These mashed potato squash don't seem to be getting any bigger now, are they ready to harvest? What's the best way to store them? Like a winter squash?
I found a cherry tomato smashed up and chewed a little on the path the other day, and today I've found this chunk missing out of this larger tomato. Not 100% sure what could have caused this, apart from potentially a squirrel or maybe a magpie/wood pigeon. We are in a suburban garden in the North West
Got caught doing 39 leaving the 40mph dual carriageway tunnel as it went into 30mph. Entirely my fault it's clearly signposted (although the camera wasn't), I'll hold my hands up and pay for the course, not sure it's worth going to court to explain to the magistrate that I was finishing work early as I had diarrhoea, and the journey was particularly perilous at that point. Oh well, learn from my mistakes everyone, and have a good giggle on my behalf.
First full year of having space for vegetables in my garden (previously limited to pots) and I am lucky enough to be inundated with some amazing beetroot. It's absolutely amazing roasted, so thought I'd try my hand at canning some pickled beetroot. Recipe was simple. Top and tail the beetroot, wrap in foil and roast for ~1hr until tender (depending on size, mine were cricket ball sized). Sterilise your equipment in some boiling water whilst they are roasting. Then heat up 700ml of vinegar (I used white because that's what I had) with 100ml of sugar. Peel the roasted beetroot (use gloves unless you like pink hands), chop to desired size and cram in the jars, add a tsp of salt (ideally one without caking agents), and fill up with vinegar to the top. Fit lid and pop back in the boiling water for 5 minutes or so until you can't press the popper on the lid. Let cool slightly, then label and put somewhere cool and dark.
I also made "fridge pickles" from homegrown onions, a 50:50 malt vinegar - water mix and some sugar and salt to taste (one jar also had bay leaves and peppercorns). Left for a week or so, then tuck in. Unfortunately they are all gone now though
First time growing this variety, and I don't believe they get much bigger than this, but more swollen maybe. I'm slightly concerned because I've had my fingers burnt my accidentally letting cucumbers ripen and effectively that's the end of the plant, and I'm going away for a week so I'm considering just picking this one now. Has anyone grown this variety before, and does this have much time left? Should I just pick it if in doubt?
Hi all. Found this plant growing in my camelia pot, and my identification app thinks it is black nightshade. I'm all up for pulling it out, but my goth wife likes the idea of potentially potting it on "as it sounds interesting". Cheers
Hi all. This is quite an NHS specific post, but I'm hoping that it's such a large employer that it's not too specific. I've recently made it to the top of my band in my NHS role (8a). Part of the role includes covering an on-call rota, which pays £30 a "session" (either overnight or two sessions for day/night over weekends). It's not a huge number per year (around 25 sessions) but last month, I had to do 9, which added an additional £270 to my income for the month. My understanding though is that this counts as pensionable pay, and was enough to push me up into the next % bracket. As this isn't tiered or thresholded in any way, I had to pay 12.5% on my whole income (rather than my usual 10.7%), which after applying alongside tax, NI etc, effectively meant that I only actually took home about £70 etc (the actual maths is slightly complicated by some expenses I got back). My understanding is that this is calculated on a per month basis, so even though I won't actually hit the threshold by the end of the year, I can't go and claim it back from my pension.
Now, the other side of this is that 1/54th of this amount then goes into my pension pot, so I get an extra £5 a year (today's worth) when (if) I retire and can benefit if I live sufficiently long. However, I don't want this to be a regular thing so I'm looking at ways to avoid this if possible. Something on salary sacrifice might possibly work, but I don't want to pay for something I don't necessarily need to on months where this isn't any issue (e.g. I already own my own car outright, don't cycle etc).
Is all of my understanding correct, and are there any ways of avoiding this in the future (other than trying to spread my on-call around a bit more so I do fewer shifts per month but more regularly). Thank you
Hey all. First time laying sheet vinyl, which was not as easy as all of the YouTube videos we had watched made it out to be. However, majority is pretty good (at least good enough to cover with some sealant at the edges). However, somehow we managed to rip this bit near the radiator (not entirely sure how tbh as we didn't spot it at the time). Before we try to cut out a perfect square tile to replace it, any other suggestions on making it look good, or at least much better? Thanks in advance
Answer: Obviously the ones that appear to be least developed.
Bought a variety pack of first and second earlies from a garden centre a while back, featuring Swift, Nicole, Gemson and Casablanca. Chitted them and planted them out back in around back early March (all on the same day), and all were breaking through the surface by early April. All seem to be doing very well, except Swift, which despite their name, are really dragging behind. Please excuse the concrete base. I think it was the base for a shed in the house before we moved in, and I've not done anything to maintain it as yet.