I've been playing with my brassica seed collection today. The aim was to put the packets in sowing date order so that I'd have a packet ready to sow every Leaves Week. 
Sounds easy, doesn't it. However, it was noticeable that some seed companies have different dates for sowing the same seeds. Who do I trust?

Secondly, I found several varieties of cabbage that have 2, widely different sowing dates - some in spring and again later in the year when they would overwinter ready for spring harvest. 
This, struck me as a bonus - buy one packet but sow it twice during the year.
 
Cauliflower "All Year Round" is well known. I've copied this from Kings Seeds :-

Sow October in a cold frame, plant out in March, cut in June. Sow February to April, cut late June to September.

Cauliflower, not being one of the easiest of vegetables to grow is certainly regarded by many old hands as the test of a real gardener. But with good planning, regular care and a small dose of common sense, you can pretty much have cauliflower on the table all year round.

I'll be back later with the dual season cabbages.

On a cold and wintery day, let's think about better times in 2026. 

What are your plans and hopes for 2026. 

Any changes you want to make- structural, organisational. 
Seeds and plants that you haven't grown before? You know the score. 

Last year's thread https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2210  may give you some ideas. about what went well, what could have done better, and what you won't do again!!

Having, with your help, worked my way through an Alphabet of Clutter. I thought that the next Alphabet should suggest household items to clean, The sort of places/items that are overlooked in the normal household round of drudgery.
I'm hoping that you can suggest items - that I may, or may not, have and I'll choose one each day and give it a once over!

Over to you, please.

Hello Folks

I thought I'd reintroduce myself as I've not really been about much this year!

It's been a difficult year, my mum who had to move in with us sadly passed away in June, she was bad in the end so it was a blessing.

I had surgery 3 weeks ago so am therefore recovering, slowly!

I'm looking forward to next year, although I say that every year!

I hope you are all well, I'm looking forward to being amongst G&G again.

Happy gardening.

I hope you're all saving seeds for this year's Seed Swap.

Please add your name below if you want to be part of it.- and a list of the seeds you'll be sharing if you know now.
We'll aim to have the seeds sent to me by 30th November and sent back to you in December - to take our minds off anything else that may be happening that month. 

Any questions - just ask.

Hi all, has anyone grown asparagus from seed? I have some small seedlings (6 to 8 inches tall) and wondering if they should go out into a bed now or be potted on and kept somewhere sheltered until spring. 

Thanks!

Share with us your childhood memories of meals - maybe, like Vinny its coming home from Sunday School to Jelly & custard ...........you get the idea.

I've just watched a Jay flying from tree to tree and thought, I wish I could fly like a bird?
Swim like a fish? Climb trees like a monkey? Run like cheetah? 
What would be your superpower?

I regularly make my own garlic butter. Today I’ve just made honey butter for the first time. It works nicely on a crumpet. 

What flavoured butter do you make? And what do you use it for?

"Which" have published an article about hidden microplastics in teabags. 

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/is-...__20251019

Naively, perhaps, I'd assumed that where the packet says the teabags are compostable, that was the end to the problem. I was wrong! The microplastics are leeching into our cuppas from the sealant used to form the teabag. .....and that's before they reach the compost bin.  Its a bit scary really. 

I'd heard that teabags were best avoided and have been using more looseleaf tea, but I thought it might be because of the additional manufacturing processes/resources  required to bag up the tealeaves.

From today, I'm going to stop using teabags. Since I have so many "free" ones, I'll empty the teabags into the pot so that the "teabag" doesn't come into contact with heat. Hope this will help me avoid the microplastics but still enable me to use the (bagless) tea. 

Ideally, I would be making herb tea using plants from the garden, but, being surrounded by FREE teabags, I've been tempted away from growing my Own Tea Garden. Maybe, next year's project?