THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

[Deleted User]

Had a quick look online and consensus of opinion is that ants will be after aphids on your blackcurrant bush. Deal with the aphid problem (pyrethroid insecticide recommended) and the ant problem will disappear.

Nargleblast

Regarding concerns about shortage of migrant agricultural workers post-Brexit, my home town is in an agricultural area and over the past 40 years it has seen a sharp rise in the numbers of people from other parts of the EU coming to live there. The main reason as far as I can see that there's a shortage of British workers in land jobs is not because they are lazy, but because a native Brit cannot pay the rent/mortgage, all other bills and keep a family on such low wages whereas the foreign workers will get together, four or five to a house, split all the bills between them and still have money left over to send back home to their families. I don't criticise that for one minute as I would do exactly the same if I went abroad to work. The only solution would be to make farmers and food processors pay a wage people can live on. You know what would happen then? We would all be moaning about food prices going up!

monnagran

Reading through the last couple of pages two things become clear.

a) Farmers are not being paid a fair and reasonable amount for the food they produce. But if they are paid more food will become that much more expensive and everyone will vetch and moan about the cost of living.

b) As a nation we are all buying and eating waaaaay too much leading to waste, obesity and general indifferent health. But we do it because it is cheap enough and we can.

The solution? Simples!

Ration books. Limit what people can buy. Not buying so much means that we can afford to spend more on the essentials of life. Farmers will then regain their proper respect and will be justly rewarded for their labours which means that they will in turn be able to pay a decent wage to their workers.
British people will then be able to live on a farmworkers income and will flock to the countryside to feed a grateful nation.

Ah! Just had a thought. Will this mean that I have to give up my Christmas Cucumber?

Forget what I just said. It's the dementia setting in. Either that or April 1st has got to me.

x

Nargleblast

No, I nominate monnagran as President!

monnagran

No thanks Nargleblast. It takes me all my time and energy to procrastinate on my own behalf, to think of having to do it on anyone else's makes me come over all unnecessary. Sufficient unto the day is the procrastination thereof.

x

fuddle

nargle and monna, cracking posts. It's t'werly to be nodding at the screen but you both had me doing so. I think it's more about production for export than it is to feed us monna. Our markets are the crux of everything. Greed and globalisation has infiltrated even the cow's udders huh?

I reckon that the use of machinery and chemicals has lead to a huge over production problem which leads to waste and the excess leads to low prices. 15% of the work force of our land worked the farms during the war and now it's 2% and a 1/3 less working farms. The smaller farms have crashed and burned or are about to and the bigger ones get more and more industrialised.

Our farming sector relies on seasonal workers in a land that dictates that we have no choice but to pay large rents, hefty council tax and can only access a mortgage with a contract of employment. It's a mess which needs a square peg to fit into a round hole.

I would also like to say that the working class men of our country don't want 9-5 office jobs and so many are trugging around doing back breaking work, disgusting work or even dangerous work or at least putting their health in jeopardy all because that work gets them a regular wage and contract employment. I would like to dare suggest that they would love to swap with a farm hand but they can't because they have to live and support.

The working class man still has the working class ethos and will turn his hand at anything that enables him to earn his crust. There's still a heck of a lot of them about and they're far from pampered.

mardatha

This country got great on the back of the workers, and our strength and good nature is what has kept it together so far. Politicians certainly haven't.

fuddle

Mar I know it will be difficult to second guess the whole feeling of indyref2 but what is the feeling up there? I don't want you to go! Nicola S looks to be pushing her own agenda. I never actually hear her talking about anything other than breaking us up. It's probably the media and because of Have I Got News For You I like Ruth Davidson... my miner grandad would be clipping me across the earole for uttering those words. :rotfl: Ruddy media

Cheapskate

Morning all, been MIA for months, RL has been rough, but am back again. 🙂
Read the last page or two, interesting re food and farming. We have 2 beef farm/farm shops and 2 dairy combos within 20 minutes drive in any direction from our house, all employing local people, all selling their own meat/dairy and related products, plus some locally grown fruit and veg. Not the cheapest, but SUCH good quality. We also have a YWT farm at the top of the hill, growing a beef herd, which they convert into beef boxes twice a year. Again, not cheap (around £100 for a 10kg mixed box), but I find it justifiable - we don't eat much meat and I love the fact that those steers have literally had a fab life, organic in all but the paperwork, and taste amazing! I think we are very lucky to have all these on our doorstep, and they add to our life changes that are happening.
I finish uni this time, my darling mum's home may have finally sold, our littlies are coming out of school this summer to home educate, so lots of big changes afoot. We are simplfying everything, we will have time to grow more, to go back to proper cooking, sewing, making, diy, etc - and we will have less money, no doubt about it, but we need to do it. I will be here regularly again, so nice to see all my 'friends' are still here" 😍

A xo

mardatha

I don't really know what anybody else thinks Fuds, I rarely see neighbours and we wouldn't talk politics anyway. I do see a lot of cars with the YES2 stickers though. Nobody is more SNP than I am - I've wanted independence since I was old enough to think. But I feel this isn't the right time, and I wish Alec Salmond had stayed in charge, as I feel he was brilliant but NS is a wee bit over the top for me. I do want to leave Europe and I'm glad we are coming out.
I'm not racist or nasty in any way - just a very very proud Scot who loves her nation dearly. I cannot believe any country should willingly vote in another country to rule it.. England wouldn't ever vote for France to come in and take over, so why did we? You feel annoyed sometimes at Brussels bossing you around down there- imagine how we feel up here lol. And if the figures on Scotland's economy are wrong and we run very short of money, then we will deal with that, stand on our own feet and stop blaming London
I have seen such a lot of nasty racist comments online about all of this and I'm not being hauled into that, so I'm not going any further on this, ok.