What have done towards your prep?

[Mortblanc]

One of the big differences between planting in the UK and over here is that we seldom start seedlings inside and transplant them outside. Very few poly-tunnels or panting sheds in use.

I could not keep a poly-tunnel connected to the ground around here! It would probably blow all the way over the Charles Harris place 90 miles away within the first week it was up.

[MaryN]

(6 March 2018, 23:44)Straight Shooter Wrote: 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

Yes, I grow Scarlet Emperor, SS. It's a nice old heritage variety and rarely fails on me. I set the beans in trays in the greenhouse in April and they are ready to go out in May. This reminds me, I need to get some more bean poles sorted for this year.
I also grow haricot beans, but they can't go out until June earliest. They are heat-sensitive and it's rare for the ground to be warm enough before then.

[Straight Shooter]

BTW i mulch up the seedlings with straw ...good for moisture retention and protection ...slugs hate straw....laced with slug pellets.....its total all out WAR ! around here .

[Straight Shooter]

Mary if you have a local allotment society .....try them for your canes ..they do sell to none members at a very good price .

[Pete Grey]

I noticed a neighbour had a 19kg propane cylinder in his garage under a pile of junk, gave him a tenner for it, when i get it filled i will get another regulator and a length of hose.

He has 2 brewing buckets and some demijohns which i am negotiating for, always useful.

[Straight Shooter]

Wild child busy today....i cut up a pile of potatoes,carrots,onions and a swede last night ....she turned that lot into 32 pasties 1 corned beef pie .......plus a stock pot of mashed potatoes batched into bags for the freezer.....as part of the quality control it fell on my shoulders to check out the pasties, had to have two ........the pie .....now long gone .

[MaryN]

(7 March 2018, 21:36)Straight Shooter Wrote: Wild child busy today....i cut up a pile of potatoes,carrots,onions and a swede last night ....she turned that lot into 32 pasties 1 corned beef pie .......plus a stock pot of mashed potatoes batched into bags for the freezer.....as part of the quality control it fell on my shoulders to check out the pasties, had to have two ........the pie .....now long gone .

Ooh I love pasties. Any leftover meat from a casserole or whatever gets smacked into pastry. Current favourites are chicken curry pasties. Yumm. It's actually rather nice to be able to tuck into the old fashioned food without any qualms and convince myself that the cold weather merits decent stodge.

[Beanie]

Today I’ve sourced a load of wood.

My boiler packed in and it took a while to get it fixed, luckily my fireplace has a back boiler but I burned through a lot of my wood because of the cold snap. A few more loads and I’ll be good for next winter

[Lightspeed]

Welcome aboard Beanie,

You are clearly well prepared already.

Having a working back-boiler is excellent. We had a Baxi back-boiler set into the fireplace of my childhood home. It used to power the ultra-modern central heating radiators in the house, and from memory, it did a good job.

Did your back boiler manage to keep the whole of your home warm? Did you manage to keep it burning 24/7 or was it a re-light each morning operation?

BTW our primary back-up is g a stove similar to the one in the link below. Ours is multi-fuel and works really well, especially when fired with mixed wood and coal. Although intended as back-up ours gets used frequently, especially for cooking and baking. These things are excellent but consume a fairly large footprint in the room, both for the stove itself, its fire-proof surround, and not to forget a convenient fuel store.

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burni...entity_598

[Beanie]

Lightspeed

I just cleaned out and relit the fire each morning, the back boiler only heats the water not the central heating unfortunately.

Once the fire got going I just opened the living room door and it gave the house a bit ambient heat. It wasn’t ideal but I’m glad I know that if the was an extended power cut I could keep the house habitable and run enough heat through the place to stop all the pipes bursting