Saturday 1 July 2023

Only One Post Again Today,

not that we went out, Diana wanted to have a relaxing time in the flat,


and catch up on a few things around the house, for myself a bit of fun that started last Thursday,

I decided I would try and grow some beansprouts, along with some mustard and cress, so seeds bought from Suttons,

the bean sprout seeds placed in a empty plastic bottle with some water and left to soak for 24 hours,

next mustard seeds, a plastic food container and some kitchen tissue,

seeds again from Suttons,

kitchen tissue placed in the food container and sprayed with water,

a sprinkle of seeds, 

lid loosely placed on top and both placed in the dark, I used a drawer in my desk,

24 hours later on Friday, 

the seeds in the bottle had started to split,

I had placed a piece of wool over the bottle top,

drain away the water

and let the seeds settle,

for the mustard,

they had also started to germinate,

in just 24 hours! I will not 'plant' the cress for a few days as it grows much faster than the mustard, I started spraying the seeds with water twice a day, 

the next day, Saturday,

the mung beans really starting to grow,

as was the mustard,

I did not know how well this little project would do, but so far I am amazed at the growth,

on Sunday,

the bean sprouts had really grown,

and the mustard was about 1" tall,

but because of being kept in the dark was a pale yellow colour,

time to sow the cress,

same as the mustard on damp kitchen cloth, I sprayed both trays with water morning and evening,

on Monday,

the mustard was growing taller, 

the cress germinating,

every day I put just a egg cupful of water in the bottle and then drained all of the water out

the bean sprouts nearly half way up the bottle,

on Tuesday the mustard was well over the top of the tray,

and amazingly,

the cress was catching up,

in the bottle, 

the sprouts had by now half filled the bottle,

the next day, Wednesday,

some of the sprouts were touching the top of the bottle,

and the cress was catching up the mustard,

which was still growing well,

the cress nearly at the top of the tray,

on Thursday, 

the bottle was nearly filled,

both the mustard and the cress,

needed to be made green,

so out of the drawer,

and onto the windowsill,

Friday,

and it was time to harvest, 

the beansprouts filling the bottle,

the mustard and cress after just one day in the sun looking nice a green, so how to get the bean sprouts out of the bottle?

cut the end of the bottle off!

then chop off the roots, 

next time I am going to try growing the bean sprouts in a tray, it was a bit tedious sorting the shoots from the roots, this way hopefully all of the roots will be at the bottom of the tray,

in the afternoon Diana prepared the bean sprouts with some onions and carrots, delicious!

and for my evening meal, a egg sandwich with cuttings of mustard and cress,

first a read,

followed by a egg, mustard and cress sandwich, great fun growing the beans, mustard and cress, especially if there are any ankle bitters in the household, in the evening I was out to meet up with Steve, 

outside the scaffolders had been busy,

with a new floor placed around the first of the chimney stacks,

it was a bit of a chilly evening and I was glad I had worn a fleece, a bit of luck as I neared the number 54 bus stop one appeared in the distance, 

so a 54 past the green, then in town a 227,

to Southey Street in Penge,

past the mural,


inside the menu,

I was soon joined by Steve, we chatted away, then decided to try a pub we had not visited before, 

the Alexandra, also in Penge,

it was quite late so we had the restaurant area to ourselves,

2 pints were £15.00, a tad on the expensive side, but it was nice inside, we also shared a pot of triple fried chips at £4.75, after which we made a move to the bus stop where I said goodbye to Steve and caught the bus home,

I was soon walking past some of the houses in the park, arriving home a spiced rum nightcap and a Have I Got More News For You, before we were off to bed.


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