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I’ve just finished reading “The Old Country”, by Jack Hargreaves. It is the sequel to his book “Out of Town”, which I have yet to read (oops). The book is an interesting read for anyone curious about the countryside and it’s recent history, especially when considered alongside his television...

Fanning and preening….

Hmm. I got my seeds from a seed-swap that was organised in an adjoining village. I might have a few pods left, but I’ll have a look in the greenhouse tomorrow and let you know.

Yep, I’m not a fan of peat-free composts. That’s the only drawback of growing in buckets too - you need to keep a close eye on watering levels. I always drill plenty of drainage holes in the bottom anyway, but they can dry out quickly in a hot greenhouse.

Not difficult at all. It’s very commonly grown in Yorkshire I believe. I got hold of some seed pods and started a few in soil in the greenhouse , planting them out when they were about 6” high. I have three plants in a 70L tub and they are about 4 years old now. The roots are about as thick as...

We grow tomatoes, spuds, chillies, cucumbers, mint, rosemary, thyme, strawberries, aubergines, sunflowers, liquorice and cucamelos in buckets varying from 14L builders buckets (cheapest) up to 70L mixing buckets. All have done well, but generally better in our greenhouse for the more tender...

Yep, there’s only one dairy near us, but they do have a shop. It’s good stuff but quite expensive to be honest. My farming friends got out of dairy years back. Up in your area of Exmoor I suppose the ground isn’t that handy for veg or cereal crops and so sheep is where you’re at. We’re 25 or...

I beat at a local shoot, so get free pheasant, partridge and the occasional brace of duck. In feather of course but it still tastes good, and the price is very much to my liking. I also get free spuds, so long as I glean them myself between harvest and the fields getting prepared for the next...

It’s not much use for the OP, but if you’re in reach of Surrey, the UK Hide Co at the industrial estate at Brooklands in Weybridge used to sell offcuts. They mainly deal in whole/half hides for car/boat etc trimming these days, including some very expensive pieces (!), but they used to have a...

So what model are these power stations? We have some room in our house near the freezer and one of them could be interesting if this is to become the “new normal”:confused:

Hi Hugh :). That’s a very generous offer, but hopefully the power company will come through before their second extended deadline. As we’re on the Somerset/Devon border it would probably take that long to drive over to yours and back. Having settled our neighbour last night we went to the pub in...

We’re now 36 hours in to our power outage, and the power transmission company have extended their recovery time to 8pm tomorrow! We’re doing ok as my little camping stove is providing hot food and drinks to us and our elderly/disabled neighbour. I hope my supply of small gas cans lasts…. Our...

I use one if these almost every autumn/winter day I’m outside: https://hollandscountryclothing.co.uk/products/hoggs-of-fife-kincraig-waterproof-field-jacket?_pos=6&_fid=ed4ea01e4&_ss=c Warm, hasn’t let any water in, has a high collar and hood when you want it, hand warmer and cartridge pockets...

10 miles west of Taunton here. Four major panels of our 14x8 foot Halls greenhouse have blown out, despite being double- or triple-clipped in. One glass panel about 5’ x 2’ from the roof flew around 10 feet and smashed on the ground, but it looks like we’ve managed to save the others so far...

Same for me on fast broadband or 4G cellular.

Ours were cleaned off by the blackbirds back at the start of September…..

Just saw this in a local online news article: https://www.devonlive.com/news/celebs-tv/antiques-roadshow-musical-penknife-bbc-9626091?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop I dont think I’d want to be battoning with that :)

Along with the others: Just Do it!

When we have a glut, or can’t store extra tomatoes, we have them fried on a chunky piece of toast for breakfast. Heat a little olive oil in the pan, fry a little sliced onion (and garlic if you like), add some fennel seeds. When the onions are becoming see through, add the roughly chopped or...

We’ve got two gooseberry bushes, one established and one a baby. The established bush gave us 2KG of fruit this year, and we’re hoping that the smaller one will start fruiting next year. The fruit is all going into gooseberry and ginger jam - one of my favourites. We tried cucamelons last year...