The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: rustyme on January 23, 2009, 01:33:05 am
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http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=70ICAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=the+family+saveall#PPA4,M1
Not sure if this is the same copy as in the program , but it is the same title and subject , and about the right era 1861. The link is for The Family Save All, a cook book . Once again the whole book can be downloaded to your pc , or you may just read it online . Hope it is of use .
cheers
Russ
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I watched that programme on TV last night - absolutely fascinating. Extremely well researched and put over very well
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fabulous book Russ , looks like you've found another nugget for us all to enjoy , i find it funny though - the more we "advance" as a society , the more pertinent it seems to me that we need to keep the older skills , traditions , and ways of life - guess thats why we do everything we do as a group of people
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Thanks Russ!
Just downloaded it and I think it will be very useful
Dave
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glad it was of interest Guy + Dave,
If you enjoyed the Victorian Farm Annie , I am sure you would enjoy the one they made before . Tales From The Green Valley, you may have seen it before ? It was about life in the early 1600's. The same 3 people along with Stuart Peachey and Chloe Spencer . It is very VERY similar in content ( even some of the script is the same !!!) and layout . The programs are in such a total contrast to the life we now lead ( well I almost live like they do in the programs anyway , apart from the pc , the bread maker , electric light oh and wellie boots, thank god for wellie boots ). If you miss any of the series you can watch it on bbc iplayer.
cheers
Russ
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I have to agree that the Victorian Farm is well worth watching. It has made me wonder if we really are better off now. somehow I am not sure.Life may have been harder as most of the jobs are done by hand but they had the right idea of what was important, now people want the latest of everything and without doubt money is far more important than people. Our old Fergie was born in 1954. Now she looks a bit on the rough side but she does us very well. We have big round bales of hay and straw which we could not move about without her. My husband made a sprayer for her and she stacks up the muck heap every winter. We did try to find a plough for her but no luck. We do talk about getting a newer tractor but as long as Lisa does the job why bother. I like to come home from work and get on with my outside chores, we don't go out much and like nothing better being at home working with our animals. Takes away any stress that the day has thrown at us. I have just order my veg seeds on a Saturday evening which some people may find sad but for me it was a couple of hours well spent. :)
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I think we're all like minded enough here to not think that you're sad sabrina doing your seed order. I agree with you, I don't know that the way we live now is right. The older I get (and I'm not that old) the more I wish we lived a lot simpler a life. It also makes me think it'd be worthwhile if we were struck down by plague or whatever, at least we could go back to simpler times. Hard times maybe, but better ones.
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Hi all
I think Victorian Farm is a good watch too. It's amazing how much of the machinery is still in use on this Island. We have a similar root chopper and a similar rolling mill here!
Where abouts are you sabrina? We got a fergie 2 furrow plough from Fergieland in Derbyshire and there are lots in the Highlands and Islands. You only need a class one hitch plough and you can adjust it for the width of the fergie.
Dave
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yes, I think we all on here do much the same Sabrina ( or wish we could ) . I pretty much live a lifestyle that is much like the victorian farm or even the earlier program about 17th century life , with a few modern bits tagged on . I think that we, in the so called civilized west, have evolved into a very strange way of life , far removed from reality. I think that we have a huge crunch heading our way . The situation the world is in at the moment ( economic collapse ) may be the beginning of some very hard times , and it will be the western world that will be hit hardest . Lots of people still live very different lifestyles to us and have to deal with famine and disease every year . We may have these things heading our way for many different reasons . Whatever happens , the way we live now will have to change . It cannot be sustained much longer . Our whole way of life is lived on a knife edge that hardly anyone realizes. Our food supply is based on a 3 day turn round and supply , stop the supply and 3 days later empty shops. Cut the power for even a short time and our whole existance becomes very precarious. Cut the fuel and the same happens , no food deliveries , no food deliveries for 3 days and hay ho ..... If there was no food to be had in shops from tomorrow I could get by till my crops started to provide food later in the year , but how many others could do the same? I would be suprised if even a third of the country could . Whatever happens , I will continue to live the way I do , one foot in the modern world and the other in the past , or just simpler really. If everything went wrong tomorrow , and we were thrown back a few hundred years , it would only effect me for a week or so , but on the whole I wouldn't even notice ...Things may well continue as they are now ( more or less) for some time , but they may also change . I think that if they do change it could be by a lot and very fast too. I just shiver at the thought of what all the people in big towns and cities would have to do !!!! I will just hide on my six acres and do what I do now ...lol. Sorry for boring the life out of you .....
cheers
Russ
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hardly boring Russ , as always you seem to hit the nail on the head , its so important we (as a society) dont lose all the skills that we see on this forum.........reckon it would be a near impossibility to convince the masses though? - reckon i'll open the bar now :P
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I find that programme the best on TV, very well made, It is interesting that hard work is good for you, where you are physically involved in producing your food or housekeeping, you have no time to be depressed, I was shocked to find my Grandad (a Scotsman) worked down the pit into his 70's, I remember him being a rich and inchanting charactor, he was bow legged due to a mining accident and as he became ill I saw him burn off his stubble with some lit paper..tough. I also love the programme about the Histor of Scotland but it looses me, I understand why the Scots are so proud of their country, it is truly magnificent...Sandy
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I very much agree with you Russ and Guy. The changes you list will happen....who knows when, maybe quite soon, maybe in a few years, but it will happen. This is one of the main reasons we moved to Lewis to do what we do and we are mighty glad to have had the three years to get it set up to some degree.
Have any of you read "Retieved from the Future" by John Seymour?
Dave
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Does anyone remember what the red flower was she used for the lip balm? My daughters and me are into making our own creams and love to try this!
I also wish I had one of these baskets, but will not try to make one just yet lol
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I would love one of those baskets more than a face lift (thats a lot more) i would like a CD of the whole series, we missed a lot and there is a lot of valuable information there, back to basics, I wounder if the Cd's are available? Sandy
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Here's the link for the BBC iplayer - three programmes http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=victorian%20farm
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Thanks, there is something so nice about this programme...Sandy
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hello NFD,
the plant Ruth Goodman refers to sounds like Alconet ? I have tried all sorts of different spellings but can't seem to find any plant of this name. Maybe she says something else or it is an old name maybe? I found this site on natural dyes though :
http://www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/red_natural_dyes.html
Sorry I couldn't be any more help than that ....hope the link helps a bit though ....
cheers
Russ
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcanna_tinctoria
just found the right one ...the link says it all really .....got there in the end...lol.
cheers
Russ
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It doesn't seem to grow locally then, but I'll see if I can source the dried through a herbalist. Alternatively - Fresh St. John's Wort also dies oil red when steeped in it over a few weeks, no heating necessary for this. Not sure if the colour is strong enough for a lip balm. It also makes skin sensitive to the sun, maybe that's not such a good idea with lips being so exposed...Just thinking aloud here
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hello-quite a newbie on here
Im sure my ex partner saw somewhere that the lady that does all the cooking and washing is only on site 4 days a month?? when they made the programmes. My ex watches all these programmes - ive watched the programmes so far and very impressed. Theres a lovely little tea room in trawden in lancashire in the middle of the village where they have a absolutly brilliant victorian range like they have . pie and pies and cabbage for the walkers
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yes that would seem about right.... In the other similar series 'Tales from the Green Valley' Alex Langlands Peter Ginn plus Chloe Spencer and Stuart Peachey along with Ruth Goodman, appeared in the program . All lived the parts they played in the sereis Except Ruth Goodman . She only appeared a few days a month to do her bit to camera, the rest of the time another woman lived the life (as it were). The woman in question was quite happy about this as she didn't want to appear on tv. But it is a bit of a con in some ways as we are led to believe that RG was living the life . But!!!!! it is TV .....where nothing is what it seems , so what can you expect ?. I read Stuart Peacheys' book about Tales from the Green Valley , and although it did take a bit of the shine off of it , I still thoroughly enjoyed it and I am also enjoying the Victorian Farm . There is only one thing similar to these programs that was done in the late 70's , and that was 'Living in the Past'.
Where a number of people actually did live for a year as iron age people had done, in an iron age replica village. Here it is on youtube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2e7ZLWz3UMw&hl=un
I thought it was as good as Victorian Farm and Tales from the Green Valley, maybe even better as they really did live the life . None of it being made pretty for tv . Here is another youtube link to a short clip of Tales from the Green Valley:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RxtbCufq58U&hl=un
cheers
Russ
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You have all just prompted me to look up an old friend. She moved to Denmark a few years ago, and now works doing Viking demonstrations- mostly with falconary. But she has lived effectively in the same set up as the Vikings did. Anyway, I've found her on facebook now, and will have to email her!
Beth
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Hi All,
I love the programmes, as I mentioned elsewhere. Thanks for finding the I-Player link, doganjo. When I tried to find it, it seemed to be unavailable, but I'll try again. It's too good to see just once. Yes, I hope they bring them out on DVD....
Russ & Guy, your bleak analysis looks daily more likely. It's gruesome to think about it, but my other half, Linda, is convinced, like you, that the world's going to pot, and this country's at the sharp end. I'd like to think she's wrong, but my optimism fades daily. I wish we were in a position to emulate your six acres, Russ; it's something we aspire to but we're tied to where we live, and land around here is scarce and expensive. We'll just keep looking.... We're also trying to get the family into it, gardening, growing food, self-sufficiency, etc. It never hurts to be able to do these things, and praying we never have to, to eek out survival, may not be enough. Add global warming to the credit crunch, and everything we take for granted may be about to change. I do think that being self-sufficient not only equips us to harvest all we can; wild plants, sun and wind energy, as well as grown and reared food. It also makes us better at the kind of problem solving that those activities need; mending, recycling, finding a way to do something. Just like the Victorians did, without the technology we've come to rely on. And in changing times, those skills will become paramount. It feeels cruel to be smug, but confidence does no harm. And pooling resources, including knowledge, will be better for all of us. Thanks for sharing.
Chin up! John
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I hope I am completely wrong about what could be heading our way . That whatever the future holds for us all , it will be more or less what we have lived over the last 50 or so years. I know that there would have to be some changes due to oil shortages and the like , but I don't really think that we can continue for much longer on the road we have become used to traveling. There are so many things that can now send us off down some unknown side turning , things such as global warming , which won't just effect the weather for holidays , but will effect the whole worlds food production . In the UK we have ended up getting so much food from overseas , and the government seem set to kill farming , why ???. It is now cheaper to by pork from abroad than produce it here. 50% of commercial pig farmers have now gone out of business and many more are on the way . This at a time when food miles are meant to be so important ? Many people have no idea where their food comes from . Many don't care , but that is changing . I just wonder though what would happen if the present economy crisis were to get much MUCH worse , and it can !!!, and it became hugely expensive to move food around the world. Also would the countries that grow all this food, sell food to us and let their own people starve ?. Some countries are already cutting back the amount of food they sell to the west . The government has now put the UK into so much debt that it will take years to get out ! , even if the economy crisis were to ease now. They have now changed the law , so that the Bank of England can print millions of extra £ to pump into the system . They can now do this without anyone knowing , before you could find out each month how much was being pumped in . This puts us on a similar road to the Weimar pre ww2 , or to Zimabwe !! will it get as bad as those ....who knows ? There are many things that can send us into a world we left many years ago . Will any of these things happen ? I don't know . I do know that I personally prefer to live a simple life ( very simple person so it fits !!) . It just so happens that if things do go t*ts up , it won't effect me too much . That is unless there is some terrible pandemic , or nuclear war or such like . I seem to have taken this way off of the subject of the Victorian Farm......but I think it is very much related , and hope others think so too . Anyway , untill armageddon or the apocalypse , I will just keep doing what I do because I like it .... ::) and it doesn't harm others or do harm to the planet . Must go and make a cup of Brazilian coffee now and have a few chunks of Dutch cheese with bread made from Canadian wheat. Might stick on some pickle with Spanish onions in too.....Food miles ? what food miles ? they are only in the fridge.... :o ::) ;D
cheers
Russ
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i share very much russ your comments. Just stripping back how things were twenty years ago make me smile a lot more than i do now. I have decided for 18 months now that i need to make lots of changes and make a new life. Ive become very tired doing the day job ( which is working f for myself ) the isolation of that is not to bad most of the time but the existance relying on everybody to supply me with my daily needs tells me that we dont know what we are eating half the time and we dont know how its going to last. The need to grow your own and rear your own has to be common sense not just for satisfaction levels but reassurance that you know where your food has come from and the very fact that you know that is there and at little cost in the way of vegtables. I bought my ex a 1940's hardback in a wonderful secondhand book shop in inverness in november .The bookshop in question for the scotland people on here is known as the largest secondhand book shop in scotland. The book was the story of a family setting up a derelict farm with plans and mapsand photographs of them starting a business in the 40's after the war - i must find this and have a good read of it from her.I think the victorians had a good life and i think our elders despite the hardships they encountered and they must have been hard with rations and everything also hard a calmer more chilled lifestyle than ours and i do hope that by the end of this year i will have taken the big step of a new life based on many traditional values. :sheep: :cow: :chook:
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I don't think child chimney sweeps would agree, if they lived beyond their fifth birthday. Let's not romanticise too much about times past - there are awful lot of great things about the 21st century too.
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although I do wear glasses ( blind as a bat without ) there is no rose coloured tint in them at all ..... ::) ;D I prefer the simple life yes , but with as many of the good things that we have now days too. As for the young chimney sweeps ...well they are long gone now days in the UK , but sadly still many many people around the world in conditions just as bad , as was experienced in Victorian times. The program on tv can only show a very clean, sanitized view of life back then , and can only really hint at the way things were. No matter how good or nice it may look on tv. All the people in the program get paid very well to appear in it , they can have a nice hot bath when they want , none of them look as though they have gone too long without food and due to health and safety ( ye gods !!!!! ) they probably all go and sleep in rooms with electricity etc etc.... if anything went wrong ie illness injury etc , would they get treated as in victorian times ..? no of course not. The programs are lovely and show how things can be done , without all the stuff we have to have these days . I noticed on the Acton Scott estate site , you can rent the cottage in the program , and live the life similar to the program ..... I wonder if it costs 5/6d a week to stay there...? (oh and thats 27.5p) ::) ;D :farmer:
cheers
Russ
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actually , ive got some chimneys that need sweeping :-X ( only joking!!!!! ;))
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I would offer to climb up and sweep them for you mate ....but I would get stuck in an inglenook these days....( and I wish I WAS joking... :o :()
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I love all the modern technology so I am not a Victorian but I do like a simple life, in a way the credit crunch has given people a reality check, do we really need to..keep changing to the latest model of, phone, car, Television, kitchen, shoes, etc etc. If we were less reliant on car's we would cycle or walk more, I don't suppose people walk to school so much as when my three were little, and I bet not so many young people or children play out in parks or walk to their friends due to worried parents and the strange folk about. I know that we should not waste so much, mend things instead of getting new stuff and I wounder how many people have gadgets they hardly use, I love gadgets. I imagine it is difficult for children and young people if they have old style or mended things, how can we change that one? One thing I would like, a Mangal, I remember regularly t rapping my fingers in one of them but they certainly got a lot of water from your cloths, I think a squeeze in the mangle and a good blow on the line (weather permitting) would help save some electric, anyway, let's all mix and match, I would be lost without, computer, phones, Camera, music players and the internet.....and of course central heating, the car, a microwave and maybe the television
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yes I like a few modern gadgets.....I think I have said before I would hate to be without electric light , that I think is a basic one , I would also miss my bread maker hugely....I can make bread all by hand , But the ole bread maker saves a lot of time . I too really love my little digital camera that does video as well. Mobile phone not too bothered about, but have one in case...in case of what I am not too sure...lol. I have a micro wave but rarely use it . The pc has been a god send....and would really miss it . Welly boots are really the only other thing I would miss to any great extent , saying that though , the more you think about it the longer the list gets....lol. If I had to , I could live a victorian type lifestyle , without any mod cons , but given the choice I will keep a few goodies . I have lived without electricity or gas in the past , three years I did it . Although I got used to it , I would rather live with it , oil lamps are a real pain as are candles . They may be ok for a few hours now and then . But to live with them ... phew ...the novelty soon wears off. Simple life with a few mod cons is how I like it ....
cheers
Russ
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I agree, the funny thing is both mine and my partners most expensive item has been Muddies for me and Muck boots for my partner, the same realy, very very cumfy, if they had no mud on them I would wear them around the house. I had a discussion earlier about living in Scotland, I love it but it does get chillier here, I rarely wore a coat living in England, just a decorative one or one not done up, now I live in wooly jumpers most days, even sometimes in the summer....also I bought a vest years ago, a pretty one, and that is also a daily wear and wash. Anyway, the matching items I used to weat, including a bit of Bling, have long been tucked away, I may look a bit odd sometimes but I am happy ;D
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the joy of central heating in my cold home would be such a pleasure i agree - ive never been able to afford it -not a big house but way to bigger boiler required. I think the net and the pc has to be one of the biggest inventions we will ever know about inour lifetime .I love all the new technology dont get me wrong but more often than not this past year i want to step back in time so much.I fell in love with the dales over the past few years and all around pendle hill clitheroe etc - barnard castle - all around the a66 and everything is so much the way its always been in apperanace -with the dales very much due to the national park authority keeping things that way but the locals cant afford to buy as so much as been bought as holiday homes. The structure of the dales in pretty unblemished which is a good thing but the derelict barns are allowed to get into disrepair so much which could be the catalyst of bringing life and energy into communities and affordable homes as long as they are done sympathetically would bring a lot tothe dales for local people,somuch of the hosuing stays empty or holiday homes. The whole area has a feelof the past rather than the present -the technology is in but controlled - I just feel bombared with ads and big brother watching you syndrome all the time and its time to stepback to a more layed back and self sufficient lifestyle whilst dare i say a few 21st century treats. id love a wood burning fire in the house - and id love a wood burning aga - a second hand one would be good as long as i had someone that could plumb it all in. The victorians must have had it tough but i bet they were so happy.
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Don't forget you can get grants for insulation and possibly also central heating depending on your age.
http://www.grants.gov
http://www.heatproject.co.uk/
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thanks for that - when your self employed they seem tosay noto everything but thanks somuch for that - will definatly have a peek to see if i can get anything -thankyou
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I got 50% grant towards additional loft insulation - provided you only have the bog standard 4 inches of yesteryear you will get it - you only pay £250 for first 100 sq metres, then £5 per sq m after that. including labour. Anyone over 70 pays nothing. Wish I could get cavity wall insulation as well but they can't do that on a 20 year old kit house apparently
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Watch out for contractors ripping off the government on the heating scheme! My better half applied for a central heating system because our old one had broken down in September and would you believe it, the guy said he would only do it if he could rip our all our old radiators, pipes and take the old tank with him, too! We said no thanks to that unless they would only replace what's needed. We never heard from them again! He was obviously only after the scrap metal as a bonus in addition to what he would get from the government for doing the job. An absolute scam. In the end we bought a new burner and fitted it ourselves for a fraction of what they would have charged the council for a whole new system. An interesting experience though to meet those guys! If you think in any way outside the box you can't take advantage of those brilliant sounding schemes (unless you fight for it!).
Ah, yes, when they did the insulation a few years back, they just left some rolls in the attic as it was too hard work to lay them out around the beams (different contractors but their own words)...I hope you will have a better experience with getting the help that's promised!
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Just logginf off to watch this, hard work and good food etc equals a full and happy life, I wish I was younger as there is more to do than I have time to dooooooo!
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Very interesting topic this. I would hate to live without our central heating and hot water. Having done so in the past they are the only things I feel I could not live without. Due to old joints etc the cold causes me loads of problems.I feel the main problem with our country is, we have turned into a people of must haves, both parents have to work and do not have the time to give their children so they lack the guidelines that were given to the older generation. When I was at school you would never have thought of giving a teacher cheek and if you did get into trouble you got worse when you got home. My mother did work but part time to fit in looking after myself and my brothers. I did the same untill my kids were well up in their teens and my sons have turned out well balanced all now married with kids of their own. I do think it is much harder for parents now as so much is thrown at kids to have the latest phone, clothes, games etc and they expect to get it. As for your kids living with you when they are in there 20/30's thats not doing anyone much good. They seem to spend their money on having a good time and think the parents should still be supporting them. I started work at 13 delivering the milk before school, left home at 15 to do my training at a riding school near Kinross and my mother did not need to support me. I learnt how to manage my money so i could afford my digs and clothes and still save. I would say this was good training for when I had my own family. I do feel that parents today are worn out, over stressed and missing out on enjoying life. After all we only get one shot at it and I feel time is the most precious thing we have.
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I think too many parents are caught in a catch 22 - they work to buy things, then feel guilty about lack of time, so buy more things and so on. I know people who borrow money to buy Christmas presents - lots of money, too. It's all gone mad.
Also, too many parents want to be friends with their kids - that can't be - kids have friends their own age - our job as adults is to be, well, adults, grown-ups, setting the boundaries. My parents weren't my friends - that wasn't their job. They did their job pretty well (IMHO!)
I read an article in the dentist last week by a psychologist. She was comparing what parents want with how children interpret it. I can't remember all the detail ( it was called Little Prince (ess) Syndrome or something similar - for example, parents want their children to be treated fairly and equally; children may interpret this to mean that they shoudl be treated like adults (even when they are only trainee adults); parents want their children to have stimulating experiences; children may intepret this as having a right not to have to do anything mundane and boring; and so on. There were lots of examples.
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The trouble today, is kids are not given the time to be just kids. When I was young during school holidays my mother saw us at breakfast then made us a sandwich and never saw us again till around 5pm. My brothers and myself had great adventures building dams or tree houses. In the park at the local pond racing with the rowing boats things like that. TV was something we never thought of bothering with. We made our own entertainment. At 14 i was still playing with my dolls now a days some 14 year old have a child of their own which I feel is so sad. What happened to make children feel that they have to grown up so quickly. some of kids clothes are terrible more suited to an 18 year old than 10. When one of my sons put their daughter in childcare as both of them worked he was paying £500 a month which was more than there mortgage just crazy.When my grand children come to visit they love the place, freedom to play outside, act like kids should. I don't blame the parents for wanting the best for their children, we all want that but how are they suppose to learn about real life if all they do is sit in front of a TV or play station all day.
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Mine were happy enough with hand-me-downs and second hand stuff, like for gameboys and cheaper MP3s. I do get the suspicion that they even depise the lot who have all the gadgets and throw their money around ("their parents must feel guilty"). I think it's good for kids to learn that one doesn't have to have everything one might like and can't have it all. I taught them that things don't make you happy, you have one thing you want the next. That's why our society is in trouble now. At least that one thing in my life I do know whatever others say - it was the right thing to have always been there for them, it's been worth it being poor lol. They love the program, buy the way!
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My parents weren't my friends - that wasn't their job
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My Dad was never my friend - he was an army Sergeant and didn't show his emotions much but my sister and I both knew he loved us and what our boundaries were. My Mum became my friend after I got married and had my own kids. She was retired by that time and since I didn't work while the kids were little we spent a lot of time together with the children. I was a child of before TV, so went out picking hot wet tar off the roads, climbing trees and scraping my knees, renovating a rusty old bicycle in my Gran's shed, training my Granda's gundog to jump (as if :o); my own kids had limited TV programs and they were always out playing too - rain or shine. I think we all benefited from this environment. My own grandchildren are only allowed a short time of 'electronics' each day, including TV.
Annie
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Durring my marrage I dedicated nearly all my time to my three daughters, as my now Ex husband was not at all interested so basiclay left me to it, as long as the house was clean and a three course meal waiting for him, he kept well away. I ran the house like a nursery/school and was very organised but was always having fun, I would play with thier toy's then carefuly leave them to make thier own game up, clean up with load music on and the children would help, shopping was made into fun as I made little lists when they were young and asked each to find certain things and asked their opinion, of course sometimes there was arguments, when they were older thier firends and boyfriends would come shopping with me as well!!! yes, I can hardly believe it myself. At night I would read my own stories, in fact, this went on until I left the family home due to my divorce, they were then all in thier late teens. :-* I worked in Nurseries, Secondary Schools and upper Schools and also am a Qualified Youth Worker, and went off to uni with my eldest and Yes, they are my best friends, they tell me every detail about their lives (I don't) we have a wonderful relationship although my eldest has emigrated she mentions me in an article she published so, it worked for me, their friends often came to visit me as well, maybe I am strange but that is me.
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We just watched todays episode - I highly recommend homemade ginger beer! It was a bit tart for the family, but I love it, must make some again.
Re. last episode: does anyone put their soot in their garden? I thought everything from a coal fire was an absolute NoNo, so it would never have occurred to me.
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My Dad used to always put the soot on the garden, and the ashes were saved for the winter to put on the path if it was icy.
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hello NFD,
re:soot. You have to let it weather for 12 months before using on the soil. It is then a good one for adding to soil to keep down slugs etc .. It is also meant to darken the soil and therefore warm it up faster ::). Not sure what chemicals are in it though ????? ;D
cheers
Russ
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That's right Dad had a soot pile in the back garden so it was left for a good while. He used to say it was good fro his roses so I don't know what's in it.
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Thought last nights was very good - Think i would have had stronger fencing. Not sure howmuch i would panic if sheep got out like that-proberly i would panice a great deal.
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We need our chimneys swept and I remember saying to someone how the Chimney sweep used to sell his soot to farmers and they looked at me gone out!!! What a job, soot spreading, I suppose marginally better than much spreading!!!! I used to be frightened at the Coalman as all you could see were the whites of his eyes peeping out from under his cap!!!! I tip my ashes on the gravel at the top of the garden where the chickens are, I firstly leave it to cool in a bucket for a day other wise we may have a bus fire!!!!!
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Didn't notice the 'bus' last time I was in your garden ;) The girls could use it as a chicken coop! He he - I know you meant BUSH!!!! Just my joke! ;D
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yeah .... you wait for ages and then three flaming buses come along at once.....lol ...such is life..
;D :D :D
Russ
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You mean 'bushes' ;) ;D ;D ;D
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My brain works faster than my fingers...or maybe not!!!!!! Anyway, no Buses in my garden,
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Re the Tales from the Green Valley. You need to remember that the television series of the Green Valley was just a blip in the life of a project running since 1987 and still continuing today. Over 700 people from nearly 30 countries have been involved and much of the site was not involved in the programs. Lots more has happened since the series was filmed in 2003-4 the latest including a fully functional 17th cntury dye house. If any of you would like to visit the site [in Monmouthshire] call me on 01275 463041
Stuart
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Hello Stuart,
yes .... I read your book on the making of the series and the site . As you have no doubt read elsewhere on these posts , I like the series a lot.....it has a very special atmosphere about it , and replicates many of the things I do on my little section of the world, and even of the way I live. Do you have any plans to write a follow up to the book ? If dvd's were like records, my copy of the series would have been worn flat , long ago. Congratulations and a big thankyou for making it .
cheers
Russ
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There may be a second edition bringing the Green Valley up to date but this is at an early stage as the oringinal publisher has just sold out to a new publisher and it will take a little while for a decision to come through although if they decide to show the series in the US it might all move rapidly.
What is out there already is the research which was done over the 20 years before the series which has been published: 20 small volumes on period agriculture [including gardens, livestock orchards etc], about 40 on period food and cookery, and loads more on everything from clothing to music. If you look at the books section of www.stuart-hmaltd.com you might find some useful material.
The Green Valley is one of 3 smallholdings I am working on. The two in Somerset are mostly involved in growing ancient fruit varieties and producing my fuel supply from coppice plus pond restoration for grass carp. We are also starting a new project to ballence all the land we use for historical sites, smallholdings etc with equel areas with no human exploitation. We are reverting these areas from modern farmland to primeval woodland. It should take about 1,000 years to mature but you have to think long term.
Stuart
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Good news about the second edition update . I will be waiting for it !!!! I have read a few of your booklets etc and very good reading they make too. I could read stuff all day about this period of time. Sadly most of the information I read goes out as fast as it goes in ...lol, still perfect excuse to read it all again. One thing I must say is you certainly stick with it .... I read about all the problems etc in setting up what became Little Woodham , and then you went on to do the Green Valley site. Persistant if nothing else ...lol. Once I am not buying haylage for my horses, I will be getting some more of your books ( I read far to much ). The ofset primeval woodland sounds interesting . As you say , long term ( to put it mildly !!) and very costly . My next big project is making a waterwheel . To supply all the mechanical power for my smallholding , ie to run a sawmill a woodwork shed and a forge , as well as any farm type machinery that I can.
Cheers
Russ
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Also - reprints can be found on amazon:
in the USA:
http://www.amazon.com/Family-Save-all-System-Secondary-Cookery/dp/0559485778/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234287471&sr=8-1
in the UK:
paperback:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Save-all-System-Secondary-Cookery/dp/0559485743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234289667&sr=8-1
hardcover:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Save-all-System-Secondary-Cookery/dp/0559485816/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234289667&sr=8-2