guys! Shame I can't see your replies as I type this though, forgotten all your names already(sorry)

If you scroll down a bit, you can see the earlier posts on this thread. (Took me a while to figure out how all this stuff works!)

Have you tried spider plants in your house? I managed to kill one, back during my days as a student with insufficient heating - but then it really was frozen to death (at my bedroom window). Otherwise, you can forget to water them for a few months and they still survive. They even take temperatures down to nearly freezing, or quite hot, don't need too much sun, but can take it if necessary - my house is full of the things!

And where did you get cat mint from? I've been looking for that since I've had a cat, but no luck so far. She loves rosemary, though...

Edible flowers: Nasturtium are good for that, as you can eat young leaves, buds and flowers. They should cope well with your soil, too - they grow pratctically everywhere, if you let them. The best I had this year were the ones that sowed themselves last year. Mallow is also edible, and I had a brilliant sage with phantastic flowers. You can eat the flowers of chives, too. Oh, and even easier than clover (and more palatable) is chickweed, and the young leaves of dandelion.

Clay will need a lot of compost/muck, and maybe even sand to improve the drainage. Nev will be able to give you more chemical advice (can't remember - was it some kind of lime you have to add?). But cabbage does well in clay soil - I know that because we always had the opposite, very sandy soil, and never had decent cabbage!

Ina

[flowers-v-spuds]

i'm west (somewhere) shirley, (have worked out how to see replies, ta ina ) cat nip/mint was a present a few years back, my dad started it off on his alotment and made up aload of plants for me to plant and it takes no looking after, seeds itself cos i've got some about 5ft from the rest - the cats absolutely adore it (and when you bring a load in the house it hits you!) when it starts to seed I'll collect some and give a shout for anyone who wants some. It's looking a bit bear right now but it's fast growing.

lol at all the edible flowers, i'm not sure how that topic came about but certainly learning stuff!

never kept spider plants ina, but I gave up with houseplants for their sake.

Don't know if anyone will know the answer to this, and it's a bit O/T but I can't get any hot water. My radiators are going, but no hot water...so thought i'll try the emersion heater (cos i've never used that, always gas) and the water is still freezing cold. I'm baffled as i thought if the radiators were okay then surely the bath water was from the same source?
It's snowed today so wondering if that has anything to do with it, but that leads me back to why are the radiators working?

[flowers-v-spuds]

Nearly missed about the clay soil there! Yes, been thinking about a compost heap, also asking neighbours for their tatty peelings, teabags etc for it.

[Muddypause]

Don't know if anyone will know the answer to this, and it's a bit O/T but I can't get any hot water.

Hello F-v-S,

Presumably you have a conventional boiler that heats water stored in a cylindrical tank (usually covered with green foam insulation). I'm assuming this because you mention an immersion heater, which is often in the same cylinder. I'm also assuming that water is actually coming out of the taps.

Somewhere near this hot water cylinder should be a 'zone valve' - it's a little box that sits on a junction of three pipes, and has a wire going to it. It's a three way valve that controls whether the hot water from the boiler goes to the radiators, or to the tank. It will divert water one way or the other, depending on demand, and how you have set up any timers, or other controls.

My bet would be that this (or something that controls it) is not working properly.

You may be able to see a little pointer on the side of the box, that shows which way the water is going. Sometimes you need to take the cover off the box to see this. It may be possible to move the pointer manually, as a temporary measure.

But make sure that you have not reset or miss-set the boiler controls (the little magic box of buttons on the wall that sets when the central heating and hot water turn on and off) - some of them can be pretty confusing.

It's a puzzle that the electric immersion heater should not work as well - is there a hidden switch to it somewhere, or a timer, or a fuse to check? If you have an electrical tester (a neon screwdriver, for example) you could take the cover off the top of the heater, where it goes into the cylinder, and carefully check that the electrical supply is getting to it (don't touch the terminals with anything other that the tip of the tester, they may be live). Sometimes the heater elements fail, but this is quite rare.

[Chickenlady]

Hi and welcome!

Sorry I am late. Spuds win for me over flowers any day, edible or otherwise.

Stew - are you a plumber?

[Muddypause]

Stew - are you a plumber?

I can join two bits of pipe together, and I've put in a few central heating systems in my time, but not 'officially' a plumber, just an odd job man, working mostly in building maintenance.

Much houshold plumbing is really common sense stuff, but unfortunately regulations are making it increasingly harder for non-Corgi members to do any serious plumbing in return for money. I suppose if I'd got my act together 20 years ago, I could have done the training and exams, and by now have been a wealthy plumber (I reckon plumbers and solicitors must be on about the same hourly rate these days - no wonder Corgi enjoy the cartel). Not sure it would have been the key to happiness, though.

[Chickenlady]

It is never too late!! A friend of mine is in his forties and is currently retraining as a plumber and electrician. I cannot wait until he is qualified as I know from bitter experience that good tradespeople are very hard to find.

[flowers-v-spuds]

Hi, thanks for your replies.

Hi Muddypause, I should have mentioned it's a back boiler.
The tank is in the loft, havn't checked manually but it isn't overflowing as my OH had a listen to the outside pipe (thought it was maybe a possibility).

The switch for the heating lights up, both for gas and immersion, but can't get a whoosh noise from behind the fire when put hot water only on, only when i put hot water and central heating on together.

The pressure was a bit low too when i ran the tap.

Somewhere near this hot water cylinder should be a 'zone valve'
is the hot water cylinder the tank? Or is it something else? The only bit I have access to is the box with the buttons, and above that a switch (on/off) that I presumed was the immersian heater, and just needed pressing to 'on'.

It's a puzzle that the electric immersion heater should not work as well - is there a hidden switch to it somewhere, or a timer, or a fuse to check?
I can't understand it either unless it never worked. The place was bought from a "builder" who did all the work himself. Knocked through rooms and put in a shower that leaks, doors struggle to shut - but it was a bargain

I think i'll have to get someone in - i bet it's something simple, untill then... kettle will do :o) If i start to smell, just say, i wont be offended

Hi chicken lady, nice to 'meet' you, and I love spuds and flowers,especially poppies - they flower and look nice - seed great and then you can dry it for decoration purposes!