Comment: I have just got some First earlies from B&Q. It was my intention to chit them and plant them in about three weeks. When I opened up the bags they had quite long chitted stems some as long as three inches ! My question is should I put them in straight away ? My ground is prepared and the trench is and manured etc. Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p align="center" style="text-align: center"><strong><u>His tiny paws are frozen</u></strong></p><p><u></u></p><p><u></u></p><p>Well as we can all clearly see the grip of winter is all over us.</p><p>As a general rule we take each season as it comes and try and work around it accordingly.</p><p>Now most folk I know who happen to work on the land or outside say the best place for snow is on Christmas cards and no where else.</p><p>This morning I became aware of what harsh weather can do to a dog.</p><p>We have three dogs, two Patterdale terriers and one old Lab X rescue.</p><p>The old one has for many years worked along side his younger partners and is as good as any of them in general pest control ( Ratting etc) , but this morning I noticed a difference in him that I had not seen before. Of late he has slowed down and become more sluggish, in part due to a little too much over eating and lack of exercise (sound familiar?) anyway on the morning run I noticed he kept laying on his side and shaking his paws as if he had something in them. On closer inspection I could only see compacted ice in between the pads that was obviously pushed in following his running about on the snow.</p><p>Now it's been particularly cold with us over the last couple of days, not quite North America freezing but still deeply penetratingly cold with the wind-chill.</p><p>Now Hugo that's the old one had to be carried home and had to rest up by the wood burner to that out his frozen paws. It's a little sad to see age creeping up on an old friend he is about twelve now and didn't have a great start in life so has done very well so far.</p><p>It has made me think that in nature the frozen winter has a knack of finishing off the weak and old, now please understand I do not foresee the end for him anytime soon in fact the vet recently said he was in rude health for a fat old boy but the weather has certainly played a part in his reluctance to get out and about. </p><p>The other two are as robust and excitable as ever and still keen as mustard to go down to the Farm grain store to work. </p><p>Some folk say we should put food out for wild birds and support them in times of harsh weather, I must say we do this from time to time but have to wonder how much difference it can make in the long run as the east wind bites so things move on.</p><p>I don't give the dog's gifts at Christmas but this year maybe I would think about some pad covers to repel ice and snow, it's the least I could do for him.</p><p> </p><p>The allotment is covered by a blanket of ice and snow, this I am pleased with as it means the Parsnips will be crunchy fresh for the big feast next week and nature is busy breaking up clumps of soil with the freeze thaw action therefore making my job in a few weeks so much easier. No grass to cut nothing to water and no need for a fan in the bedroom to aid cool peaceful sleep.</p><p>The food is better for me this time of year, I like hot roast meats and root veg, and I like hot puddings and anything that warms the cockles. The BBQ idea from Mrs B was a great way of hitting back at the cold it's out way of saying we can be here and eat right in the heart of the storm every season gives and sometimes takes away you cant beat nature but you can trick it a little and dodge the worst bits.</p><p>I see Christmas as the Peak of the hill it's a time to re think the previous year and prepare ourselves for a new and gentle meander down through the end of winter into spring and then on to the warm flat plains of summer. Merry Christmas M&K</p> Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p>This morning at 0630 we took out four Gloucester old spots to the Abattoir. </p><p>This entry is really a follow on from the last ( its not all  food it's more than that ) when I was stressing about killing them due to the bond we had built during the last six months. </p><p>The strange thing is when I loaded them there was absolutely not hesitation in them whatsoever they ran up the ramp and couldn't get in the stock wagon fast enough. I padded it out with fresh straw and made the 20 minute journey. I made sure we were there first and on arrival my only anxiety was not being very good at reversing , after a couple of tries we were in. As Hugh once said in one of his films I was there at the beginning and it was only fitting I was there at the end. They were taken away around the corner to a holding pen whilst I handed over the paperwork.</p><p>This took a couple of minutes and  then I was off. I was assured that they were first in line and by the time I was home ( about 20 minutes drive) they would be dead. I am feeling very satisfied with the whole experience because I have been assured it is done fast and clean and with an on site vet there was the added feeling of satisfaction when I was complemented on the good standard of animal I had produced. </p><p>This is not the first time I had been there but the first time I really took notice of what was going on. </p><p>I feel completely satisfied and relieved , a strange feeling as I had feared feeling very sad, on the contrary I feel fine. I spent last night preparing a joint list, this is a private arrangement I have with them as I don't feel I have all the skills yet to prepare the best cuts. I will be calling next Tuesday to arrange collection. </p><p>When I arrived back at the Farm I spent some time cleaning and sterilising the wagon and then stripping out and cleaning the Ark feed trough and drinking vessel etc.</p><p>It is all now packed away and set aside for the next occupants sometime next year.</p><p>As this year closes in not everything has gone brilliantly but this part of the Smallholding project most definatly has. I will celebrate their return with a family roast a kind of celebration of product.</p><p>Thanks for taking the time to read this.</p><p>Martin and Kristine</p> Submit > < Back

Comment: I have just picked some field mushrooms and noticed that when I cut them open I could see some very small black things tunneling inside the flesh of the mushroom. They are very small ( about half the size of a flea) and appear as little black spots . When I approached them with the tip of my knife i noticed they jump jest a few millimetres but it's without a doubt a little jump ! I suppose cooking them would kill them none the less once I had eyes on my appetite for them dissapeared. simple question .......what re they please ? Martin Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p>   What I mean is................................</p><p> </p><p>I have been increasingly aware of the imminent approach of the slaughter date of my Gloucester Old Spot pigs.</p><p>Now under normal circumstances I can be pretty matter of fact about it, and I have not had these feelings before. I have always taken the approach well they wouldn't have a life (and a pretty good one at that) if it were not for the end game i.e. food production.</p><p>The problem I am facing this time is I have made a bond with them and if I am honest I am really struggling with the thought of taking them to the abattoir.</p><p>I will ultimately do it as both Kristine and I are committed to changing our lives for the better through all of the principals laid down in Smallholding/ Downshifting particularly through the writings and films made by Hugh over the last ten years or so.</p><p>It's just that sometimes it's so damn hard to actually look at something and think I am going to kill cook and eat you!</p><p>Another example was a recent event in our small poultry flock. We had a bit of a clear out recently and I bumped off about eight old birds that had pretty much stopped laying eggs. I worked under the idea I have no room for passengers and that lot were costing me money in chicken food and I was getting nothing back in the way of eggs. So they all met their maker and my freezer was eight hens the fuller at the end of the day. The thing is there was this one light speckled Sussex who had been around for about four years and at least twice in her life had been a broody hatching eggs for me. Now I know she wasn't a layer anymore and I rarely saw any eggs from her. But she had a history with us and we had made the fatal mistake of naming her (Hilda) so she had become more than just another bird in the flock she was in fact a problem for me. </p><p>Now on my conscience I have a clean slate as I will always eat what I kill and the death is swift and unexpected for the Animal. But in the case of this little bird I had to give her a reprieve and now well she is well um...   just a pet ?, still laying next to nothing but still there.</p><p> </p><p>I simply can't afford to make the same mistake with Pigs as they are very much going to have to pay me back on the plate so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>I believe the lessons we learn from keeping livestock and working with them can reflect exactly back into our own characters and show us who we really are.</p><p>What I mean is working around the seasons learning from others and making balanced informed decisions based on a form of humanity and morality all rolled into one with a side factor of cash and or perhaps for some survival or not.</p><p>Now when is all said and done we are base creatures at heart when you are very hungry a crisp bacon sandwich or roll is very appetising or perhaps a piping hot roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings. Assuming you are not a committed vegetarian these are certainly difficult things to ignore.</p><p> </p><p>So many of the people who I have encountered over the last few years have had massive issues of struggling with food production and sourcing with them not wanting to know anything about it's history before slaughter not because they don't care or are cruel more to the fact they cant bare to think of the creature having a life and personality and all that goes with it. In other words they are quite happy to accept my word for it that what they are eating is ethically pure and clean and all is good just don't tell me it once had a name etc.</p><p>I don't think we will ever get over that particular hill as they say people are people and they won't change.</p><p>Smallholders, Farmers, and all people involved in food production have a responsibility to try hard to produce the best and looking at the recent couple of years (Hughs Chicken out and Jamie's Pork Campaign) it would seem we are all becoming more aware. So when I sell my next batch of bacon and Sausages I will add to the marketing message ......  Made with love and care so cook and eat them the same way.</p><p>Thanks</p><p>Martin and Kristine</p><p> </p><p> </p> Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p>A few years back a close friend advised me on a speech I was proposing to make following my being asked to perform the job of best man at a friends wedding.</p><p>He said Martin no matter what you choose to say remember to Kiss ,</p><p>What ? was all I could manage in the form of a reply .</p><p>Kiss.......... Keep it Simple Stupid !,</p><p>So on this advice I kept it short and very mild considering the dirt I had on the poor groom. Now this advice seems to carry on in numerous walks of life and today I was reminded of how it can reflect in food.</p><p>I have been out for most of the day watching the local hunt charge around the countryside, it's something I have done for several years and continue to do so. The weather has been if I am honest pretty foul with driving rain high winds and a lower temperature than we have been used to in the last month. </p><p>After about four hours of wandering about being pulled up and down hillsides and woodland by my little terrier I was soaked and tired.I got back to the house and then had to nip down to the farm where I keep my Pigs and feed and water them ( this is a twice daily routiune ) this meant more water down my back and the beginings of a hunger that I wouldn't have suffered had I had a mind to take some food with me. I returned home soaked very cold and very hungry.</p><p>Having just purchased and read RC Every day cookbook I should have been able to knock something together as I have a pretty well stocked store and larder, but it was as simple as this I was so hungry I just couldnt wait so I grabbed two large slices of bread and quickly spread some butter over them and then poured about three tablespoon fulls of Rasberry fridge jam over them. The instant sugar hit mixed witht the slightly warm bread and smooth butter was fabulous . For the next couple of minutes it was just wonderful. This is about as simple as it gets , and cost very little to produce. Nothing fancy or long to prepare just fast and furious .</p><p>The book has some fantastic cheap and fast recipies in I would love to add bread and Jam as a fast snack, I know it's very old school but sometimes the best things are. Kiss.</p><p>Thanks</p><p>M&K</p><p> </p> Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <h1><pre>What's the best season?</pre></h1><p> </p><p>Or perhaps I should be asking, "What's your favourite season?"</p><p>Now once upon a time I had no interest in seasons like during childhood yeah it was wet in the autumn , cold and wet in the winter , windy and wet in the spring  and of course warm and wet in the summer. , Or was that warm and dry in the summer and just cold in the winter?? Whatever.</p><p>Anyway when we took to smallholding suddenly it became quite apparent how important the seasons are to me, the late frosts will destroy anything leafy and tender just as you thought you were out of the woods, the summer sun can burn pig's ears and other skins dry up veg beds to a dust bowl if not tended accordingly. The timing of planting and harvesting seems to be driven more by the weather than the season or time of year. I like to see on the side of seed packets, sow March onwards or sow March to Sept, or some times In May / June only. Now with this global warming phenomena ( please don't want to go into depth about it) I was thinking broadly speaking are the seasons not just blending into roughly two half's  eg , a warmer and wetter period from about April to December ish and the December  to March period a more cooler second half ?</p><p>With these thoughts in mind I started to think what if any is the best time of year?</p><p>On a personal note I was born in July so I have always identified the summer warm day's sunny memories of childhood and generally having a great time. Fond reminders of our children growing up with us in an old Landrover taking long exploratory trips into France and Spain, Camping, and generally enjoying the weather.</p><p>Having said this If I am absolutely honest I have grown tired of hot sunny days and as I have grown older and become more involved with downsizing and living as much as possible from the land and in tune with nature  it's the Autumn that seems to come out on top now. Spring is all planting preparing digging and weeding, summer all heat and watering and winter well whilst it's quieter for us with the land it's a little too dark for us to actively do any outdoor stuff  I like to see more light and look forward to lighter evenings. </p><p>Now Autumn has it all for me , it's still light enough to get around in the early evening the nights are not too cold and there is no stifling heat or watering to bother about. And as a bonus it is probably the most productive time for harvesting so to utilise the old saying reap what you sow.</p><p>I enjoy the feeling of cooler evenings and lighting the wood burner for the first time in months. It also seems to be the time when I take some pigs to slaughter so the business of sausages and ham making takes place with us. And them what about the fishing September and October are fantastic months for fish around our coast the water temps are still pretty high and Mackerel shoals are still with us.</p><p>Mushrooming also makes its highlight appearance during this period, there is just so much going on.</p><p>So what's you favourite time of the year or season?</p><p>Happy seasons </p><p>M&K</p> Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p>A few years ago I started keeping a kind of diary of things that happened to my family when  we first moved into our village house. Now we are a pretty normal family and I tend to forget things from the past especially if it was a little trumatic , I find it's better to let it go. Anyway here is an extract from a little incident that occured three days after we had moved in during a very hot summer in July 2003.  I t starts of witht a telephone conversation  I had in my car ( before it was illegal to use mobiles whilst driving )                                You might find it amusing.</p><p>The conversation went something like this.</p><p> </p><p>Hello dad ?</p><p> </p><p>Yes wont be long got stuck in traffic</p><p> </p><p>Ive had an accident</p><p> </p><p>A what </p><p> </p><p>An accident</p><p> </p><p>How ?</p><p> </p><p>You see ive blown up the toilet </p><p> </p><p>What ?????</p><p> </p><p>Ive blown up the toilet with a firework     .....sorry   there's a bit of a mess .</p><p> </p><p>I dropped the phone onto my lap and started to shake my head .</p><p> I grabbed the phone back and shouted</p><p> "  Is this some payback for the tree thing"  ??</p><p> </p><p>He shouted something back and then hung up.</p><p>My wife looked at me and said "now what "</p><p>I said " there has been an accident", He has managed to break the toilet in the downstairs bathroom , something to do with a firework "</p><p> </p><p>This was not an incident but an accident as there was someone to blame and I was furious.</p><p>My wife told me to get home quick as there was a pressing need to see what was all happening. </p><p>As we drove down the lane leading to our house I did not see my son running along the hedge line away from the house not wanting to confront us. He was to lay low for a while in the field behind the house.</p><p>The thing is because we had moved from an urban area to the country he had no friends or contacts in the village at all so he had nowhere to hide .</p><p>Where we used to live he would have just gone over to one of his gothic mates houses had a great laugh at my expense and kept his head down for a day or two whilst listening to some Marylyn Manson or something similar.</p><p>But here there was nowhere to hide but the field .</p><p> </p><p>I ran down the stairs and straight into the bathroom.</p><p>There was water all over the floor. </p><p>What appears to have happened is this.</p><p>About 12 months before my son had been to France with the school on a one week visit to the war graves. Like most kids on school visits there had been the usual smuggling of contraband and he had he had managed to secure a box of French bangers.</p><p>Like all naughty boys he had managed to set most of these off well away from us and without our knowledge in nearby parks and alleys over the last 12 months.</p><p>Because of the increase in unruly behaviour in our old estate I had probably heard these bangs and dismissed them due to the regularity of disturbances. </p><p>Bizarrely it was one of the deciding factors that had made us sell our house we had had enough of youths running around at night causing a nuisance  </p><p>He was sat in the bedroom listening to the music and had decided that it would be a good time to light the last banger and throw it out of the window into the courtyard outside where it would make a satisfying loud bang.</p><p> </p><p>The problem was after lighting said firework he was still sat on his bed smiling at the fizzing pyrotechnic , he was well aware from previous usage that he had about 45 seconds before the big bang . So with about 30 seconds to go he reached for the bedroom window latch to throw it away.</p><p>This is where it all went a little wrong.</p><p>Because the house had been empty and under the ownership of a building society for the last 12 months, the security had been raised with the changing of locks and bolting down of window latches.</p><p>He had failed and fallen at the first hurdle of schoolboy antics </p><p>That being if you are about to do something mischievous   have an escape plan, a get out ,a way of denying your involvement.</p><p> When the window had presented itself as an immovable and locked exit he had panicked and run through to the bathroom to find the same exit there. </p><p>Same problem there, a big locked window.</p><p>He then decided to extinguish the firework by throwing it down the toilet.</p><p>As it hit the water it proved the old science experiment that if something is burning at a high enough temperature water will not stop it.</p><p>By all accounts the explosion was heard a couple of doors away and under normal circumstanced the neighbours would have knocked on the door to ask if everything was ok , but they had already come to understand it was better not to ask with these new people as they were mad.</p><p>The toilet had a large hole in the side and a crack running from the base of the pan to the rim. It was destroyed.</p><p>Now is this just my bad luck or do other people who have kids have these things happen to them ????</p> Submit > < Back

Comment: Ok I have just finished making my cold smoker ( the same design as RC in the fish book. Where do I get the sawdust / chips to use in it ? I put some easybed chicken subterate in to test it and it was all burnt up in about 1 hour. I need something thats going to dwindle on for about 24 hrs. Anyone know where I can buy the stuff please ? Martin Submit > < Back

Title: Comment: <p> </p><p> </p><p>And so we close yet another summer and we trust you have all taken as much bounty from the land as possible.</p><p>On reflection it's been a pretty good year with lots of veg from our plot and a serious amount of fruit taken from the hedgerows all being turned into jams and jellies.</p><p>I don't know if it's something to do with the rainfall and sunshine combination we have had in the last few months but I think there is a rather unusual amount of fruit about at the moment. All the apple trees I see are so well laden with fruit it really is encouraging.</p><p>My pigs have been enjoying the apples and have been receiving them as a daily treat for some weeks now.</p><p>As September rolls on I am looking forward to some mushroom foraging, it's only a matter of days now before I can imagine seeing the first ones. I have noticed the evenings drawing in and it being considerably cooler with heavy dew settling on the grassland, this is usually a pre curser for puffballs around here.</p><p>The August bank holiday was celebrated by numerous festivals and meetings in our area and I took advantage of a local beer festival and held a two day two hog roast.</p><p>It was extremely well received and I made a tidy profit. A percentage of the takings were given over to a local cancer charity and the rest I have invested in increasing the size of the poultry flock.</p><p>It feels quite good knowing I am managing to pay my way through this year utilising profits made through Pork.</p><p>If you keep it small scale and sell direct for example sausages you can usually at least recoup your outlay.</p><p>I'm not so sure about the chickens though, if I was to measure the cost of food and cleaning equipment against egg profit I believe it would probably show a loss.</p><p>Having said this it's not a terrible hit and it's infinitely better knowing you are eating your own.</p><p>The next part of the plan is to buy some very young chicks and bring them on as growers for meat. This is an adventure we have not yet delved into having only really kept them for eggs in the past, it provides all sorts of possibilities and the thought of eating fresh free range home grown chicken is very exciting indeed.</p><p>During last winter I passed over a few kilos of fresh pork to a neighbouring farmer who promised some fresh lamb in return, I am going to collect in a couple of weeks and have to say it's been quite a while since we had lamb and have certain sense of excited anticipation about the prospect of future meals involving lamb.</p><p>Also I am suddenly aware of the River Cottage autumn fair next week and having purchased the tickets weeks ago nearly forgot, this will be our first visit to RC HQ and from what others say about it I am really looking forward to it. It's not to far from where we live and as such I really feel I should have looked in on it before so it will not only allow us to meet like minded folk but also achieve an ambition of making a visit as well.</p><p>I know somewhere on this site is a," where are you on the road to RC "tag and I can remember a few years back thinking not very far, but now it's weird without too much application and thought I think we are well forward on those steps, this way of life is some thing that only leads one way I couldn't think of any other way of returning to the old ways of weekly supermarket visits hefty bills and the wondering about the provenance of meat in a white plastic box. </p><p>It's a conscious decision to take and when you have others often follow in your footsteps, my son is just leaving home with his partner to set up a new home together and during their searching one of the principal questions on both of their minds is will the new place we live in have a garden so we can grow our own food?.</p><p>I can remember when I was first looking at homes all I was concerned with is where can I fit my TV and can we get a sofa in there .I had no interest in a garden at all. Oh the foolishness of youth.</p>Happy days. Submit > < Back