What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

Picked 14 k of damsons today …..I left the top branches for the wasps , so its jam,jelly,wine and some damson gin, I must admit I was shoving some in my gob as I picked ….yum ….nice and sweet …….sorted out all the freezers Saturday with wild thang , during which she found a neck of lamb " looks like soup for you boyo " so today first thing she started boiling up the neck …….the list of veg …..potatoes,carrots,leeks,fronch beans, parsnips,sweade,turnips,peas,onions,broad beans and some tomatoes …..all out of our garden !...….just finished the first bowl …….going in...….for another bowl right now ! don't try and stop me ….times like this,,,,best you stand clear and let me get of with it .

[Pete Grey]

(19 August 2019, 12:24)Pete Grey Wrote: .........Have acquired a couple of 12V 7AH sealed lead acid batteries of the type used in emergency lighting. One or maybe both will be used to power the CB radio making it man portable.

To keep the weight done i am not making a box for these, as they are sealed units i have just gaffer taped the two together, and wired them in parallel to a cigarette lighter socket.

I see gold has gone up to £1,251 per troy ounce ( a 21% increase over the last 3 months), and this trend looks as if it will continue for some time, maybe all this year, due to the uncertainty of the pound.

By the way SS we’ve just come back from Wales in the camper, called in at Tuffins at Craven Arms yesterday, they still have the Blackspur luggage straps in stock.

[Straight Shooter]

Pete when we called in at Tuffins we were staying just up the road in a caravan park ( Daisy ) so it would be a fair old treck for us to go just for some straps but thank you for thinking of us pal ! ………….as for Gold (uncertainty) is not just the UK more.....global …….insiders are selling stock options as stealthy as possible.... physical gold sales are up …...something is up ! and we will be last to find out ! what.

Planted out some winter cabbage today, composted a pile of waste from around the garden, dehydrated some cucumbers …..tomatoes are next up …….the continuing story of firewood continues this week....moving stock wood from the bottom drying shed up to my wood shed ready for winter, then I will collect the logged wood up from the lower ground where its been for a year using the power barrow for that job …...I will split that lot and replace what I have taken...…...then I can get on with MY aquaponics set up ….. thing is …..blackberries are right for picking …..right now ! it never stops around here …..not that I am complaining ….more of a understanding of why my grandparents were always on the go doing something that NEEDED doing to survive a winter back then.

[Straight Shooter]

Picked 3 ki's blackberries and into the freezer they went...….the firewood is now in my wood store right outside the front drive and is full (did not need that much to fill it ) already done earlier this year but I did extend it by about 6 ft …...took a trip over to Bath with my youngest brother a week back to pick up a wood burner a Jotul 601 ….similar to mine but a solid door …..we will fit that shortly , second hand but fully refurbed and like new ! £350.00 brilliant !.

Dehydrator is in full swing.....as I harvest the raised beds , they are turned over and cleaned …..going to kick over all the generators tomorrow and check them out , I am on top of most of it about the ground......apples, pairs are about ready to pick along with butternut squash down the bottom polytunnel .

[Straight Shooter]

All the potatoes are raised bar one row, filled two sacks 40 kilos ready to store there are about seven kilos in the wicker basket to use right now, still picking strawberries ……..picked more elderberries so I will be making up some cold and flu mixture ….raised the last of the onions , leeks are a plenty …...runner beans …..still picking but a lot will be seeds for next year, picking the last of the French beans tomorrow for dinner , some turnips are ready …...cleared the top polytunnel of tomatoes and cucumbers …..just some sweet peppers left and a few tomatoes left in the top small polytunnel .

Had a good clean up down the drive and cleared ground next to the deck , and moved all the pots n tubs ready to winter store, took delivery of 12 volt dc parts for the solar set up …..submersible pumps , bubblers , and some storage trunks (plastic) from Aldi's 172 ltr with a clamp on lid (and on wheels) £14.95 I bought three …..nice for aquaponics / hydroponics set up ……..good quality could not leave them there !...………………..feel free to knock yourselves out ….and let me know if your still on the prepping path ? or just plain lost all interest ? or your life is filled with more interesting things that demand your time that you cannot commit to a simple reply...….bollocks pal …...will do it for me .

[Pete Grey]

Lidl are selling 5m x 4m dark green tarps at the moment, at £6.99 each they are reasonable quality for the price and are always useful.

[Pete Grey]

This is the time of year is when i empty and refill the water jerrycans. And i’ve started the winter checks and preps of vehicles, no real hurry yet as the weather is quite mild.

Other jobs are mostly maintenance, indoors and out, the garden is pretty tidy, a little pruning to do, fences to be checked, i can see one small repair is required. All gutters and drains have been cleaned out so heavy rain will be no problem. All steady work but necessary.

[CharlesHarris]

Here tis time to check out the vehicles to prepare for winter. Our little daily driver Toyota rice burner need tires, or as you prefer tyres. The Jeep gets better mileage as the weather chills, an excited puppy anticipating winter like a bird dog who gets excited when you drag the shotgun from the closet.

The Old Farmer's Almanac says: Oct 8-15 Rain, then flurries, colder

[Straight Shooter]

,Yes its that time of year again …...antifreeze, oil and filters,tyres, batteries , screen wash......GHB and BOBs checked and ready tow ropes ,chains , shovel , change of clothes and boots.

I did read that this winter will be BAD ….as bad as 1963 ….which I can still remember living through ….but I hear something like that every year ….but hey they will get it RIGHT one of these days .

Pickled onions are done 13 ks tomato chutney done 5 ks elderberry cold mixture 2 Lr …..damson wine 2 gallons (up to now) damson jam 8 jars , rhubarb/strawberry/gooseberry/red currant jelly 7 jars , bramble jelly 8 jars , rhubarb / strawberry jelly 6 jars , damson/apple jelly 6 jars , strawberry / apple jelly 5 jars …...Yes Mary been busy ! …….1 gallon damson gin , 1 gallon cherry gin , 1 gallon sloe gin .

All generators (4) serviced and ready , bought 30 lengths of red western cedar to make more hives ……......the two existing hives are doing well, so another three hives for the bottom ground should do well without much more effort .

next up is new stock of fuel and that will complete the winter prepps (something YOU should consider ) . Bought more AA and AAA rechargeable batteries along with charging facilities for the newly refitted solar setup for mainly coms.

[Straight Shooter]

The basics of your kit should include should include the means to weigh stuff...….pocket size easy carry ……...although I have several scales and a spring balance...….inspected the spring balance this morning and decided its not up to the job...…..ordered three new ones 5 10 and 25 k all for under £16.00 .