Selfsufficientish.com

The pieces of paper and contact with people in pin stripes is so aggravating. Especially as you're capable, ready to go and not the usual kind of muppet that these people see day to day . It must be driving you mad to have to wait around for the right stamp on the right piece of paper. I know it's d...

I'm clucking round the house with my chest feathers all puffed up with pride because yesterday evening I set up the fermentation of my first sauerkraut batch and this morning I'm eating my first successful attempt at yoghurt. Such a great feeling!! There's a dance too - it seems making yoghurt bring...

Glad that the title tickled your pickle! Thanks for the recipes Mullein and Number6. I'm going to try them both today and see how we get on. I personally love the Bon Maman pecan and maple galettes but they're way too expensive unless on special offer. Maybe if I get some biscuit skills I'll be able...

Does anyone have a simple recipe for fairly quick to make biscuits? My partner and I are really trying to whittle down our food shop but biscuits are proving to be troublesome. He always eats about 8 a day and I just can't seem to make them fast enough... I'm not after advice on how to stop him bein...

I've just made some according to QuakerBear's instructions. Can't wait to have a look at it in the morning. I've been meaning to try this for ages. Instead of leaving it somewhere warm like a kitchen I've put it in the slow cooker on low. I hope this works ok. woop woop. Can't wait to see what happe...

I was reading 'A Mushroom Miscellany' yesterday by Patrick Harding and apparently there's a big (really massive) increase in mushrooms in people's gardens because of the relatively new use of wood bark chippings as pathways and mulch etc. They love it.... Don't know if that's useful... The other int...

Hello

Thanks for all the replies. I particularly liked 'torch's suggestion "On a more extreme end you can buy some bobcat or wolf urine online. Then spray it around your bed. That will keep the cats far away." as I forgot for a second what we were walking about and wondered why putting urine rou...

thanks for your replies. MMM what are your little wire cages like? Do you make them yourself or are they expensive fancypants ones? Sounds like a good idea. My sister has suggested putting up a fruit cage over the whole garden... I'm thinking about that as a fall back if I can't sort it out in a les...

Another cat poo question.... Ok so I can't get the neighbours cats out of the garden. I'm working on not going mental about it. However, on a practical note... one of the cats buries its poo so it gets incorporated into the soil. Cat poo in the soil surely means cat poo on your carrots etc doesn't i...

I just couldn't wait. I have sown 4 beetroot seeds, 4 quinoa seeds, 4 runner beans, 12 lettuces, 3 aubergines, 4 of each types of chilli, 3 sweet peppers, and 6 tomatoes. I know the beets, quinoa and runner beans are way too early but I was too excited about spring coming not to start just a few off...

It snowed! The ground was too frozen to do anything to so we started on decorating the sitting room instead. Annpann - that's a great idea! I'll make a movable pen for the chickens and make it the same size as the beds, rather than letting them loose over the whole area. Fab plan. Happy Chickens, Ha...

I find this tricky too; I have a rule that if it's from Europe or UK then it's ok. This allows oranges at this time of year but not kiwis which seem to all come from South Africa. I bought some frozen fruits in the supermarket which were from France. I don't know how you feel about out of season fro...

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like it'll be ok for me to start the beds tomorrow. I'll have to clean out all the cat poo from the next door neighbour's cat first ( the first thing this neighbour ever said to me when we moved in was "my cat uses your garden as a toilet.") you're not su...

Since moving into my house in November the garden has been too wet to work the soil (going by the 'if the soil sticks to your boots then it's too wet' rule) I've found toads in the long grass and ferns are growing merrily. I thought I'd leave it til it dried out a bit but that has meant that I haven...