Planning for spring

Pears

The beginning of autumn always signals a dying of of plants yet at the same time, there is great scope to plant seedlings for spring colour as well as winter foodstuffs.

Today I planted :

violas and pansies
wallflowers
spring cabbages and broccoli plants ( 5 of each)
wallflowers
lambs lettuce
arctic lettuce ( the name may live up to expectations? maybe not)
winters purslane ( green salad)
corn salad
land cress
wild rocket
globe artichokes

Wallflowers will be interplanted with tulips.
In line with permaculture principles I have underplanted the pear tree with a redcurrant and blackcurrant bush, daffodil bulbs on its canopy line and interspersed 3 artichoke plants grown from seed. That will leave room at the front of the border for primroses to provide some colour.
The principles are fruit tree against the wall with tall artichoke plants underneath. The daffodils come out and provide a barrier for pests and the leaves die down when the tree comes in leaf providing a mulch. The bushes and flowers in front bring blossoms at three levels and different times so that insects can pollinate one or the other.
That is the theory and I shall have to see whether in practice this really provides a self sufficient pollinating and mulching haven. Guess we will find that out next year.

Strawberry plants

Strawberries are grown in tubs with a four year rotation. That means that 4 years ago I started with 3 plants in 1 tub. In September I layer the baby plants ( see new one where the cat is) and when it shows some roots I plant it in a pot still attached by its cord to the mother plant. When it has taken in about 3 weeks I sever the connection and then have small strawberry plants to plant in a tub later on or early in spring.

The little strawberry plants are not encouraged to make fruit in the first year, but to grow into healthy plants.
The second year they fruit and produce babies.
The third year they fruit and produce babies.
The fourth year the fruit is lower in yield and the plants are put on the compost heap or planted randomly at the edge of the garden in case they produce some more.
The tub is cleaned, new soil put in and new baby plants put in.

This system allows for 3 tubs with active strawberry plants in a sunny spot in the garden.
Make sure you net it in the spring when the fruit is set ( I use horticultural fleece) so the birds do no eat the crop. Sufficient for topping on cereals and ice cream ( if you spot them before the children).

Cat and mouse

Sooty and Magic the two cats that board here have been roaming the countryside over the last week and brought home a variety of things to eat. Not a day has gone past without a present on my carpet: its a red carpet and the odd feather can be found after they have devoured their prey. I do feed them plenty and have given them collars with bells on numerous occasions only to find that they lose the collar and bring me another offering.

A few days ago, a baby bunny was laid out on the carpet; we have released about 6 in the past back into the wild. The adolescent squirrel had the cat puzzled; is it a rat, a mouse? Even the dog looked at it and walked away.

Yesterday a tiny little door mouse got caught by the cat but as it was not moving the cat seemed to have got bored with it. We finally cornered it in a flowerpot and released it, putting the cat inside first. No mole though.......they know, they know.....cats are not stupid.

Autumn glory

It has simply been a most wonderfully sunny day today to capture some pictures of where the garden is at the moment. The vine has now been sufficiently trained to give a window through to the edible garden which from above looks like a pond full of lilypads. Cucumbers trail still from the bed and celery is aplenty. We juice them in with carrots and apples or cut them up and serve them with hummus. The grey slate gravel laid down gives a nice background to the green leaves and the flowers too. Shame a mole has decided to dig it up in places, but there you go, always encouraging wildlife.

I love colour and usually I would say that orange and pink are not a first choice but the honeysuckle in bloom currently not only provides a lovely scent but the colours are breathtaking.

I am growing some polyanthus and primroses as well as wallflowers to plant out for spring colour. Sometimes, a nice cup of tea, knitting in hand with a view of the garden is sufficient to bring hope in a turbulent world.

From little acorns....

Collaborate

In the long history of humankind, those who have learnt to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. Charles Darwin.

The financial markets are in turmoil at the moment. We knew Monday brought bad news as both the Times and Telegraph failed to arrive with the 6 am delivery. This usually means that breaking news has to be rescheduled and the papers reprinted before delivery. At 8 am the newspapers hit the stand with the news about Lehmans bank filing for insolvency.

Unless you are directly employed by the companies involved, the shock of the news is likely to abate just as much as a pebble being thrown in a pond. However, the ripple effect works outwards and as the shock impacts on the stock market, investments may be affected as well as mortgage rates in the next few months. With basics going up, investments rocking badly, and confidence shaky, its time to fasten your seat belt.

We have noticed changes in the shop too. People are using coins more, drawing more cash in hand from the cash machine and very reluctant to part with a £ 20 note. Children are emptying piggy banks and the town centres are showing shops for sale, to let and a less than healthy footfall.

Internet shoppers are sending their wares back to the companies and generally cutting back.

There appears to be a need to prune back, sometimes severely back to basics so that a new framework can emerge. Sometimes, underneath severely pruned bushes, a tiny plant lies dormant, starved of sunlight and warmth awaiting its time .When the conditions are right, it will grow upwards and bloom.

White you fasten your seat belt and you ride the roller coaster ride at the moment, while branches crash down and substantial pruning takes place, look for the acorn which in time will create another strong oak. All is not lost and we can start again.....

Sheep insulation

Winter Sheep I

Loft Insulating Materials

Mineral fibre or fibreglass matting is usually available in rolls 400mm (16in) wide. Thicknesses range from 100mm (4 in) to 200mm (8 in). In the UK, the total thickness of insulation should be at least 200mm (8in), the thinner insulation material available allow for old, thinner loft insulation to be overlaid to achieve the 200mm. Roll insulation can usually be installed without professional help.


Loose-fill loft insulation materials which are blown into the loft are usually mineral wool or cellulose fibres, installation is a specialist job which should be left to a contractor. The materials generally have the same insulation value as rolls of loft insulation and should have a minimum finished thickness of 200mm (8in) - most roof joists are only 100 to 150mm (4 to 6 in) so some means of increasing the depth of joist may be necessary.

Loose-fill loft insulation materials, such as vermiculite and mineral fibre, are sold in bags and can be poured between the joists to the recommended depth. They are easier to install than the matting if there are awkward corners or obstructions in the loft space. They also make the job easier if the joist spacings are irregular or not suitable for a standard width of matting. Again, the depth of the joists may need to be increased so that the required depth of cover is achieved.

All of the above are man made and use toxic substances which means that handling them and breathing their fumes in can be harmful. Is there an alternative?

I am quite prolific at spinning and knitting the wonderful fleeces that sheep provide us with. Here in the West Country, Jacobs sheep can be found roaming on the hillside and I absolutely love their fleeces. To keep warm I have made socks, hats, mittens, scarves and blankets for next to nothing money wise as the fleeces can be obtained on freecycle.

Thanks to Christa's comment my memory got activated about a company called second nature that produces loft insulation from sheep's fleeces. The benefit is that it is not only safe to handle and breathe around this material, but it can be cut, torn and stuffed into small unusual places.

So maybe the loft hatches do not need to be changed.No grants for this material but I am going to be a lot happier having non toxic materials in my loft.

Sometimes the obvious is the simplest answer: How otherwise can sheep withstand very cold icy temperature?

Father Peter's helpful suggestion

Father Peter's environmental notes left such a useful comment that I wanted to share it with you. Father Peter has some excellent contributions to make so do visit his blog.

We live in a small cottage that is about 350 years old and luckily was not listed. When we bought it 20 years the property was almost ready to be condemned and I rebuilt it over a two year period as sympathetically as possible.

All the internal walls (with external faces) are false and insulated and the loft spaces are insulated between the rafters by 5’’ of fibreglass at 45 degrees, so equalling 7 ½ inches. The insulated hot water tank was given a jacket on top of the insulation; this is heated by the open wood burning fire in the winter and ½ an hour of off peak electricity in the summer. I am obsessive about draft proofing as this seemingly minor item can make a huge difference. We have just had double glazing fitted and I only wish we could have afforded this years ago. The oil fired central heating has insulated pipes between the boilers and radiators with thermostats on each radiator; these are turned low in rooms that are not in use. The house now has windows that face south, there were none when we bought it, and with the fire on and (when it shines) the winter sun, pouring in the heating rarely comes on.
We discovered a lot in the rebuild, that the kitchen area once held animals, that there were two families living in the house, and, when I removed the wall that covered the bricked up chimney in the living room, an inglenook fireplace with some parts of the old cooker remaining!

Insulation

The government announced this week that it will pump money into energy saving schemes such as insulation. If you have not had the opportunity to look into doing these improvements to your home, then it may be worth checking out any grants you can get towards these.

Personally we did apply and were successful in receiving a grant for draught proofing but as with everything, the doors became so tight that one of them fell of its hinges which caused us to need to do other repairs. The loft insulation was not completed on the grant because we have loft hatches that are too small for the rolls of material. Secondly, our ceilings are made of lathe and plaster ( a very old way of doing ceilings) and letting the workmen loose on it could have just given us another opening to the roof as lathe and plaster can crumble. So that work is on hold until we can get hold of a local craftsman who can carefully deal with the 16th century plasterwork.

Don't let that put you off,if you live in a more modern house, it will be a piece of cake.

Insulation can be considered in the following areas :

1. Loft insulation: Prevents 15% of heat lost through the roof.
2. Tank and pipe insulation: A hot water cylinder jacket of at least 75mm cuts heat loss by 75%.
3. Cavity/solid wall insulation: About 30% of heat lost through walls. Homes built after 1920 - with cavity walls - can be injected with insulating material. Older houses with solid walls can be fitted with an extra layer.
4. Double-glazing: Can cut heat loss by about 50%. The two panes of glass create an insulating barrier.
5. Draught-proofing: About 20% of heat lost through poor ventilation and draughts. Measures include fitting brushes to letterboxes. Source: Energy Saving Trust

If you have an older property like ours, you may need to make adjustments as the construction methods from yesteryear do not always lend themselves to modern measures and listed buildings would have restrictions placed on them with regards to improvements.

When we visited Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset some time ago, we were reminded that small cottages were inhabited by many people who heated one room and spent the majority of their time, wrapped up in front of the fire.

I will let you know how we cope with the cold as it creeps in over the next few months.

Magenta cucumber

Cucumber Seed Packet

If you go hunting down between the leaves of the cucumber plants, you can often find a gigantic, monstrous specimen that is going to be difficult to turn into pickle or anything else. In a throwaway society you might well chuck it on the compost heap but here we have found a way to give the cucumber a new lease of life whilst releasing its fantastic minerals and goodies into a magenta beverage. Don't be put off by the ingredients, its quite nice for a vegetable juice.

Get that juicer out and add :

2 apples
1 cucumber
1 beetroot

The colour is quite neon like and just think of the potent minerals and vitamins that will be coarsing through your body. The juice will give you an instant 2 of your 5 a day, is good for detox and brilliant skin. A straw to sip it helps.

Oh and wear gloves when you cut the beetroot, it bleeds.....

Charging an ipod with an onion

Scientifically speaking, funny but true.

Damsons

A winter tipple in the making and maybe your next weekend project?
Our village is full with octogenarians and beyond and even the gravestones mark 93 years, 94 years so there has to be something in the air. The secret I found out, is a regular tipple in the winter.

I have been writing a small article in our village magazine over the last few months and people have began to bring in produce as both gifts and challenges. Can I do anything with it? Will I share? I love these impromptu gifts of appreciation ( at least that is the spirit in which I receive them). They could just as well be a last resort for a glut of produce, but I am happy either way. The garden at the shop produces a small amount of food and I am only too pleased to take on surplus from our excellent local gardeners.

Today, a box of damsons arrived. Hmm, damson jam, damson jelly, damson cheese.....hold on, damson gin that sounds a bit more like it. As we recently cleared the large sweet jars from the top shelf they seemed the perfect jar to start with. Its easy really, you need gloves, a toothpick, a jar, sugar and gin. You prick the damsons, put them in the sterilised pot, add sugar ( as you go) and top up with gin. Stick in a dark cupboard for 3 months. Visit every few days to shake the jar and in 3 months time, when all the sugar has melted you will be left with a lovely liquid.Strain off the damsons, pour the alcohol through a funnel into a dry warm sterilised bottle and seal. Just an ideal home made present for Christmas. A more formal recipe follows :

Damson Gin

450g of damsons
710ml of vodka or gin
350g caster sugar

A poison tree

A Poison Tree, from Songs of Experience

Its been a while, and I have missed you all. Its been a time of reflection, busyness and wondering where we go from here.

Health wise there have been some challenges a bit here and bit there and the reason why I have not been participating in the blog is simply that it would have been too depressing. Surprisingly, the weather joined in in the doom and gloom by producing the wettest summer since records began and the economic climate seemed to take a nosedive too.

So here is the olive branch.....

I will be posting again regularly but probably not daily. The focus is going to be on eating local, growing local and continuing to simplify our lives.

The shop has grown from strength to strength and has been a roller coaster ride: 9 months so far, sleepless nights at times but we have at last mastered an acceptable rhythm.
The house is still under construction and repair as is the garden. At times we have felt overwhelmed with it all, but all in all, it is all taking shape.

I'll start sharing soon, that is if you are still reading.......

Grazing on salad

Rain makes for a lovely green lush salad leaf and probably a wonderful beetroot in a few weeks. Strawberries on the other hand are rotting on the plants as are the gooseberries. Apples are swelling on the tree.
The raised bed that looked empty a few weeks ago is bursting with fresh green leaves and I find myself grazing whenever I pass; a rocket leaf here, a salad leaf there, a spinach leaf that is fresh and crunchy.

Salads cannot readily be preserved and are a crop that needs to be picked and eaten very quickly. Problem is that the weather suits more pies and stews than salad leaves. It makes a wonderful addition to home made savoury pies or pizza.

What amazes me every year is that different plants get the spotlight....when their growing conditions are just right. This must be a a salad year! Hence the abundance in rabbits in the fields...their vegetation is in abundance and so they multiply.

I could be negative about the lack of sunshine but instead I am grateful that this year any lettuces planted are not turning bitter and going to seed as quickly as other years. having saved the rain butt in case of drought I can only laugh at the irony of it, its overflowing every day. I fill my watering cans with rainwater to water the tomatoes that are screaming for some warmth and water the houseplants with the abundant water. After all, it makes up 75% of the chemistry of people and vegetation so there is nothing to complain about, its obviously needed.

Sandals are parked and wellies are the new summer gear!

Summer memories

Old House Ardennes 67

The daily front page news may or may not have got you down over the last month as well as the lack of summer warmth. The news all around is rather gloomy…but only if we let it. Our antidote here is to rise above any recession prediction and continue to enjoy what we do.

The economic outlook may seem as dark as the summer weather; every week suppliers provide new price lists, stop stocking certain items or change their delivery days to cut fuel costs which overall is probably a sensible approach in the current volatile business climate.

Global warming, the credit crunch and economic recession can be a selffulfilling prophecy if we let it.

My childhood in Belgium took place in a small village in the Ardennes and every Sunday I cycled to the village ( about 3 miles away, uphill) to seek out the bakery. My efforts of cycling uphill were rewarded upon entering the village where my senses would be revived. The smell of fresh bread and pastries would waft out of the bakery and Annemie would wave me in with a lovely smile. I was about 12 at the time. My basket would fill up with fresh crusty rolls, the odd baguette, fruit waffle and Tarte au Riz for afternoon tea. My cargo had to be protected on the whiz down the hill back home. During summer months I would rest on a grass verge, read a few passages of my book and admire the view of the valley below. Come rain or shine, whether my week had been successful or pretty hard to deal with, I never failed my expeditions to the bakery. Annemie’s wave and smile would beckon me in and I would leave feeling a sense of belonging and warmth which has stayed with me ever since.

This is one of the reasons for baking fresh bread, croissants and pastries in Central Stores. There are still memories to be made today for young and old alike.

For the past few weeks we have been experimenting with baguettes, different types of rolls and pastries and feedback has been very encouraging indeed. The variety on offer will continue to change, not only to test our baking skills, but to offer a moving feast for the senses to accompany villagers during bright and rainy days. You may even glimpse a smile from behind the counter!

Bread, rolls and pastries are available every day but croissants and petit pains au chocolat are weekend delights to be savoured with a steaming cup of your favourite beverage and good read whatever the weather. Baking has given me a new satisfaction; every time a croissant leaves the oven, I hear Annemie’s voice telling me not to hurry, to enjoy every moment. Every croissant has the ability to create a memory.

Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress; working together is a success.
Henry Ford

Despite the weather....

Window dressing is not a skill that I have acquired over the years but it gives me an opportunity to create something of a talking point in the village. Apparently on a rainy day it gives a focus for a small walk to the shop, then maybe be drawn in by the smell of bread baking in the oven to buy a croissant, a danish pastry or a baguette. At the weekend we encourage a relaxing morning stroll to buy a newspaper, a croissant and petit pain au chocolat to enjoy at home with some coffee. Even if the summer weather leaves a lot to be desired, we can pretend that we enjoy a holiday lifestyle.

Each window has a riddle in it.....in between the baguette and the coffee we have a french hen, a duck and some garlic.......

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be
Marcel Pagnol quotes (French Writer, Producer and Film Director, 1895-1974)

No waist

Boulangerie
Over the last month we have been busy starting an on site bakery in the shop. The credit crunch is making people in the countryside aware that just to drive 3 miles for a loaf of bread might be a little eccentric. We support home breadmaking by offering a variety of flours from french bread to wholemeal but we felt what was missing was the smell of fresh bread, croissants and freshly baked goodies on site.

The transformation is as magical as we thought and although the workload increases, there is nothing that beats the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the shop and increasing the feel good factor. The supermarkets stagger their baking efforts throughout the day to appeal to the customer to by fresh bread, doughnuts etc. In the village shop we bake early in the morning a selection of pastries, organic loaves and baguettes but when the quantity has run out we do not bake again. This means that early in the morning people sit on the outside bench waiting until the bread is ready.

Summer may have bypassed us but the bakery in the shop has brought a summer holiday feeling to our customers and all who visit.

There is still a lot of repair work to be carried out on the premises and the kitchen to expand the range. The feedback has been great and we have more visitors who follow their noses.

Salad days

The rainy, cool days suit the salads in the raised beds very well although the humans in the household are crying out for some hot weather.

The raised salad bed is planted quite densely which eliminates weeding. Red and green lettuces interplanted with radishes provide a feast for the senses. Slug population need to climb at least the equivalent of a mountain to reach the greenery and success for the moment is abundant.

Simple salad

Salad leaves- mixed, washed and cut up with scissors
radishes
parsley
tomatoes
cucumber
sprinkling of cashew nuts
sprinkling of sultanas
1 avocado sliced
dressing of olive oil and lemon or lime juice

add either crusty bread or 2 rice cakes, a large glass of elderflower cordial and enjoy what is left of the summer.

small potager

In November, the area designated for vegetable growing looked overgrown.
The above shows the garden area when we had just started to create the space: we found it was a lot larger than anticipated at first.


A few weeks ago, the raised beds were put in and a ton of compost added. The compost was bought from the local authority and came at £ 17.00 a ton. This is composted at high speed from all the green waste people take to the recycling centre and from the recycling bins collected at the kerbside; a lot cheaper than when you buy it by the bag at the garden centre.

Due to the delay in finishing the hard landscaping I have bought an instant salad garden from WigglyWigglers to make instant use of the potager which included a variety of salad plants, spring onions, celery, celeriac, beetroot and tomatoe plants. I have also planted out butternut squash and french beans.

The remaining part of the garden is still in progress but its blueprint is a food forest garden with trees, shrubs and a mixture of edible and non edible plants. Currently we have strawberries that are ripening in tubs but have had to be covered with fleece, blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes with a few berries on and 2 gooseberry bushes that show promise. As this is the first year for these plants, the harvest will be limited. Amongst the greenery there are also alpine strawberries that make a wonderful addition to our breakfast each day.

There is more opportunity to go out and potter in the garden and I am feeling a bit trimmer too. So far on the vegetarian diet my weight has dropped by 20lbs; no caffeine, no wheat, no dairy, no meat, no yeast, no sugar, no salt. Probably sounds very boring but it enables me to move forward with the possibility of eating the majority of the fruit and vegetables that are grown in the garden supplemented by natural sugars from honey, and dry staples like rice, oats,dried beans, seeds, sprouted seeds and nuts. It suits me personally but my DH needs a certain amount of meat to stay healthy.

The turning point

The news articles in today's newspapers are telling us of a new phenomenon : despite rapid increasing prices for fuel, food and daily living expenses the average high street spending has increased to record levels last month, way beyond expectations. When the government expects people to tighten their belts and spending, many have gone out of their way to spend more and more. There are 2 possibilities : some people may feel that now is the time to buy as next month the item may be more expensive and others might use shopping as a way to make them feel better about the rising costs of mortgage, credit and life in general in defiance. Whatever the motives, the move is a different one than expected.

On a local level we are seeing a difference too. We are spending more time explaining to people what we can do locally so they do not need to travel to the nearest town and there is a change in buying patterns too as people reconsider travel journeys that can be avoided. A more worrying trend is that some suppliers are going into liquidation, i.e. voluntary bankruptcy as profit margins decrease and running costs and interest rates rise. This will wipe out some businesses that are influenced by these factors and will result in some smaller companies laying off staff, and an increase in local unemployment.

I personally believe that the trend will continue as with higher fuel costs, higher prices for food and commodities will continue too. What would then follow is a request for more money, i.e.salaries to increase to keep up with the cost of living and possible strike action. This is the turning point where a simpler life is no longer a voluntary option for many but one that is being forced upon people as a result of a changing global economy. I predict irrational behaviour as people begin to realise that they cannot have what they want instantly, they may have to wait as supplies and resources become scarce. The quest for fuel seems to be a primary focus based on the fact that fuel and oil availability will reduce in years to come. The laws of economy then mean that when a product becomes scarce, the price will go up. Thus if for instance rice is no longer exported by countries because they need it for their own use, the price of rice rises as its availability decreases.

A proactive approach is to look at alternatives and ways to maximise current opportunities :

• For shelter - check what you can do to minimise the costs of your accommodation.
• For food : plan what you eat, diversify ingredients, take lunch to work and buy some staples ahead of time.
• For warmth : the cost of fuel will rise the nearer we get to winter so now is a good time to invest in filling your oil tank, building a log store for a wood burning stove and saving as much as you can on energy costs. What you save now you can use when you really need it.

Most papers will be full of tips on how to save money and short term savings can be made by cutting down on what is bought new, long term savings can be made by being focused on what you will need in the future and finding the right time to purchase that item. If you made assumptions about a budget at the beginning of the year it may need to be reassessed to take into account price rises.


As a sustainable business, we want to keep our prices competitive which has been successful in particular in the fresh produce section of the shop. Ice cream consumption is low due to inclement weather and chocolate consumption is up. Soup is in demand although this is completely unseasonal.

Life as we knew it is about to change.

Where are the bees?

No bees, no fruits? No beans?
It is remarkable at the moment that the weather is off track, the plants are unsure what to do about it and a synchronicity of flowering, pollinating and fruit is far from easy to obtain presently.
We obtain our local honey from an enthusiast. He has been telling us for the last six months that he is unsure whether the bees will survive the climate change and when he came in this week, he glumly told us that 50% of his hives had not managed to survive the winter. 50% is a huge amount.
What seemed a possibility is now a certainty in our area : bee populations are severely damaged and this can only mean that British honey will die off and we will need to import our honey from the rest of the world at a premium cost. If we have no bees pollinating the orchards and fields, our crops will diminish and as such, farmers will have a harder time managing to create value crops. As a result of less insects too, birds will require us to supplement their diets with seeds and worms to keep them thriving.
If you love honey, go buy some as British honey may indeed become a rarity in the future.