Sooo much pooping

[BiBiBi]

Did anyone see The Edible Garden last night on BBC2? Quote of the show:

"A life without chickens is a life half-lived" Alys Fowler

[patsylabrador]

I've been following this series and really enjoying it. I find it inspiring and as I have a mixture of flowers, vegetables and chickens it's strengthened my own ideas. My garden is looking better than ever before.

[C&T]

She does have some interesting ideas!

 

You can tell the chooks aren't let out to freerange across the whole garden though...

 

(Not that they don't have enough space - not critisizing her in any way!!)

[Cinnamon]

I love it - I think she has some wonderful ideas & the garden is fab

I like her too - she is quirky & fun,although she does wear one dress that looks as if she has sat in something nasty

[chickencam]

I have been watching these too. I haven't seen last night's programme though.

 

I do find her just slightly annoying, she is very quirky though which has to be good. I am sure that her life can't really be that carefree, it it is I am very jealous.

 

I do think that she gives the impression that her chooks are producing loads of eggs but she only has two and she did admit that one was not pulling her weight at one point.

[Jools]

I enjoy watching this - and I prefer Gardeners World with the new team too.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I do find her just slightly annoying, she is very quirky though which has to be good.

Ho Hum have to agree. When I was young I dressed like that to pretend I was a hippie ..... but I was sixteen!!!

Those long lingering shots of her licking her fingers after eating a nasturtium/herb/whatever are sooooooo annoying.

 

(Not that they don't have enough space - not critisizing her in any way!!)

 

I don't think they do have enough space

[kerryegg]

I'm not a fan and in the first programme she said she fed the chickens grass cuttings, at least that's what I think she said. Not the best of ideas and they obviously don't get out often. Lovely garden though.

[Christian]

I think it is difficult to see exactly how much room the hens have, although the run does look small. I think the bottom of her garden is enclosed with chicken wire to allow them to free range when she is there.

 

I like the programme.

[chickencam]

I'm not a fan and in the first programme she said she fed the chickens grass cuttings, at least that's what I think she said. Not the best of ideas and they obviously don't get out often. Lovely garden though.

 

I think she was using the grass cuttings as a run base, which seemed a bit odd for them to eat and scratch about in, they would go a bit slimey quite quickly I think.

 

I have been more inspired to intercrop a few veg with my garden plants though.

[Cinnamon]

The husband must like it.........just discovered he has ripped up half my border in inspiration

 

Fine by me,as it was verging on the wild!

 

I can't watch it without thinking how super an Eglu would have looked in the garden.

Bet she would have choosen orange.

[Charlottechicken]

I agree Sarah, I think she would have chosen an orange Eglu too!

 

I believe she lives not far from me, somewhere near Kings Heath park, which is where Gardener's World was filmed in the Percy Thrower days.

[scarlettohara]

I love it - I think she has some wonderful ideas & the garden is fab

I like her too - she is quirky & fun,although she does wear one dress that looks as if she has sat in something nasty

 

My son was watching it with me and wondered if she had done a poo

 

She eats a bit like Nigella as well which I find slightly offputting.

[squidsin]

I like the programme but I find the old-fashioned black-and-white cine style filming they segue into every now and again really, REALLY irritating. I don't know if it's to complement the fact Alys dresses like an old lady or the other way round, but producers, if you are reading this and planning a second series, stop doing it, please!

[Christian]

That was the last one in the series and I really enjoyed it. I think she is very natural and her enthusiasm comes across.

 

Off to make sauerkraut now....

[chickencam]

I have just watched the last of these on iplayer and was glad to see that her chickens got a new larger area in the autumn. (why did we have to have the dubbed chicken squawks?)

 

Overall it was a nice series with some good ideas about gardening in a small space, cooking seasonally, and the preserving ideas looked interesting, although I remain to be convinced about fermented veg.

[bluekarin]

I really liked the programme too. I had a go at the plant dye on the fabric thing she did (had a special name, but can't remember what it was). I love the idea of her garden, but I think it would stress me out a bit too much with all those plants all together. I like a little bit of order in my veggie patches, otherwise I'd end up pulling what was for eating and leaving what wasn't

 

I never realised sauerkraut was fermented cabbage; I thought it was just pickled. We eat it a fair amount as my mums family are Polish and it is a staple.

[Tara.F]

I really liked the programme too. I had a go at the plant dye on the fabric thing she did (had a special name, but can't remember what it was).

 

I thought that looked a lovely idea!

How did yours turn out and was it as easy as it looked on the telly?

[bluekarin]

I really liked the programme too. I had a go at the plant dye on the fabric thing she did (had a special name, but can't remember what it was).

 

I thought that looked a lovely idea!

How did yours turn out and was it as easy as it looked on the telly?

 

It turned out okay actually. I used a bit of muslin and hammered some flowers (can't remember what they were, but they were quite fleshy ones). I didn't iron the dye before washing, mainly to see if it would stay at all. And it did. Its faded now, so maybe the ironing would help. Maybe also a wash in salt water to help fix? I think if I were to do it again, it would be for something not too often washed like jam jar covers or something similar. Or even for card making. Have a go

[BiBiBi]

I like the programme but I find the old-fashioned black-and-white cine style filming they segue into every now and again really, REALLY irritating. I don't know if it's to complement the fact Alys dresses like an old lady or the other way round, but producers, if you are reading this and planning a second series, stop doing it, please!

.....aw no.....I think it's part of the programme's charm....she is clearly into all things "vintage" and the cine film style fits in with that perfectly...