Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Chatting => Chatting on the Plot => Topic started by: seashell on September 13, 2020, 17:58

Title: Covid lockdown
Post by: seashell on September 13, 2020, 17:58
With the possibility of lockdowns  again in certain areas what items do you suggest for the larder.   
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: New shoot on September 13, 2020, 20:34
I usually have a reasonable store of things at home, so was not planning on buying anything extra.  If you don't, I can tell you what I have if that helps:

Rice, pasta, noodles, dried pulses, cans of cooked beans, tomatoes and coconut milk, a few sauces like a curry one and a pasta one for quick meals, herbs and spices, flour, dried milk ... basics I know I can use, but there is no point stocking up without a plan of what you want to do with it all.

If you like to cook, think about the ingredients you use a lot and get a couple of extras of each.  If you don't tend to cook much, think about combinations you could use e.g. canned beans, canned tomatoes (and even canned cooked meat if you are short of freezer space) could make a chilli with a packet mix or your own herbs and spices stash if you have one. 
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: mumofstig on September 13, 2020, 21:06
I'd also add tom puree, tinned fish, eg anchovies and tuna/salmon, olive oil, dried fruit and nuts, coffee and/or teabags, to the list.
Don't forget household items like tissues (all sorts)  ::) (but please don't start filling the garage with loo rolls - we had enough of that last time, didn't we?) bleach, soap, detergents, shampoo etc.

At the moment I'm also making sure I keep my freezer topped up, rather than letting it almost empty before restocking. Hopefully covering all eventualities ( Covid & a no-deal Brexit)
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Growster... on September 14, 2020, 07:01
"rather than letting it almost empty before restocking"...

Now that is something we've never thought of doing, Mum! We have two under-the-counter freezers, and I can't even open one drawer!

I'm banned from shopping for the rest of the year, and next year will be restricted to far fewer tomato plants, than the sixty-five we had this year! One and a half drawer-fulls of the things is getting very silly!

Seashell, welcome anyway, it's always a good idea to plan ahead, but the above comestibles are all we have - mostly from March!
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: GraciesGran on September 14, 2020, 07:13
Chocolate and wine!

Seriously now, I keep about enough dried, tinned stuff in the cupboards to get us through a couple of weeks.  The freezer is full, as is my hubbies ice cream freezer and I have a couple of cartons of long life milk  I have enough food for the dog for a month, her dried food was difficult to get for a while.  Her cupboard contains dried food sardines, cod liver oil and , biscuits for bed time and 2 packs of nappy sacks/poo bags.   We've both got a month's supply of prescription meds in reserve and some paracetemol.

I also have a Secretary of books I want to read and sufficient knitting yarn to see me through till 2050.
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: New shoot on September 14, 2020, 10:55
Chocolate and wine!


I like your style  :lol:
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: New shoot on September 14, 2020, 12:44
This is off on a tangent, but given how mad it was trying to get gardening supplies this spring, has anyone else done a bit of forward planning?

I have bags of MP and JI stashed and covered up against the rain, big tubs of both pelleted chicken manure and Growmore, liquid feed, I have seeds for next year and I have just ordered my seed potatoes  :wacko:  I'll admit the last one is a bit loopy as I haven't even dug up my main crops from this year, yet I feel strangely comforted by the fact I know I have them on order   ::)  :lol:
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Christine on September 14, 2020, 14:57
Funnily enough I have been forward planning for the plot as well. Don't need to worry too much about the store cupboards at present - next month I think. Wouldn't like to end up on 3rd January looking at a famine.
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: mumofstig on September 14, 2020, 15:13
This is off on a tangent, but given how mad it was trying to get gardening supplies this spring, has anyone else done a bit of forward planning?
I ordered 8 x 120l of Wickes MP compost as it was on offer a few weeks ago.
It's now raised off the floor and wrapped with plastic, so hopefully it'll still be ok when I'll need it next year. Compost was in very short supply this Spring, so thought I'd buy it while I could...
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: GraciesGran on September 14, 2020, 16:23
Just bought some compost in b&q, now stored at the back of the greenhouse where hubbie never goes.  We are going to b&q tomorrow to look at paint, I will buy some then as a just in case.

Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Christine on September 14, 2020, 19:29
Don't forget your seeds folks. Those too were hard to get during lock down last time around.
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Goosegirl on September 15, 2020, 13:42
to add to this, if anyone is thinking of having a fence built with a concrete stone-like support on the bottom, best get your order in PDQ as concrete supplies are very hard to come by. My neighbour has been waiting 6 -8 months to have her new fence put up because of that.
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Growster... on September 15, 2020, 14:39
to add to this, if anyone is thinking of having a fence built with a concrete stone-like support on the bottom, best get your order in PDQ as concrete supplies are very hard to come by. My neighbour has been waiting 6 -8 months to have her new fence put up because of that.

GG, get online for a 'spur', which is what I think your neighbour wants.

You can also get steel ones, which you can belt into the ground with a big hammer and attach the fence to the section sticking out of the ground.

Easier to fix than a concrete one. We've had several corner posts like this, dotted around for ages here and  will see us out...
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: Subversive_plot on September 16, 2020, 11:37
We laid in a good supply of various canned vegetables, tuna, pasta, coffee, tea, as well as raw ingredients (flour and so forth).

As far as the vegetable plot is concerned, "Mrs. Subversive" is dithering as to whether we are building 3 more raised beds on a sunny area where we can't keep a lawn going, or try for a lawn one more time.  She currently is favoring the lawn, but I started buying next year's seeds when she was favoring raised beds for vegetables and cut flowers.
Title: Re: Covid lockdown
Post by: New shoot on September 16, 2020, 11:42
she was favoring raised beds for vegetables and cut flowers.

Sell it to her as a way to get a raised bed for cutting flowers  ;)