Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

dandy-candy wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone is growing their own food? I have had such poor success these last couple of years that I have just bought in loads of tins this time around. I might grow lettuce and tomatoes, and some extra herbs, but other than that I won't bother.
How about anyone else?

The last couple of years have been appalling. I was fighting the Great Gastropod Invasion last summer, killing 100+ each visit and they just kept on coming, even though I had (and have) a kill-on-sight policy for slugs and snails.

Last year was one of my worst ever but I still have spuds to eat and broad beans and peas in the freezer. I feel very sorry for people who have started gardening for the first time recently and think it's always like this and who may have given up in despair.

Was talking to my Dad today who still cannot credit that he didn't manage to grow a single bliddy parsnip last year, despite several separate sowings. He normally keeps the extended family and the neighbours in parsnips for months. We're sick of the sight of the beggars by now but the only ones we have are shop-bought.

If people with 60+ years of veggie growing experience are struggling, what the heck must it be like for noobs?!

Around here (southern England) the farmers are sowing spuds so I put mine in on Good Friday. They're wel earthed up. I haven't sown anything else, even hardy stuff like broad beans. It's too darned cold. If you look at cleared soil and see lots of tiny weedlings coming up like cress, you know it's warm enough to sow.

You can also be a bit sly; soak broad beans for 48 hours before planting and you really shorten the germination time. They'll start to put out roots in the soaking water. I've had them break the surface in 6 days when thus treated as opposed to 2 weeks when not presoaked. You can do this with peas (24 hours is enough for them) and runner beans in due course.

We're in the Hungry Gap at the moment and fresh greens have always been scarce and expensive in Spring. Dusting off my crystal ball, I predict that veggies and fruit will be more expensive in 2013 than last year. I think it would be sensible to garden as much as possible and to look at preserving techniques to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the ole housekeeping budget as much as possible.

I shall also be chucking a load of date-expired flower seeds which were given to me into the soil. Did the same thing last year and ended up with a fabulous cottage garden-type bed. I think it's important to have a little colour on the lottie as it encourages beneficial insects esp the bees, but it also lifts the morale.

Morale is critical in life. It's the difference between living and merely existing. A posy of daisies in an egg cup can liven up your table at home. So you can't afford lilies? Psshaw! You can have something to lighten your heart and add a grace note to your home, 'owever 'umble it be.

ETA mysterywoman10, I was taught how to dismantle a woodpidgeon in about 3 mins barehanded in the woods by the Mad Bushcrafters. Then we made pie. And I thought to myself; I am making pastry from scratch in a camp kitchen in the woods. I don't even cook pastry from scratch at home FGS! Good eating. I'd like to hunt them over the lottie site but we're not allowed to use airguns up there (suburbia). Perhaps I could lie in wait with a throwing net............

boultdj

:DGlad I could help D&DD.

I hope we get a better growing year this year, the only thing that did well for me last year was broad bean's.

pineapple

dandy-candy wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone is growing their own food? I have had such poor success these last couple of years that I have just bought in loads of tins this time around. I might grow lettuce and tomatoes, and some extra herbs, but other than that I won't bother.
How about anyone else?

Even though last year was poor, lots of people had success with runner beans. I have a large, deep planter on the patio and grow the beans up a cane wigwam. It's more or less vertical growing so you don't need much space. I had tons of them last year. I was all runner beaned out! I froze a lot and gave some to neighbours. They can be very decorative too - the beans that is, not the neighbours :rotfl:.
As for herbs it seems my oregano (in a poorish soil) is indestructible. Same goes for my rosemary in a pot.
Unfortunately I believe we have entered a cycle of colder, wetter, more extreme weather and possible the first two are the only things we can bank on. I saw an article somewhere on growing techniques for what some believe will be the new norm and I'm trying to locate it!

D&DD

BigM I'm sure theres a pic somewhere of that will try and dig it up as its such a fab idea for very little space

Elaine just for you here's a start..

David Moody as well as the dogblood trilogy his 4 book set Autumn is really good.

John Birmingham Without warning,After America and Angels of Vengeance, not so keen on his style of writing but fantastic storyline

Rhiannon Frater As the world dies trilogy plus minibooks very very good read with laydees as the heroines of course lol

Jeff Carlson Plague war trilogy have yet to finish first book not keen again on his writing style..although again a good plotline

Susan Pfieffer Life as we knew it series not read yet!

Jonathan Maberry every book he's written Cracking author highly recommended

Scott Sigler same as above although don't be doing what I did and take Infected and Contagious in to read in hospital...:o

Brian Keene another great author have most of his work too very similar writer to David Moody

Joe McKinney Apocalypse of the dead series very good reads

Rhys Thomas On the Third Day a book my son bough me for xmas last year really enjoyed it nice writing style too

BigMummaF

Watching Beeb1 at the mo, C0untryFi1e, & some chap has said he's growing walnuts in Kent cuz it's got (global) warmer :eek:

I am one of the worst with gardening My mate issued strict warnings to keep the mint she had planted for me, in the pot because it spreads like billy-o...eeerrrrrrrrrrmmmmm...no ...six attempts to grow this supposed space invader have come to nowt in a matter of tens of DAYS when left in my tender care.
I'd love to have rhubarb, some of Iggie's favourites like pea shoots & chives, & of course strawbs & m'be little lettuces, but I need to get rid of this cursed black thumb first!

mysterywoman10

Our B52's could be shot from our bedroom window (when the neighbors are out! she insists on feeding them so they are very fat!!)

We find using the cardboard from toilet rolls/kitchen roll etc. and putting the parnsips in those dramaticaly improves the crop growth we did well with parsnips last year.

Raised beds make a big difference as well when the ground is so wet, all ours are from stuff raided from skips etc.

GreyQueen

BigMummaF wrote: »

Watching Beeb1 at the mo, C0untryFi1e, & some chap has said he's growing walnuts in Kent cuz it's got (global) warmer :eek:

I am one of the worst with gardening My mate issued strict warnings to keep the mint she had planted for me, in the pot because it spreads like billy-o...eeerrrrrrrrrrmmmmm...no ...six attempts to grow this supposed space invader have come to nowt in a matter of tens of DAYS when left in my tender care.
I'd love to have rhubarb, some of Iggie's favourites like pea shoots & chives, & of course strawbs & m'be little lettuces, but I need to get rid of this cursed black thumb first!

You're approaching this from the wrong angle. You don't have a gardening handicap, you have the potential to earn shedloads. Think of those organisations fighting the good fight against Japanese Knotweed and Galloping Rhododendrons. You could offer to go there are do a little light weeding around these horticultural hooligans and ffffffftttttttt!!!!!!! Over they go.:rotfl:

You'd be in demand across the nation and you'd be able to pay Monty Don to come work in your own garden.

D&DD

lol love the B52's will tell that to my mum so she doesn't curse hers when they start gobbling her cabbages! Wonder if my dads any good with an air rifle :rotfl:

http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/

Heres the link I remembered reading its a nice little site for those of us with a yard rather than acres

BigM have you got a Wyevales garden centre near you? Mine sells off seed at 5p and 10p at certain times of the year so if you're struggling it may be a cheap way of trying some things out? Peas are pretty easy to grow especially if you want them for shoots the slugs don't tend to swamp them here until they just get going properly!

BTW D&DD is mine and OH's names I had to be incognito when I first started here on the DFW board

Paul_Varjak

mrs_lds wrote: »

ThChurch of Jesus Christ of latter day saints are great advocate of self reliance. Check out the other items they have



http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_21158_-1_N_image_0

Also starter ideas for food storage scroll down
http://store.lds.org/images/estore/products/eng/3_04008000_o06.pdf

Their selection of items is very limited (even in USA) and what is available in the UK is practically nothing - just a filter water bottle (of questionable efficacy) a counter-top water filtration system, one size of Mylar bags plus the the oxygen absorbers and sealing equipment for the Mylar bag. Even the bag sealer is designed for 110v, so requires a step-transformer to work on 230v; using a household iron would suffice to seal Mylar bags. You cannot even buy any food items from the Mormon store in the UK.

Given that the Mormons advocate at least 3 months supply of food, that, correctly packaged, they say can be stored for 30 years they simply don't provide the equipment or the food to achieve that long-term storage.

The Mormons do sell military kit however, but you have to create an account to view those items, so who knows what that may include!

BigMummaF

I'm pretty sure it's on this episode--it won't load for me for some reason --or it would be the one before.

It's a kind of 'vertical growing' & I found THIS version too, using just the one pallet, but you can see the principle Better picture HERE (haven't read the instructions tho) & I'm definitely going to have a closer look at THIS one for tiddly gardens :T With The Offspring, Pooch, Iggie, improvised outdoor workshop, friendly bbqs AND the laundry, the space out there needs to s-t-r-e-t-c-h beyond the neighbours frontiers, & then some!