Sindy's Blue Garden Cottage - suburban homesteading and self-reliance content

  If you're eager, ready and waiting to get your seeds in the soil but don't have the space for the amount of seeds you intend over sowing (who doesn't sow too many?!) then this is the article for you.  Seed Snails! I have only recently discovered this crazy method of sowing seeds. No idea why it has taken me this long to discover it but if like me it's new to you, read on. This method is amazing. I give full credit to the lady who posted it on her Instagram at the end of this article.  So what's a seed snail? Quickly and simply, it's a roll of something with compost in it that you sow your seeds in. As per the picture at the top of this article. I say 'something' because from all the other sources I've found since, you can use any thing that will keep moisture and soil in and to a degree, insulate.  How is it made?  Look, it's simpler and easier if I show you. Here are some images I took while making my first one with what and how I did it. Mate...

Suburban Self-Sufficiency Workshop Fit for the 21st Century. (By Sindy Wakeham) How can you make your home and garden into a self-sufficiency homestead while still living a modern lifestyle?  I have launched my first in-person workshop in Cardiff, South Wales for Wed, 22nd January 2025, 12am till 14:00pm. It will answer that question and many more about living self-sufficiently in your suburban home and garden in the 21st century, in a more appropriate and sustainable way.  I'm happy to share one of my mistakes too. I forked out a fair bit on flyers, put the bargain discounted price on and then the end of the month arrived so now I have to go and make the discount permanent or the flyers will be void and useless!😂 So the workshop will have to be reduced for this one. Well, you live and learn. Note to self... don't put the price on the flyer! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1104454335649?aff=oddtdtcreator I am so excited about this and there's only two weeks to go so plenty ...

By Sindy Wakeham You can't grow food plants during the winter in the UK, can you?    Yes, you can!  You've probably got to have all sorts of expensive equipment and lots of space to compensate for the climate.  NO. You can start right where you are and with what you might already have.  In this blog, we will see just how simple and affordable it can be. You will see how you can still grow nutritionally dense food indoors. Of course you could also go all in and get technical if you want. You have the choice. I like to keep it simple myself. It takes some clever hacks, maybe technology (not necessary) and remembering the four general rules. Rethink what you call veggies and change your ideas about gardening indoors, and how to grow vegetables to harvest during the winter and early spring.  How Can You Grow Food Indoors? Greenhouses, summerhouses, conservatories and windowsills all   make very good spaces for growing plants for harvest during the colder m...

  Living By the Seasons  By Sindy Wakeham With the weather changed to blustery, cold and more often than not, very wet, being outside and gardening is not where you want to be. It’s our natural cycle to respond to the patterns of the seasons and perform applicable activities. We're normally indoors processing and storing our harvests from the garden and preparing for letting the garden sleep over winter ready for the next growing season while we 'hibernate' from the cold. Modern understanding and growing methods has shortened that ‘hibernation’ period for those of us who cannot bear to be away from the soil for a whole winter, which in the UK can feel like 6 months! For those of us who simply HAVE to be able to garden all year round, there’s always a way. Year Round Gardening We can make hot beds like the Victorians and now we can even grow indoors with grow towers designed for indoor gardening. We can make tunnel cloches over vegetable beds or cover them in plastic and ...

  This Season's Woe and Wonder By Sindy Wakeham In the UK, just looking out of the window or standing outside, autumn has arrived and it doesn’t care about the human calendar. Nature decides what season comes when. The main season for almost two years has been autumn with days of normal seasons interspersed. Proper autumn is wonderful! I love all seasons in their place, but I’m not ready for autumn yet! My garden is nowhere near as fruitful as it used to be with lower light levels, cooler and wetter weather and fewer hot sunny days than normal. The garden’s far behind and only beginning to set fruit that should be ripening already. Urgency and Worry The main harvest season is upon us for all our fruit and annual veg which we normally put up for the winter and early spring. Even so, I have only been harvesting carrots, parsnips and garlic along with herbs. Summer harvests are done but there are still tomatoes to ripen. This time of year I’m normally already jamming (frui...

    This year in particular in the UK (I’m not sure about other places), the evidence of way too much rain over a long time is obvious to the eyes with one glance around the garden. Even if you normally have fertile wonderful soil, this last almost two years have taken their toll. Even farmers have warned for two seasons of shortages and price hikes due to the availability or quality of food due to the weather even without all the other national and global contributing factors. Evidence in the yellowing leaves, some spotted, others yellow between the veins, some are reddish purple and its nowhere near autumn (the so called summer has been mostly autumnal and we are only a month or two away from what we normally call autumn). Some leaves are curled, dry and brown and it’s not been dry weather and there’re no signs of pest or disease. Along with the prolonged rainy season lasting for months, comes the lack of sunshine and warmth. At least there is light even if a grey hue. ...