What Preps are you doing this week

[FEISTY]

The rabbits have now pretty much eaten everything green that isn't a thistle or a nettle on my allotment so I started doubling the height of the chicken wire around my plot today. Steep learning curve this growing lark!

Don't give up, but watch out for deer as well - it might not all be the fault of the rabbits. You will get there. Have you planted rhubarb? Find someone with a lot of strong growing rhubarb and beg a bit from them. I have several this year and only two of them grow strongly enough to get a harvest from. Guess which ones I'm keeping. Rhubarb is pretty robust and doesn't get eaten (one of my wee ones is attacked by slugs, but none of the others) - the leaves are poisonous). A rhubarb harvest (best to not strip the plant bare, especially in the first year) will set you up. Onwards and upwards from there. Everyone has failures every year. If I listed all of mine, we'd be here all day and into next week .

[Le Mouse]

Don't give up, but watch out for deer as well - it might not all be the fault of the rabbits. You will get there. Have you planted rhubarb? Find someone with a lot of strong growing rhubarb and beg a bit from them. I have several this year and only two of them grow strongly enough to get a harvest from. Guess which ones I'm keeping. Rhubarb is pretty robust and doesn't get eaten (one of my wee ones is attacked by slugs, but none of the others) - the leaves are poisonous). A rhubarb harvest (best to not strip the plant bare, especially in the first year) will set you up. Onwards and upwards from there. Everyone has failures every year. If I listed all of mine, we'd be here all day and into next week .

Thanks Feisty. We don't have deer, just an awful lot of Thumpers! I do wonder though if foxes have been about. Birds are an issue too. Sigh.

I don't grow rhubarb, but I do grow tomatoes and *touch wood* they haven't been nibbled that much. I'll have something this year

[nickdutch]

Finding out more interpretations about what apple cider vinegar is good for and may eventually think about making my own.

[Decaff]

Bought more tinned veg, sponge puddings treacle and chocolate, 4 pouches of flavoured rice, dried pastas in various sauces, tinned ham, Marmite, frey bentos chicken pie (hope its nicer than the beef ones) plastic bottle of passata, ravioli, tomato purée, milk chocolate bars, tropical granola, fruit sherberts, peach slices and a couple of the Robinson's squash'd to add to water in orange and peach and summer fruits. I try to get a mixture of things rather than concentrate on each particular food group.

Also two large clip top kilner jars and two ring/disc jars in clearance at Sainsburys.

Do I need to use oxygen absorbers with the clip top jars?? Also if I put the granola into jars do I need them in there also due to the fruit/nuts in case it candies the fruit and would you freeze the granola before storing or has it been baked before so no creature infestations to worry about?

[jansman]

This weekend I have planted out Kohl Rabi,Kale and Asturian Tree Cabbages-I know someone will ask
Le Mouse-my beetroot and spinach beet have failed spectacularly this year. We have three litters of rabbit kits. Better start finding room in the freezers for them.
Spent a pleasant couple of hours with the girls out in the garden (Dad's Day and all that) they all jabbered away whilst I sorted my fishing kit ready for the start of the English river season. Happy days. Fishing in the morning.

[Le Mouse]

I haven't finished the fence because I went to see my Dad to give him what I think is his first ever Father's Day card I took him to see my allotment (he's had a few in his time) and I don't think he was overly impressed at my progress but did offer the use of his greenhouse. He was fairly disparaging about other people's plots too, so I didn't feel that bad in the end. He also gave me a recipe for rabbit deterrent that made me wince (it involves urine and I'm not going to try it!). Dad also has lots of books on foraging that he needs to get rid of and so he might give them to me He showed me where I could find garlic chives and ramsons and his sloe patch. Next time I'll show him where I find cherries

[Decaff]

Completed my rice/pasta freezing test. I put some of each into zip lock bags and made airtight then put both bags into an airtight plastic tub and put into the freezer which was set at -24

After 2 days I took the tub out and opened. No ice in the tub and on opening the zip locks no ice there either. Both were free flowing and I left them to get up to room temperature. Neither were damp at all, pasta still feels like pasta and rice like rice! Hurrah!!

I will now buy big bags of each, freeze to kill potential bugs then store in my kilner jars with oxygen absorbers.

Hope this helps others who were not sure if it would g soggy.

[Yorkshire Andy]

The rabbits have now pretty much eaten everything green that isn't a thistle or a nettle on my allotment so I started doubling the height of the chicken wire around my plot today. Steep learning curve this growing lark!

Time to get profficiant with a .22 air rifle if your permitted to do so within your agreement a few evenings / dawn lay ups and you'll rapidly reduce the population and have something for the pot...

Other alternative is ferrets and purse nets or mk 6 fenn traps

[junmist]

Off to do a run to the Zombie hide out from the new address this will be by the main roads and not the back roads as this is the first run and just to see how much further/nearer the bol is

[jansman]

Went fishing at a new venue today. The cherry trees there are heaving with fruit. Also there are a lot of hazel trees, so it is nutting time come the Autumn. The fishing was terrible, but at least I found a
another couple of resources.
Upon my return, I cut and stacked all the firewood waiting to be dealt with. When I had finished my father in law rang and told me he had a load of Ash he wanted rid of. Hey ho. It is as good as money in the bank I suppose.