Monthly Archives: January 2015

Shrouding the broad beans

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Helen

I don’t know about you but to me 6 degrees feels little different from 1 or even -1. It certainly feels bitter out there and I don’t think the broad beans will be happy, especially if the weather forecast for … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Good for the environment | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Garden debris

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Helen

I’ve done a volte-face on the rosehip tea idea. Having inspected the roses, I could see more flowers about to blossom and the rosehips that there were seemed too small to bother with. So, I think the better thing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Good for the environment, Permaculture | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

New eyes

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Helen

This afternoon was a bit different from the usual trip into Leeds city centre. For a start, I was with my sewing bee. And whereas I would normally rush round the two or three places I needed to buy something … Continue reading →

Posted in Make do and mend, Social | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday (one degree Celsius)

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Helen
Posted in Gardening | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The front garden and soil erosion

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Helen

When I was a child I learned of soil erosion on the prairies of America, so I was already vaguely aware of what wind could do when I read that 2015 had been dedicated year of the soils and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Moving the rhubarb

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Helen

In November 2011, I moved my rhubarb plant from a pot to ground near the apple tree at the back of the garden. The rationale had been that as the tree grew, there would be more shade for the rhubarb, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , | 15 Comments

First shoots of 2015

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Helen

Over the Christmas holidays I got quite excited when I saw some shoots coming through. My excitement diminished somewhat however when I remembered I had planted garlic in this spot and not spring bulbs. Oh well! Then today there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Good for the environment, Health, In the kitchen, Make do and mend, Social | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Soil Association ‘bemused’ by organic farming criticism

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Helen

Originally posted on World Organic News:
The Soil Association has hit back at suggestions that organic farming could be worse for the environment than conventional farming methods. Climate expert Lord John Krebs told the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday (7…

Posted in Gardening | 6 Comments

The red cayenne pepper

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Helen

I’ve been growing cayenne pepper for months and have eaten a few fruit green. None of them seems to want to turn red, however, so I was overjoyed just now when I went to water the plants and discovered that … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, In the kitchen | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Designing a life

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Helen

For a long time now I’ve been chuntering to both myself and the world at large about the chaos in my life. At work, I am organised and with it but outside the workplace I feel I am constantly battling … Continue reading →

Posted in Good for the environment, Make do and mend, Permaculture, Social | Tagged , , | 18 Comments