Chimney Pots Gardener

Reviving Plants from Disaster

Several more gardening bodges have occurred… 

First I put my tomato plant seedlings outside for a bit of sun, then forgot about them until around 11pm that night, unfortunately it was a particularly cold night and they sustained some damage thanks to that.

Also two of my trays which are planted with sorrel and rocket got blown off the wall last night, now not sure which is which!

However, on the plus side, the courgette seedlings have recovered very well from their upside down planting episode, one tray of mixed salad leaves has germinated, as have my radish seeds. It looks like most of the tomato plants will pull through, and I can always replant the salad leaves.

This is why I love gardening, plants seem endlessly forgiving…. :)

Food With Integrity

slowcommerce:

                   

When you hear the words “fast food”, the last thing you probably think of is sustainable farming. Chipotle Mexican Grill and founder Steve Ells are on a mission to change that. The popular burrito joint has exploded in the past decade by committing fast food heresy: telling customers where its food comes from. Ever since Ells opened the first Chipotle restaurant in Denver in 1993, the chain has been committed to a culture of transparency. Each one of its more than 1,200 locations has an open kitchen where ingredients are cooked right in front of customers, and it’s those ingredients that really set Chipotle apart from the competition. Chipotle sources as much food as possible from sustainable, family owned farms. The company calls it “Food With Integrity”.

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Sick of the rain

I know it is good for the plants and there’s a water shortage in London but seriously, can it PLEASE STOP RAINING NOW! I want to be able to do some gardening without getting soaked. 

Inspirational Roof Gardening - Food from the SKY

Just wanted to share a really cool project roof gardening initiative in North London, near to where I live. Food from the SKY is a roof garden based on top of one of the local supermarkets. They grow mainly fruit and vegetables, and sell what they grow in the supermarket downstairs. They open up to volunteers a few times each month and also do teaching for children from local schools.

This how they describe their vision:

‘“To grow Life, Food and Community in our most cemented places and to bring the Heart back in our supermarkets!” Food from the SKY is about inspiring and growing a healthy and sustainable relationship with food in cities and with our supermarkets.’

http://foodfromthesky.org.uk/

Think this is such a good example of when retailers can engage with the community and sell ethical produce with absolutely zero food miles.  Latest news from their website is that they are going to be introducing bees up on the roof soon!

Topsy Turvy Seedlings!

Just had to correct a rather major rookie gardener mistake. While admiring my courgette (zucchini) plants which are just emerging, I realised that they were sprouting lots of thin white tendrils. A quick Google search and I realised that I had planted the seeds upside down and these were indeed roots coming through!

After a bit of careful uprooting the poor things are now back in the ground the right way up, just hoping that they survive my error!

A rather confused courgette seed!

At least now I know, when planting courgettes, the seed goes in the ground with the pointy end facing down!