The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

DigForVictory

Awed, thriftwizard! Hope you are feeling better!

A few years ago, we planted the "edible hedge" which was held out for sale as a way of keeping your neighbours screened whilst providing all sorts of hope.

I've made the jam and I have to say it is delicious. Not a whiff of blood or sweat or tears, happily. Even strawberry jam afficioinado husband is taken with it (I got him to help - standard get awkward child to eat technique & teenagers claimed to have exam revision). Now I'm awaiting the fruit & veg bundle to come through ther frosts so I can extend the sorts of fruit & try veggies from seed.
Kale & chard - what sorts for scrubby hillside, (largely neglected) and how best to coax awkward teens into ingesting?

thriftwizard

Kale & chard - nearly all varieties are as tough as old boots when it comes to growing conditions. Red Russian kale is a favourite of ours; sometimes gets just about demolished by caterpillars overnight but will come roaring back again within a couple of weeks. Young Red Russian leaves are tender enough to be shredded into a salad, with a peppery taste, but larger leaves benefit from our go-to treatment for kale, cabbage & other leaves, which is to stir-fry them with garlic & soy sauce. A favourite even with teenage boys, if you keep going until they're almost crispy. I gather kale "crisps" (seasoned then oven-baked) are delicious too, but haven't made any yet.

jk0

Pro Tip here regarding Kale which made me chuckle:


https://me.me/i/pro-tip-if-you-stir-coconut-oil-into-your-kale-19447116

ancientofdays

Chard is not very fussy, I haven't grown kale. Purple sprouting broccoli is easy and can be a good yielder.

DigForVictory

Red Russian sounds like, if I can grow it, they may well eat it Just For The Name. Purple sprouting broccoli the inverse and for the same illogic. Boychicks... Add enough garlic & soy & they'll certainly try it once & after that who knows?!

When do I commit seeds to rubs of soil & plan to migrate one the frosts are over, or is it a scatter on the ground & pray foodstuff? Caterpillars, not so many, slugs however - well, cold steel is the right answer but that requires diligence & I'm somewhat remiss.

Absolutely adore the coconut oil tip, jk0. (My sons were baffled when I bought a tub years ago, and still more when it remained in the bathroom as a hair treat. Discovering marks where I had scooped out the fun with fingers, culinary enthusiast retreated & I believe has yet to experiment with the joys as there is no way I am paying for a Second Tub.)

ivyleaf

Thanks for the tip jk0

GreyQueen

Tell the boychicks it's called PSB. Doesn't that sound exciting and modern and almost technical.:rotfl:


I'm a fan of chard and highly recommend growing Rainbow Lights for giggles, they really are colourful, especially if you can somehow contrive a planting position which enables them to be backlit by the setting sun - gobsmackingly pretty and not at all worthy-looking like boring old green veg.


I let some of them set seed (OK, I went away for a fortnight, it was dry, they bolted) and they scattered seed all over my allotment. They default to silver chard and ruby chard btw. Super easy and you can dine off them 365 days a year.

Karmacat

I cleared almost *four* square feet in the garden today, not my usual two I got a bucket of dead grass, and another bucket of couch grass roots :o:o I almost trashed my main lemon balm plant, as well as a couple of small stands of wild garlic but I patted down the clods and filled things in with some fresh topsoil. Hopefully, all the good stuff will survive. This is edging on an area that I've been using to stand on as I dig, which is almost bare. When I've dug *that* area, and let it sit for a bit, I'll be planting a fruit bush there. It might need to stay in a container this year, as I think the fence will need to be replaced Real Soon Now.

silverwhistle

I'm not a prepper but I came back in a small van from my Italian skiing holiday with 32 bottles of wine, 1 of spirits, 3 of different olive oils, 4 kilos of Carnaroli rice,a pack each of Ermes and Venere rice, some Italian flour, polenta, chestnut flour, dried porcini mushrooms, salami and kilos of cheese.. My friend didn't have quite as much and we realised that with her van (as opposed to my car) we could have got another layer of wine boxes in there!

Today I planted up some different toms, basil and parsley and I've just dissected one of my dried peperoncini from last year for seeds.

Do I qualify as an honorary prepper?:D

Karmacat

Definitely you qualify! My mouth is watering :rotfl: