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

cat_smith

Joy. Bank holiday weather. What has Scotland done to deserve this? Everywhere else is crying out for rain and we're desperate to give it away. Not going to be planting out my veggies today.

grandma247

HoneyBee83 wrote: »

Good news- Mums friend has brought 12 chickens so free eggs whenever i want (depending on how they continue to lay). Mum and i really want to pay her somehow but she wont take money and already grows veggies and bakes... Heads together i think!! Any ideas welcome.

A bag of feed now and again?

GreyQueen

HoneyBee83 wrote: »

Runner Beans- Great now i have slugs etc munching on them!
Looked up Nitrogen deficiency on the web and Yes! Thats what my once lovely green beans look like...
I may get on to Grandad about this. He used to have farms and now helps on local ones with their gardens and veggie plots...I'll play dumb and pretend i know nothing about whats wrong...Will keep you posted GreyQueen he may have more tips etc
Good news- Mums friend has brought 12 chickens so free eggs whenever i want (depending on how they continue to lay). Mum and i really want to pay her somehow but she wont take money and already grows veggies and bakes... Heads together i think!! Any ideas welcome.

Good old Veg Expert book, eh? My way to thwart the slugs is to put out crushed eggshells around the base of the bean plants when I plant them out but this is one of those things which you have to plan ahead (months ahead) for. They crush smaller if you rinse them then keep them in a tray on the bottom of the oven whilst doing other things for a few weeks. A pal spotted the out of the corner of his eye and accused me of making shrunken heads:rotfl:but the other pal who was visiting at the same time is a gardener and does the same. Basically, slugs hate abrasive things and you can also put out bran which they eat and can't digest. I think they explode or something icky.

Slugs have been such a PITA for years that I've started the beans undercover for that reason only; I plant them out when the stem is a good 8 inches tall so that the twiddly climbing bit can't be eaten off by the slugs.

Due to drought, lottie is a dustbowl and slugs not a problem this year but you're over towards Wales and they have some seriously big black scary slugs over there; I've seen them myself.

Be great to get your Grandad's tips up here.

Will be back in my city by 4 pm and will be up to the lottie after tea to water the greenhouse and see what's what. Will be taking as many 2 and 4 pint milk bottles (mum saves them for me too) as I can carry on the bus without attracting Strange Looks.;)

Went to another booter today but most of it was kids' stuff (I'm a childfree zone so very little interest in that) but I did spend a whole 20p and brother got more books so he's a happy bunny.

Hope everyone is having a nice day.

boultdj

mardatha wrote: »

Can anybody answer Redlady's query re weevils in a sack of flour ? How to get rid of them? I freeze all flour in bags in a spare freezer and just keep them there. But Costco has a huge bag of Canadian wheat flour at around a tenner and I really want to get it. But not sure re storage.

redlady_1 wrote: »

You see my problem!!!

Only thing I can think of Ladies, is to get the biggest lock n' lock's -lot's of 'em, that will fit in the frezzer, decant flour in to them, frezze 'em then just store in the box's, just need to remember to lable what type of flour it is I admit to not doing it before.......very intresting yorkshire's as a result:o

jfdi

Hello All! :wave:

Making one of my infrequent Posts to this thread - still gotta catch up the last few days too. :eek: - LOADS of posts!

Anyway - my DH has just come back from the lottie with loads of fresh herbs - Parsley, Coriander, Thyme and Oregano - as well as some rocket, strawberries (:heart2:), radishes and a lettuce.

I'm planning on using the Parsley in a tabbouleh salad tonight, to go with the leftover chicken from yesterday; I've just chopped a wee bit of the Thyme into our brunch of scrambled eggs.

All well and good - but then DH started to cut the trailing bits off the Vine outside our back door (whether the wires will be able to carry the weight of all the grapes on it is a different thing altogether!!!!!!!!!!! ) and I suddenly thought of stuffed Vine Leaves!

I like the tinned ones you can get, but am not sure of the filling - rice and herbs and olive oil? And how do you cook them? Do they freeze well (either made up, or freezing individual leaves layered with cling film?).

I've got a Greek cookbook somewhere (in the half decorated kitchen, if I can find it!) but wondered if any of you wonderful people may have some ideas?

A
xx

PS - AND WHERE'S OUR RAIN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

smileyt_2

I'm totally fed up with the weather too. We have more heavy rain this morning. Everything on the lottie is looking washed out, and I can't get down there to weed because everytime I have time, it's raining again. The weather has destroyed my pumpkins and cucumbers too, red doe. It's just about struggling up to 10 degrees C here in Manchester, so a bit warmer than Scotland, but not much.

So bl**dy fed up! I WANT SOME SUNSHINE!!!!!!! ABOUT 4 MONTHS' WORTH WOULD DO NICELY THANK YOU!

ceridwen

Vine leaves....dolmas....

I've not actually tried that yet - though soon figured out that cabbage leaves would probably do just as well....

...I'm guessing...but I think I would stick in some sultanas and some cubed feta cheese into a rice and herbs filling and bake in oven until grapevine/cabbage leaves had started to "singe" slightly??? - and I would be inclined to add a little bit of stock - ie veggie stock powder made up with a bit of water and little bit of pesto....could be nice...:p

...serve with rice...reminds me ..must go and check on how my rice is steaming...plans for steamed rice and chard with cheese sauce on top of it:D:p

...and then back to this weeks Bright Idea - which is "If the Americans can do their Bug Out Bags (as in emergency preparedness) - then why shouldnt I condense my "filing system" down to my own version of a Bug Out Bag. That is to make sure that everything absolutely "vital" (apart from my handbag) would fit into one shopping bag (with handles) that I have. So - in process of setting up a minimalist filing system of "vitals" that will slot into that shopping bag of:
- record of savings
- all the "officialdom stuff" - passport, Will, Living Will
- my "worth a bit" jewellery
- P60s
- insurance details
- etc

....goes off thinking "I reckon I can get that lot into the shopping bag. So 'grab and go' for handbag and that shopping bag and I would have everything I'm that bothered about...."

Brings a new slant to that shampoo ad for "wash and go"....my home version of things being "grab 2 bags and go"...I'm just really not that attached any more to all these possessions I have and want to know that I could just "pick up my Life and walk" if I ever needed to...

scottishminnie

[QUOTE=ceridwen;44044336
...and then back to this weeks Bright Idea - which is "If the Americans can do their Bug Out Bags (as in emergency preparedness) - then why shouldnt I condense my "filing system" down to my own version of a Bug Out Bag. That is to make sure that everything absolutely "vital" (apart from my handbag) would fit into one shopping bag (with handles) that I have. So - in process of setting up a minimalist filing system of "vitals" that will slot into that shopping bag of:
- record of savings
- all the "officialdom stuff" - passport, Will, Living Will
- my "worth a bit" jewellery
- P60s
- insurance details
- etc

....goes off thinking "I reckon I can get that lot into the shopping bag. So 'grab and go' for handbag and that shopping bag and I would have everything I'm that bothered about...."
QUOTE]

We have friends who live in Kansas in the heart of Tornado Alley and they have what they refer to as "our lives in a bag" which sounds exactly the same. It's a carrier sized bug proof, waterproof airtight bag and inside it has things like insurance policies, bank details, medical info, passports, marriage certificates etc. She described it to me as the basic things they would need to start their lives again if everything was wiped out.

It's a sobering thought given what's just happened in Missouri - we may joke about the relentless rain here at the moment but there for the grace of god................

Seakay

mardatha wrote: »

Can anybody answer Redlady's query re weevils in a sack of flour ? How to get rid of them? I freeze all flour in bags in a spare freezer and just keep them there. But Costco has a huge bag of Canadian wheat flour at around a tenner and I really want to get it. But not sure re storage.

Found some advice on the Delia forum:

http://www.deliaonline.com/Community/forum.html?forum_action=5&forum_forumid=13&forum_threadid=2339

main thing seems to be to keep the flour in an airtight container to avoid any damp - I imagine that the cheapest way of doing this would be to contain the whole sack of flour in a black bin liner and clip it shut. The main way to kill of the eggs seems to be freezing, but there is a suggestion that bay leaves act as a deterrent.

ceridwen

scottishminnie wrote: »

[QUOTE=ceridwen;44044336
...and then back to this weeks Bright Idea - which is "If the Americans can do their Bug Out Bags (as in emergency preparedness) - then why shouldnt I condense my "filing system" down to my own version of a Bug Out Bag. That is to make sure that everything absolutely "vital" (apart from my handbag) would fit into one shopping bag (with handles) that I have. So - in process of setting up a minimalist filing system of "vitals" that will slot into that shopping bag of:
- record of savings
- all the "officialdom stuff" - passport, Will, Living Will
- my "worth a bit" jewellery
- P60s
- insurance details
- etc

....goes off thinking "I reckon I can get that lot into the shopping bag. So 'grab and go' for handbag and that shopping bag and I would have everything I'm that bothered about...."
QUOTE]

We have friends who live in Kansas in the heart of Tornado Alley and they have what they refer to as "our lives in a bag" which sounds exactly the same. It's a carrier sized bug proof, waterproof airtight bag and inside it has things like insurance policies, bank details, medical info, passports, marriage certificates etc. She described it to me as the basic things they would need to start their lives again if everything was wiped out.

It's a sobering thought given what's just happened in Missouri - we may joke about the relentless rain here at the moment but there for the grace of god................

Thats reminded me - bank details - mustn't forget them. Thank you.

Actually - even in Britain...there is always the risk of something like flooding or fire and it would be one big "headache" rushing round the house thinking "Am I sure I have remembered everything vital if it came to it?". This way - no problem - grab bag (and handbag) and go...

Not too many problems re information (my 23 now shelves of books) - I've saved links for a lot of things I'm interested in one of my blogs (ie private or public)...so can just call that up...