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Saturday 20 September 2014

A Spend and Save Day.

Oh Dear I did manage to spend a lot today, I went to 2 places and spent £45.49, but that was all that I spent.

I followed Dawn from Doing it for our selves in Wales and went to Wyevale this morning. Look what I found.


Red Windsor Apple


Katy Apple


James Grieve Apple

All three were reduced from a penny short of £40 down to £10, a saving of  £90 as near as dammit.

BTW , The Bamboo is there to keep Ben off my newly planted garlic, so far I have put about 50 cloves in. I will not grow all that I use, a, the garden is not big enough and b, I do not have the room to dry and store it. I use lots of garlic, I love it.

Then I decided to go and have a dig amongst the reduced seeds.






These are almost all the seeds that I will need for next year, I will not be setting all of them so they will hopefully do 2 years growing.
I will also be swapping plants and produce with my neighbours.



I do like a home made Chinese fairly regularly and these mung beans will give me a good supply of bean sprouts.



I also like an egg and cress sandwich and that little packet will make at least a hundred. The cucumber is Marketmore, my Dad  used to grow them. I have not had them for several years, I normally grow a Ridge Cucumber , these will be inside and outside to see how they do.

The total value of the seeds was £47.83, I paid the grand sum of £9.50 so a saving of £38.83, nice.

On the way back I stopped at Aldi in Cross Hands, just to have a look.


They may be small but with a little TLC and some well rotted manure they will grow fast.


Four evergreen shrubs, £1.79 each, total spend here £7.16, I still have to find a Berberis and 2 Flowering Quince for the front garden, both of these have pretty flowers followed by edible and tasty fruits. I have spring flowering bulbs for the front and will grow some bedding plants as fillers while the shrubs grow.

I have put a few plants and a whole heap of bulbs on the left side of the greenhouse steps.




I forgot to tell you that I am finally picking tomatoes from my 2 plants, enough for my needs as I do not have the freezer space to make gallons of sauce. Quite a good thing after my exploit during the week.


The apple trees are on semi dwarfing rootstock and have been pruned to grow into an open cup shape, this is how the professional fruit growers like them, the sun can get at all the fruit and you only need a set of steps to harvest it. Both the Red Windsor and James Grieve are suitable to cook with, I have never grown Katy before so it will be a voyage of discovery.

I still have to find a Plum and a Damson, there are several places that I have found them and it will be an on line purchase. None were reduced at Wyevale and they  were over £40 each.

I looked at the Pears that were reduced but they were not as good quality and I am not too worried about them, now if I could find a Robin Pear it would be a different story.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  My amazing bargains today.

2.  The still glorious weather.

3.  The faint smell of wood smoke wafting from the odd chimney.

4.  A Sweet Chestnut tree that I discovered yesterday.

5.  Watching Ben playing for an hour this afternoon with his doggy pals.

There were 3 small dogs and a Springer and they were in motion for a solid hour, Ben is now snoring beside me.

A very good day, I may have spent a fair amount but my savings on the actual value was £128.33. Goodness knows what the end savings will be, it would be an idea to weigh and value everything that I harvest but I do not see it happening.

I have found a source of well rotted Horse Manure, I have 10 bags coming on Monday. If it is good I will be getting several more.

My bread is out of the oven and I think that I may have to try a piece, in the interest of quality control.

     TTFN                                                     Pam.









24 comments:

  1. Amazing bargains, especially the apple trees. Don't they look healthy. Well done!

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    1. I am thrilled with my savings, it really means that the reat of my planting will be free. So to speak.

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  2. Oh, and I LOVE the smell of fresh bread ;-)

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    1. So do I, unfortunately I also love the taste.

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  3. Oh the contentment of it all. lol
    Well done.
    Briony
    x

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  4. I am so pleased you managed to get some of the £10 trees they are a fantastic bargain. I didnt look at seeds might do on my next visit.

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    1. There were quite a lot of trees there, I did look at the taller ones but decided that these will be quite big enough and I will get a good yield next year as there will only be a little summer pruning to do.

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  5. Well done! what a huge saving. Apple pies all round soon then x

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    1. This time next year I could be an apple millionaire. It will me that,s all round I think.

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  6. What a great day you have had. Love those bargain apples, especially the James and Kate as that is my son and dil's names. :)

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    1. I am as pleased as punch with my purchases.

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  7. What a bargain, I don't mind spending to save in the long run, great reductions.

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    1. I went out prepared to spend to save and got most things on my list, Because their prices are a bit steep I did not bother looking for the other stuff I will source it elsewhere.

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  8. Pam I love your blog and have been following for a while now. I think I must have missed something though....have you found a house to buy? You are doing so much in the garden, that I am thinking I missed you finding a forever home. I have been rather busy though as I now have a new sprocker pup after a gap of two and a half years without a dog. What a bundle of energy she is :D and what a joy to have a dog again. What breed is Ben?

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    1. I decided that i loved this house so much that I would stay renting. The layout is perfect for me and the garden is just the right size. Ben is a cross breed, Spaniel and Yorkshire Terrier, I often call him a Sparkie, he is a bit of a live wire even though he is getting on now. I can not remember not having a dog, we always had one at home and when I married I had a puppy. At one point I had 2 Springers, a Westie and Ben, it was manic at times.

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    2. Oh good luck with the renting then...I hope you have a secure tenancy and how lovely to that it feels right for you. We are in a house that is beginning to feel too big now as the children begin to fly the nest (3 down and one to go). We are looking forward to choosing something that feels right just for us without having to think about school catchment or anything else to cater for the offspring. I expect we will end up renting too after selling up whilst we decide what is right for us. I have missed having a dog but when we lost our Labrador I had to work full time and have only just been able to give up...a dog was of course immediately on the cards :D

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    3. Ellen, I am so glad you asked ... I've been confused, too, thinking a missed a bunch of posts! Pam, you found some marvelous bargains and the trees, especially, are a grand investment in the future!

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  9. Great bargains, especially the reduction on those apple trees. Makes me wish I had a garden when I see all the lovely things others grow in theirs. My little container garden didn't yield much, just a few tomatoes from the plants I was given. I think the seeds I used for the herbs and salad were too old or I needed better soil. I'll try again next year.

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    1. Seeds are funny things, they can sit in the soil for years and suddenly germinate, then you can buy the best compost, fuss over them like a broody hen and get nothing. My dwarf French Beans were a total wash out, I had exactly 4 germinate out of a whole packet and the plants did nothing. I hope for better things next year.

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  10. WOW that's not a spend but an investment. Love your planting by the greenhouse path. I have loads of seeds left over from this year all ready for next year, all require is loads of different chilli seeds.

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    1. I am looking forward to growing some different varieties, I even have some Scotch Bonnet chillies to save seed from.

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  11. How exciting, I look forward to seeing everything growing next year :)

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    1. I am quite looking forward to it myself.

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