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The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)
Comments
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My FrankenSquash, sown 5 days ago, have germinated. They're in pots sitting on a tray sitting on top of a high level grill on the stove (grill isn't used, ever, so this is quite safe). I also abraded the seed cases with sandpaper before sowing to speed up water ingress and thus germination. Should be able to be planted out at the end of May and then we shall see what these turn into - they're out of a Tosspots butternut squash bought last autumn. I have plenty more seeds which are now in a paper packet, in a tupperware in the fridge.
Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
John Ruskin
Veni, vidi, eradici
(I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
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Oooh I love it when “I wonder” seeds germinate!
New jam jar lids can be bought by the galore from Amazon & Lakeland - a WI pal has to so their produce can be sold. Sometimes she fills a church window & the stained glass of stunning reds & yellows is most impressive but she then whisks the jam into tarts & cakes etc saying that after a few hours direct sunlight they loose something of their keeping power. (Certainly the choir can clear a lot of jam in a short time given the opportunity! Miword, tenors... Nimbler & even more cunning than the trebles.)
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We ran out of runner bean seeds so I got some out of my 'dried from the runner beans to eat' stash and although they've had the 48 hours in the freezer for storage treatment and been in a jar in the cupboard since then all of them have germinated and are growing into healthy sturdy bean plants.
Question to all of us, watching the news this morning it appears that 'globalisation' has removed most of the self sufficiency from our nation, so 'do you think that realisation of the fact that we need to go back to growing, processing, manufacturing and supplying the needs of all of us here in the UK as much as is possible and for us to be willing to pay the inevitably higher prices instead of relying on the cheaper labour of other nations to make what we need and importing it (thinking PPE for the NHS) when it is available will dawn on us? or do people value more the cheap produce that can be discarded after a couple of uses over safety and self reliance' I know where I stand and I'd love to see things grown, processed and manufactured here even if it meant I could afford far less of them, it would in my eyes be a price worth paying.
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My thoughts for some weeks now is that big businesses have been having serious thoughts about their supply chains and may be looking at the feasibility of on-shoring as opposed to off-shoring, if their can wean themselves off cheap labour. There have been some articles about businesses looking at building on-shore manufacturing, but heavily roboticised manufacturing. As in, if they're starting from scratch, to go with the latest tech. Of course, this is a zero sum game, they're trusting that others will provide employment and thus wages so that the majority can buy their products.
In terms of what individuals may choose to do, who can tell? Hardly anyone under pensionable age can remember a world where tech was so costly that you had to save up for a transistor radio. Would people be willing to pay more and have less, as the gains and savings of quality over quantity are only realised over time? I don't know, we may have gone to far down the cheap carp highway to turn around.I'll continue with my gardening, my make-do and mending. I am presently decorating with one of the two pots of paint I wombled a few months ago from beside our communal skip bins. Totally unused pots of paint, and brushes older than some electors - cheap entertainment in lockdown.Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
John Ruskin
Veni, vidi, eradici
(I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
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Blast! Lost all but 1 of my cucumber plants, do you think 1 will be enough? Or do I need 2?£71.93/ £180.008
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In the middle of an 8day run in work...and client in work with LD has either toothache or sensitivity problems....aside from the problem of an emergency dental appointment not sure he would accept treatment....I've rang our on call system...to flag it....but hes had breakfast and drink and will do him a scrambled egg based dinner later....he's in good spirits at the moment.....take care13
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MrsLurcherwalker said:Question to all of us, watching the news this morning it appears that 'globalisation' has removed most of the self sufficiency from our nation, so 'do you think that realisation of the fact that we need to go back to growing, processing, manufacturing and supplying the needs of all of us here in the UK as much as is possible and for us to be willing to pay the inevitably higher prices instead of relying on the cheaper labour of other nations to make what we need and importing it (thinking PPE for the NHS) when it is available will dawn on us? or do people value more the cheap produce that can be discarded after a couple of uses over safety and self reliance' I know where I stand and I'd love to see things grown, processed and manufactured here even if it meant I could afford far less of them, it would in my eyes be a price worth paying.18
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I agree with dreaming. It is sensible to import things which cannot be provided by your climate or which have been mined-out centuries ago. It is not sensible to import the everyday staples of life, including the everyday staples of health and social care, like PPE. It is risky, it is environmentally wasteful (transport costs) and it deprives the country of jobs. I am heart-warmed that so many people have taken to their sewing machines to make scrubs etc, but also shocked and ashamed that a first world country, one of the ten richest on the planet, is having to Blue Peter its way through a pandemic.
Re the cukes, I think you will need at least another one, not sure if they're self fertile?Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
John Ruskin
Veni, vidi, eradici
(I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
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I agree with you, GQ. I suspect many people are glad to be able to do something to help but the country should have a good supply of PPE. We have a local group making scrubs . I'm not much of a sewer but have managed a few laundry bags and have made a couple of face masks in case we do need them.13
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Just this morning had confirmation that a near neighbour has had and is in recovery from covid-19, have seen an ambulance at the house a couple of times in the week so wondered if it was that BUT her husband is still out getting his paper and milk etc. every day from the local shops!!! an educated man, a very senior engineer in his 60s and STILL he hasn't taken on board the need for him to isolate as well aaaggghhhhhhh! why???
I think those manufacturers who have moved their companies to or moved all their operations to third world countries because of cheaper costs should think very carefully about the future and I think people here need to understand that not everyone can go to university and get a degree. What we really need is skills at all levels of need for industry and society and to be able to fulfil those needs from our own population to a greater degree. I know when we were growing up parents hoped for an 11+ pass to give better chances of a better job in the future or a profession if you were bright enough to make university (rare in the 1950s) but the need for people to be able to work in shops and offices and on the land was just as relevant and then came technology (without which our lives would be much less ) but technology has removed the need for humanity from many areas and with the need for humanity in factories etc. removed I can understand fully why owners have £ signs in front of their eyes and not the welfare of their work forces or their country. We can't turn the clock back but we can make sure the future is better regulated from the end of this pandemic and hold companies to account for how they do business, and we MUST!
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