The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Fleecewife on February 23, 2023, 05:35:48 pm
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So Therese Coffey suggests TURNIP is a suitable alternative to the tomatoes, cucumbers and other fresh produce which is failing to reach the UK. It does make me wonder which century she lives in :thinking:
Given the small scale and financial restraints most of us farm under which does not allow us to grow in large heated and lit greenhouse or polytunnel systems, what does everyone do for winter healthy veg and salad?
I grow brassicas which usually do well in our winters, crops such as sprouts, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Kale, kale and kale :yum: , also leeks. I freeze lots of produce such as peas and beans (various) in the summer when I have plenty. I store crops such as apples, onions etc and potatoes (also beetroot and carrots if I've grown enough). I make many pots of chutney full of a wide variety of home grown produce. All these are great but only the brassicas and leeks are fresh. So I grow sprouting seeds such as mung beans, alfalfa, sprouting radish and many more, as well as shoots grown in trays such as mustard and cress. These provide all the goodness saved by the seeds, plus some fresh greenery.
What else does everyone else grow and eat in the winter in the absence of imported salads?
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I've seen this reported but haven't yet seen any explanation. Of course these are seasonal veg out of season so perhaps a return to the food of my childhood- salted beans and potatoes? We used to eat a lot of curries, due no doubt to my Indian ancestry.
The European suppliers don't want the paperwork of exporting to the UK, especially with shortages here and an easier market, so unless the UK can produce it's own food, habits will need to change.
Most of our veg now comes from Spain, but with an impending drought who knows what anyone will be able to grow?
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The OH was talking to someone in our local yesterday who supplies fruit and veg to supermarkets. He said exactly the same about the difficult paperwork demands since Brexit. Also producers here and abroad have been turning off greenhouse heating because of cost. That is pushing up the prices of what is available.
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I'm really wanting to know what you are growing as salads during winter to early spring when such crops are not usually available home grown, rather than discussing why veg isn't coming to us from overseas.
I forgot to mention my 'choppy-uppy' salad: Chop everything such as celery, including any leaves, apple with the skin on unless like me you choke on it ::) , satsumas, a little hard cabbage, grated carrot (again as long as you don't choke on it :tired: ), the green shoots from onions which have sprouted in storage, shallots, tinned sweetcorn or frozen if you have it, various seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower and sesame, sultanas, chilli from the freezer or a shake of powdered chilli, any fresh or frozen herbs you have, all mixed together with lemon juice and either plain yoghurt or salad cream, mayonnaise if you like it. This is a lovely crunchy, tasty salad to brighten up a winter's day and to eat by the small bowlful :yum:
I have just sent off for more winter salads seeds from 'Real Seeds' who have some unusual crops, probably too late for this year but I'll be ready for the repeat performance next year.
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We have Cornwall Microgreens on site, so are blessed with rocket fuel baby greens year round. We generate a lot of our own electricity, thank goodness.
Thinking back to my solo gardening days, one of the winter crops I adored was winter savory. It's a tiny leaf but packs a lot of flavour. Nothing better to pep up an omelette or scrambled eggs, but also adds a lovely edge to any salad. Other perennial herbs can go in the salad too - rosemary, sage, thyme, lavendar for instance. They don't add much bulk but a lot of interest, both colour and flavour.
As to winter salads generally, I add onion, carrot and beetroot anyway, and if short on bulk then yes, I use cabbage and apple too. And if you grate carrot, beetroot and swede / turnip together, it's nutritious, tasty and bulky. Mix some apple and raisins in, with a dressing if that's your style.
I've been known to use grated courgette to replace cucumber when cucumbers are in short supply, tinned (or frozen/thawed) sweetcorn to add variety in texture and colour, a sprinkle of seeds, nuts and raisins/sultanas, chard stems are a great replacement for celery and will keep growing for a lot of the year in a polytunnel, leaf beet and spinach have a long season too under cover, if kept picked and pruned so they don't get to flower. (Obvs we get longer growing seasons in Cornwall than you'll get north of the border.) A pot of basil on an indoors windowsill adds leaf, colour and flavour.
That last has had me wondering whether a very small indoor plant nursery could provide salad greens year round... :thinking: Or even do your own micrgreens (on a small scale) in the kitchen...
Oh! And of course, sprouting seeds/beans. A fantastic salad ingredient, easy to make enough for plenty salads for a household in a sprouter in the kitchen. I'd forgotten about them, I used to eat loads of sprouted things year round before I lived alongside Microgreens.
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I don't have much luck keeping herbs going over winter and most are quite disappointing when frozen. I fill my choppy-uppy salad with fresh herbs. Chives are already a few inches tall even here in Scotland, but I haven't ever managed to keep enough going all winter for how much I need to use. I should work out how to do that :idea:
Yes I use grated courgette in summer too, but no help in winter.
I'm currently concentrating on growing a bit of everything which might grow some greenery, including sprouted seeds and microgreens, I started radishes in a cold frame a month ago, with winter leaves and spring onions. They're all up but they won't be edible for several weeks yet.
We're so high that we're at the limit for growing apples - we get some but not bucketloads and they don't keep all that long, not long enough to be crispy in salads all winter. I wonder about those big winter radishes for next year?
I'll keep on experimenting :garden:
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Never eaten a sald in winter. Spuds, carrots, turnip, sprouts, cabbage.
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Never eaten a sald in winter. Spuds, carrots, turnip, sprouts, cabbage.
Truly [member=13]Rosemary[/member]? :o :o :o but then you are through and through Scottish :roflanim: :roflanim:
I'm certain that Scots folk in years gone by, those who lived in the countryside, would have made full use of what was available in the local area to prevent scurvy and general illnesses in winter. Stinging nettles come through early up here and are a wonderful post-winter cleanser and welcome bit of green after lent (whenever that is) as long as they are cooked or beaten so they no longer sting.
Rosemary, try some of the sprouting seeds and microgreens you can grow on the windowsill and you'll love them.
Anyone can be miserable, but unlike folk who had NO access to greens in winter so had no options, people with imagination can make themselves well and well-fed with a little planning.
It was the native Americans who cottoned onto the value of sprouted grains to get them through the very long American winters, so there's no shame in learning from them. City-living Scots perforce ate an unhealthy diet, with no alternatives available so they ate stodge to keep themselves alive. This doesn't mean you're being disloyal to that sad history by providing yourself with some winter vitamins and cheer! My hubby grew up the same as so many Scots, with no green veg beyond peas, and he was so delighted to be introduced to a whole range of fruit and veg when he met me. The situation back then was that there were very few greengrocery items available even in Edinburgh so when we found a small shop selling PSB we were hooked. But for everything else we had to grow our own from the start, in a tiny garden in deepest, fledgeling Livingston!
I don't believe you and Dan don't eat Purple Sprouting Broccoli in Winter and Spring :brocolli: :brocolli: :brocolli:
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Every winter in the greenhouse I grow Little Gem lettuce, pak choi, and tatsoi. This winter, also Chinese cabbage. They grow well enough to keep us in fresh salad and stir fry greens from November to March (I sow early September), picking enough leaves from different plants for a meal at a time. They are hardy enough. With a Chinese wife, most of our meals are Orientally-inclined so this is regular pickings not just token samples.
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Every winter in the greenhouse I grow Little Gem lettuce, pak choi, and tatsoi. This winter, also Chinese cabbage. They grow well enough to keep us in fresh salad and stir fry greens from November to March (I sow early September), picking enough leaves from different plants for a meal at a time. They are hardy enough. With a Chinese wife, most of our meals are Orientally-inclined so this is regular pickings not just token samples.
I love Chinese cabbage but the slugs here love it more :'(
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I lost my pollytunnel in the November storm 2021 and this year my small summer house went last week. Due to the weather we now get most winters replacing is not going to happen. Here it is too cold and wet for winter growing, we have clay soil that this winter has been so water logged that the paddocks have had water lying on top of the grass for weeks. I do an online shop with Asda every week and now again would order salad stuff just for a change but they did not have last week. We had a trip out to Fraserburgh on Friday to fill up the car which we do once a month. ( don't go out much ) When there we go to Lidil and stock up on tinned food. They had loads of salad stuff, fruit and veg so maybe it is more down to the supermarkets not paying enough for the farmers prduce than a shortage. We are seeing more and more good farming land getting planted with trees when we should be doing more to feed the people of this country. If god forbid there is another war we could starve ! Buying Scottish winter veg has always been on our diet but if it is not grown what then. ?
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Never eaten a sald in winter. Spuds, carrots, turnip, sprouts, cabbage.
Truly [member=13]Rosemary[/member]? :o :o :o but then you are through and through Scottish :roflanim: :roflanim:
I don't believe you and Dan don't eat Purple Sprouting Broccoli in Winter and Spring :brocolli: :brocolli: :brocolli:
Yep, do eat PSB. But I don't feel like I'm missing out by not eating slald in winter. It's no natural tae eat lettuce in the winter. ;D
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Quite agree [member=13]Rosemary[/member] . Rabbit food is fine for summer but not when it's not supposed to be growing.
I'm not fond of vegetables at all but I'll eat tatties, beetroot, Sprouts, and neaps, but Kale makes me boak!
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I lost my pollytunnel in the November storm 2021 and this year my small summer house went last week. Due to the weather we now get most winters replacing is not going to happen. Here it is too cold and wet for winter growing, we have clay soil that this winter has been so water logged that the paddocks have had water lying on top of the grass for weeks. I do an online shop with Asda every week and now again would order salad stuff just for a change but they did not have last week. We had a trip out to Fraserburgh on Friday to fill up the car which we do once a month. ( don't go out much ) When there we go to Lidil and stock up on tinned food. They had loads of salad stuff, fruit and veg so maybe it is more down to the supermarkets not paying enough for the farmers prduce than a shortage. We are seeing more and more good farming land getting planted with trees when we should be doing more to feed the people of this country. If god forbid there is another war we could starve ! Buying Scottish winter veg has always been on our diet but if it is not grown what then. ?
What a shame about the polytunnel and greenhouse Sabrina, a tunnel does make it easier to grow winter crops. For the past few years mine has housed my hens but with not having to house them so far this year I am able to start summer crops early. The reason I mentioned sprouted seeds and microgreens is because they are so quick and easier to grow and provide fresh vitamins and taste for a winter treat.
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Quite agree [member=13]Rosemary[/member] . Rabbit food is fine for summer but not when it's not supposed to be growing.
I'm not fond of vegetables at all but I'll eat tatties, beetroot, Sprouts, and neaps, but Kale makes me boak!
You're not growing or cooking kale properly if it makes you boak. It's the young fresh green shoots you pick and they are delicious.
I first came to Scotland in 1969 as a nurse, working in the cities. I was amazed at how small, pale and hard-faced the children and women were, on their diet of tatties, especially in Glasgow. I think that was made worse by the lack of good fresh food. It's not so blindingly obvious now as many people try fruit and veg from supermarkets and get their children used to it. What a shame you haven't learnt to eat these foods which are so good for you.
The upside is you won't be bothered by any shortages :D
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Kale crisps are fantastic.
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What a shame you haven't learnt to eat these foods which are so good for you.
I'm sorry, that's really harsh! Kale gies me the boak as well ;D .
It's interesting that Therese Coffey was ridiculed for saying we should eat turnips during the winter (and yes, it's easy to see why). However, she did have a point. I guess we're just used to seeing all veg available in the supermarket all year round. Then when things do come into season they're marked as "50% off" (the price we were charging in March).
My friends were amazed when I said I'd had my first egg for months and it was delicious. "But..... you keep chickens??". "Yeah, and that's why I haven't seen an egg since October".
Ho hum.
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My hubby grew up the same as so many Scots, with no green veg beyond peas, and he was so delighted to be introduced to a whole range of fruit and veg when he met me.
Thank God the English are here to educate us poor backward Scots. :innocent:
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You're not growing or cooking kale properly if it makes you boak. It's the young fresh green shoots you pick and they are delicious.
lol = nope, I only ate it once - in a restaurant, soon after we married in 1968 - never again
No, shortages won't bother me, I've got a stock of frozen veg and will eat food that is in season :roflanim:
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I could survive on tatties and pickled beetroot to be honest :roflanim:
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That's good to hear. We might soon have to! ;D
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My hubby grew up the same as so many Scots, with no green veg beyond peas, and he was so delighted to be introduced to a whole range of fruit and veg when he met me.
Thank God the English are here to educate us poor backward Scots. :innocent:
You said it Rosemary, not me :roflanim: Good isn't it :eyelashes: What a shame there's no icon for steam coming out your ears
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I'm not quite understanding the culinary problem. As regards raw salads, what's wrong with a "winter salad" of shredded carrot/turnip (swede)/crispy cabbage? Maybe some radish & perhaps apple, nuts and even a few raisins/sultanas also. Dressing to one's personal preference: I quite like fromage frais. As regards cooking, plenty of non-fresh options if one must (canned, frozen, paste etc).
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I don.t have a problem with that at all. I firmly believe the human race has become lazy - we need to get back to eating foods that are in season and close to home to avoid unnecessary food miles
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Amen to that
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So really the 'shortages' are self-inflicted. There are no shortages of in-season foods.
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Interesting programme on TV last night on this very subject. Seems the cost of heating the greenhouses here that grow out of season veg is so high now that production in January and February, due to fixed supermarket pricing and no government assistance, is impossible to the extent that producers are converting their land to industrial or housing estates. In five years there won't be home produced out of season veg. The availability will depend entirely on European producers having a glut and so being prepared to go through all the queues and paperwork to get rid of it to the UK. I saw the Government blamed the shortages on poor weather in Europe, which is correct as it meant no glut. What they haven't done is explain the exact circumstances. Energy is too expensive to the UK producers and the UK is the last choice of sales by European growers because of the travel delays and paperwork.
The other point was the workforce shortage with growers relying on European labour who now can't be there for over 6 months. Begs the question with any unemployment in the UK why can't they fill these jobs? I'm sure we all know the answer- it's hard work with low pay and they don't want it.
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I don.t have a problem with that at all. I firmly believe the human race has become lazy - we need to get back to eating foods that are in season and close to home to avoid unnecessary food miles
and this is what this post is about - growing your own rather than relying on bought items and poorly supply chains :garden: :sunshine:
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Interesting programme on TV last night on this very subject ...................
Interesting thoughts [member=23925]chrismahon[/member] : I'm no expert on seasonal agricultural employment or UK social security rules, but 2 things:
I can't vouch for, but I have often heard interviewed growers lamenting at their inability to recruit enough seasonal workers DESPITE paying hourly rates considerably above minimum wage !
Also, as I understand it, UK social security rules are inflexible making it difficult for individuals to take up worthwhile seasonal employment at risk of out-of-season hassles seeking (once again) some kind of financial support to avoid the very worst depths of poverty. Long since the migration of UK workers from, say, London to Kent to harvest the hops !
Of course, now (in the UK) we have, apparently, more job vacancies than job seekers !? It seems to me (much like with the NHS) a robust national manpower plan, in association with industry/trade associations & education institutions, is long overdue with matched-up training plans, foreign-worker visa policies, immigration etc AND reformed universal credit rules and reg's.
What we need is a bit more CLEVER, repeat CLEVER long-term thinking by Government/Governments. That is not a dig at just the present Conservative Party Gov': there needs to be a long-term contract between political parties that sets out unswerving "universal" commitments with competing "Party politics" being played-out around the edges. And having said all of that, I am left wondering whether I will bother to vote at the next local or national elections at all !! The world is ruled by greed and, more often than not, by greed for more wealth than anyone could ever actually benefit from unless one is into owning a small Nation.
I was listening to a radio article this week (was it Rad4 or Times Radio?) about the increasing number of UK "nomads" living out of touring caravans and converted trucks because they simply cannot afford to buy bricks&mortar OR to even rent housing at prevailing EXORBITANT rental rates. We are all on a very rapid downward spiral of economic disparity/inequality and eventual dystopia. I am just so glad that I do actually own a few acres where I might grow some turnips, carrots and cabbage to make a winter salad. Not sure what salad-dressing I might be able to conjure up though! Lol
[ Interesting little bit of advice I gleaned from the Silky web-site: apparently olive oil is good for dissolving sap residues on a saw-blade :) ]
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<<< [ Interesting little bit of advice I gleaned from the Silky web-site: apparently olive oil is good for dissolving sap residues on a saw-blade ] >>>
That should work on my penknife :thumbsup:
Thanks arobwk
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<<< [ Interesting little bit of advice I gleaned from the Silky web-site: apparently olive oil is good for dissolving sap residues on a saw-blade ] >>>
That should work on my penknife :thumbsup:
Thanks arobwk
I haven't tried it yet - please do report [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member]
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<<< [ Interesting little bit of advice I gleaned from the Silky web-site: apparently olive oil is good for dissolving sap residues on a saw-blade ] >>>
That should work on my penknife :thumbsup:
Thanks arobwk
I haven't tried it yet - please do report [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member]
I'll try to remember. The thing that makes the blade really sticky and horrible is comfrey sap, but there's none through up here yet to try the olive oil trick on. In the summer I use that knife for everything but not much is happening yet to make it mucky.
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Geoff Hamilton (main presenter on Gardeners' World until his untimely death in the '90s, when Alan Titchmarsh took over) used to keep a tin of sand by his tool board, tip used engine oil into the sand, and plunge his sharp tools into that before hanging them up. He said that the oil and the sand grit between them cleaned, lubricated and protected the blades. I keep meaning to set something like that up for my sheepy shears.
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Geoff was the best :garden:
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Now, I'm a lover of the mighty swede (aka turnip down 'ere) and in its simplest cooked form of mash with butter and pepper. However, I also like it chopped and steamed especially if the whole turnip has been left to dehydrate for a while when it can be become particularly sweet and buttery all on its own as well as turning a deep orange when cooked. However, I decided to check-out cheffy (?? spelling) recipes: my goodness, I have a very good list to now try out with one of my fav' veg. Anyone with their own fav' long-serving turnip (swede) recipe/s ??
[I've never considered eating the skin of a turnip (swede), but apparently it's OK if not too old !]
[And, leaving aside the potato (!), I would say runner beans are, actually, my fav' veg, but not as versatile as the mighty turnip (swede) perhaps!]
[Also, in passing, what is the correct spelling of a mangel, mangold or what-ever other mang* spelling ?]
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Geoff Hamilton (main presenter on Gardeners' World until his untimely death in the '90s, when Alan Titchmarsh took over) ...
I never took to Alan T, but who was 'the' guy before Geoff ? Was he called "something Mole" and did the prog' name include the word "shed" ??! Whatever, I recall the filming included the interior of a shed - at least at the end of each showing. Of course, I might just be making this up, but I seem to think my vague childhood memory is true!
Or maybe it was Percy Thrower who preceded Geoff H'. I still reckon there was a Molely though !
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According to my rather old Collins (1985) [member=152775]arobwk[/member] , it is either 'mangel wurzel' or 'mangold wurzel' (a variety of the beet plant), but I seem to remember John Pertwee called just Wurzel? The dictionary goes on to describe it as cattle food, so if you can do anything better with it, fair play to you.
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Geoff Hamilton (main presenter on Gardeners' World until his untimely death in the '90s, when Alan Titchmarsh took over) ...
I never took to Alan T, but who was 'the' guy before Geoff ? Was he called "something Mole" and did the prog' name include the word "shed" ??! Whatever, I recall the filming included the interior of a shed - at least at the end of each showing. Of course, I might just be making this up, but I seem to think my vague childhood memory is true!
Or maybe it was Percy Thrower who preceded Geoff H'. I still reckon there was a Molely though !
List of all presenters in the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardeners%27_World)
Arthur Billit preceded Geoff, Percy Thrower was the one before that.
No-one with Mole in their name that I could find. i did watch a bit of a 1969 animation called The Little Mole as a Gardener... ;D
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According to my rather old Collins (1985) [member=152775]arobwk[/member] , it is either 'mangel wurzel' or 'mangold wurzel' (a variety of the beet plant), but I seem to remember John Pertwee called just Wurzel? The dictionary goes on to describe it as cattle food, so if you can do anything better with it, fair play to you.
As youngsters, I do recall wielding our sheath knives to take a raw slice or two "in the field" !
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Arthur Billit preceded Geoff, Percy Thrower was the one before that.
No-one with Mole in their name that I could find. i did watch a bit of a 1969 animation called The Little Mole as a Gardener... ;D
The ol' grey matter has churned: the "Mr Molely" I was thinking of was Ted Moult who I have spuriously remembered as a gardening presenter. As to the programme I'm remembering: it must have been BBC because we only had BBC in our house (I never saw the Flintstones !): whoever the presenter was, the prog' started and/or ended with pic of the interior of a potting shed - probably Percy as Arthur doesn't ring a bell.
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I remember Ted Moult. He was a farmer and use to sit on a number of quiz and discussion programmes - What's my line, any questions etc - It would have been mid fifties I think - i might have been about 10 or 11 when my grandma got a TV
I don't remember him being on any gardening programmes though
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I remember Ted Moult. He was a farmer and use to sit on a number of quiz and discussion programmes - What's my line, any questions etc - It would have been mid fifties I think - i might have been about 10 or 11 when my grandma got a TV
I don't remember him being on any gardening programmes though
Yo - agreed; Ted didn't do "gardening" (contrary to my wobbly memory). He was a "character" though wasn't he ?!
[As an aside: I remember a time when the majority of Miss Britain (or Ms England - whatever) contestants were, supposedly, "milk-maids" or "dairy-maids". And for those younger TAS members who can't quite believe that, it really is true !!]
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I don.t have a problem with that at all. I firmly believe the human race has become lazy - we need to get back to eating foods that are in season and close to home to avoid unnecessary food miles
We love the path of least resistance this is why we moved from hunter gathers, walking around, then ''farming'', couldn't be bothered walking any more so we jumped on horses. Too much hassle mucking out and maintenance and you need land to feed then. Ah yes lets all jump in cars.... and we now have to deal with this disaster, (electric cars are not the answer and are likened to using a sticking plaster to stop a dam bursting, these things cause massive environmental damage in production and there is a finite amount of lithium available - so another good unsustainable idea)
After the 2nd world war the UK was pretty much producing all it's own food, at the end of the war, well we couldn't be bothered with that any more so the imports started. And it has just got worse ever since.
Now you can eat strawberries in December - there is something fundamentally insane with this approach, driven by supermarkets in search of profit, add to that television advertising (because we cant be bothered reading or talking anymore), we have created a living (dying?) monster that serves no purpose other than to continue to destroy our host (and create profits for ''business''), this is further driven by governments whose only interest is profit and economic growth.
None of this is sustainable or particularly clever but the masses carry on regardless
Now we have huge fields, 'farmed' with huge tractors, producing grain to feed cows to make burgers, this all adds to the UK being a leading nature deficit country.
All from taking the path of least resistance.
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I don.t have a problem with that at all. I firmly believe the human race has become lazy - we need to get back to eating foods that are in season and close to home to avoid unnecessary food miles
We love the path of least resistance this is why we moved from hunter gathers, walking around, then ''farming'', couldn't be bothered walking any more so we jumped on horses. Too much hassle mucking out and maintenance and you need land to feed then. Ah yes lets all jump in cars.... and we now have to deal with this disaster, (electric cars are not the answer and are likened to using a sticking plaster to stop a dam bursting, these things cause massive environmental damage in production and there is a finite amount of lithium available - so another good unsustainable idea)
After the 2nd world war the UK was pretty much producing all it's own food, at the end of the war, well we couldn't be bothered with that any more so the imports started. And it has just got worse ever since.
Now you can eat strawberries in December - there is something fundamentally insane with this approach, driven by supermarkets in search of profit, add to that television advertising (because we cant be bothered reading or talking anymore), we have created a living (dying?) monster that serves no purpose other than to continue to destroy our host (and create profits for ''business''), this is further driven by governments whose only interest is profit and economic growth.
None of this is sustainable or particularly clever but the masses carry on regardless
Now we have huge fields, 'farmed' with huge tractors, producing grain to feed cows to make burgers, this all adds to the UK being a leading nature deficit country.
All from taking the path of least resistance.
I agree about electric cars. I thought the big idea was to reduce the amount of electricity we use and to reduce our travel by working from home, holidaying in the UK and so on. I suppose those ideas don't get votes.
My original post was about what we could grow ourselves instead of importing salads and veg from distant countries. In fact I think the Great Veg Shortage was a bit of a damp squib which all goes to show that we are perfectly capable of doing without exotic crops in winter and eating what we can produce in the UK, often in our own gardens. I own up to loving tomatoes so much that I do miss them in winter, but imported versions are over ripe, squishy and smell of nothing so I would rather go from December when my last crops are done to July when the first tomatoes appear in my polytunnel, without eating any than buy the flaccid offerings in Tesco
You mention WW2, surely that was a big lesson in self sufficiency which we as a country failed to heed. We are an island which both makes us vulnerable to blockade but also gives us huge advantages to pull together as a people? What happened there?