Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Just listening to Radio 4 and they're reporting that the National Farmers Union is "extremely worried" about the aniticpated state of the 2013 harvest, with the area of winter wheat sown down 25% on previous years.

This will be non-news to any of us who grow veggies; everthing is late and slow. My strawbs are in full flower, haven't even gone over to set little green fruits. I'm normally eating them at this point in the year. Second early potatoes like mine would be lifted on the cusp of June-July but there's no way that will be happening; the plants haven't even grown large enough yet to close over the baulks.

wondercollie, we don't have moose in the UK but we have almost pestilential levels of deer, as there is nothing higher than them on the food chain. other than humans. There is talk of culling them in some parts, because they cause so much damage to forests.

We have several species; red deer (biggest), roe, fallow, sika, chinese water deer and some smallish ubiquitous thingies called muntjac. Only red and roe are native, although fallow deer have been introduced from the continent nearly a thousand years ago(as were rabbits, our native rabbity-type critter is the hare). Muntjac are incredibly bold for deer. You see them in broad daylight grazing verges on main roads and they even invade urban areas. They've been spotted in the inner city by mine, f'rinstance.

Mind you, a woman I know opened her curtains over her patio door early one morning in suburban Provincial City and came eye-ball to eye-ball with a red deer stag in full antlers. That's a helluva lot of venison on the hoof.:rotfl:

We also have pestilential quantities of grey (American) squirrels which are all over towns and cities and bold enough to come up to people in parks and tug on their sleeves to beg food off them. And wood pigeons are plump birds with a useful quantity of breastmeat. They're a problem in the countryside as they eat so much of the crops, and you're already welcome to shoot them.

Of course, if we started hunting these critters, the numbers would thin out dramatically. Given the amount of humans vs the amount of wild life, I suspect we'd be in trouble quite quickly.

Gosh, Radio 4's 07.00 news seems to be channeling a SHTF meme this morning; we've had crisis in the harvest, crisis in the bond markets and crisis in antibiotic resistance, one after the other! And the Daily Wail website is leading with a story about what certain iconic landmarks would look like 20 years after most of the population had been killed in an epidemic.

Must be something in the watter.

I shall continue to quietly add to my preps and go about my business but the times certainly feel interesting.

mardatha

My straws are on time - we don't usually see them until July. I wonder if they're panicking for nothing? - as up here things are usually this late but they always end up ready on time. But saying that I've seen trees in some places with only half their leaves out.
We have roe deer here but they're very hard to spot, very shy. Hares the same. Lots of badgers, and they say they make good eating.. and loads of trout & salmon in fish farms. But I agree GQ, the amount of people would make sure the wildlife was cleared out pretty fast.

GreyQueen

mardatha wrote: »

My straws are on time - we don't usually see them until July. I wonder if they're panicking for nothing? - as up here things are usually this late but they always end up ready on time. But saying that I've seen trees in some places with only half their leaves out.
We have roe deer here but they're very hard to spot, very shy. Hares the same. Lots of badgers, and they say they make good eating.. and loads of trout & salmon in fish farms. But I agree GQ, the amount of people would make sure the wildlife was cleared out pretty fast.

Winter wheat's the key crop. With the filthy weather last year, they couldn't get on some fields to plant in time, hence the acerage is down so, even if they had a bumper 2013 harvest they'd be well down on normal levels.

I've been out in the countryside in recent weeks with Dad and we were walking in areas where he used to work on the farms, 55 years ago. He keeps pointing out the one he and another boy put land drains into in about 1958, lol. Crops are looking a bit sulky and there are areas where we saw standing water forming pools on the land in winter, something never seen in living memory. Those areas of the fields were either not sown or were sown and didn't germinate and are now bare.

We have local strawbs on the market but they're polytunnel crops and have been for several years. I planted 3 bean wigwams a few weeks ago. The tally was no beans on one, one bean on another and 3 beans on the third. I dug them up last night and the beans had rotted in the soil. Dunno why; they weren't pre-soaked and the weather has been dryish.

I've replanted with soaked beans and added some mini bean-wams to cover French beans to stop me putting my big hooves on them. Fingers crossed, eh?

D&DD

Morning all

GQ I think a lot of the Daily Mail's headlines are being written by a gamer at the moment lol.. Theres a new game due out callled The Last Of Us and I think the DM has been playing it too much :rotfl:

*I only know as my sons are rabid gamers...* It's a post apocalyptic game and does look rather good but a lot of the screenshots the Mail and other papers are using they used at the press release!

The DM had a story yesterday about New York being underwater by 2050 too,I think they've been watching too much Doomsday Preppers..

Crops here are being weird again,some stuff is early (cukes) and others late..strawberries,but they are nearly there :j including the new white ones.

Tomatoes and peppers and even aubergines are half the usual height tho I reckon it's the light levels causing havoc.Turnips have bolted,what is it about me and flamin' turnips !

Off to help a neighbour with disability forms this morning then orf into the jungle to start a bit more potting on

Haven't had time to read the last few pages so will catch up once I get OH away on his fishing hols Saturday (I'm not looking forward to it...honest...) *peace*!!!

Have a great day all XXX

GreyQueen

Yeah, I knew it was about a game, it mentions it in the article. Interesting visuals even if it essentially a puff-piece for the new game.

Anyone else read The World Without Us? It's a fascinating book premised on the idea that people just disappeared. No war, no plague, no zombies, but Pfftt! just gone.

And about what would happen to our makings and doings through forces of nature over time. Fascinating. If you're pressed for time, I shall summarise; we will be survived into the distant future by our stainless steel cookware and feral cats.

Perhaps cats will develop sentinence? And use the cookware? Or aliens will land in several millennia's time and try to extrapolate who we were and what we did from colanders and stacking saucepans.:rotfl:

S'OK, the cats won't grass us up. Unless the victuals are really really good.

Off to w*rk, see ya later, GQ xx

[Deleted User]

Who's going to read the last copy?

pineapple

There doesn't seem to have been much on the news about the terrible floods in parts of Europe. Is this due to climate change (for whatever reason) I wonder? Very worrying whatever and awful for those affected.
Just look at this picture of the appropriately named Fischbeck.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339619/Floods-Europe-Burst-dyke-leaves-entire-German-town-submerged-aerial-shots-reveal-devastation-recent-heavy-rain.html
Garden wise I think we are a bit behind everyone else. The runner beans and potatoes are just starting to take off, the carrots should be ready soon, the chillis are nowhere near flowering. But dear me - like I do every year - I planted too much cut and come again lettuce in one go. Lettuce soup anyone? :eek:

elona

Pineapple

DH used to do that but this year he is only planting a few at a time so I only have quite small lettuces and am down to the last couple.

Have spent yesterday grappling with dd's student finance stuff and finding places to store the duplicate cooking equipment etc that she will need in a few months.

Just managed to stop her helpfully unloading the dishwasher (I had just loaded it with dirty dishes that had been soaking overnight). :eek:

DH has taken dd on a driving lesson and I am stuck in the house till they get back as a parcel should be delivered. No idea what to cook later but probably salad with cold meat for dds and left over ham shank with baked potato for DH. One of my dds has just announced she fancies going low carb so guess what mug will have the dubious pleasure of doing the research, shopping, cooking and general hassle of that!!

Have been researching carry on luggage on plane for dd and the airline she will use has a slightly smaller dimension allowance than most of the others so will go looking for a suitable case tomorrow and also transparent containers and little bag etc.

I had read an online newspaper report of floods in Europe but it was quite far down the page and a small article.

Grey Queen

Maybe the aliens will decide the cookware and the cats were some form of ritual sacrifice and if they cook the felines then the humans will return?

RAS

wondercollie wrote: »

How are you for wildlife for food?

We have a regular population of hares (not fluffy rabbits but huge beasts) coyotes, squirrels, gophers, moose and elk within a 20km radius. Admittedly the squirrels and gophers are small and would take a few to make a stew but needs must.

I keep trying to get t'Ctte to agree to let someone nuke the local wood pigeons; we now have to net all brassicas and soft fruit. We would also need to take out the local Grey (American flying rat) Squirrel population if we were to have any hope of getting any nuts or large seeds. They are too scared of the animal rights/bambi huggers.

The Scottish red deer population is about 3 times the number at the end of WW2, so a lot of them could be taken out over about 3 years. There are also substantial populations or red and other deer across lower ground throught the country; I saw one in a winter wheat field literally two fields from a farm house recently.

Rabbits are in abundance in many areas but mainly outside cities and would make good eating and fur. There are now feral populations of wild boar in some areas.

The other source of protein in more southerly areas (mainly) would be the American Signal Crayfish. Although licences are required to collect them, I understand that some areas are so heavily infested that there is a general licence. I would however ask anyone thinking about them to get a full licence and land-owner permission as killing native cray fish attracts a hefty fine and accidently killing otters as by-catch is also illegal.

There is a river near me that I know is full of non-natives as a result of escapes from a fish farm miles up-stream but I have not had time to sort out the permissions. On the other hand a small stream over the hill is a haven for natives and I would not touch that.

[Deleted User]

Oh yes, bring on the Crayfish!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmm delicious!!! Actually, bring on the Venison and Pigeon as well, and I'd be happy to have the rabbits, I've not tried Squirrel, but I'd be 'game' for a try!!!

ELONA if she does go low carb, put in a search for Paleo Diet, DD1 has lost 4 and 1/2 stone this last year by eating paleo style, and it hasn't been too expensive and she hasn't felt hungry, it will give you basic guidelines for the cooking, might be useful, Cheers Lyn xxx