What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[Arzosah]

And sitting in silence is sometimes reward enough.

Essential! And yes Jansman I'm very lucky.

Thanks for the photos of that little trip, Lil, those are really beautiful.

[Arzosah]

I've just been on holiday in Dorset last week, and one of the places we went to see was Max Gate, the home that Thomas Hardy designed for himself, and had his brothers build (he was an architect, from a family of builders). It was fascinating for all sorts of reasons, but there's also this, the draught proofing shelter that was set up every winter around Hardy's favourite chair in the sitting room:

Apologies, I can't get the photo to sit the right way up. If you twist your head, you can see the dog that would have sat on his knee

[jansman]

Putting in a replacement smoke alarm this morning. We have three,and this one has expired. I have to fill the log store by the back door- we are still lighting up of an evening.This time of year I tend to split seasoned rounds as needed and leave the ready- to- go stacks as they are.

I have checked the weather for the next couple of weeks and we are getting warmer.Obviously still a good chance of frost ,but that’s what horticultural fleece was invented for : So I shall be getting beans into the ground.Lady Di runner beans,Blue Lake climbing French - supremely reliable, and Borlotti beans. I don’t mess about growing plants in the greenhouse,then transplanting,just three seeds to a hazel rod. A presenter on Gardeners Question Time ,many years ago,Peter Seabrook if I recall, said it was still the best way,in his opinion.I agree. It saves time,compost and water too. I shall probably drop some marrow ( Tiger Cross) and Spaghetti Marrow seeds into pots if I have time,most certainly in the next ten days.

I’ll pull and chop more rhubarb for the freezer,and there are more eggs to pickle. If I get all that done I might fish tomorrow.

Beans - do you put more than one vine per rod, J? I've just put my beans in - both dwarf varieties but they do like a bit of support.

I put 3 to a pole. One to grow, one to rot or get frosted and one for the mice. If they all grow, they grow.

[jansman]

I've just been on holiday in Dorset last week, and one of the places we went to see was Max Gate, the home that Thomas Hardy designed for himself, and had his brothers build (he was an architect, from a family of builders). It was fascinating for all sorts of reasons, but there's also this, the draught proofing shelter that was set up every winter around Hardy's favourite chair in the sitting room:

Apologies, I can't get the photo to sit the right way up. If you twist your head, you can see the dog that would have sat on his knee

That’s how people kept warm in the old days. It’ll be coming back to a street near you!

[Yorkshire Andy]

Chickens turfed out today,

Greenhouse cleaned,

Onion sets in

Some potatoes planted

Sweetcorn planted out

Tubs filled and ready for toms and chillies

Letuice planted in the greenhouse for now..... You try and buy a letuice at the moment


Additional usb solar panel ordered

Usb battery charger ordered as one of mine has vanished.... It'll turn up now

[Medusa]

Planted out some new herbs today, re-potted more tomatoes and planted out the squash and courgettes and planted some more spuds. Harvested a bit of rhubarb too. We ordered a wood delivery last week from the supplier we have used for the past 4 years to supplement what we get for free. The normally jovial bloke was a bit grumpy and we get a feeling he doesn't really want to travel to us so looking at an alternative supplier just in case, much more expensive than what we pay from our usual supplier though. Bought a bag of potatoes from our contact as we have run out of our own now and our trying to buy our veg from local growers (not fancy farm shops) rather than the supermarket. Chimney sweep booked for September as he is much busier than he used to be. Did a bit of tidying up in the store room and a bit of a stock take to identify any gaps.

[Rusty74]

I know Rusty - my grandson's a 17 yr old apprentice joiner and gets more than I did when I was working full time.

he's 17yr old lad in college doing a sparkies course 3 days a week,im trying to find him an aprenteship but everyone i knew are either dead or retired these days,just glad he didnt want to go to uni like his 2 older sisters and we got another two up coming sons yet,we never had a telly in the early days n too many early nights in the winter lol

[diamond lil]

I dono about anybody else but I get a real feeling of things getting serious and serious preppers moving up a gear.

[British Red]

Too right. It may still all blow over, but the outlook is considerably more bleak than a couple of years ago. I'm watching China & Russia personally. If China starts demanding pre-payment in its own currency and Russia cuts oil & gas to Germany & France then the whole house of cards looks like falling

[Yorkshire Andy]

I dono about anybody else but I get a real feeling of things getting serious and serious preppers moving up a gear.

Me too just not sure which issue will pop up first in a big way,

many shop shelves look empty .. ok they are doing a good job at facing the shelves up but there sod all on them.. things like cleaning products just one bottle deep , foods the same having to reach deep into the freezer at farm foods for example .. ok there's no cooking oil to be had and I'm half kicking myself for not grabbing a 10l bottle at farm foods but £19.99 it was a bit much and storage is a bit full at home... But I plan on getting some more shelf stables the stockpile I got moaned about at the start of the pandemic has been wizzned away

Noticed even things like batteries are few in the racking..

Grabbed a few more today and got told off by the wife ... But they were yellow stickered in the event of a big power cut they will be a big barter item imo

2030 dated too




The energy issue is looming big time be it price / lack of supply / someone getting the hump on and "turning it off remotely"

To the far end Putin making a big flash / bang and a lot of the country to dust

Even my dad has now seen the light and is grabbing a few extra tins of grub every week ... Had to laugh yesterday straight for the spam .. mum won't eat that... She might not but I will .. this been the bloke who lived on flaked potato for months when he was single and got his hands on a 4 stone sack from the local port as it was slightly split ..