Selfsufficientish.com

Yeah we do the commute and work away thing too - but this is home now. I don't envy you the earthquakes - thats one trouble we haven't had!

At least yours isn't a listed building :roll: The room that stove is in used to have a good view...to the rafters! http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2658/3742969169_57683fd986.jpg looking down from upstairs by British Red , on Flickr I know all the joy, pain and endless frustrations you must be going th...

Hi George,

Have a crack at "bramble brandy" sometime in the spirit range - its my personal favourite!

Welcome from another unreptentant booze maker!

Red

Sure, that will work - just not as well :). It shouldn't be back breaking though. Rotovate the clay, shovel it out into a pile on a tarp or old cardboard. Rotovate the next layer, shovel out, rinse and repeat :). Ideally you want a good 12-18" of light friable topsoil. Things like carrots can be har...

I like Sorrel in shade


9 - sorrel by British Red, on Flickr

Lovely apple peel flavour, perennial, comes up early in spring and not obviously an edible plant

Red

Thats a beautiful job - I assume you used a "paddy's motorbike" to cut the concrete? Very clever design to maximise space and accesibility too - well done! Different story now that you are through the concrete - the bed edges simply serve to contain the soil and plants - the plants can go as deep as...

Looks great - will you be cooking with wood as well? We do in the cooler months, but tend to use propane in the summer - its just too warm with the Esse going


Esse & Pheasants Sepia by British Red, on Flickr

Hi all, Just a brief note to say "hi" since I ahven't been here for a long while. Mainly because we bought a small place in Lincolnshire, gave up full time work, restored the cottage from a near ruin, put in the wood burning stoves, drained the paddock, put in two greenhouses, cut ten ton of firewoo...

2.1m i pushing it to plant in the middle - We worked ours out to 1.2m and thats a comftable arm length from edge to middle. 1.5m is doable but a 3' stretch is too much I find. 4" is very shallow and will severely limit your choice of veg - but its as deep as a grow bag. More worrying for me would be...

Sandra, I wouldn't personally use the existing jars, Why not? Simply because I would use a new kilner jar and pressure can. I prefer a jar thats meant to be re-sealed (and replace the seals each time). It all depends on the ingredients and the risk for me personally. Anything containing meat for ex...

Sounds great - lovely Gunnera too

Sandra, I wouldn't personally use the existing jars, however pressure canning them is possible. If you would like to try something a little unusual, if the sauce is vegetable only, heres an interesting alternative. You can dry the sauce on sheet of greaseproof in a dehydrator or range oven in the sa...

Annpan, I have a number same as Stonehead - none that are in print now though. One that is in print and is, in my view, excellent is "Vinegar" by Julie Townsend. QuakerBear - I'm delighted it was want you wanted - let me know if theres anything else that you would like as I have dozens similar - fro...

Well, I've learned something there. I wonder what purpose the pasteurisation serves? I know it will kill the acetobacteria but I wonder how they are considered to spoil the falvour long term? I'm sure it must be true because many wine makers kill yeast etc. with sulfites at the end of fermentation. ...

QuakerBear has expressed an interest in making vinegar "from scratch" for preserving. Hopefully this post will serve as an introduction to the art

Red

[quote]My quest here was to produce high quality vinegar that was “re-producibleâ€