Preparing for Winter V

Laura_Elsewhere

@pollyanna_26 I shall bear that in mind if the twiggy branches stop working!  

jozbo

Pipneyjane good to hear the insulated plasterboard has helped. The conundrum for us is that the wall has the original plaster on now, it’s in good condition overall (except for a blown area near the window) so I’m loath to remove it all and install plasterboard. As it’s next to the stairs it would also be really difficult to isolate all the mess dust and disruption from knocking all the plaster off. So have come full circle again and think we will probably line it, while concentrating our efforts on addressing draughts and topping up the partial loft insulation we currently have. 

Re. Winter veg discussion, im interested in chard but our garden centre options are pricey and full of other temptations (!!)

one thing we did last winter that made a big difference was make a couple of simple mini polytunnels out of corrugated plastic with wooden battens. These sit over the raider bed and extend our season by a month ish.

jozbo

Raised bed, not raider!!

greenbee

@jozbo - you can get a pack of chard seeds for less than £2 and it'll probably keep you in chard for life once they start seeding themselves everywhere. 

jozbo

Thanks Greenbee 

MandM90

Was really warm here today in Northern Ireland, but my mind has started to turn to winter. We have a 90% full 2000l oil tank which should see us through winter, even with the December due newborn arriving, however there is loads of dead wood around our woodland so I think we should start getting some processed and invest in a moisture meter

- get chimneys swept (we have 5 fireplaces here and it's a bungalow!!)
- get chimneys swept in rental house

- start collecting and processing firewood (probably for next year though there is some standing dead wood which may well be grand)
- check I'm on cheapest electricity provider (it's a bit different here than GB, no comparison sites like we had back home!)
- keep a look out in chazza shops for some big fleeces for everyone to wear around the house

- invest in an electric blanket for our new superking (DD can have the double from our old bed)
- new sheets for the new bed. We only have one set at the moment so every Tuesday I wash them and then use the dryer...naughty!!

I'm sure there is more I haven't thought of. As I'll likely be 2 weeks postpartum at Christmas I will want to make a freeze Xmas dinner in advance!

PipneyJane

Thanks everyone for your suggestions re veg. I’d forgotten about Swiss Chard (aka “Silver Beet” to us Aussies).  I might give that a try, particularly since you can get different coloured ones.  Ditto purple sprouting broccoli.  Last year, I grew perpetual spinach which was.... OK.  It gave us a reasonable crop of leaves but they didn’t taste of anything, just vague green-ness.

On the electricity/gas front, I was convinced that our fixed rate ran out this month.  This week, I downloaded the latest bills and was relieved to discover that it lasts until May next year.  (No idea where I got the idea that it ran out in September.  On my budget spreadsheet, it even says “fixed to 22 May 2022”.)

- Pip

ETA:  both of the raised beds have frames and covers, so I will utilise those this winter.

Primrose

Pip - one feature of the coloured stem Swiss Chard which I've noticed is that it has a lot more "earthy" taste than the all green variety.   Fine if you don,t mind this but we found it a bit offputting and now only grow the all green variety. 

jozbo

I’ve found the gardenfocused website really helpful about choosing varieties. I’ve gone for chard too, and found 2 varieties that sound like they will complement each other nicely - white silver and bright lights. Managed to get them from online supplier for £2.79 inc delivery. 

Now to find the space! I have some pots with useable compost but no covers. Might overtake the perp spinach I’ve given a good spot in the raised bed as I agree it’s rather dull. 

Think I have some blood fish and bone to work into the soil too. Homemade compost looks about ready to remove and start mulching.
feeling very tired this weekend though and hoping it’s not COVID (had outdoor contact with a confirmed case 3 days ago).
going to rest and cross my fingers.

Primrose

Feelings of exhaustion and just needing to sleep are also symptoms of Covid.  Hopefully though if you've been double jabbed, that will soon pass.  Just resting and trying to sleep it off is probably the best course.