2023 season begins..................

[Primrose]

Say what you like abbot the evils of plastic but i still think plastic gardening pots re not that bad for the environment, especially when they,re continually reused and often last for 20 years or more. Balance that out over the years and their footprint is probably less than the cardboard "compost down" ones that disintegrate before the plants are ready for planting out.

I feel very sorry for the Tupperware company whose plastic products have lasted so long they,re risking bankruptcy.because they last for life. I have one of their boxes I must have had for over forty years. How do you choose between giving people a job manufacturing goods which last a lifetime so never need to be repurchased and saving the planet by not using plastic ? I,m not clever enough to have the answer to that one but I certainly wish our small domestic appliances like kettles and toasters lasted that long!

[oldherbaceous]

Sounds like good team work, Burnie….I hope you encouraged your new assistant, and weren’t a real brute……

[oldherbaceous]

I agree, Primrose, there is room for good quality plastic that lasts for many years….

[Colin2016]

Surly it is the plastic used for packaging that is the issue trying buying veg that is loose in the supermarket these days.

Perhaps if we all took the plastic back to the supermarket they would take note?

[Westi]

I have really old plastic containers now re-purposed for growing in; complete with the tomato stain that just won't ever clean off. I use the plastic containers mushrooms & grapes & the like come in as well, mainly for that bit more depth then a tray & also for harvesting crops, particularly berries. Sadly Colin if they do have veg loose, they provide no simple paper bags but expect you to buy those nylon net things which are reusable but cost & a bit too small as well. I have a calico bag to put mine in but they frown & silently tut when I tip it out all mixed on the conveyor belt. When feeling bored I specifically find the dirty potatoes to add a bit of dust into the mix, doesn't happen often but the super posh & expensive supermarkets take pride in having them sometimes.

No matter how clever they are designing things that will decompose into the soil there is always a glitch eventually, mostly thanks to the weather as nearly all need a lot of moisture to decompose. Oz came up with plastic carry bags that 'dissolved' which they appeared to do as disappeared off the washing line, but turns out all that happened was they broke down, but left lots & lots of micro plastic to enter the waterways. No dig cardboard is not always cleared of sticky tape either & that won't break down quickly.

I think re-use or re-purpose should be encouraged, it does at least keep the status quo.

[Colin2016]

" I have a calico bag to put mine in but they frown & silently tut when I tip it out all mixed on the conveyor belt"

Brilliant, keep it up Westi.

"No dig cardboard is not always cleared of sticky tape either & that won't break down quickly."

At least it is noticeable easy to pull out.

The chippy uses those big paper bags that the yanks used instead of plastic, as does the butcher, so can be done if they put their mind to it.

[tigerburnie]

Moved some tomatoes into the blowaway inside the greenhouse as part of hardening them off for planting, looking at the roots in the see through yoghurt pots, they need planting, fingers crossed with the weather.

[tigerburnie]

5 degrees in the greenhouse last night and only 10 now, I put 6 tomato plants in the blowaway to see how they get on.

[Stravaig]

Quite a few kitchen products come with a lifetime guarantee. Maybe it's because by the time you've saved up the purchase price you're likely to die of old age soon after. Seriously, though, I have Le Crueset pots I bought about 30 years ago. A bit of the enamel is chipped on one of them but I can't be bothered even thinking about trying to claim the lifetime guarantee. The main thing is I've had my money's worth.

[Primrose]

I tried to claim the lifetime guarantee on a large ke Creuset casserole dish a year ago when some of the inner lining became pitted. They didn,t want to know. Guarantee probably not worth the paper it's written on sadly.

[Stravaig]

Ouch!

[tigerburnie]

Quite a lot done in the greenhouse in preparation for tomato planting, manure added to the bed and the rings and support canes in place, the plants in the blowaway don't look too bad despite 5 degrees in there last night. Frost forecast Monday night then a run of slightly warmer weather might see me planting and hoping for the best. I will do half the plants and keep half in the conservatory in reserve I think, just in case

[Stravaig]

At last! A day when we had time and the climate didn't conspire against us. Yesterday planted peas, tomatoes, pak choi and lettuce in our containers on the roof terrace outside. Oh yes, and white kohl rabi too for my Som Tam (Thai green papaya salad).

I have more seeds than we'll ever have the space to grow. But you'll have the same seeds too, ie what comes free with KG magazine. But if you do want any just giv's a shout.

[Geoff]

Well the 30th of April has come round so time to look at the early potatoes in the polytunnel. The four Swift in the foreground haven't grown anything like as vigorously as the eight Charlotte behind. Dug the front left Swift which is one of the weaker plants as it's on the corner and tends to get knocked as we come through the door. Yielded 1lb 10ozs for a 16p tuber, bit cheaper than the shops.
Planted 30 tomatoes of 16 different varieties in the polytunnel and greenhouse yesterday, just the 18 beefsteaks to plant when they've grown a bit more.

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[oldherbaceous]

I can nearly taste those new potatoes, Geoff….

Swift only ever make half to top growth, compared to Charlotte, well actually, compared to most other potato varieties….I always could have started digging Swift a week sooner than I do!

Just been and planted a row of Kestrel and a row of Pink fir apple….