As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

ceridwen

bluebag wrote: »

I have ripened tomatoes in a brown paper bag in a warm place before. Apparantly, it's the warmth that turns them red, not the light, don't know how true that is mind you.

Thought 'twas summat "chemical reaction wise"??? Anyways - I've ripened tomatoes before now by putting them in a brown paper bag with some accompanying apples or bananas (think its summat to do with "gases" given off by these fruit?).

Wont be trying green fried tomatoes again in a hurry with unripened ones...yuk...

modern_millie_2

Morning all, cold and windy one here in West Wales, we had the battering rain last night too and it was COLD - not nice.
Had DD breathing down my neck for the pooter last night, so forgot to say thanks to whoever mentioned Sains. and Asd@ for eggs - don't have either nearby but will remember if travelling.

Well done on the bills, Hippiechiq, satisfying when you make a dent, isn't it? But don't get too cold.

So many things are reminding me of the 70s atm - inflation, high oil prices etc - also corned beef (!) charlies aunt, remember my mum using it a lot in the 70s, corned beef and potato pie, corned beef stew particularly. Must have been cheaper then too!

Mrs VP, hope you get your car situation resolved soon. We have reluctantly dipped in to the pension fund to replace our old and expensive Nissan with a tiny Hyundai - just too rural to manage without . Don't see us being able to replace the money, but know we are lucky to be able to do this. Salve my conscience knowing that we have not been abroad for 6 years, and no proper holiday last year, this year looks like being just a couple of short breaks in the UK cuortesy of Travel****., and very glad we are to have them!
Visiting our local country park today for a walk, plenty of tree cover to dodge the showers! Hope everyone has a good day.

[Deleted User]

If you are growing broad beans then try picking them at 3-4" and lightly steaming the whole bean, they are delicious and probably much better value for space than just the beans. They could also be cut and added to a stir fry or popped into minestrone soup

We had some in a chopped salad yesterday

I`m also going up to the allotment in an hour so that I can pick 6 big onions for roasted garlic and onion soup, plus I want space for my 2 hunter sqashes and while there I will water my tall french and runner beans and then mulch them with degradable stuff. I have mulched everything I can think of and am growing lots in planters and raised beds and growbags at home, as I can get to them easily for watering and picking. I have lots of duncan cabbages and they are standing firm in the drought. The old school types knew that cabbages can always be relied on to produce food for the family

Softstuff

I found a good new choice in a supermarket here today. Labelled as a "turkey hindquarter" this thing would have been a foot long at least, for only $6. Having pulled all the meat off, there's more from that than we would have had from a whole large cooked chicken. The only concern I have is given the size of this "hindquarter", the entire "turkey" would have been 3 foot tall, and not the sort of beast you'd want to bump into on a dark night. Still, it *tastes* like turkey :whistle:

Watched a DVD we got from the library last night, another Michael Moore film "Capitalism - A love story". I was quite skeptical, since although I appreciate his focus I'm not always in agreement with his views. On this one though, in my opinion, he hit the nails squarely on their heads. Well worth seeing if you're able.

missychrissy

ceridwen wrote: »

Thought 'twas summat "chemical reaction wise"??? Anyways - I've ripened tomatoes before now by putting them in a brown paper bag with some accompanying apples or bananas (think its summat to do with "gases" given off by these fruit?).

Wont be trying green fried tomatoes again in a hurry with unripened ones...yuk...

Bananas give off ethylene gas that causes other fruits to ripen, too fast if kept in the same fruit bowl but good for unripe fruit.

The ethylene gas given off by bananas also cause flowers to deteriorate quickly so keep them away.

ceridwen

Softstuff wrote: »

Watched a DVD we got from the library last night, another Michael Moore film "Capitalism - A love story". I was quite skeptical, since although I appreciate his focus I'm not always in agreement with his views. On this one though, in my opinion, he hit the nails squarely on their heads. Well worth seeing if you're able.

"The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist" by Tressell in film form in effect - modern-day version. It looks as if its possible to pretty watch much watch it all in bits on YouTube. Not much changed in over 100 years then in some ways...:(

Naughty Softstuff directing us to this - none of "Put up and shut up" in your "vocabulary" then:rotfl: - or mine either:)

GreyQueen

thriftmonster wrote: »

If I could I would pack it up and send it to you - "a present from Co Down":rotfl:

Actually until 10 days ago my allotment was like yours - solid concrete... I only got it this year (after 6 years of waiting:eek:). BCC now split the original 80' by 30' plots into 2 as they find 40' by30' enough for most people and they can give it to 2 waitees then. Do other councils do this? I have to say mine is plenty big enough as I battle to get it under control.

Morning all!

Our council here is splitting lotties into 2 when they come up for re-let, typically vertically. My particular site is one of a lot they have around the edge of the city in funny little scrappy bits of land and where there are wonky edges to the sites you sometimes get large lotties and some of these whoppers are 400 m sq and these are being divided into 4. It's because of the amount of people waiting, typically 2 + years here. I waited 18 months for mine but was working a friend-of-a-friend's plot on the same site until I got my own.

We've had a rainshower about 6 am. Only enough to dampen things and the clouds are already blowing away. No chance the water butts will have felt the benefit. The front butt on the shed is the most accessible and that's getting to the point where the level is close to the spigot and when it drops below that I won't be able to get the dregs unless I tip it and it's huge. The back butt is less accessible and has a little more in it, about one-third. I've been limiting the butts to watering the plants I'm starting in the greenhouse otherwise they'd've been dry long ago. If there was anyway of getting into Wales, Scotland, Ireland or Manc etc and relieving you of some of the excess, I'd be on it, believe me!

I put 8 cans of water off the standtap into the peas and beans yesterday, into their milkbottle watering points. Really had to bite my lip when the newbie next door who was watering with a hose at 1.30 pm and thus wasting a helluva lot of water. My broadbeans are shorter than last year but looking well and flowering. Currently about 14-16 inches tall. They're being polinated by at least 3 perhaps 4 species of bumble bees, they won't stay still enough. Got red and white tailed (or possibly buff tailed) and those all-brown carder bumble bees and maybe another.....keep still, I'm botanising!

The red-tailed ones are nesting in a mouseburrow on the edge of the Alpine Carrot Bed which I'm clearing for squash but I won't go within 3 feet of them, would rather sacrifice the crop ground than risk disturbing the nest. Queenie red-tailed was considerate enough to set up her nest with a couple of meters of my bean rows, after all. Must carefully check The Rough for signs of other bumbler nests before I get in there with the mattock but as it's a slow old job and I'm going in from cultivated ground, it should be entirely do-able. At least the white nettles which I've been tolerating because the bees love their flowers so much are going over so can be dealt with.

I'm daffy about bumble bees, in case you hadn't guessed.;) Haven't seen a single honey bee this year yet. They arrived last year when the runners were flowering but for 2 years before that I saw not a single one. Scary if you're read that book "A World Without Bees."

Peas are looking tragic outside but I have Batch 2 in loo roll tubes in the greenhouse waiting to get into the cold frame once I've got the squash etc out, it's getting into a production line up there. Tell ya, I don't have time to go to work, there are things needing my attention left, right and centre.

Not a great start to the day as went to pour my tea into the cup and the milk curdled badly. That was half a 4 -pinter good until 27/5 down the drain. I thought my flask tea which I took to the lottie yesterday tasted a bit peculiar but didn't imagine it was the milk, thought the flask needed freshening with the old boiling water and bicarb treatment, which is what it's having right now. Wonder if the cahngeable weather caused the milk to turn, although it hasn't been stormy and I get a "thunder headache" if it will, anyway.

I'm pleased that people are getting some of their bills down by concentrating on their usage, Every little helps in these straightened times. Here in Shoebox Towers (a block of council flats) you can pay rateable value as a rent charge for your water which is about £400 per year or have a water meter, which is coming in at £90 a year for me. My friend and neighbour SuperGran has a much bigger WC cistern than me, mine being a skinny 6 litre one, and I have 3 x 1 pint plastic milk bottles filled with water in mine, which is all I can fit around the mechanism, reducing the flow still further, and never have the slightest problem with things disappearing properly.

Anyway, as SG (a pensioner) is always working on her bills to reduce them, I've suggested that she use the same technique as it's such an easy gain for no cost but she's very "funny" about going into the cistern. SG was a nurse in her working life and is very fastidious. I've gently pointed out that the water in there is just the same as is coming out of her taps but she'd squeamish. I have issued a standing invitation to let me do it as I'm keen to get water saved and bills down.

Heartily agree with those who've commented on the lack of dommy-sci and similar type education which is being afflicted on today's youngsters. We had cookery and sewing and learned to wire an plug and grow stuff and lots of other bits and pieces. I'm pretty astonished at some of the peeps in their late teens and early twenties I encounter among the general public as I do my job. I get peeps who can't fill in a simple online form and they've allegedly had years of ITC (I'm of the generation who didn't have this benefit and had to study myself at evening class to avoid being left behind). And an 18 year old asked me last week how to spell "take".:eek:

So, I'm thinking, we've got a helluva lot of youngsters out there who've been in full-time education for 11 years and they can't put a simple letter or email together, can't spell simple words, can't cook, sew, count, budget, garden or do anything which might equip them to be competant adults. Is this me or is this insanity? I totally refuse to believe that they're bone-idle mental incompetants en masse so it must be the failings of adult society. Grrrr.

OK, rant over. See how cranky I can be without enough tea?

Yesterday's happiest moment was buying for £1 the following; 1lb carrots, 5 conference pears and a middling size honeydew melon and getting a huge and perfectly ripe mango thrown in for free. Scarfed the mango within the hour, it was absolutely heavenly.

Anyone know anything amusing to do with a mango pit? Are they growable in this climate or can you do something craftsy with one?

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday.

bluebag

Greyqueen, I don't use a lot of milk in my house and when I bought regular milk I would end up with loads to chuck out, there is only so much scones and soda bread you can make

I changed to Mr T's pure or cravendale, and while a bit more expensive, it kept for so much longer that it was actually a saving for me as I rarely have it go off.

Softstuff

GreyQueen wrote: »

Anyone know anything amusing to do with a mango pit? Are they growable in this climate or can you do something craftsy with one?

I believe you could put it in a pot and grow it as a houseplant, and it would remain pretty small, but obviously never fruit (I seem to recall my mother having grown one at some point). The climate there wouldn't grow an actual tree, many years they don't grow that well over here either.

Emptynester

Ceridwen
Thank you for the mention of John Harrison his name was new to me. I have googled his name and marked his site to explore later. There seemed to be a lot of useful info there and I will have a good read later in the day.
Thank you
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