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8:16 pm
Knowledegable
New members
Sun 5-Sep-10
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Hello, my name is Heather and I live with husband Roy in Rubery, Worcestershire. Officially 'suburbia' but with a bit of imagination I see my large garden as my own private allotment, and am busy growing veg and herbs. Have to keep reining myself in as there are only two of us to feed, and we can eat only so much lettuce - our best crop by far. We live near local beauty spot - The Lickey Hills, and get the wind blowing off them, so we suffer a short growing season - can't really get going until early May, and only up until end September. Hopeless year for peas, but hurrah - grown our first cucumbers under glass, and our first sweetcorn, which were small but delicious.
Found this website whilst searching for a recipe for pickled nasturtium seeds. Many thanks to recipe conributor - I now have a jar sitting in the fridge, maturing nicely. Went foraging today for blackberries and apples. Came home well pleased with blackberry crop, but sadly the old orchard I visited was devoid of apples this year.
Anyone out there from my area - Rubery/Barnt Green/Alvechurch? Such a lovely area for some short walks, and I'd be inerested in learning of places to forage.
Thanks to Fiona and Danny for such a great site. Will return soon, and often, I'm sure.
Gone crazy. Back soon.
8:23 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Hello Rubery and welcome to the forum. I suffer from a short growing season but that has more to do with the latitude I live on as I live in Latvia but orginally in a round about way from England. 
9:37 pm
Supreme Being
Thu 24-Sep-09
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Welcome Heather. What a wonderful first post. It sounds like this is the place for you.
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
10:44 pm
Supreme Being
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Warm welcome Heather - if it's any consolation, our apple trees are devoid of fruits too ! Maybe it's just a bad year for apples.
Our Victoria plums and conference pears are excellent though - just not an apple year !! 
10:53 pm
Sat 12-Aug-06
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Glad you finally found the way in, Heather (H had problems with her password - a common occurrence).
"Found this website whilst searching for a recipe for pickled nasturtium
seeds."
My goodness! Isn't that a little eccentric? 
Thanks to Duncan and his suggestion for those, we have made many contacts. Who would have ever guessed that pickled wotsits would have such an impact on our lives
Looking forward to reading more of your bulletins, Heather. You sound like one of "us".
Never knowingly underfed
6:47 am
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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brightspark said:
Warm welcome Heather - if it's any consolation, our apple trees are devoid of fruits too ! Maybe it's just a bad year for apples.
Our Victoria plums and conference pears are excellent though - just not an apple year !!
One of our apple trees is devoid of apples for the second year running but I think it might have been the frost that did it as it is the first in a group of apple trees which all belong to each apartment. Some of the apple trees are heavy with fruit, although not as many as last year. Last year was wet and one tree had to have supports under it because of the number of apples. So it can also be a combination of factors ie position, frost damage, and a tree that alternates its production years (some are heavy croppers on alternate years and some on a three year cycle and some just go on producing year after year) and it can also be timing of flowering - maybe our neighbours flowered on days that there was no frost and ours flowered at the wrong time! Who knows I wasn't studying it at the time 
9:27 am
Supreme Being
Thu 24-Sep-09
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Here I have the opposite - a wonderful crop of apples and very few plums
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
12:32 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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Another new member, welcome Heather! I love Worcestershire it has the most beautiful countryside. I think you've settled in here already, well done.
I'll try that again!
5:44 pm
Knowledegable
New members
Sun 5-Sep-10
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Thank you all for such a warm welcome, and all the comments regarding the lack (or not) of apples this year. I specifically went for a local walk to find 'The Old Orchard', which the walk guide described as appearing unmanaged for a few years. Maybe that also has something to do with it. However, what was there in this 'secret garden' was a beautiful old rosebush just exploding with rosehips. Such a pretty sight. I was caught out mid-orchard by a local dog walker, who insisted on guiding me to the right exit point to continue my walk - so no illicit rosehips for me on this occasion.
What a pity I didn't track down the rosehip recipes until I logged on last night! Anyone into rosehip recipes in a big way? I'd welcome suggestions on what to do with rosehip jelly once I've made it.
Cheers everyone.
PS - Pickled nasturtium seeds - rinsed and drained - are great for pepping up a mixed leaf salad, together with a few cucumber slices and some olives. Yum.
Gone crazy. Back soon.
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