Halfway through May.
I'm an idiot.......... you'd think I'd been growing stuff long enough to know not to plant things out before late May so why did I put the 2 courgette plants out in the garden in early May? Without covering them.
Monday morning there were two very frost damaged plants sadly drooping and turning black. It was cloudy Sunday night and I wasn't expecting temps to drop so low..........but they obviously did. Thank goodness there are plenty of courgette plants for sale at car-boots. On Monday night and the rest of the week I made sure to put fleece over the tomato, cucumber and other mini plants and seedlings in the greenhouse, the forecast was for more chilly nights. Two new courgette plants will be coddled in the greenhouse until 'all danger of frost is past'. Daytimes this week have been cold too with a N.E wind, not very nice after the warm weather.
The gumpf with all the information about the new Recycling system starting in June arrived in the post this week. A more detailed look at what can go in which bins and a calendar so we know which week is which bin.
At the moment I have a basket in the under-the-sink cupboard for all the dry recycling which can just be tipped straight into the bin, but now paper and card need separating from cans and plastics so either I stand outside sorting or I find somewhere in the kitchen for the different things.
I know this is a government initiative but I can't help thinking that some people won't be able to manage to sort or remember the correct days and will worry about the dire warnings that bins won't be emptied due to putting 'the wrong thing in the bins' and more stuff will end up in the general rubbish bin and landfill than there is at the moment.
I've had a week of restocking the freezer with batch made meals after realising that there were just 5 boxes of Quorn korma curry and 3 boxes of pizza topping left- don't like getting that low on choice.
I started with 8 boxes of salmon, brocolli,sweetcorn and pasta bakes while the bread machine made two more pizza bases but before finishing off the pasta bakes I had to turn a bag of bits of crusts into dried breadcrumbs for the cheese/crumb topping.
(Note to self - if you keep adding bits of crust to a bag in the freezer you do actually need to dry them and turn them into crumbs before the morning you want to use them)
Next up was two nut loaves using the recipe on the recipe page and I remembered to use the jar of cranberry sauce that was still in the fridge - after being unopened at Christmas.
Finally several servings of Bolognese sauce using Quorn mince, cans of tomatoes, onion and a red pepper will be made today or tomorrow.
There's nothing in my diary for anything happening to visit this weekend except for a small craft/plant fair in the village.
Have a good weekend - I shall be back Monday.
Well we haven’t had such a cold May for years. I’m dragging plants in and out of g.house to harden off but beans and dahlias are having to take their chances. I need a cold frame really but no room. There’s a plant sale in the village this morning so I might find a courgette or two. Every year is different with horticulture. Sarah Browne.
ReplyDeleteI found some replacements for £1 each at the carboot sale. Won't be putting them out yet
DeleteWe have reached the stage where the greenhouses are bursting at the seams and some things have had to go outside and take their chances. Very windy last couple of days but no frosts, might be famous last words! Enjoy your weekend, you might find replacement courgettes at the plant fair.
ReplyDeletePenny
It was a surprise to find just how cold the nights hhad been
DeleteI feel like every time I have to “sort” the rubbish I’m sitting an exam! Husband has a memory loss so it’s a bit hit or miss, hence the sorting. June
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be 'fun' getting used to the sorting!
DeleteWe aren't expecting the changes in our bins till the end of the summer. Meanwhile I am sitting here in the sunshine waiting for people to visit the yard sale...
ReplyDeleteHope you get lots of people. I went to a yard sale a few weeks ago and bought nothing!
DeleteWe've had a bag for cardboard, a bag for plastic and tins, a box for paper, a box for glass, a food waste caddy and a general bin bag for anything else for several years in Wales, and it's fine - BUT, I live in one of those houses where you can get into the garage from the kitchen, and I really don't know how I'd cope if all those containers had to be indoors. We can also wheel our garden waste container around the side of the house. Again, I don't know how people manage with bringing everything through the house.
ReplyDeleteHandy that you have that door into your garage. I'm not sure how I will do the sorting, my kitchen isn't huge.
DeleteWe now have 4 bins in our kitchen, recycling, rubbish, compost and council food bin, plus a dish for coffee grounds, for now all recycling can go into one bin, except glass which they do not collect.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how I'm going to find a space for sorting indoors!
DeleteWelcome to my world of recycling confusion! God forbid you put something in the wrong container, they reject the lot and you have to put it all out next week! At least you have wheelie bins, we have floppy 2 foot square cubes that are dreadfully dangerous trip hazards as the flop about your legs when trying to carry them. Cutting up the cardboard boxes isn't fun either. I ended up putting four colour coded boxes in my laundry room. I think I have seven things to deal with. Red bag, Blue bag, Food Waste, Glass skip, Paper skip, Garden Waste, Residual/black bag. If you have a baby, then you get purple bags for nappies too! Not everyone has outside storage and let's just say dogs enjoy marking their territory.
ReplyDeleteGood grief - I thought it was bad enough here but sounds much worse for you
DeleteI never bothered to sow my courgette seeds until June, then sowed directly into the ground where I wanted them. Harvesting them the same time as my neighbour who brought hers on in pots from April and less work.
ReplyDeleteI found replacements for £1 each so not too bad. I shall coddle them!
DeleteWow! I think it got much colder where you are than here. I was out of town so I don't know for sure but there's no evidence of frost. It does seem darn cold out there for this time of year, though, and some of my flower seedlings are sulking and not growing much.
ReplyDeleteI also suspect that recycling is too complicated for a lot of people to do correctly. We can still dump everything to be recycled in a single bin, thank goodness, and from what I understand a lot of it goes to the incinerator anyway.
London has it's own climate - several degrees warmer than here
DeleteDH is getting a bit muddled with the recycling bins now, and a bit bad tempered when I ask him to move things to the right bin. We miss the dog for cleaning pots and foil for recycling and finishing food scraps.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take a while to get used to it here. Many notes in the diary to remember
DeleteHere in California we've been doing the recycling of food waste since 2020. I balked at it at first but like anything, it makes sense and it really makes you think about food waste. We're used to it and do a combination of putting it in our own composter and the city recycling. Our food recycling cans do get smelly so now we have services that come out to clean and sanitize the cans.
ReplyDeleteOur food bin will be emptied everyweek but I think will still be smelly but it's just a small bin so will be easy to wash out
DeleteWow you have been busy!
ReplyDeleteAll the different recycling bins would take a get of getting used to!
Not sure how things are in Ipswich for your sister - might be the same
DeleteWe have one large bin for garbage and another large bin for recycling so it's easy to do here. We have other special drop off places for electronics or hazardous waste. It's good that so many are trying to keep these things out of the landfills.
ReplyDeleteWe had two bins here too - but will be 4 from June - what fun!
DeleteYou're not an idiot! You're listening to the plants begging to be planted out! Happens to me every spring too. Most years I swear I won't transplant till after the first weekend in June, when there's usually a storm. This year I'm saying not till after the second weekend or the middle of the month. Pfft. If ever I stick to my guns it'll be a miracle. -Kate
ReplyDeleteJune is usually safe but I should have known better for early May
DeleteNext weekend is usually planting weekend here. But today it's snowing.
DeleteYes, we've had those same recycling leaflets delivered this week and yes, I'm wondering whether I need to buy new bins for the kitchen and if so where to put them. I think I'm going to wait until the collections start and should then get a bit more idea of what's needed where.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind standing outside to sort my small basket of bits into the two bins this time of year but it will be no fun in winter
DeleteI was told not to plant anything until May 15 due to possible frost at night. This seems to work for me.
ReplyDeleteThere are recycling guidelines in the US too. Each city and town establishes guidelines. Some are stricter than others.
Some homeowners got so fed up with the rules (and rule updates) that they hired a trash pick-up company to pick up and take away trash. I have no clue as to what the hired company does with the trash.
Different areas have different coloured bins now - so confusing
DeleteMy little city has had several recycling systems over the years and it seems to me that the instructions have gotten clearer over time. The current one involves 3 bins, one for recyclables minus glass (which unsurprisingly tends to break in the sorting process and foul up the machinery - so glass has to be dropped off at a special center to be recycled), one for "general trash" and one for yard and food waste, which is the newest. Electronics and chemicals have to go to a different special center - but everything is pretty close together. I don't hear many complaints around town.
ReplyDeleteCeci
I'm currently trying to harden off my courgettes and cucumbers, but even the daytime temperatures have done them some damage, and the hailstones caused a bit of damage before I managed to get them all back in.
ReplyDelete