Just for fun - 1st subject you discussed on Ish

[Millymollymandy]

Not really one for the very newbies I'm afraid although you can join in too.

I was curious to see what I talked about on here way back when I first joined, so had a look see - ignore your welcome thread if you had one - and tell us what subject/topic you first discussed. It's quite fun having a look back anyway.

Mine was chokoes!

I remember chokos from when I was backpacking around Australia. Had to try one to see what it was like. A bit bland on its own but it was fine in a stir fry. They must have been cheap because I bought them several times. I've even seen them in France in the "tropical" section but didn't bother buying them again - not so cheap here.

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 0&start=15

[Green Aura]

My mother puts canes, pea sticks etc criss-crossed all over her new beds. The little beggars are too lazy/dim to shift them and don't have room to squat and scratch - works a treat.

A thread about stopping cats crapping on your seedbeds!

Exciting huh?

[Penny Lane]

I've decide to wait & see how it goes before taking my dog out, it's absolutely pouring down here. Wouldn't care normally but i've got a 4 month old with a cold!

Miliams - that was very good of you to redirect the traffic for an hour! Not many would!

My first post was about the rain, how British!!

[Carltonian Man]

For interest, it looks to be a good year for puffballs. I found ten or so loitering in one field last week and this morning happened across what must be a puffball hypermarket. There's got to be at least a hundred dotted about this one large field and nearly as many again in a nearby field. I've never seen so many.

I found giant puffballs in July

[Jandra]

Well, musings on garbage and how different countries deal with it. Just wanted to say: well done! to your son.

From my first post. Re: Milims 12-year old son going to Parliament for a debate.

Jandra
(I was still in my thirties at that time....)

[Minnesota]

the first day I was online, I posted the recipe and photos of my Beet wine
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 19&t=17138
and photo of my Hop trellis/yard sculpture.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 38&t=17139
Both of which I am very proud of...
I fear I am the boastful type.

[red]

it was before we moved...

not sure if this is the right place to post this... but we are trying to buy a place at the mo, it has 2 fields...lovely. I have visions of tree planting, veg patches.. chickens.. pigs maybe when I get brave.... you know the sort of thing..

but do I have to get permission to change the use of the land from ah.. grazing to .... ah... other things...? I'm not planning on building.. just providing for me and mine... are there rules about this stuff?

[KathyLauren]

Not counting my own welcome thread, a post in someone else's welcome thread, and a comment about an automatic birthday greeting (celebrating someone's 2009th birthday!), my first post on an actual "ish" topic was about paying off a mortgage as a contributing factor to self-sufficiency.

If you rent, you are committed to having an income forever to pay it. If you buy, you are committed to having an income to pay the mortgage, but mortgages eventually get paid off, and then you are home free. For being self-sufficient, owning is definitely better. The only issue is that it's an uphill slog to get there.

I bit the bullet and did the rat-race thing for quite a few years. My home strategy was: (1) rent while saving up a down payment; (2) buy the cheapest place I could stand to live in; (3) pay the mortgage down faster than the minimum rate (which is why it had to be a cheap place). The third point was the most important. Paying the mortgage down faster and especially doing so as early as possible in the life of the mortgage, saves a ton of money. As a result, I paid it off in only 11 years.

Owning a place mortgage-free is, for me, essential to self-sufficiency.

The first thread that I started was about rainwater collection.

We are trying to get our garden set up for growing most of our own food. Problem is, we get almost no rain in the summer, and our well doesn't produce enough water for the garden. On the other hand, we get lots of rain in the winter, so rainwater collection and storage is a no-brainer.

I've got 2500 gallons of storage on-line right now, ... blah blah, brag, brag...

[Mullein]

I've been here longer than I thought too...

My first post - extolling the virtues of Herbal Medicine and Ray Mears - surprise surprise!!!

If you're going to make them into a tea you'll have to decoct them - boil them for 15-20min - rather than infuse them.

If you want to preserve them you can pack them into some vodka (or alcohol of choice) or a syrup would work too.

Ray Mears does a great thing where he squishes all the berries through his fingers (adding a drip of water if they're quite dry - which they might be if you've had a drought) then he leaves this to set in a bowl. Because of all the pectin it sets like a jelly. Then he slices this very thinly and lays them out to dry like sweetie bars. I tried this last year. I didn't take too many so's they wouldn't be wasted if was mingin' but it was actually really nice. Because i didn't have so many I didn't do the set-in-the-bowl stage. I just spread it thinly on some cling film then, when it was nearly dry, I rolled it up into wee fruit gum type sweeties. A nice, slightly tart, appley flavour. I'm going to make a big batch this year.

Seeing your local herbalist is probably a good idea - you don't want to mess about with your heart. They might be able to supply you with a tincture that's cheaper than the tablets - or even just give you advice on dose for the tea or something.

However, I also think collecting your own berries is a great idea too. It really connects you with the whole healing process. Even if you don't use it medicinally, just make some hawthorn jelly or something, physically connecting with the plant you're necking back in tincture form makes sense to me.

Happy Harvesting

[indy]

My first post was about brambles and bugger me I'm still whinging about them

[Helsbells]

My first discussion was about onion seedlings flopping.

Those were the days, I used to photograph my seedlings because I found it so fascinating!

[JulieSherris]

Haha, :::waves at everyone::: I'm still here

My first post was about Maggie Thatcher & my hubby's admiration.....

My hubby has always been, and is even now, deeply in love with Maggie.... sigh.... he has even said in the past that he wanted to have her babies, such is his love!

Sad git!

[Milims]

Slugs!
"I couldn't find the posting about how to deal with slugs so I thought that I'd just write my tip here anyway!! We've managed to keep slugs off plants by putting sea weed around them - its either wet and salty or dry and spiky - either way the don't like it!! After a while you can just dig it into the garden and bingo - instant fertilizer to boot!!"
(I'm pretty sure that this was a combined effort from me and OH! He dictates and I type)
My goodness how time flies!

I'm honoured that 2 peoples first posts were in reply to some of my burblings!

[Mrs Moustoir]

Mine was in a thread started by mew - about frosted tomato seedlings.

On GQT a few weeks ago, Bob Flowerdew suggested putting a hot water bottle in coldframes at night if frost was threatened.

Our neighbours already think we are mad - can just imagine what they would think if they saw me putting a hot water bottle in with the veg seedings!

"Folle!"

I'd forgotten about about hot bottles in coldframes....

[StripyPixieSocks]

Well, I'll give this a go but there's not much as I've only just started:

1. Put the fish tank lights on timer so we don't forget to turn them off... better for the fish and plants / better for our electric bill
2. Recycle almost everything (even if Greenwich Council are making it stupidly complicated and wretched)
3. Started to grow my own herbs in window boxes and hanging baskets... neighbours think we're insane but we have no garden
4. Turn off lights... my OH was a one for leaving all the lights on but I have trained him well and now he turns the lights off when he's finished (and he just said "OI don't blame me") :D
5. We don't have a TV
6. We got a water butt in the front concrete postage stamp sized thing at the front of the house downstairs (probably a brave move in London but we shall see)
7. Use the water from the fish tanks on the herbs
8. Are in the process of turning 4 car tyres off of our car into planters which will join the water butt downstairs and have herbs in them (probably and certainly a Bay Tree)
9. Cut out un-necessary trips in the car (maybe forced on us by the fuel prices but it's a start and we need a car because I have a bad back and can't walk very far at the moment)
10. We had a condenser boiler fitted
11. we only turn the central heating on when we really need it, otherwise it's jumpers and even blankets (which I will be knitting soon)
12. Keep the freezer full to reduce dead space being kept cold and making it un-economical even though it's an A rated fridge freezer.
13. All the simple things like turning off taps when brushing teeth
14. Stopped throwing away food (unless it's totally un-usable) and now plan meals to use extra left over items (such as when you buy a pack of peppers and always have one left)
15. Freecycle
16. Look in charity shops for pretty much anything (more a budget thing really but second hand stuff is just as good if you pick out the gems)
17. Gumtree (we bought our fridge freezer from there for £30)
18. E-Bay (for practically anything and everything and our car was only £10 from there... seriously!!)
19. Use practically anything for craft purposes or DIY etc... I always ask myself if something else can be made from it before I recycle it etc
20. Don't eat processed foods and cook everything from scratch (lately anything passed the mince form is off the menu completely)
21. Cook from scratch and freeze leftovers
22. Bake our own bread (rarely buy from the store and only usually reduced to clear items)
23. Showers instead of baths

... woah... a little more than I initially thought and I'm sure there's much more but it's something we are still working on and especially of late so I'm sure the list will grow month on month!

Wow... quite a first post methinks lol

Funny how things have changed so much!