What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

Same here Pete the thaw is well underway .....in the workshop today sharpened the chainsaw and tickled up all the hand saws....replaced all the guides on the band saw and changed the blade.

Ordered a dozen mason jars along with a dozen bags of pudding rice(i love rice pudding) we are down to the last bag this is serious ....also ordered two oil jugs.....i ran over the one i had with the excavator....moving on.....i am defiantly slowing down and am getting used to irregular work patterns ....in short life just caught me up ....like the sly cheating bastard it is ....but there is loads to get done and i remain willing and able for now....compensations of retirement are simplistic things, time for shopping with wild child (i never went ...if i did it was always under protest) i now enjoy our little trips out and about....people watching....coffee's in the cafe....threatening to put my hand up her blouse....you know day to day stuff !

[MaryN]

I'm itching to get out in the garden. Seed packets are rattling at me and the pots are doing a little dance in the greenhouse. I have potatoes chitting in the shed and various overwintering herbs waiting for a trim and a spruce. Roll on slightly warmer weather.

[Mortblanc]

I still have another 10 weeks before I can plant so no big hurry here.

I probably should take the rotovator out of the shed and crank it up and sort it out on one of these good days we have had lately.

I plan to till up the old chicken run this year. It has had plenty of time to age and should produce some good veggies.

Got three new heritage squash varieties and some good pole beans to try, as well as the usual batch of tomatoes.

and this year I believe I will try a winter garden with the cold crops for a change. I have wanted a patch of greens and some cabbage and turnips for a while.

[MaryN]

(5 March 2018, 08:51)Mortblanc Wrote: I still have another 10 weeks before I can plant so no big hurry here.

I probably should take the rotovator out of the shed and crank it up and sort it out on one of these good days we have had lately.

I plan to till up the old chicken run this year. It has had plenty of time to age and should produce some good veggies.

Got three new heritage squash varieties and some good pole beans to try, as well as the usual batch of tomatoes.

and this year I believe I will try a winter garden with the cold crops for a change. I have wanted a patch of greens and some cabbage and turnips for a while.

MB, what are "pole beans"?

[Straight Shooter]

Runner beans i think Mary

[Mortblanc]

Yep, you would call them runner beans probably.

In the days of my childhood we would plant the beans in a double row, when they sprouted and started sending out runners we would build tripods made from slender poles with a leg near each plant and the beans would climb the poles. We would also make lattice work from string and the plants would work along the strings between the tripods. The clusters of pods would form up high where they were easy to pick.

Back then the favored variety was called the Kentucky Wonder. It is still available as a heritage strain. I still remember my grandfather waking through the veggie garden telling me the names of the varieties planted here and there. He kept a full acre under cultivation and fed the clan well, but we had to pick and process our own.

We would plant squash between the bean plants and the squash would cover the ground and eliminate weeds.

We could get a ground crop and a vertical crop from the same space. I have found that method real nice when space is limited.

[Greg]

I have just purchased Some mushroom spoor on dowels that will be used to grow shiitake and oyster fungus which can be dried and stored for long periods. Despite the myth that fungi are not nutritionally valuable they are fantastic sources of nutrients and some even possess medicinal qualities. Of course penicillin is the obvious one here. Bio-Pharma is the new wave in medicinal research. That is to say we are now re-learning what our ancestors knew but this time we are arming ourselves with facts.

St. Georges mushrooms will be out soon. I hope to find them this year.

Also a warning! It would be entirely irresponsible for me to encourage mushroom hunting for culinary purpose and not mention how deadly this activity can be. So here, let me give you a breakdown on what can happen if you if you take any risk at all. People die every year due to the consumption of misidentified mushrooms. This is what will happen if you consume alpha amanitin the poison found in the DEATHCAP and DESTROYING ANGEL. First you will become very ill, vomiting, cramps, fever etc. That will last about three or four days. You will then start to feel better for a day or two and think that you are over it. The next few days will be your last and you will spend them in agony passing blood until your liver and kidneys shutdown along with everything else. Catch it early, get total blood replacement, new kidneys and liver and you may survive.

Never ever take a chance. If in doubt leave it out.

I am at this hobby for many years now and I will still not consume some mushrooms that are good to eat because they have potentially deadly or just poisonous look-a-likes. Until I am shown by an expert - and I mean real expert- I will continue to leave them out. I am thinking of two in particular. One is The Blusher or Amanita Rubescans It is supposed to be easily confused with The Panther or Amanita Pantherina. Now, I really want to try this mushroom. I have never positively identified A. pantherina. A. rubescans is almost undoubtedly the mushroom that grows in profusion here in the piney woods. It should be easily identifiable by the pinkish reddish "blush" that occurs when the flesh is damaged. No brainer right? Well just because I said almost back there is good enough reason for me to leave it out. I am still alive! I would have to have a microscope with 400 times magnification to positively identify a spore.

The second mushroom that comes to mind is commonly known as the Fairy Ring Champignon which is easily confused with clitocybe rivulosa. A good mushroom book will give you the lookalikes to watch out for.

It is also important to note that some mushrooms can have adverse effects on some people and not others. I try mushrooms that have this warning attached and have thus far no ill effect. Always eat just a little of whatever it is the first time to see how you get on as all foragers do with a new foodstuff.

In addition to that some mushrooms should not be consumed with alcohol. In fact some say consumption of alcohol for up to twenty four hours later can cause ill effect.

One should consult several sources before thinking they have made positive identification. It is still difficult to positively identify a mushroom from any of the commonly carried "Field Guides" when you are out foraging. I use five books and the internet. There are only about twenty species I am confident enough to consume after more than 15 years of avidly picking every year. In a good year I might add one more species to the list. Also, I forage mushrooms almost exclusively in the woods as field mushrooms have nearly been wiped out by intensive agriculture methods so commonplace here in Ireland.

Just one more thing I am trying to encourage the use of scientific names so that there can be no confusion during such discussions. Common names are different everywhere. Even different language speaking people use scientific nomenclature.

Oh yeah! I still have the olive farm which is surrounded by forest and overlooks the Ebro delta and Mediterranean that I am willing to trade for a Wharram or steel hulled sailboat.

[Greg]

(5 March 2018, 09:57)MaryN Wrote:

(5 March 2018, 08:51)Mortblanc Wrote: I still have another 10 weeks before I can plant so no big hurry here.

I probably should take the rotovator out of the shed and crank it up and sort it out on one of these good days we have had lately.

I plan to till up the old chicken run this year. It has had plenty of time to age and should produce some good veggies.

Got three new heritage squash varieties and some good pole beans to try, as well as the usual batch of tomatoes.

and this year I believe I will try a winter garden with the cold crops for a change. I have wanted a patch of greens and some cabbage and turnips for a while.

MB, what are "pole beans"?

My grandmother told me pole beans are planted on a pole and string beans or runner beans are grown on strings.

[CharlesHarris]

MB can chime in, but here in West Virginia "Italian Pole Beans" were brought to America by Italian immigrants who came to work in the coal mines after the American Civil War. The most common variety is called "Romano," which is an old, Italian heirloom green bean, still grown in Cino (Lombardy Region) of Italy.

'Valena' is a similar, but hybrid (horticultural-type) pole bean that can be used young as a green bean, at the green shelling stage, or mature as a dry bean.

I prefer the older, original heirloom variety which is THE classic Italian bean! It tends to stay "flatter" longer before the seeds start filling out the pods. The plants reach six feet or taller and produce thick, flat, medium green, stringless pods that are three-quarters of an inch wide by about six inches long. They start to pod a few weeks earlier than the usual American "Blue Lake" variety in my garden. I like them for pickling because the thin profile pickles quickly. The beans will become mealy and fall apart if cooked too long, so I use a raw-pack method.

Romanos can get huge if left on the vine. I pick them when they are about a half-inch wide. Left on their own the vines reach eight feet easily and are very leafy, so it can be hard to find all of the beans. Luckily, a few overripe beans don't seem to slow the harvest any. The pods are best eaten when young, tender and before the seeds fully develop and the pods become fibrous. The seeds can be also used at the green shelling stage or allowed to remain on the plants until fully matured and harvested as a dry bean.

Were I to grow only one green bean, it would be Romanos.

[Straight Shooter]

Scarlet Emperor....... seems one of the most popular here in the UK , growth...8 ft height pods up to 15" ....good croppers ...best way to grow....open up a trench 2 foot wide 18 inches deep (min) .....Feb/March fill the bottom with newspaper/cardboard and soak add some leaf mold to cover .....the soil you removed....mix in some well rotted manure turn in to the trench leave 6 " from the top of the trench tread in with your boots ....leave it alone...... just keep it moist .....3 weeks before you plant SEEDLINGS fill the trench to the top and tread in.....set your canes 9" to a foot apart along your row both sides of row draw in the canes at the top and tie off together and onto the horizontal cane (8ft canes ) fit diagonal canes to ensure a sturdy row...... the day before you plant on soak the trench .....using a dibber create a hole ....set the seedling in and firm up....always tie the seedling ......all seedlings should be planted INSIDE the cane ....never outside planting in the UK .....this should take place 15th May to play safe always plant a seed with your seedlings to follow on just in case ......snipe out as required