What have done towards your prep?

[Steve]

Another tool purchase - a 200Kg+ anvil. Not cheap, but so useful for making salvaged lumps of metal into useful shapes and for straightening out things that have been abused.

[MaryN]

Set my first batch of potatoes out to chit in the greenhouse, and sowed the first of the early tomato seeds. Hope we don't get too many frosts. Started to rake up the masses of leaves ready to pile in heaps for compost. Got to be careful because we have hedgehogs in the garden and I don't want to disturb them. Pinned loganberry canes to new netting supports and trimmed off the old and dead canes. One or two of the apple trees needed a few crossed branches trimming out, so did that. Spread some old manure at the base of the orchard trees and also at the base of a beech hedge planted 3 years ago. I have a blackthorn and hazel hedge to clean of any overwhelming weeds and check for unsound branches. The field is a bog at the moment, but I have ordered the pasture weedkiller for buttercup and ragwort plus a blue dye in readiness for spraying in Spring - get it in early. Busy times.

[Straight Shooter]

You been busy Mary ....starting to move my fruit trees and bushes this weekend and transplant to their new and final positions...hope the weather holds up....mega busy at the moment ....lots going on !

[Steve]

Well done Mary, you're much better organised than me. I rotavated some new veg beds last year, and dug in a load of manure to rot down over winter. The weather has been so mild that the beds have grassed over again and need re-rotavating, but the soil is too wet to do it.

[Carnebwen]

Picked up one of those Schrade fixed blade knives at 50% off at hennie. YouTube videos shows its beefy enough to fuck up logs for fire wood etc. I don't currently have a fixed blade for camping, just the spyderco and bokker folders here and there.

[NorthernRaider]

Got myself a new phone, its one of these modern doofas with maps and apps and things in it, Samsung Galaxy Core, no idea how to use it yet cept for phone calls.

[bigpaul]

(28 January 2016, 15:24)NorthernRaider Wrote: Got myself a new phone, its one of these modern doofas with maps and apps and things in it, Samsung Galaxy Core, no idea how to use it yet cept for phone calls.

oh dear, now you really have gone and done it, you've joined the "head down, click, click, click" brigade!!HA!HA!HA!

[Midnitemo]

been hard at it the last few day's doing battle with a huge Ivy growth which had nearly swallowed my back garden(Bloody lazy tenant)6 years left unchecked , finally gave in and borrowed a chainsaw , so much easier than axe/saw and secateurs , doing the groundworks for my new workshop too....bought a large gas kettle(Le Crueset 2.1 l) and tried to pass it of as a treat for my partner(she saw through me and sussed the prepper connotation straight away) my bad LOL(seen a stainless 3.5l one but it would be pointless for a household of two right now but great wtshtf)

[MaryN]

Picking up speed now..... cleaned out greenhouse and dug over the earth borders inside. I will barrow a load of new compost down to top it up and refresh the oil. OH washed the glass down for me and is going to build a new frame for inside. Marked out another bed for asparagus plants (grown from seed last year and now in need of a new home). I'll deturf and dig the plot over as soon as I get a dry day. The chicken run is a real mess, so I've been in to prune some of the shrubs back a bit. I'll rake it out and give a few areas a good digging over for the chooks to have a scratching patch. They's coming back into lay fast now and are getting very active. OH took the chainsaw to a very large elder tree that has been steadily encroaching. I don't rate elders for wood - it burns slow and cold, so I won't keep the branches - but I value the flowers and berries, so I will allow it to grow back a bit. Had a quick scoot down the hedges to pick up any fallen twigs or branches - great for kindling - and to make sure there are no gaps or problems. This is such a busy time of year.

[Midnitemo]

Becoming a Dog owner once again after an 11 year break....picking up Charlie who's a 6 month old Border Terrier on Monday , we are re homing him because his first owners circumstances have changed , hope that's the true reason he's up for adoption lol...these dog's are great hunters of vermin so he will hopefully earn his keep in the future once trained.