[Ebyss]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hinning is easy. It's just the plant equivalent of culling the weak. Two carrots too close to each other the smallest or least healthy looking gets pulled.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RonMN', ' ')I tell them it could be something OTHER than a hurricane & they call me a "Fear monger".

I ask them what benefit would I have from scaring you? and they ignore me.

[Madpaddy]

Ebyss,

You need to buy "Square foot gardening" right now. Go on Amazon and do it. Also, go into the nearest store tomorrow and buy leaf beet seeds. This is also known as perpetual spinach and is a very forgiving plant. You can use the young leaves raw like lettuce or cook the older leaves and stems in just about anything. Loads of minerals and vitamins too.

1. Get some old newspapers (not glossy magazine types).

2. Pick a spot in the garden and put the newspaper down over the grass.

3. If you have no compost, buy some and put it on top of the newspaper.

4. Plant seeds as directed on packet.

5. You still have time for leaf beet and baby carrots.

6. If you want, go into a garden centre and buy some 4 or 5 week old squash plants and cucumber plants (€1.50 approx).

[Madpaddy]

PS: Don't use the above method for root crops as the long root won't break through the earth below the newspaper.

The above is a permaculture method for leaf crops etc.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Some more thoughts about this issue and why the masses won't accept it, Ron. I have no doubt that you are a gracious and kind person. But sending a message of doom is not going to go over well for some very severe reasons. Planting fear in the minds of others is perceived as sadistic. It doesn't matter if it's true. So members of the "peak oil cult" are evil sadistic people. And that's why we're going over the cliff. "Those people have been predicting the end of oil since the beginning" etc. I'm sure we will all be rounded up and liquidated by popular demand.

[WildRose]

Ebyss, you could try planting zucchini. The plants grow almost anywhere and are prolific. If you like zucchini, just a few plants will give you more than you know what to do with. You can bake with them (shredded), slice and saute with other vegetables, make zucchini sticks baked in the oven. They basically take on the flavor of whatever spices you cook them with.

If you get adequate sunshine where you live, raspberry bushes are a good bet because they multiply (but not too fast) and they need little upkeep.

[TheDude]

MadPaddy don't look so bad in his avatar.

Both you Hibernians might consider attending the John Seymour School for Self Sufficiency, aka the Killowen Smallholding, down in Wexford. Seymour wrote the book on Self Sufficiency. Literally. No kidding.



A must for your library, covers all the bases. Do you cover bases in the British Isles? Bit of a baseball metaphor.

There was a topic here couple weeks back that had link after link after link to really bad news. That made me twitch to see but what can I do about refineries? Keep on keepin' on.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Madpaddy', 'E')byss,
You need to buy "Square foot gardening" right now. Go on Amazon and do it.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 't')he John Seymour School for Self Sufficiency,

[DoubleD]

steam_cannon - you lucked out! The old version of Square Foot Gardening is by far better than his newest edition - which has been so dummied down as to be essentially worthless (in my opinion).

Gardening is a joy and a tool for self sufficiency. I have been an avid gardener and prepper for many many years - and there is nothing more calming that working in the garden and/or knowing you have food and water in reserve.

Wishing you success in your efforts.

[erl]

Ebyss:

You raise horses, right? You have the makings of great garden soil right there. As I mentioned before, horses produce great manure. Even better from a gardener's viewpoint than steer manure. It is much more easily tolerated by plants.

I take all the horse manure my neighbor produces. If I pile it up for a couple or three months it composts very well. That then goes straight into my vegetable beds.

Sometimes I mix it with other compost or peat moss. Sometimes, when I want to try something different, I use it straight.

The fresh stuff smells a little stronger, but it is still easy on plants.

Just start planting. You will learn. And you will learn fast.

Start with buckets. Then you will move on to beds. Who knows where to from there.

I just started two new crops this spring for the first time as an experiment: taro root and sugar cane. I bought both the cane and the taro in the produce section of the grocery store. Both went into buckets and I covered them with horse manure. All are doing incredibly well at this point.

You will do fine.

[Ebyss]

I have the John Jeavons book and the John Seymour book (I cherish this book) - might look into the Sq Ft gardening book too, thanks. I also have the Bob Flowerdew book, Monty Don book, Alan Titchmarsh book and a host of other "grow your own" books - but they all assume a basic level of knowledge that I don't have, which is where it gets intimidating. But, at this stage there's only one way to learn, right? Gotta get out and do it.

WildRose - I adore zucchini (that's courgette, right?). My favourite vegetable - I'm delighted to hear that they're easy.

Erl - yep, I raise horses. I have tonnes of manure. It's not in a very organised heap though as we spread it in the fields. It also has shavings in it, which I understand takes a long time to break down. However, I can definitely separate some turds from the shavings for a garden compost heap - will get my OH on to helping me build a compost bin from old pallets.

Thanks everyone.

[erl]

Ebyss:

With the horse manure, you don't even need compost bins (unless you really want them). My neighbor and I just pile the horse manure into a big pile a couple of feet high. The pile grows daily.

You will be amazed at the heat it generates.

I just go with a wheelbarrow or wagon and shovel it from the side of the pile that is oldest.

Potatoes grow wonderfully in horse manure.

I wouldn't even bother to separate out the shavings

[Madpaddy]

Hamas looks set to take full control over the Gaza strip. News blackout on the ongoing Turkish operation in SE Turkey/Northern Iraq. Iran has taken delivery of nuclear fuel for the Bushehr reactor. Lebanese battles ongoing. North Korea to supply Iran with long range missiles.

The board is set, who is going to be first to cast the dice?

[legit]

I'm sorry but your just surrounding yourself with negative news.

Yes a collapse could happen - easily even but it could happen any time.

[eXpat]

Cheer up Madpaddy, got a present for you, link.
Now seriously, i have learnt to be more detached about my feelings and the society that surround us, what the sheeple is cannot be changed, just do your best, prepare for the worst and time will tell.

[jboogy]

I'm hearin' you madP. I feel the same way . dark clouds keep gathering just over the horizen, i hear their thunder and can sense the darkness and am just waiting for them to show themselves. The violence of their storms will be terrible to behold i fear , I'm finding it difficult to continue going thru the motions of normal everyday life , I've become somewhat paralyzed by feelings of impending doom. How do I hang your new ceiling fan or fix your rotted floor when I'm preoccupied with cravings to rush home and see whether we've started WW3 yet, or find out how much of greenlands icesheet broke off this week, or whether our pitiful rains are enough to put out the fire on the florida/georgia border?things are coming to a frightening head and the aftermath will be horrifying. Bas , your right that humans have gone through periods of upheaval and instability many times before, but we've never had a set of circumstances like this before. this time it's an all in scenario , no one will have the option of folding and sitting out a hand. the confluence of global warming and resource depletion is going to burn everyone to some degree or another, I suspect that MANY will die, and I think it's going to happen soon. On a lighter note, Ebyss , I didn't know squat about vegetables either , just listen to the people here , it's all good stuff. Don't be paralyzed by a fear of failure. Turn your earth, enrich your soil(it's a good idea to "cook" all your manure for at least 4 months before using), stick in your seed, water,thin EAT! I even let the wife do the garden this year and she knows less than me about it.

[horsedrawn]

Yes i have to agree that things are heating up very fast.And i have been haveing the very same sense of forbodding. I try and keep calm at home but sometimes my family ( cousins and mother )just pisss me off so much that i just want to tell them to stop and look around!at least my bride to be is on the same page as myself.So all is not lost.Still have not got all or garden in yet but with work ing a full time job and farming too my time just disappears to fast.
one thing i have to get done this year is to put my windmill up so i can have water for the livestock and the house.good luck to all the gardeners.

[Madpaddy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article ... 37,00.html

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')orth Korea promises to close nuclear facility

[Madpaddy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '2')30 die as rains destroy buildings