The self-sufficientish year

[hedgewizard]

I think I'll spray the established trees with Bordeaux because they're not in the best of health (see "virtual pruning" thread - must update that soon) but I shan't bother with the others unless I see evidence of a problem. I think. Thanks for the milk tip btw!

I'm confused about the compost tea thing now. Regs aside, is this something to avoid doing? I've never felt the urge, but a lot of the organic books recommend it.

[hedgewizard]

Season of mist and mellow... hang on, whoever wrote that didn't have to prepare his own food for storage. Keats, I think. Probably would have brought on a coughing fit anyway.

The kitchen worksurfaces are currently covered by two inches of chestnuts, and I'm mushrooming whenever I can. The maincrop carrots are all up, and the drier has been working overtime. The "Black Magic" runner beans are a HUGE success as a drying bean - they're just like mammoth kidney beans and look so striking, being an inch long and midnight black.

I can't face podding 300-ish trail of tears pods, so I'm going to have to dry them to crispness in batches in the airing cupboard and then beat them mercilessly in pillow cases. Then I'm going to learn to winnow!

[Earthmother]

I made the solstice cake and puds this weekend.

Please excuse ignorance, but what's solstice cake?

It's the same as Christmas cake, but pagans celebrate Yule which is the shortest day around Dec 21. It's when the light returns and the days start getting longer.

[circlecross]

sorry hadn't realised someone had addressed me! Yes, that's about it - you can use a Christmas cake recipe, I'm sure no-one minds, Delia isn't going to come and shout at you for subverting a Christian recipe. Yes, just to celebrate the season, whether you are Pagan, Christian, Jew , Muslim, Ba-hai...most people have a celebration of bringing the light into a dark place at this time of year, and feasting on a booze laden, fruit cake seems to do the job nicely.

It is the time of year also that the wean has to collect leaves, conkers and nuts to take to his nursery, for various messy craft shenanigans. He made a hedgehog out of chocolate, chocolate buttons and a rich tea the other day. It has since gone into "hibernation". In fact it was so territorial that it didn't even get off the nursery premises.

Myself, I am now having to make 50 marshmallow eyeballs, chopped finger sandwiches, jelly swamps etc etc. Again, not exactly home grown but it does mark my year out, these mad little tasks we all have to do.

Susan

[ina]

Re the use of copper on your crops - here's what the Soil Association standards say about that:

"With our permission, you may use copper products only if there is a major threat to your crops. You may only use up to 6kg Cu/ha/year...
... We can give you approval either on a case by case basis or through a plan... " (Standards January 2007, 4.11.11 revised)

So it's not as easy as "copper is organic, so let's use it", you have to have a bloody good reason for it. Well, if you want your products to be certified as organic, and sell them as organic, which I suppose most of us don't. Last two years I lost quite a few tatties to blight - or rather, I had to pick them early, but still had enough for the year. This year I've been more successfull and have for too many! But I'd rather loose some of the harvest than spray.

Blight is a massive problem in this area; the best way to at least try and keep it to a minimum is
- use resistant varieties
- use an at least 5 year rotation, if possible longer
- use clean, i.e. blight-free seed potatoes
- grow them in a way that they get the best airflow between the rows, i.e. rows not too close together, and in the main wind direction

With fruit trees pruning and keeping them fairly open is the solution, as said before - and I know that doesn't help much if you've inherited totally overgrown trees!

[The Chili Monster]

Hedgewizard wrote:

It's the same as Christmas cake, but pagans celebrate Yule which is the shortest day around Dec 21. It's when the light returns and the days start getting longer.

That's what I like to read -positivity. Whenever I point that out at the end of December, everyone just whinges.

[hedgewizard]

that wasn't me! I'd have gone on about it for MUCH longer.

I can't believe it - first signs of real interest from 13yo son. He's just spent 6 hours podding dry "trail of tears" beans (mind you, he's on a computer ban right now)! I told him not to, since I'd planned to beat the beans with a stick and then winnow them, but he says he actually enjoyed it. It takes all sorts...

[The Chili Monster]

Hedgewizard did n't write this, Earthmother did!

It's the same as Christmas cake, but pagans celebrate Yule which is the shortest day around Dec 21. It's when the light returns and the days start getting longer.

To which I replied:

That's what I like to read -positivity. Whenever I point that out at the end of December, everyone just whinges.

SORRY!

[Earthmother]

It's ok, doesn't matter!

[Wombat]

they're just like mammoth kidney beans and look so striking, being an inch long and midnight black.

wow Hedgie, they sound pretty impressive! what about a picture?

Nev

[hedgewizard]

Sure thing. Not quite so impressive when dried down, but anyway. I couldn't find a ruler, so I bunged in a dried chickpea for comparison.



The drier has been working overtime this week, so from the back left in rotation these are Black Magic, mixed wild mushrooms, beta III carrots (and yes they ARE that colour even when dried) and dos mercados tomatoes. The other smaller beans in the front are the incredibly prolific Trail of Tears, which cooks easily and is pretty much like chinese black beans in cooking. I haven't jarred them yet though!

OH says my boasting photo isn't what you meant, so here's a closer shot.

[Wombat]

Cool,

Looks great mate!

Nev

[Shirley]

They do look great - what a fantastic colour the carrots are...

[hedgewizard]

They look quite alarming when they're roasted - dayglo! The seeds are heritage, so I'm going to try to grow on a few of the roots for seed next year. If it works I'll make some available for exchange.

[digiveg]

Yes, the regs re. compost tea are kind of silly, and assume that you're growing everything in a totally sterile sludge. Now, I wonder where politicians got the 'totally sterile sludge' idea...? Westminster?

The only thing I don't use compost tea on directly is salad leaf stuff. For those, I just water really close to the ground around 'em.

As for B.mix, no way.

Still, we're only growing for us, which is a bit of a luxury. Hat of to thee, Stonehead. I doff. But you do look a bit serious about it all...