The postman delivered lots of freebies yesterday, there were the coupons talked about on my other blog HERE and my Kitchen Garden magazine for March with it's free elastic band .... which was wrapped around three packets of seeds to the value of £5.35!!
I'm keeping tabs on all the free seeds I have had over the course of this subscription and it will be interesting to see what the value adds up to at the end. I'm not sure if this is the last copy or if there is another couple still to come, as I have not had a letter begging me to continue with the subscription I'm guessing there is at least one more still to come.
I called in the polytunnel on the way back from walking the dogs around the paddock this morning, and for a change I decided to go for a carrot based soup for this weeks lunchtime soup. I usually make it on Monday but this week I still had a large portion left from last weeks soup pot so I decided to wait until today to make a fresh batch. I was going to get a handful of carrots .... but after pulling the first two out and finding they were whoppers I decided that two would be enough.
If only I had had such big carrots for the two vegetable shows I entered last year. I think I will have to grow some special 'show carrots' this year starting them off a little bit earlier and planting them in a tall container to get them nice and long and straight ... and of course they are so much easier to chop or peel if you want to when they are like this instead of having 'twisted legs' or 'Siamese twins'. There's something very satisfying about still eating last years homegrown carrots and having free seeds arrive for some more carrots for later on this year.
And these free elastic bands really are adding up, I shouldn't have to buy any for quite a while ;-)
Sue xx
If Mavis is anything like our Jack Russell, she'll love the elastic bands - yum, yum!
ReplyDeleteHaha .... no I always keep them well away from the dogs and Ginger after hearing horror stories at the vets.
DeleteOur postman stops in his van on the corner opposite. I dont think anyone in the village needs elastic bands there are loads in the hedge and on the ground all red one!
ReplyDeleteI might have to invest in that magazine. looks interesting and the bonus of seeds
Unfortunately, our postman has to drive to, and pull in at each house individually round here so he has the post ready minus any elastic bands when he comes up the drive. I used to collect the red elastic bands when we lived in 'civilisation' :-)
DeleteIt is a good magazine and would be worth getting a one year subscription to. I kept my eyes open for an offer I fancied (£35 worth of free seeds) and then took out the subscription. But I think after one year you can just keep your copies and re-read them in the appropriate month every year afterwards.
THat is a good idea of getting the year... maybe this is a birthday present that my family can club together for! hooray thanks
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more Sue about the satisfaction of still pulling up last years carrots I am still pulling mine up to :-) Great looking magazine and those seeds looks fab and useful ones to. I recently cancelled my subscription to country living magazine and subscribed to a chicken one starting from march :-) enjoy your soup, dee x
ReplyDeleteI find the post office elastic bands very useful for closing bags of food, such as flour, sugar or pasta.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - It's lovely thinking about this years' growing and collecting seeds in preparation. It gives us something to look forward to in all this awful wet, windy weather. Might try this mag - looks good, especially with the freebies. Roll on Spring!! Regards, Louise S, Cheshire.
ReplyDeleteConsider using finely sifted compost mixed with fine sand or show carrots - it helps them to grow straight without stressing them into growing extra legs!
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I did last year, but I chose a smallish container and planted a bit late. This year I was thinking of using one of my big trugs instead, lots of depth. A bit of fine sand added to the compost is a good idea :-)
DeleteI was wondering if you have grown aubergines before? Are they easy to grow and do you need a greenhouse for the? I love getting free seeds :-) I buy the gardening magazines on with the seeds I need and when I have read it I donate to to my local,doctor's surgery
ReplyDeleteYes, I didn't have much success with them last year though, I couldn't keep them consistently warm enough. The temperature dropped too much at night. When we lived in Southern England I found them easy to grow.
DeleteI'll try again this year, in fact I was thinking about getting some seeds in this week in pots on the kitchen window sill.
What a great outlook on life! Pleasure in a free elastic band. That is a person who is truly content and happy. And wonderful!!!! xx
ReplyDeleteOur postie drops large elastic bands too so I pick up the clean looking ones and reuse them. I also save the little thin ones from the spring onion bunches. They all come in useful at some stage. Also save shoe laces when shoes eventually need thrown out.
ReplyDeleteshoe laces are good for tying tomatoes up
DeleteThe postmen in Essex have normal elastic bands which are thrown to the ground when they undo the next batch of post. I pick them up when walking and wash them ready to reuse.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried carrot, sweet potato and onion soup Sue. If you chop them up and roast them in the oven with a little olive oil first before cooking them in stock they are even better - liquidise finally.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's delicious. I did something very similar today :-)
Deletejust caught up with your last few posts
ReplyDeletehappy blogiversary! sorry i missed it! was thrilled to see all the bits of flashbacks, was so nice
it's been a pleasure to read
i like your solar power & battery backup you have there, with the added bonus of using the main power only when you NEED it, it's what i want here but they are not there yet (too greedy)
thanx for sharing