Upping the ante

[Newbeeneil]

Save a few boxes from deliveries of beekeeping kit. Bit of packing tape. Sorted.

James

Bugger, I had a table/ bench similar to those you get in pub gardens delivered here last week in a box 7'x2'x18" that would have been ideal.......... I took it to the local dump

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just donate yourself to medical research, no need for anything then.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just donate yourself to medical research, no need for anything then.

That works only if you die of something interesting.
The days of anatomy students slaving over a body oozing formalin are long gone.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

That works only if you die of something interesting.
The days of anatomy students slaving over a body oozing formalin are long gone.

I don't think so, knew someone who did it a few years ago just to save a few bob (and his wife didn't give a ship once she for once could live without begging for weekly pocket money) unfortunately, he forgot to sign the form so he sat in a fridge for months as nobody would pay for the funeral

 

[rossbyjove]

Hello growers
Peaple seem to trivialise food production like its a job for morons.
You need your calender to plan your crops. You need to know how to save time and energy by a good permaculture plan. You cant just over sow or spend not be efficient with your quantities.
Mixing the beens etc is maby ok But when it come to watering and harvesting you will be all over the show and likely damage your cucurbits.
Keep things as simple and even as possible.
I have been a grower for many years .i know my crops and what they need.Like with bees experience and an attempt to improve is important.
Remember to be food independant you need to get this right. planning your quantities cropping dates ,harvest ,post harvest prep and then storage or preservation.
Have a look at Elliot Coleman, Bill Mollison. jean martin the market garder.
What aspect is your land ,what soil do you have ,what is the structure like etc etc etc. Then also know your pests and what to do. Look at Real Seed companie website on how to grow for seed. Very important. Also read what they say about seed rights and new EU Laws about open pollinated seed regulations.

Get your self decent proper grow manuals and study them. Also the right tools


Growing is an art and science and most of all Hard Bloody work. So good luck all the best and happy growing.

Not kidding, I had three allotments and used to work out how many seed potatoes I would need by mapping out the plot so not one was wasted.
IT'S ALL PLANNING!

 

[Skinfaxi]

Growing plants is a skill that peaple study and train quite a few years for.
To be a home steader is a trade skill just like other skills that peaple used to have.
Like making clothes, medicine, building etc.
In a country that has not starved in many years and all what you desire seen almost as a right.Just remember what goes around comes around. Peaple in Germany starved because of money printing, and trade wars and lack of resources.
Their is a big difference in just having some food growing with no plan. To planning to produce for your actual needs. And then using it right.
But with a good community and some professional advice you can do it in a few years.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Anybody finding peat free compost rubbish for germinating seeds?

 

[roche]

Anybody finding peat free compost rubbish for germinating seeds?

No. Doesn't seem to make any difference...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Anybody finding peat free compost rubbish for germinating seeds?

More and more - I think now that everyone is on the peat free bandwagon there's a lot of mediocre alternatives being offered out there.
Back to my grandfather's routine of more soil based seed composts I think (he always made his own)

 

[pargyle]

Anybody finding peat free compost rubbish for germinating seeds?

There are some really rubbish ones out there ..some of them are clearly just half composted with bits of wood and plastic in them. I had one own label bag last year, from a well known DIY Store, that actually went mouldy in the bag and the seeds germinated but then withered before they were ready to prick out - I wonder what is left in there in the way of herbicides ? Most of them are made from a proportion of what the councils collect in garden bags and bins.

This year I've been using my own compost, well seived and mixed with some bought in soil based potting compost added and some grit and vermiculite - seems to be working for me. I don't want to use peat based compost but I am concerned that the alternatives, in some cases, are no better than soil improvers. Even well know brand names are not brilliant.

 

[Beesnaturally]

I quite like the idea that some proportion of (the current) me might once have been part of a T. Rex, or perhaps a pharaoh or maybe even Galileo. Or a honey bee, perhaps...

James

I've read things like 'with every breath you take in one oxygen atom that was breathed by Julius Caesar'. I guess that would have to be a rounded up average, and I wonder whether anyone has actually done any calculations. If true it would apply to anyone who lived a similarly active length of life at around that time. (I think much oxygen spends a long time deep in the oceans, so the further back you go the less of this resource is available)

My first house was on the edge of a large estate which held a line of seven walnut trees; one planted over each of his seven dogs. We planted two family honeysuckles (one from my parents first house, the other from 'his' pub just up the road) over his ashes. I like this sort of thinking. Aren't there places where you can buy a plot of land being turned into a wood for this sort of thing?

 

[Beesnaturally]

More and more - I think now that everyone is on the peat free bandwagon there's a lot of mediocre alternatives being offered out there.
Back to my grandfather's routine of more soil based seed composts I think (he always made his own)

Bandwagon?

 

[pargyle]

Bandwagon?

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bandwagon

 

[Beesnaturally]

Not kidding, I had three allotments and used to work out how many seed potatoes I would need by mapping out the plot so not one was wasted.
IT'S ALL PLANNING!

However... there are an infinite number of plans...

 

[Erichalfbee]

More and more - I think now that everyone is on the peat free bandwagon there's a lot of mediocre alternatives being offered out there.
Back to my grandfather's routine of more soil based seed composts I think (he always made his own)

Yes I’m seriously going to do that next year. We have lots of compost and leaf mould. It just needs a little prep.

 

[Erichalfbee]

There are some really rubbish ones out there ..some of them are clearly just half composted with bits of wood and plastic in them. I had one own label bag last year, from a well known DIY Store, that actually went mouldy in the bag and the seeds germinated but then withered before they were ready to prick out - I wonder what is left in there in the way of herbicides ? Most of them are made from a proportion of what the councils collect in garden bags and bins.

Yes I’ve found nails and bits of plastic in some and on occasion the bag has smelt awful.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The local 'waste management' company make their own compost for sale (using garden and Kitchen waste) at first it was pretty dire but they've ironed out all the issues and it's pretty good actually, but you couldn't use it neat, makes a great soil conditioner though usually chuck a half dozen bags into the greenhouse, but it's a no go area for a day or two as the smell is pretty amonic.

 

[JamezF]

There are concerns that where commercially-produced compost contains material from council green waste it may also contain traces of pyralid-based weedkillers. I believe they're banned now, but people have stuff "at the back of the shed" for years and as far as I recall they're toxic at a level of a few parts per billion and break down very slowly.

I've used sieved green waste compost for germinating seeds this year and it's been ok though not ideal. Next year I might try mixing it with some sharp sand or something similar. I do find bits of plastic in it too -- hardly surprising that bits of plastic plant pot, plant labels and such like end up in peoples' green waste I guess.

Coir isn't really a sustainable or environmentally friendly alternative to peat either, so it would be good to find a reliable and sustainable alternative to both.

James

 

[Wilco]

However... there are an infinite number of plans...

That's why the planning is the important bit, not the plan. If your planning is good, when things don't go to plan you already have the knowledge/info. to work a solution.

 

[Bryang]

Anybody finding peat free compost rubbish for germinating seeds?

Yes. This year I bought my usual compost from a large retailer.. It was rubbish.. most of the seeds I planted either failed to germinate, or wilted and died after germination.. Had to reorder tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, cucumbers, runner beans, broad beans etc. So my seed bill for this year has doubled... Similar happened some years ago. A local (well known) profesional gardener lost most of his chrisanth cuttings, he phoned to warn me not to use the compost I had bought from the allotment association. The "manufacturer" had used grass cuttings from sport and playing fields in the compost mix.. The grass had been treated with a fertilizer that had a broad leaf weed killer added.. Result was that anything with broad leaves were killed when planted in it... I've been wondering if this is happening again.