It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Brie

ellenvan said:

Just an idea for the poster that was considering trip to see her mum in Canada.
Not sure what part you are going to - but shop around on the flights/airports 
When we travelled to Vancouver flights were much cheaper to Seattle so we flew there and then went on up in hire car.

Thanks @ellenvan - fairly certain you're referring to me!!

Nearest US airport would be Buffalo and it's not that big an airport frankly and doesn't tend to have direct flights from the UK.  Would be lovely as it would be about 40 minutes drive to my mom's place (assuming no delays at the border of course).  Hamilton in Ontario is about as far as well but also tiddly and no direct flights.  So likely it will have to be Pearson in Toronto.  Even thought its only about 50 miles as the crow flies one needs to go around the end of Lake Ontario usually in dreadful traffic and can take a 2 - 3 hours minimum.  Does make for a long day!!

But thanks for the suggestion.

Woolsery

JinJinBlue said:

Woolsery said:

JinJinBlue said:

London_1 said:

euronorris said:

The only 3kg bags of pasta showing up on morries website at the moment, are branded and coming in at £6.50 a bag! So I will be headed to sainsbobs instead tonight, where their unbranded 3kg is listed at £3.30!

I fear it will all get worse, price wise, before the year is out. Gulp.

I think its possible everything will be getting worse as the price of oil has just risen again which in turn puts up the delivery price to the stores which is replected as price rises for us all.Batten down the hatches its going to be a tough winter ahead I think

JackieO     x

I agree with both Jackie O and Euronorris about price rises and it looking like a hard winter ahead. I'm vegetarian and today found that the price of oatmilk in Lidl has shot up from 59p to 75p. I don't know whether to stock up against future price rises or just wait and see. I don't want to fall into panic buying.

Putting a few extras into the trolley isn't panic buying. It's like putting some cash aside for a rainy day. We've been putting extra in the trolley for 2 years, so we have to be organised about due dates now. The down-side is that we must eat more tinned and processed food than we'd prefer, but the last thing either of us would do is head for the shops if panic buying looked likely.

On a practical level, I'm looking towards next winter by adding extra security to our field gates. It hasn't happened often around here, but I have a feeling rustling might become much more prevalent!

Thank you for your reassuring words. I think possibly allotment holders may have a similar issue if food prices keep going up or becomes scarce because of delivery problems. On the bright side though, I'm having a go at growing some fruit and vegetables for the first time. Even if I get only 1 tomato, I shall be childishly pleased. 🍅🤣

Be careful. In 1980 we were in a rented cottage with not much to do for a while, so I made a propagator out of an old orange box and a sheet of glass. A year later we had two allotments!

We soon found some things on our allotment would disappear if planted as plants rather than seeds, so I bought some ornamental cardoon seed and grew that, knowing it would look identical to artichokes. Sure enough, many of them vanished and I often wondered how the thief got on with those! Rather chewy unless heavily blanched.

Brie

Oh thought I'd mention a conversation with family on Sunday.  We do a weekly zoom  - a bit of a challenge as there's an 8 hour time difference spread between me in the UK and one sibling on the west coast of Canada.  

Anyhoo - they were complaining about "gas" prices, by which of course they mean petrol.  OMG, says one,  "it's up to nearly $2 a litre!" 

FYI - that's about £1.25 a litre.    I should be so lucky!!

JinJinBlue

Woolsery said:

JinJinBlue said:

Woolsery said:

JinJinBlue said:

London_1 said:

euronorris said:

The only 3kg bags of pasta showing up on morries website at the moment, are branded and coming in at £6.50 a bag! So I will be headed to sainsbobs instead tonight, where their unbranded 3kg is listed at £3.30!

I fear it will all get worse, price wise, before the year is out. Gulp.

I think its possible everything will be getting worse as the price of oil has just risen again which in turn puts up the delivery price to the stores which is replected as price rises for us all.Batten down the hatches its going to be a tough winter ahead I think

JackieO     x

I agree with both Jackie O and Euronorris about price rises and it looking like a hard winter ahead. I'm vegetarian and today found that the price of oatmilk in Lidl has shot up from 59p to 75p. I don't know whether to stock up against future price rises or just wait and see. I don't want to fall into panic buying.

Putting a few extras into the trolley isn't panic buying. It's like putting some cash aside for a rainy day. We've been putting extra in the trolley for 2 years, so we have to be organised about due dates now. The down-side is that we must eat more tinned and processed food than we'd prefer, but the last thing either of us would do is head for the shops if panic buying looked likely.

On a practical level, I'm looking towards next winter by adding extra security to our field gates. It hasn't happened often around here, but I have a feeling rustling might become much more prevalent!

Thank you for your reassuring words. I think possibly allotment holders may have a similar issue if food prices keep going up or becomes scarce because of delivery problems. On the bright side though, I'm having a go at growing some fruit and vegetables for the first time. Even if I get only 1 tomato, I shall be childishly pleased. 🍅🤣

Be careful. In 1980 we were in a rented cottage with not much to do for a while, so I made a propagator out of an old orange box and a sheet of glass. A year later we had two allotments!

We soon found some things on our allotment would disappear if planted as plants rather than seeds, so I bought some ornamental cardoon seed and grew that, knowing it would look identical to artichokes. Sure enough, many of them vanished and I often wondered how the thief got on with those! Rather chewy unless heavily blanched.

🤣I will guard my plants with great care. Nobody but nobody is going to get my tomato. 🤣🍅

weenancyinAmerica

You can make your own oat milk. There are instructions on the Internet.

During World War II, it was said the ideal diet would be lots of potatoes with butter - that would provide all the nutrients you needed. Even better with foraged greens and a carrot or two including eating the tops of the carrots.

Datchet

Siebrie said:

Our garden is already a bit cottage-y, with a lawn surrounded by selfseeding flowers, some perennial flowers, fruit bushes and trees, and herbs all sharing borders. I don't have much luck with actual veg growing, but the fruit (grapes, cherries, redcurrants, red gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries) seems to be doing well. I let dds pick as they like, while buying less fruit at the shop (so they are less tempted to go for the 'easy' fruit), and freeze whatever is ripe and doesn't get picked by them. I eat this fruit stewed in winter in my breakfast yoghurt.

I've tried kiwiberries twice now, but they both died. It's a bit too expensive to continue experimenting (€15/plant).

This is good to read! It great to use a bit of space for some food growing. The best cost in / value out is of course, soft fruit and herbs. Perennial food plants are great.  Even a few in recycled containers in a concrete yards.
my first veg epiphany was, as a joke, planting some donated pumpkin seeds in a narrow shady border ( in amongst a nasty pyracanthas…) in a postage stamp yard in York. I forgot about them until I noticed some yellow objects peaking out of the bush… 7 bowling ball sized squashes! I didn’t water or feed them! 

If you have a front garden or forecourt , stick some seeds in!

Slinky

Can confirm that the strawberry crop looks like it's going to be massive this year. Ours are just starting to ripen.....just in time for us to go on holiday. Got to see if we can find a neighbour to water the garden for us, payment in strawberries, rhubarb and possibly raspberries.

euronorris

Had our first strawberry at the weekend. Plenty others to follow soon 😁 raspberries set to provide a good crop too! Hoping to spend some more time in the garden over this long weekend, as need to do a lot of catching up!!

London_1

Brie said:

ellenvan said:

Just an idea for the poster that was considering trip to see her mum in Canada.
Not sure what part you are going to - but shop around on the flights/airports 
When we travelled to Vancouver flights were much cheaper to Seattle so we flew there and then went on up in hire car.

Thanks @ellenvan - fairly certain you're referring to me!!

Nearest US airport would be Buffalo and it's not that big an airport frankly and doesn't tend to have direct flights from the UK.  Would be lovely as it would be about 40 minutes drive to my mom's place (assuming no delays at the border of course).  Hamilton in Ontario is about as far as well but also tiddly and no direct flights.  So likely it will have to be Pearson in Toronto.  Even thought its only about 50 miles as the crow flies one needs to go around the end of Lake Ontario usually in dreadful traffic and can take a 2 - 3 hours minimum.  Does make for a long day!!

But thanks for the suggestion.

When my grandson went to Canada as a student he flew via Dublin and it reduced the cost no end Dafy as he flew to dublin then caught a connecting plan to Toronto which stopped to pick up passengers at heathrow where he had flow to Dublin from :0 Coming home the same thing only he asked if he could get off at heathrow as he lived in the UK and they let him It cut the cost of his ticket by around £200 ! 

ellenvan

Yes the Dublin connections are worth looking at - it is cheaper because of the air passenger duties.