It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

silvermaid

Winchelsea - We keep a small paintbrush in our polytunnel and DH tickles the flowers for things we want to fruit - tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers & melons. We grow the outside tomato plants in with nasturtiums whch encourage lots of pollinators.

Redlady - Get well soon you poor thing x

Cranky - Sounds like he's getting the right idea. Hibernation sounds quite enticing especially if we are going to have yet another hard winter as some are suggesting.

ceridwen

Breakfast time note - A little digression re previously mentioned supermarket cheapest muesli. I've now had that S*insburys Basics muesli twice - on own with milk and with fruit and bit of cream and its fine. It IS only muesli base - rather than "proper" muesli IMO (as per the comment off this forum mentioning these basic/value mueslis) - but it does okay for those "base" purposes.

I will eat it up and try out some recipes with it to see how it goes - though personal confession I wont buy it again - just purely because it aint organic cereals and thats what I personally buy.

So - bit of a surprise to me that its okay - as I dont find a lot of the Value/Basics products palatable personally (Value orange juice = coloured water IMO and so on..).

mamaninie

ceridwen wrote: »

Manaminie

Perhaps one of your neighbours has a dehydrator and you could all pick and divvy up the apples between you and take turns at using the dehydrator of whichever one of you owns one.?

Mind you - if there IS only one other neighbour - then a half share of those apples each still comes to a lot of apples to preserve LOL - and enough spare to put a box on the pavement outside with a "help yourself" notice as well.

thankyou. we will definietly be sharing them with the other neighbour - I'm sure it won't be a fight to the death!:rotfl: A box outside sounds very nice too. I don't have a dehydrator and I wouldn't imagine the other neighbour would either to be honest - a bit of a specialist item! Could you dry apple rings in a low oven?

I was thinking about overwinter storage really - will they keep in the garage? or do I have to do complicated things with them in trays not touching each other?? I've seen stacking trays in the organic gardening cataloque but :eek: at the cost - not much of a saving over supermarket apples there!

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2451&osCsid=332adfb782f7691e671c3b759aed2502

ceridwen

I have read in various places that its possible to dry fruit (including apples) in an oven at the lowest possible setting and they usually say about leaving the door propped open very slightly too.

I have never actually tried it personally - as I've had a dehydrator for years one way and another - so not needed to.

I have also read about peeps drying things like apples out in hot/sunny conservatories or on the dashboard of cars parked somewhere hot and sunny. Again - I've no idea how well this works - but maybe someone will come along who has tried this.

Re overwintering apples - what I've read indicates that apples can be overwintered by wrapping them individually in newspaper and placing them on those "fruit separator tray" thingies that supermarkets receive their fruit on (so maybe you could ask if you could have a couple of them if they are chucking them out). I read that how well apples store depends on the variety - and its basically later varieties that store better. There was mention as well of leaving the stalk on the apple helps. Again - someone will doubtless come along that has done this and could tell you of their experience. As my house is RATHER too small - then I dont have space for things like that - hence the dehydrating.

Someone like RAS or Kittie would be better placed to advise you on this than I can...

GreyQueen

mamaninie wrote: »

thankyou. we will definietly be sharing them with the other neighbour - I'm sure it won't be a fight to the death!:rotfl: A box outside sounds very nice too. I don't have a dehydrator and I wouldn't imagine the other neighbour would either to be honest - a bit of a specialist item! Could you dry apple rings in a low oven?

I was thinking about overwinter storage really - will they keep in the garage? or do I have to do complicated things with them in trays not touching each other?? I've seen stacking trays in the organic gardening cataloque but :eek: at the cost - not much of a saving over supermarket apples there!

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2451&osCsid=332adfb782f7691e671c3b759aed2502

Morning all!

Re storing apples, you do need to have a cool and airy place (said GQ who once had the misfortune to work in an industrial unit which had been an apple store and was barely adapted for human beings...brrrr).:rotfl:

It's critical that the fruit be absolutely blemish-free or it'll rot and also that the apples don't touch as one rotten apple turns the barrel rotten as per the proverb. You shouldn't use windfalls for this purpose and can put blemish-free fruit, individually wrapped in paper, in trays where they can't touch (I'm thinking maybe those flimsy orange crates from the market/ greengrocer? perhaps with those purple foamy dimpled inserts?) and then store in a cool dry place. They'll shrivel eventually so won't keep until the next year's crop are ready. You'd need to check them regularly in your loft/ outbuilding/ unheated back bedroom/ wherever.

I'm sure I saw in one of Bob Flowerdew's books that he uses decommisioned fridges or freezers in a shed for this purpose.

I can recall that in the war, when they were making staunch efforts to preserve everything, apple rings were dried on home made wooden frames (made to fit your oven, naturally) covered with thin gauze. The idea being you had the oven on it's lowest setting and the door ajar. Perhaps this might be easier for those who have those Aga thingies which are always on?

I have also heard of people using a car as a dehydrator by putting fruit on trays on the parcel shelf on hot days.

BTW, I have a vague memory that one of my books on simple living has mention of how to make a dehydrator as a cheapy DIY project; have just checked and the book isn't indexed so I can't find the info in a hurry but I can check it out later and will post it, if it would be of interest.

You could perhaps llok at cooking down some of the apples into a puree (freezable or bottlable) and preserving some of the bounty like that. Apple puree is nice with porrige (well, I think so ) HTH.

Gigervamp

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that you can use a microwave to dry apple rings. I think you put them between a couple of bits of kitchen towel and use the lowest setting in bursts. There must be something out there about it if you do a search.

I've also read of people using the airing cupboard. You fix up a piece of garden cane or one of those expanding curtain rods and slide the apple rings on it.

RAS

There was a simple solar dryer on Path to freedom but I can no longer find anything on there.

But bascially a long wide cardboard box, with the small ends removed and covered with something insect proof (muslin would do). In the middle of the long sides, V shape cuts out so that the box can be "bent" and the edges taped together. The inside is painted black and the top of the slope (sun catcher) and the flat tray area (resting on a stool say) are glazed in some way.

The sloped glazed area faces the sun, cool air enters the lower edge, is warmed as it rises up the slope and passes over the food places in the tray area.

Does that make any sense?

ginnyknit

Well today has its good and bad points so far and its only 10.30!

Dentist, ok I guess, bit uncomfortable but got through ok

On the way home a white van man forced us to scrape along a parked car, the owner was a tad irate but calmed down quite quickly and totally blamed the van driver - who drove off quite speedily!

Phonecall from the bank re the 7 day total !!!! up of both mine and OH's bank accounts. Now sorted and 100 pounds to compensate us for the stress :T:T:T. Mind you it helped that we found a lovely bank manager - yes they do exist- who backed us up and sorted it, she also phoned me evry day to keep me up to speed.

Now off to bulk buy rabbit food and shop till I drop - well I may treat myself to a pair of sandals! Other than that the money is going to be carefully stashed away for a snowy day.

Softstuff

Ginnyknit, sorry to hear about your car incident. I feel your pain, we had something similar happen to us with our last car, an ignorant guy in a 4 wheel drive forced us to hit a rock wall on the other side. Glad to hear the other car owner saw who was to blame, and hoping your day improves.

hex2

mamaninie wrote: »

Could you dry apple rings in a low oven?

Yes, there is a thread on it here

I have done it a few times, and it works well. I bought the Lakeland dehydrator recently in anticipation of my crop this year. Previously I have made and frozen a lot of apple juice which works ok.

Lots of changes going on here which will increase our reliance on thrifty living.