Ah, moss! Your idea of using moss might have inadvertently helped me a lot with the problem of my apartment being very dry for my plants. Thanks. (I tried to give you a thumbs-up thanks but the system timed out.) Great to catch up with you, Elmigo. I'm also living in an apartment with no garden. I'm...

I have started baking bread again (I did when I was young) and the picture shows why I distrust non-stick coatings. I'm obviously using the baking tin at the top! Stephen, you could use the old one (the lower picture) to make loaf-shaped cakes, eg lemon drizzle cake, carrot cake, gingerbread, etc, ...

As an aside, I did complain to Le Creuset recently that the inside lining of my 50 year old cast iron casserole was starting to develop a few erosion potmarks! They regarded that as fair wear and tear. I was under the impression they offered a lifetime guarantee. You obviously just can't get the qu...

Thanks again, folks.

Sadly, I think I'm too late to save most of them. But I've learned something and now know better for the next batch.

Geoff, I think you might have hit the nail on the thread. Many thanks. The compost is indeed shrinking away from the sides of the pots so I am most likely just pouring the water straight through and not actually wetting the compost. I won't fix what ain't broke with the lemon grass - that seems happ...

We had a huge swarm of flying ants invade the garden this afternoon - thousands of them. Interestingly they didn,t seem to be hanging around for long though. The air was thick with them for about 15 minutes and then they all disappeared. I don't know how high they normally fly but hopefully our vil...

Hi Monika, Thanks for the idea. That's how I started off, ie putting water into the saucers below the pots in the expectation that the plants would suck up what they needed. But it didn't work so I did some research and found that apparently it's better to water at the base of the plants - and that'...

If plants are dying or dead from drying out then I suppose the obvious solution is to water them more. But I don't think it's that simple. Please let me give you more details in the hope you can help. All of the plants are culinary herbs or edible flowers. Some of the plants were those I'd grown mys...

You're welcome, Westi. If you use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, unlike the bog standard slow cooker, you can sear the meat in it first before putting in onto the slow cook setting. That might appeal to you. But I personally prefer searing the meat in a big heavy frying pan first anyway. Again, i...

I have one of these Instant Pot things. When we first moved here we took out a couple of boxes of excess bggage to help get us set up while we were waiting for our shipment of belongings to arrive a couple of months later. I do a lot of cooking and own most kitchen gadgets in the known universe, but...

Wow! Many thanks for all the lovely welcomes. Thanks also for the heads up on looking out for Elmigo. With luck our paths will cross on here soon, otherwise I'll get settled in first rather than moving straight to contacting him privately. Monika, thanks for your suggestion of conserving in jars (wh...

I do the same as Stephen (above). And that's how the professionals do it too. Improvise for savoury and always measure for cakes, bread, pastry, etc.

Do you have a freezer? If so, you could just make a meal for four and freeze the other three. It's a lot quicker to make a meal for four than to make four single meals. The bonus is that you'll have delicious home-made ready meals for when you don't have the time or inclination to cook.

Hi, I was looking for some information on blanching and freezing and found this forum. I had a look around and liked what I saw so I decided to join up. To be honest, I'm more keen on the cooking side of things than the growing. But needs must! I'm currently living overseas (because of my husband's ...