really old style living?

ChocClare

My original cores and peel are still in but the whole thing hasn't been on the go for more than about a month. I was going to tip the lot I've got away when I use the vinegar for the hens' water. Interestingly, none of them have gone brown, so there is clearly quite a lot of acid there. It does smell very vinegary.

The "proper" method for making vinegar is explained here. It is much more scientific than my method! DH has a bottle of HUGELY EXPENSIVE bought cider vinegar, so I might take a bit of the mother from the bottom of that and add it into my next batch. Saves messing about waiting for a fly to pay a visit (not that that would necessarily be a problem - there seem to be MILLIONS this year).

COOLTRIKERCHICK

well the wheat prices have def starting hitting the price of things...

bought this weeks chicken feed, and the sacks have gone up by about 75p..

think this might just be the tip of the iceberg... when it comes to wheat/grain prices going up

ChocClare

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

well the wheat prices have def starting hitting the price of things...

bought this weeks chicken feed, and the sacks have gone up by about 75p..

think this might just be the tip of the iceberg... when it comes to wheat/grain prices going up

Just bought poultry corn this afternoon - still £5.30 so hasn't changed...yet.

Hay, on the other hand: don't get me started. I bought a bale last week and it was SIX POUNDS. SIX POUNDS :eek::eek::eek: I'm going to have to rope off a bit of the garden and make my own next year if it continues at this price.

We've got plenty of wheat in but it's the knock-on effect I'm worried about - our farmer neighbours are hoping for two more cuts of their fields before the winter, otherwise they're going to have to buy in feed for their livestock - which costs money - which puts up the price of (in this case) beef. They said on the news last night that competition between the supermarkets is keeping the prices down - could have fooled me, I think meat is really expensive - but then it's going to be the farmers suffering from this, not Messrs Tesco et al.

ginnyknit

Hi everyone, I am back from my O/S trip to Newcastle. Had a fab,cheap few days. Not many bargains but my soul is full of beautiful sights and sounds. We travelled the coast and villages. Sad to see on the Sunderland side villages with 75% of the shops closed down.

Met some lovely people. Well everyone was nice actually.

Saw lots of wild apple tree's but couldn't stop to pick any as they were in awkward places -:(

Feel refreshed for the battle. Before we left I nipped into Mr T and the flour aisle was almost empty! thank goodness I stocked up. So tomorrow back to the real world and start moving Dd into her new house. We are doing the process slowly so as not to stress or exhaust our selves - luxury we are lucky to have. Got a bag of apples off a friend when I got back so am off to make vinegar for the chickens - free!

katholicos

ginny, so glad you had such a lovely time, hope all goes well with your DD's house move.

Just been out to water the raised beds...some veggies are becoming exhausted now and i suppose in the next month or so most of the beds will be empty...apart form the one where i am growing parsnips and a bit of another bed i'm growing cabbages in. I'm sp pleased i didn't let my health problems deter me from having a go at growing my own. With the raised bed system I can honestly say it has been extremely easy to maintain them ...well they haven't really needed maintaining at all...the odd weed here or there, but for the most part, just feeding and watering.

I'm going to be making my own compost from now on (well, have been building up a heap for the last 6 months really) and have a canny plan to forage leaves in Autumn so that i can add it to my compost heaps. There is still a lot for me to learn, but i am really enjoying it and God willing i shall do the same again next year, only hopefully, without makihng quite so many mistakes!

The dehydrator is on at the moment, i'm trialing dehydrating pasta sauces....i think i might have to make it fro scratch without the oils though as they currently still are a little greasy to the touch...but they were shop bought pasta sauces. It won't be waste though, even if it doesn't work out. I'm trying to free up some space in my freezer so i can get back into baking regularly again...so i thought i would try the dehydrating of the pasta sauces that i had previously decanted and frozen. One has to try new ways of doing things, don't you know!

ChocClare

katholicos, I'm sure you already know this, but just in case - if you put your leaves ON THEIR OWN in a heap - you could just put some chicken wire in a square with four bamboo poles at each corner - and add nothing but leaves, it breaks down into the most wonderful leaf mould. In the (normal) compost heap, it tends to stay...leafy.

Your dehydrated sauces sound very enthralling - you'll be like one of those "survivalist" people who have packs of things to which you just add water and they turn into a complete roast dinner (or something). You must let us know what they're like (and possibly instructions if they're successful!).

I have just got three new chickens today from a lady who phoned us to say could we have them, as her neighbours were complaining that they were noisy. We were a little wary of introducing them to our lot but they look as if they'll be right at the top of the pecking order very soon - even our cockerel was keeping his distance, and he is usually a serial rapist. By the time I'd cleaned out the hens and their (disgusting) feeders - full of dried-on food that would give Nanette Newman a run for her money, weepingly disposed of six tomato plants groaning with blighted fruit and come in to start on the apples, I realised it was five to five and we were too late to go to church and I've still got the dinner to do and 8 million apples to process. So I'm typing this while I have a 5-minute break to drink my tea and then I'm off to get going again. There is an enormous pile of ironing in the sitting room which DH swears is only there because he needed to get to the old front door in front of which it usually sits, but it looks like a hint to me. Day of rest indeed. Oh well, I will offer it up as the saying goes and better get on...

mardatha

Is it ok to stuff into the compost bin a load of cuttings off conifer and beech hedging ? LOl too late cos we've dunnit.

Vaila

for the last 3 months apart from bills etc i havent spent a penny, i stocked up my freezer and cupboard cheaply and had enough food to last, feeling pleased myself as its made me realise what i actually need to get by on , and had some great freebies through the post too

ginnyknit

Mardatha am not sure about the conifer but Im sure the beech will break down and they will let the air circulate. I don't know if my compost heap is built on a mineshaft or something but it never seems to get full, just drops lower and lower???:rotfl:

We found some dark purple fruits in a layby yesterday and didnt know what they were but they made my mouth very dry - just hit me they were sloes - - mind you I hate gin and am tee total so they werent much use to me:)

I have come back to find my giant pumpkin plant is even longer however there isnt one flipping pumpkin on it - Sil suggested the other plants have taken all the water out of the bed - 12 sunflower plants and 16 sweetcorn - bu**er I was looking forward to a huge pumpkin :mad:

seasalt_2

Hi Katholicos, chocclare has beaten me to it but autumn leaves are really best composted on their own - leafmould is fantastic soil conditioner and I'm very envious of those that can make it! I have also read that you can make it in black sacks - stuff them with leaves, tie top loosely, make a few holes in the bottom with a garden fork and leave in a corner of your garden for about a year. No practical experience though as very few trees here! (Used the chicken wire bin method years ago when I did have leaves.)

Mardatha, I think everything (well, not teaspoons, altho I've accidentally tried!) composts eventually although I guess conifer cuttings will be pretty slow - we have an evergreen hedge and that takes forever to break down and I don't put the trimmings in the compost except in very small amounts - usually stack them and burn them (whispers) and then salvage the ash (depending on what else was burnt) and stick that in the compost bin.

Pine needles are also a good mulch for strawbs and it's how I recycle the Christmas tree. Deters slugs and helps keep fruit off soil - think it's meant to improve flavour too but can't honestly say I can tell.

My squash plants all succumbed to mildew early on this year, ginny, but have found in previous years that I got more fruit setting if hand pollinated at least some of the female flowers - mine are in a polytunnel though - always seem to be plenty of bees/insects buzzing around though so don't know why. I have got one lovely large pumpkin ripening slowly on my windowsill but it was a friend that grew it, not me!

Glad you had a nice break and hope DD's move goes smoothly.

arranm that is amazing!