September 2015 Issue #121

Hello,

What fun that we both love gardening. Thanks for joining me.

1) Wood pallets
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Wild Herb Dressing

Is this the Blazing Weed Clown above? Is it one of my readers? Is it you??

Raring to grow

The FAQ section is the place where the beautiful people hang out... earthy and raring to grow.

This is worth reading... You step out one day and say... what on earth is this mess-scape! What the blinkers do I do next? Bman from Canada asks it more politely "What's the best way to maintain and replenish a no-dig garden?"

Eco gardening tips

• Wood pallets
  Wood pallets must be the 8th wonder of the world. From firewood to recycling, there will never be enough wood pallets. Pinterest shows about a bazillion uses for them, from making shelves, planter boxes, and lots of rather clever dinky type carpentry projects.
  
  

  If you use them for the garden or family, don't use chemically treated ones, find ones that are heat treated, they'll have H or HT stamped on somewhere.

• Chill off chilblains
  Who gets Chilblains? I did once when I was a teenager and would come home from school and warm my hands very close to a bar heater. My poor hands rebelled, and it was obvious why. Stopped that practice and never got chilblains again.
  
  

  But many people do and in the forums there's a post with an onion tip: No more itch; begone lumps; pain vanished! See what you think...

• Microclimates
  Most properties have a microclimate somewhere. Maybe a warm spot near a brick or concrete wall that stores the heat from the sun. This can be quite important to utilise, either to extend your growing season, or to be able to grow plants that require that bit of extra warmth.
  
  

  Make the most of your own little microclimate if your garden is mostly in a cold or temperate area. Maybe have moveable container plants, such as dwarf fruit trees or salad pots.

Want to know what vegetables to plant?

Want to know when to plant them?

The GroVeg Garden Planner is your answer. Click here for a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL!

Wild Herb Dressing

Move over broccoli—pack a punch with weeds instead. Try some edible weeds such as dandelion, cleavers, chickweed and miners lettuce.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 handfuls of wild weeds (try mild chickweed and some parsley if you are a newbie!)
• 2 squeezed lemons
• ¼ t salt
• Ground pepper
• 1 tspn honey or 4 drops stevia
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 3 Tbln water

Method

• Finely chop weeds.
• Pop all ingredients in the blender or small food processor and whizz until smooth.
• Drizzle over veggies, salad, rice, lentils, beans, meat... basically any food, it's always good.

Preparation: 5-10 minutes
Makes: 2-4 serves

Happy gardening
Megan