That's brilliant. Might wanna sort those 'snips out though. They reckon it's gonna be a cold one.
Red & BBs retirement home......
- Thread starter British Red
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Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
Thinking of a couple of pigs eventually - just bringing on weaners probably 
We have plans for a chicken coop in the garden next year (and a fruit cage)...it never ends!
The barn is getting there now
The roof is off and the purlins replaced
Old roof off and purlins replaced by British Red, on Flickr
The purlins are attached with metal straps which should be good for a long time
Purlin Straps by British Red, on Flickr
Red
Red
We have plans for a chicken coop in the garden next year (and a fruit cage)...it never ends!
The barn is getting there now
The roof is off and the purlins replaced
Old roof off and purlins replaced by British Red, on Flickr
The purlins are attached with metal straps which should be good for a long time
Purlin Straps by British Red, on Flickr
Red
Red
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Well, our peas did really weel this year
Telegraph Tall Peas by British Red, on Flickr
We enjoyed a load fresh but hung up a lot of vines of bush peas to dry
Peas Drying by British Red, on Flickr
Judging them dry today, we took them down
Dried Pea vines by British Red, on Flickr
We shelled them into a bowl and they were hard as bullets
Shelled Peas by British Red, on Flickr
Add in the coffee jars I collect from friends (nice air tight stoppers) and we have a supply for re-planting next year or using in soups and stews
Dried Peas in Jar by British Red, on Flickr
Red
Telegraph Tall Peas by British Red, on Flickr
We enjoyed a load fresh but hung up a lot of vines of bush peas to dry
Peas Drying by British Red, on Flickr
Judging them dry today, we took them down
Dried Pea vines by British Red, on Flickr
We shelled them into a bowl and they were hard as bullets
Shelled Peas by British Red, on Flickr
Add in the coffee jars I collect from friends (nice air tight stoppers) and we have a supply for re-planting next year or using in soups and stews
Dried Peas in Jar by British Red, on Flickr
Red
The westfalia Dehydrator you recommended finally arrived last week and sorted the Chilli crop
now working out how to do apples and tomatoes as we have a few about now
think ive a pot of ascorbic acid (for making bread) about to stop the apples going brown
ciders stopped bubblin tho after a few days so not sure on that one
ATB
Duncan
now working out how to do apples and tomatoes as we have a few about now
think ive a pot of ascorbic acid (for making bread) about to stop the apples going brown
ciders stopped bubblin tho after a few days so not sure on that one
ATB
Duncan
Ascorbic acid is vitamin C - easy to come by
Citric acid works well (homeberew shop) or plain old lemon juice if not.
With toms, do them till they are soft and leathery and store in oil (like sun dried toms) - very nice indeed
Citric acid works well (homeberew shop) or plain old lemon juice if not.
With toms, do them till they are soft and leathery and store in oil (like sun dried toms) - very nice indeed
yes the Ascorbic acid is needed in some of the bread recipes so have the pot will try that first yes it is Vit C and an e number E300
always wanted to do a test on people ie which would you give your kids
(A) juice with added Ascorbic acid
(B) juice with added Vit C
(C) juice with added E300
the whole house smells of freash tomatoes at the moment
Saturday it was green tomato chutney
ATB
Duncan
The roof is now on...
Roof on Barn by British Red, on Flickr
So we now have a lot of useable space.......
New Barn Space by British Red, on Flickr
Not finished yet though - new doors are just roughly framed out
Barn Door Frames by British Red, on Flickr
...electrics are going in next week as well....
Big enough for a "man cave" do you reckon?
Red
Roof on Barn by British Red, on Flickr
So we now have a lot of useable space.......
New Barn Space by British Red, on Flickr
Not finished yet though - new doors are just roughly framed out
Barn Door Frames by British Red, on Flickr
...electrics are going in next week as well....
Big enough for a "man cave" do you reckon?
Red
aahhh the envy would have been abated by doing what I was doing today....shovelling sh**!
Manure is weird stuff - when you have a big pile of well rotted stuff it packs down - get really dense like clay.
I have been manuring today - partly because we have cleared some beds, partly for some new hedging.
I find now that the best technique is to pry the heap apart with a garden fork - creating a 6" deep layer of "lumps". I then rotovate the lumps into a coarse tilth (like coarse gravel) and then shovel it into a barrow. A long handled spade is a real back saver for filling the barrow
Manuring Kit by British Red, on Flickr
This lot is bound for the trenches I have dug for the native hedging thats coming next week...
Trench for hedging by British Red, on Flickr
...and also into the emptied veg beds. The beds are rotovated again when the manure has been added
Manured and rotovated bed by British Red, on Flickr
They don't stay empty long. I did this one two weeks ago...
Garlic and Japanese Onions by British Red, on Flickr
The garlic and over wintering onions are already making a brave show!
Made a fair old dent in the manure pile today
Diminshed Manure pile by British Red, on Flickr
Musn't use too much though - there are another 5 beds (each a hundred square feet) going in this Autumn
Red
Manure is weird stuff - when you have a big pile of well rotted stuff it packs down - get really dense like clay.
I have been manuring today - partly because we have cleared some beds, partly for some new hedging.
I find now that the best technique is to pry the heap apart with a garden fork - creating a 6" deep layer of "lumps". I then rotovate the lumps into a coarse tilth (like coarse gravel) and then shovel it into a barrow. A long handled spade is a real back saver for filling the barrow
Manuring Kit by British Red, on Flickr
This lot is bound for the trenches I have dug for the native hedging thats coming next week...
Trench for hedging by British Red, on Flickr
...and also into the emptied veg beds. The beds are rotovated again when the manure has been added
Manured and rotovated bed by British Red, on Flickr
They don't stay empty long. I did this one two weeks ago...
Garlic and Japanese Onions by British Red, on Flickr
The garlic and over wintering onions are already making a brave show!
Made a fair old dent in the manure pile today
Diminshed Manure pile by British Red, on Flickr
Musn't use too much though - there are another 5 beds (each a hundred square feet) going in this Autumn
Red
Got the end of the chillis harvested today since frosts are starting...
Chilli Harvest by British Red, on Flickr
Then cleaned down the inside of the glass and fumigated with sulphur candles.
Sulphur Candle by British Red, on Flickr
Easy enough to make a sulphur candle - its just powdered sulphur and a wick that has to burn enough to liquidise and burn the sulphur. The sulphur fumes are dangerous (that's rather the point). I improvised one with a treacle tin and a bit of praffin soaked rag. Certainly worked okay
Sulphur Fumigated Greenhouse by British Red, on Flickr
Leave those fumes for 12 hours and everything is dead, insects, algae, mould, you name it, its gone. Obviously air well afterwards. Years ago, people would fumigate their own houses this way and kill cockroaches, bedbugs, fleas and the like. You need about a pound of sulphur for an 8x12 greenhouse. Sulphur is also great for acidifying the soil and many other purposes - another "handy household chemical"
Red
Chilli Harvest by British Red, on Flickr
Then cleaned down the inside of the glass and fumigated with sulphur candles.
Sulphur Candle by British Red, on Flickr
Easy enough to make a sulphur candle - its just powdered sulphur and a wick that has to burn enough to liquidise and burn the sulphur. The sulphur fumes are dangerous (that's rather the point). I improvised one with a treacle tin and a bit of praffin soaked rag. Certainly worked okay
Sulphur Fumigated Greenhouse by British Red, on Flickr
Leave those fumes for 12 hours and everything is dead, insects, algae, mould, you name it, its gone. Obviously air well afterwards. Years ago, people would fumigate their own houses this way and kill cockroaches, bedbugs, fleas and the like. You need about a pound of sulphur for an 8x12 greenhouse. Sulphur is also great for acidifying the soil and many other purposes - another "handy household chemical"
Red
Getting there with the ruined barn makeover now
Cleaned out barn by British Red, on Flickr
Glossed Internal Door to Barn by British Red, on Flickr
Glossed pedestrian barn door by British Red, on Flickr
Quite pleased with the front view
Barn Doors by British Red, on Flickr
If you look on the left you will see an IBC tank as the start of the rainwater harvesting system
IBC Rain Harvesting by British Red, on Flickr
I have converted to output to Hozelock compatible so that I can run my pump to pump the water through hoses for sprinklers or hand watering
IBC Hozelock Adapter by British Red, on Flickr
I need to get hold of some more tanks to "daisy chain" them though...this one is filling up fast!
We still need to gutter the other side to feed another IBC system
Red
Cleaned out barn by British Red, on Flickr
Glossed Internal Door to Barn by British Red, on Flickr
Glossed pedestrian barn door by British Red, on Flickr
Quite pleased with the front view
Barn Doors by British Red, on Flickr
If you look on the left you will see an IBC tank as the start of the rainwater harvesting system
IBC Rain Harvesting by British Red, on Flickr
I have converted to output to Hozelock compatible so that I can run my pump to pump the water through hoses for sprinklers or hand watering
IBC Hozelock Adapter by British Red, on Flickr
I need to get hold of some more tanks to "daisy chain" them though...this one is filling up fast!
We still need to gutter the other side to feed another IBC system
Red
Well, we are up to 10 beds now
New veg beds by British Red, on Flickr
New veg beds by British Red, on Flickr
That takes us to 1,000 square feet of high quality beds (plus the rhubarb and gooseberry patches)
We have added another bunch of fruit trees as well (more cherries, plums, apples, a green gage and a weeping crap apple for pollination)
New Fruit Trees by British Red, on Flickr
Crab Apple by British Red, on Flickr
That takes us to about twebty fruit and nut trees.
We have a long way to go. But its more than we had last year!
Red
New veg beds by British Red, on Flickr
New veg beds by British Red, on Flickr
That takes us to 1,000 square feet of high quality beds (plus the rhubarb and gooseberry patches)
We have added another bunch of fruit trees as well (more cherries, plums, apples, a green gage and a weeping crap apple for pollination)
New Fruit Trees by British Red, on Flickr
Crab Apple by British Red, on Flickr
That takes us to about twebty fruit and nut trees.
We have a long way to go. But its more than we had last year!
Red
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