Anyone left their DP/DH knowing it was for the best but still being in love with them?

[Ifonlyhewould]

How did you get through it? Was it really for the best?

My dp and dd think I'm VERY sad - especially when I borrowed four (yes, FOUR) books from the library about composting! I've got a pallet that was dumped at work to place it on at the bottom of the garden, and will trim that down to fit tomorrow (could do with your chainsaw...) and start composting straight away. Come on you brandling worms and do your work...

Luckily my BIL works for Greenpeace and is very into composting, so I have at least some support.

My sister's tip - turn the compost bin's lid away from yourself - otherwise, when you open it, all these fruit flies fly out into your face - not nice!

Good tip! i will remember that.

I thought the compost bin had to go straight onto soil so that worms and isects could get in. Maybe i'm wrong Will have to check it out, i need a pallet too if thats the case.

Here's a tip for you Tanee. Get DP to wee in it. Its supposed to help break down the compost. You could wee in it if you want to but only if you are good at balancing better if he does it really, he has the best equipment

And suddenly we're on a gardening thread !!!

I've read that the bin should go onto earth, yes, but needs air from below as well to help it along. You can either make sure the first layer is 'twiggy' - lots of prunings of small twigs or straw - or raise it a bit, like on bricks or a wooden pallet - the worms etc should be able to find their way in even if it's raised - and some material will obviously fall through the gaps in the pallet. I was going to go the twig route (root???) but our stationery deliverers left a pallet behind at work, so I took that home. It's much wider than the bin though, so I do need your chainsaw!

Oh yes, and the wee - dp's already planning to do that, because he says sharing the house with two women means he can never get into the loo when he needs to. We still have an outside privy, but it needs reconnection before he can use it. It'll be his own special place as there's no way I'm using it!

Of course, he'll have to go after dark or all the neighbours will complain...

I'm planning to invest in a chamber pot.

My Greenpeace BIL swears by wee. My sister says that at a dinner party last year, he invited all the men to join him in irrigating his runner beans. Fortunately they live in a more rural area with high hedges and no way of overlooking - so the neighbours were spared the sight . If we did that in our part of North London we'd have the police round!

Shall we compare compost results in 6 months time?

Aaaaah, I see.

Yes Tanee, lets do that, they do say it takes about a year to get good compost. Ive not got my bin yet tho! But we will keep comparisons

I'm trying to get MLS over here too, a bit of a diversion

halloo,I'm back at work after a few days off and bored already!

What happened IOHW? Did we kill conversation with our talk of rotting vegetation ? Everyone's disappeared! Or are we all having half term fun (I got so depressed with the rain on Monday that I felt on the verge of tears). I took time off to spend quality time with dd and have hardly seen her except to hand out money in the morning before she disappears with her friends (came home from a gig at 1am this morning ) - when I was her age I was still watching Blue Peter...

Still haven't erected the compost bin as the garden's a quagmire and I daren't cross the newly germinated lawn for fear of squashing all those tender shoots into the mud. Dp says we really must do something soon, though, as my kitchen container of food bits is decomposing already and the fruit flies are out. Where do they come from? Are they spontaneously combusted/composted?

Hope MIL can join in - we could start a 'gardening as therapy' group.

I meant MLS of course (brain dead already ).

Don't have a house at the moment... let alone a garden!

But when I get one I'll be sure to join in! Promise!

Hi Tanee!

My compost bin has just arrived! It's huge!! I'm looking where best to place it. It looks like a Dr Who dalek! They sent me one of those kitchen caddy things too for the veg peelings and tea bags.

You should see my little plastic greenhouse tto. I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, strawberries, cabbages and swedes. Everything seems to have really come on this week. I'm loving it. It's really good therapy.

DP has been looking at proper grown up greenhouses so I think I may be getting one of those next. I feel like all my Christmases are coming at once!

I'm sorry you bank holiday weekend was a bit of a washout, the rain gets me down too. Ive spent long enough 'confined to quarters' i like to be outside as much as possible now. Its a great lift for depression.

Let me know when your compost bin is up and running, then the challenge/tip swap can begin xx

MLS, you could have a wormery even in a flat (eeugh!!!)

Can't compete with your greenhouse, IOHW - I've only got some tomatoes waiting to go into growbags and a pot of basil on the windowsill out of the reach of slugs. But a chest freezer, chain saw and now a proper greenhouse - it's amazing what a gel bra can get !

IOHW - why not paint the Dalek silver and stick a couple of plungers to the front? I was tempted to do that, but decided the neighbours must think I'm mad enough and went for a flatpack green box.