...actually got 50 litres out of a 50 litre bag of compost? They always say on the bag '...x litres when filled' so presumably it is super fluffy when it goes in the bag and then compacts during transport and storage. However even after fluffing up the stuff it never comes to 50 litres, and when you put it in a pot it's compressed again by gravity and water. Since I always measure potting mix ingredients out with a 10 L graduated bucket, I reckon I get about 35 to 40 litres from a bag.

What have you made in 2022? 
Please tell us here 


Rhubarb, Onion and Mint chutney/relish/jam???
No real recipe - I made it up.
Two sticks of rhubarb, about 6 bolting onions including green shoots, and 8 large apple mint leaves - all of these were lurking in the kitchen so I thought I'd try cooking them together with some vintage demerara sugar and some red wine vinegar that must be at least 10 years old.
Made one 12oz jar - tastes Ok too.

Morning folks

Well it's nearly 2 years since I lost my darling Stella but we have now taken the plunge again and rescued this poor little soul.

Say hello to Hetty, she's an 11 year old staffie cross.

She needs fattening up and a good bath!

   

What implement would make gardening easier - it doesn't have to be sensible, possible, credible - just use your imagination.

I would like a wheelbarrow with cutting blades, like scythes, on the sides so that I could push the wheelbarrow along the paths and trim the edges at the same time - a bit like Boadicea/Boudicca's chariot.

Whilst searching for an image of the chariot I found this!! 

   

Not quite what I had in mind but maybe I could train Bronwen BrownHen to pull the wheelbarrow.

Hello gardeners! Glad to join this community. I am a new at gardening so I came here to keep in touch with the experienced gardeners. Wish you good crop!

My question to the G&G team is:-
If I set aside a patch of ground and planted it with potatoes, dug up a few each year but left the tiddlers in the ground, would they keep producing or go down with some terrible disease?
Why am I asking? :_
I have some spuds that keep appearing year after year in the same place. From memory, they're blue ones which I didn't like so I've left them to their own devices. 
I also have some couch infested ground that is a pain to clear but I could bung spuds in amongst it and, maybe, "earth" them up with piles of weeds.
Could also throw in all the potato peelings as people seem to complain that they are the cause of spuds popping up in unwanted places.,

Daft idea, O Sensible Ones?? 

I watched a Huw Richards YouTube video recently about changing your attitude to Weeding. Not to look at it as a chore but as a benefit.

This is my take on it -
When you cut the grass  you use the cuttings as a mulch or in the compost to put the goodness from the grass back into the soil. Whatever the grass has taken from the soil in order to grow is returned to the soil. Just as when a tree loses its leaves in autumn, the leaves fall to the ground, decompose and return their nutrients back to the soil to feed the tree in the future.

When we pull up/dig out "weeds" and dispose of them we also dispose of their nutrients which they have taken from the soil in order to grow. Dandelions and docks, with their deep roots can access nutrients that shallower rooted plants cannot. That's why we grow comfrey, for its deep root system.
We should endeavour to return to the soil, that which we remove so as not to deplete it. 

One way to do this is by making weed tea, drowning the "weeds" in a barrel of water and using it to feed and water the garden. I have to say that, having dabbled with comfrey tea and a nettle one, I just cannot stomach the smell of such "teas". My solution will remain "chop and drop", composting and dumping on paths to dry out and then spread around the garden.

The key message, which I shall adopt, is that I will not be spending my days "weeding" but "Harvesting fertility" which sounds so much more positive. 

If you want to watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jm9FjpWO-0&t=18s

My pumpkins and courgettes seed has just rotted, so I was wondering whether it was worth sowing again this late in the season?

Now there's a day worth celebrating.

Guess what's on the menu for me today, home made of course!  (Bit too expensive to buy from the chippy)

On a patio area I have some home grown flowers/bedding plants in trays awaiting planting. Several of these are French marigolds which are starting to flower in their cells. I went to take some  cells from a  tray to plant out and found masses of marigold flowers underneath.  Looking at the marigold plants something is taking off the tops and flowers and hiding them.  I have a feeling its four legged rather than two because of the 'hoarding' aspect. Anyone else seen this sort of thing? I have taken steps