What Preps are you doing this week? Part 10

[diamond lil]

Blood glucose - he tests himself with his meter and it's gone into orbit Has been lucky so far though, was diagnosed 2009 I think and is still diet controlled, no meds. Want to keep it that way if possible.

[steptoe]

Blood glucose - he tests himself with his meter and it's gone into orbit Has been lucky so far though, was diagnosed 2009 I think and is still diet controlled, no meds. Want to keep it that way if possible.

That is not good our neighbour has issues and is full diabetic and omg the fun we had with him on halloween he goes mad with the kids parties lol and well his phone bings when his blood sugar is spiking and low lol the laughs we had the phone was binging like a pinball machine but he enjoyed the day and that is the plus .

Hey lil if hubby has a shed or a hideaway go check he has not had a stash of sweets lol , i think if i which at one point they tested for was diabetic i would be terrible i can see the wife now open come on open your mouth i see chcoclate4 in there lol it reminds me of booze cruise 2 when they are at the pub and he gets pie and chips on the qt lol but leaves tom sauce on his lip lol .

Todays preps are i just making a batch of soups for the freezer and some cakes and snacks all gluyten free but not chco free lol shhhhhhhhhhh

[jennyjj01]

Status update on the Egyptian Tree Onions.....
Of 10 purchased, 24 got planted (Generous seller)
Of the 24 planted...
8 of them are >10cm tall and prospering:
4 have sprouted but are tiny, less than 2cm
10 have not shown through and maybe dead.
2 were conspicuously decayed and have been dug out and discarded.

So...... I have made the mistake of overwatering them and that obviously contributed to the decayed ones. But they may have already been dead. It might explain how the ones in card pods are struggling most.,

Update on the allotment: A couple more 2 hour sessions. I've now very roughly raked over 1/3 of the plot and dug out a few bigger weeds. Another 1/3 is covered over by tarps. 1/3 is untouched. NONE of it is yet weeded or dug over to a decent standard but what the heck.
From what I've done, it's started to get some definition: A defined, weedy, strawberry patch: Defined lines of raspberry canes etc. As I say, still plenty of weeds, but if they assess what I've done, I could argue it's getting cultivated at a fair pace.
I just need to figure out how to do the next level weeding and/or digging: How back breaking do I want it to be? Some perennial weed roots are bound to get left behind unless I go to the extreme of riddling it, which I don't really intend. Next visit, I'm going to TRY to fully clear my first sowing area.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Status update on the Egyptian Tree Onions.....
Of 10 purchased, 24 got planted (Generous seller)
Of the 24 planted...
8 of them are >10cm tall and prospering:
4 have sprouted but are tiny, less than 2cm
10 have not shown through and maybe dead.
2 were conspicuously decayed and have been dug out and discarded.

So...... I have made the mistake of overwatering them and that obviously contributed to the decayed ones. But they may have already been dead. It might explain how the ones in card pods are struggling most.,

Update on the allotment: A couple more 2 hour sessions. I've now very roughly raked over 1/3 of the plot and dug out a few bigger weeds. Another 1/3 is covered over by tarps. 1/3 is untouched. NONE of it is yet weeded or dug over to a decent standard but what the heck.
From what I've done, it's started to get some definition: A defined, weedy, strawberry patch: Defined lines of raspberry canes etc. As I say, still plenty of weeds, but if they assess what I've done, I could argue it's getting cultivated at a fair pace.
I just need to figure out how to do the next level weeding and/or digging: How back breaking do I want it to be? Some perennial weed roots are bound to get left behind unless I go to the extreme of riddling it, which I don't really intend. Next visit, I'm going to TRY to fully clear my first sowing area.

Plant a sh1t load of potatoes... They are good for clearing the land the trenching planting then regular mounding helps you clear any weeds / big roots as you go and the constant moving of soil helps too

[jennyjj01]

Plant a sh1t load of potatoes... They are good for clearing the land the trenching planting then regular mounding helps you clear any weeds / big roots as you go and the constant moving of soil helps too

Good plan. I will do, but it's a bit speculative. Last year's main and late crop spuds on other plots suffered blight. Looks like the two things I feared most are a big potential risk. Blight and onion rot and some new mystery beastie that affected onions and leeks.
I can hardly wait to start chitting spuds
Spuds need good light, don't they? My plot (all the plots) are quite shaded from the West. I still have to figure what's going where.

In all my 8 to 10 or so hours of cultivating, I've only met one neighbour and he was only passing through.

I've found a part roll of chicken wire. So, Mr J has been tasked with MAKING me a couple of riddles out of pallet wood. Am I frugal or what? I figure something tea tray size should do the trick.

Compost heap now 2 metres high and getting a bit unstable. If time permits, Its either going to have an enclosure built, or it's going into a row of builders bags.... Undecided but I like the idea of using bags.

[GillyBee]

You could do more than one compost heap. That way one is rotting while another is building. You can grow squash on the rotting one over the summer (they would like that) and dig it out next autumn.

[jansman]

Status update on the Egyptian Tree Onions.....
Of 10 purchased, 24 got planted (Generous seller)
Of the 24 planted...
8 of them are >10cm tall and prospering:
4 have sprouted but are tiny, less than 2cm
10 have not shown through and maybe dead.
2 were conspicuously decayed and have been dug out and discarded.

So...... I have made the mistake of overwatering them and that obviously contributed to the decayed ones. But they may have already been dead. It might explain how the ones in card pods are struggling most.,

Update on the allotment: A couple more 2 hour sessions. I've now very roughly raked over 1/3 of the plot and dug out a few bigger weeds. Another 1/3 is covered over by tarps. 1/3 is untouched. NONE of it is yet weeded or dug over to a decent standard but what the heck.
From what I've done, it's started to get some definition: A defined, weedy, strawberry patch: Defined lines of raspberry canes etc. As I say, still plenty of weeds, but if they assess what I've done, I could argue it's getting cultivated at a fair pace.
I just need to figure out how to do the next level weeding and/or digging: How back breaking do I want it to be? Some perennial weed roots are bound to get left behind unless I go to the extreme of riddling it, which I don't really intend. Next visit, I'm going to TRY to fully clear my first sowing area.

Told you not to water them.

[jansman]

Cutting more firewood today. I have a lot to do,and it needs processing before I am laid up. Thank heavens for chainsaws and bench saws! Got the hen house down yesterday too. As planned. In fact, my wife moving the birds on whilst I was in hospital was not a bad thing. I’ve kept hens for years,but straw,feed etc has shot through the roof. The demolition of the hen house made me realise they would have needed a new set up. Frankly ,it’s cheaper to buy the eggs I need! Folks are whining about the price right now. I think it’s fair,as an experienced poulterer.

Also got rid of plant pots. I am not messing with containers this year. Waste of energy. Bought in a load of herbicide too,so when the weed growth starts it just gets nuked. No messing.

We are also doing well rotating prepping food too. Gradually the secondary store room is emptying,and the main walk-in pantry is the place to go. Everything is in date,in order and a sensible amount. That original pantry is quite big enough! Of course,back in the day when the daughters were younger,everything was bought in huge amounts,and used! I would pick up 25 kg sacks of spuds and they would last 3 weeks max. 2.5 kg lasts two of us two weeks now! And we have dried and tinned too! Also,gone from three freezers to one. No need at all for such an amount stored that’s not being turned over. Plus the electricity cost too. I’d hate a power cut to cause wastage.

In fact ,wastage is something we’ve looked at. It’s one thing * having* stored foods,but another by using food in a way that is not wasteful. It means less is needed quite often. Does that make sense?
Anyhow,that’s me done.

[GillyBee]

That does make sense. At the beginning of lockdown I placed a big order with a catering supplier for long term stores as it was impossible to tell how things woud play out. They were happy to supply me. 3 years on and while many of the purchases have rotated out I do still have a few stubborn items that I am having to work at to run down and some that are cycing through much more slowly than I expected.

[jansman]

That does make sense. At the beginning of lockdown I placed a big order with a catering supplier for long term stores as it was impossible to tell how things woud play out. They were happy to supply me. 3 years on and while many of the purchases have rotated out I do still have a few stubborn items that I am having to work at to run down and some that are cycing through much more slowly than I expected.

Not just me then? A lot of what we knew would not get used ,we donated to our local food bank,so that’s done good for someone.