Thursday 30 July 2015

Smart meter review

I have written previously about the electricity company giving us this Smart meter. My husband is a constantly checking our bills so got annoyed when he could not get the "period" readings on the Smart meter to match up to the "paperless" bill on our account. After some head scratching and theories about double book keeping accounting techniques, we worked out what it all meant and yes we did owe that much (ouch). It is not easy to understand out suppliers bills and he wanted to change to a bill at the end of every month that showed the same amount as the Smart meter display!

We worked out that we were averaging £24 a month. But really we would like to average £20. So where could the savings be made this time (having done a lot previously)? It so happened there was an article in the weekend newspaper on the subject so I had a go at some of the suggestions.
1. Turn off your BT hub. Unless you are constantly on the web what is the point at it is really sucking the juice. We worked out at this time of year with being out gardening etc we only went on line over a 2 - 4 hour period each day. So that is 20 hours plus of electricity being used keeping it on.
2. Think about standby again. I have previously unplugged  radios and CD players that are only used a few times a week and I turn off the small kitchen TV at the plug. The newspaper suggested more major appliances. I have started to turn off the cooker - most cooking at present is between 1 pm and 6 pm, So it is just displaying the time for 19 hours in a room with 4 other clocks !
3, Think about TV time. Sometimes we are just channel surfing, or both of us are reading and not really watching. Our big TV and sky box use a lot of power. We estimate one hour less per day would save £2 a month!
4. Don't forget those re-chargers - husband left a power tool battery on for hours the other day and as I was going to bed just asked why was the unit doing 330 watts? Lucky catch otherwise it could have been another 24 hours before he went back to that shed!
We have observed in the last couple of days that when the house is "at rest" and nothing much is happening (when not even the fridge is running) we are using a steady 20 watts now. I would like to kill a few more standbys but the husband hates resetting the times on some things.
Things like don't wash unless there is a full load, use all the space in the over, only boil water needed, etc are all everyday actions to us thrifty living people. As I actually hate vacuuming I did consider one further electricity use saving today -in  my early married life we had a carpet sweeper you pushed round by hand.
 Do you remember those?
Could it be a good idea now, especially as I only have one room with carpet? (rest is tiles and laminate which I sweep or mop mostly).





Sunday 26 July 2015

Waiting for the storm

We took the weather forecasts seriously this weekend and tidied the garden of all loose materials, tied all the outdoor tomatoes up and strengthened the runner bean frame. It rained 35 mm but there were none of the predicted high winds!  Still it was nice to have a tidy plot!  Shame the weather stopped the British leg of the sailing Admirals Cup at Portsmouth today - it was exciting yesterday!

As the temperatures have dropped in the last few days the rapid ripening of fruit and veg has slowed, except for the courgettes, to a more manageable A nice handful of early runner beans today, a nice large cabbage and a handful of ripe tomatoes today - and I continue to add to the big bucket of courgettes. The courgettes are getting used 3 or 4 a day, hopefully we will have some summer visitors to help with the bucket.  I did try to make some courgette chutney but it was complete failure. I am building up confidence to have another go. Meanwhile I have pickled some beetroot, much simpler.

Just before the rains came we sorted out the strawberry runners. I had pinned down a lot and they had rooted. We have two crates of small pots, 50 new plants, if they all take. The only problem being if we want them all outdoors we will have to take up more turf to double the size of the fruit area. In the poly-tunnel we have doubled the number of plants already with runners - these are earlier than the outdoor ones.  I am looking forward to a good crop next year. My husband is keen to increase the goose berry crop by having a hedge of bushes across one end of the veg plot.  Our neighbour has shown us a similar idea and he has shared with us information on how much fruit comes from each bush.

It was so cool today I returned to the sewing room to complete a fleece pullover for the autumn. Felt strange after the hot sweaty weather to be thinking in terms of something warm to wear.  I am using some fleece with a needle corduroy top layer which is quite easy to sew put quite thick.

Well at least the wet weather has kept me indoors long enough to read all the paperwork from a claim we are making to the NHS. I finally got my head round the "toolkit" criteria rating - it is more or less the same process as preparing Ofsted reports which I used to do. Roll on improved weather - I would rather be weeding the veg!



Wednesday 22 July 2015

Good GYO article and TV gardening

Good article on the Home Farmer magazine web site this week by David Hamilton. Nicely balanced look at what to grow and what to spend money on. Sensible, which is a refreshing change to some of the TV gardening shows where throwing money seems to be their answer to everything - Love Your Garden with Titchmarch being the worst!  Quite enjoying The Instant Gardener which at least is based on doing some basic stuff and explaining that the garden will grow on.  I see that BBC2 are not doing the Allotment Challenge programme in 2016 - pity I enjoyed that they showed growing took some effort and time!!!
Having had some experience of working with young adults with learning disabilities and Asperger's I am enjoying The Autistic Gardener (channel 4), who manages to be fun, develops skills and communication and pokes holes in the whole gardening TV formats!
Having run out of anything interesting to watch on TV (except for admiring the french countryside in Tour de France) I have also run quickly through all the library books. We are lucky to have a well stocked library in Kings Lynn which has a fairly up to date stock. I will have to use my bus pass tomorrow to take my book stash for renewal.
Our bed of antirrhinums are giving us a nice display, they all seem to be pink, despite the mixed colour claim on the packet.


Tuesday 21 July 2015

Good week and bad news

Been a good week in the garden with crops coming along, just enough rain to freshen the place but it is still sunny.
But a few bits of badness.
Firstly, for the first time in a year we overspent our income for the month. It was the annual bills of the car tax plus the house insurance that caused the problem by the 20th of the month.  We did not go into the red, more dipped towards our  desired balance. We talked it out and agreed to reign in some of the little jobs around the place that need the £10 or £20 in materials each and concentrate on the things we can do with no extra expense! We will look at those annual bills and try to manipulate the dates so "nasties" don't coincide again.
We felt so bad for our elderly neighbour (80s) who runs a little market garden enterprise. We have very different views on gardening but we exchange knowledge every day! He is very Percy Thrower generation using a lot of chemicals and sprays. He had been weed-killing using his back pack sprayer last week when he was interrupted as his daughter and great grandson turned up. Then a few days later he picked up the sprayer pack which was dry and filled it with pesticide and sprayed his 3 greenhouses. Within a few hours his numerous and beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers began to fade. School boy mistake. Did not remember to wash out the sprayer. As it was dry he forgot he had not actually finished the weedkiller and done his normal routine. Poor chap. All his profit for the year lost in one moment of inattention.
It was the same day as my husband found a baby thrush caught in some nylon netting over some cauliflowers. It had been there some time and was well and truly tangled. He called over the neighbour and they untangled it and set it free. We had purchased some better kind of fruit netting so we decided once and for all to rid ourselves of the odd bits of green nylon netting.
One of expenses we want to save our monthly uncommitted money towards is the purchase of two new sheds. First we have to save to get rid of the concrete/asbestos garage. It was buried in clematis and honeysuckle which we cleared off the back last week,
Now we have uncovered it all and my husband is digging out the sides as it is sunk into the ground. 

We have a massive bonfire but can't set a fire for a while as the field behind the house is now turning to ripe corn and is dry, we don't want to set it on fire!
In the veg garden we have plenty to eat now - peas, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, cues, lettuce. Runner beans are starting to set.  Far to many courgettes that quickly move towards being marrows!

Have taken time to sit every afternoon around 4pm for a good half hour and just enjoy the summer days.

Thursday 16 July 2015

Midges

We are plagued with tiny black midge things this week. My (sweaty) arms were covered in them when I cycled to the post office.  We have tried to keep the windows and back door closed despite the heat as last year the wretched things got under the glass in several mounted photos and even into the computer screen.  But at cooking times I just had to have a draft!

There is a small hard black "flea" looking thing on the flowers too. I am now reluctant to bring in vases of flowers and today I gently hosed the sweet pea bunch after I picked them to rinse the things off!

I welcome the sight of swallows swooping round the house catching the insects, though sometimes the "screeching" they do as a group is a bit unnerving.

The insects have put me off our big task of the week. I do about 15 mins then wander off to weed the veg and cool off.  This picture will show you a bit of what we are doing.
Some where under this honeysuckle and montana clematis is an old garage which needs to be replaced.  We waited ages for the birds to finish nesting and for the clematis to finish flowering but we could not wait any longer for the bees to have the honeysuckle flowers! Its hot and lots of bugs fly out!

We are hoping to put up something to provide dry storage for big items over the winter. We are looking at various designs and suppliers but have not yet found the ideal style with a good quality construction that we can afford. Neighbour rated a company up in Lincolnshire which we may pop up to look at in the next couple of days as the weather is supposed to be inclement for a while.

Meanwhile back to the veg glut - courgettes!  Trying everything from soup to stews and stir frys.


Sun hat

My hairdresser was concerned that the top of my grey hair was damaged by the sun. I am not a great hat wearer but even I have found recent sunny days a bit much.  I had a couple of sun hats at one time, picked up at the last minute at airports for foreign holidays, but I can not think where they might be at present (or if I donated them to charity when we moved). So I used my husbands canvas sun hat as a pattern and using the overlock stitch on my new sewing machine to make a quick hat for gardening.  I had made some "bucket" hats for my grandchildren using a similar pattern but they were fully lined.
I doubled up the brim with a plain yellow cotton lining but left the crown as a single layer.

This is one of the grand children's hats. I saw one like it priced at £10 in the posh childrens shop the other day!


Wednesday 15 July 2015

Mid veg season

Strange couple of days started this week. It has been raining and been quite dull at one point I began to think summer was over especially when my husband started to dig over one end of the veg bed.
This was where the broad beans, garlic and onions have been since the autumn.  At least the beetroot are now seeing some more light! We need to think of a quick crop to use this area - it should be the area for potatoes next spring if we rotate the crops as recommended.
Further down the veg plot it was more summery with the runner beans filling out and the sweetcorn coming on.
We could not keep up with the lettuce and it has all bolted, just when there are 4 large cucumbers in the fridge!  In the poly tunnel the two beds are doing well.

We have to dig the right hand side at some point soon to develop that for the winter. The nearest plants are Inca Gold/Chinese Gooseberries and they are coming on well with plenty of fruit lanterns.

Monday 13 July 2015

Bees

We had planted plenty of bee friendly flowers among our veg to attract pollinators and in the flower beds near the house.  It does seem to be working as we spend a lot of time dodging bees busy doing their thing. The busiest bees have been elsewhere though. The grass areas in our field area have developed big patches of flowering clover and the bees love it! But we do have to walk a zigzag path up and down the field to avoid stepping on the bees!
We were having a cuppa near one flower bed when I asked my husband how bee friendly antirrhinums were as they did not have open flowers and no particular scent?   He was doubtful but a few minutes later a bumble bee came by and showed us how it used its weight to open up the bottom of the snap dragon and slip inside completely for a minute or so to get at the pollen.

Image result for antirrhinum
We have finally got to the end of the broad beans, about 40lbs in the freezer, and the last carrier bag load went next door to our friendly and often helpful neighbours. Husband has started to dig over the area ready for a new crop of something for the late summer - though not sure what!  We have moved on to peas and rather a lot of courgettes. Made courgette soup for lunch. Twice as much courgette as potatoes is the basic recipe and then I stirred in some Stilton cheese.
We are currently researching what to grow in the poly tunnel from Sept to Dec to extend the growing season give us fresh food.  It seems we could get in french beans and beetroot as well as potatoes and salad leaves, 


Saturday 11 July 2015

Broad bean injury

I have had to stop all activities that involve fine motor movement of the right hand this week, including typing! I was working my way rapidly through 3 buckets of broad beans one day - breaking the pod with a twist, popping the beans out and into a bowl and flicking the bean case into a bin. Great rhythm but somewhere in the third bucket I became aware of a level of numbness in my thumb. I had stirred up an old RSI problem which took two days to stop hurting in the thumb area but still tingles in the lower arm muscles. It was painful just to chop onions for a few days!
Who would know broad beans were dangerous?
Unfortunately there are 4 more buckets on beans to do. Even my husband is begging for a change. Fear not darling - the peas are ready to harvest!

While needing a rest it was my birthday so we went over to the North Norfolk coast road and for coffee and cake at the Yurt restaurant at Thornham and on to Brancaster for a paddle.





My favourite advert has just appeared on the TV. The Great British Bakeoff does Sound of Music! Ace!

I have invented a dish for lunch.
Starting with some bacon (left over, bits of diced cooking bacon or panacetta) in a dry pan, add some garlic cloves and onion, toss till soft. Add a bit of olive oil and add as much sliced courgette as you can fit in. Fry gently till golden, adding some cumin, coriander, paprika. Throw in half a dozen tomatoes (or half a can) and some stock. When it is all soft and cooked through throw in your greens - mangetout, peas, small broad beans etc  This large frying pan full makes a lunch for two.  It uses up a lot of veg fresh from the garden!
Must stop typing as the arm is tingling again!

Sunday 5 July 2015

Flowers

My sunflowers are just coming out.
Despite having been battered by storms in May/June which has left their leaves a bit marked.

The garden is giving us 3 or 4 vases of "free"  cut flowers every few days. They are not lasting long due to the heat but we have had a nice display on the fire hearth in the lounge.  This is the only space in the house out of the direct sun which means they last slightly longer than on window ledges.
I love flowers that appear free in the garden. Lots of red poppies have appeared also these lovely double type.


I had just cycled home from the village the other day and told my husband about a garden full of Canterbury bells I had just seen when later I found a plant under a bush. Small and a bit weedy but I shall encourage it!

Saturday 4 July 2015

Taste testing carrot crop

My husband had commented on the baby carrots one dinner time in the week so asked him for his comparison today with some others.
These were a baby carrot variety called "Ideal" that I grew in the poly tunnel.. they kept their colour and shape well in cooking but did not have a strong taste - in fact, pretty tasteless. No carrot fly, (grown near tagetes and not sprayed or protected) good germination and even size achieved.
These were Nantes 5 variety grown out in the veg garden, sown quite early, no carrot fly (grown near tagetes, onions and garlic and not sprayed) but several have gone to seed in the row. Patchy germination due to cold but have achieved a reasonable size considering we have had little rain in June. Kept colour well in cooking and had a nice carroty taste.
We have some James Scarlett carrots further down the plot, these are not ready yet.  I see there are some Autumn King in the seed box which can be sown in July so I will try to clear some ground for these if it rains enough to soften the ground!  I am half way through the garlic, onion and broad bean plot clearance and by the time I am finished I think I will have a complete drawer in the fridge freezer of broad beans for the winter!  We discussed doing 50% broad bean plants less next year and upping the potato area instead.


Wednesday 1 July 2015

Dealing with excess salad crops

The sudden hot weather has brought on a lot of the salad crops. Lettuce particularly, which I could only deal with by giving away to those people helping us - some to the bloke letting us store boxes in his garage and some to the plumbers who are working hard all day to install our new boiler!

My husband wandered in with two cucumbers. It takes a week if you have a few slices each for lunch so I went for a different serving.
This is a whole cue, peeled, and sliced length ways with a potato peeler into strips, Discarding the seed core! It is then tossed in a dressing of olive oil, cider vinegar and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. It is cool and delicious and a whole cue disappears in one sitting. Unfortunately it does not keep.

With the beetroot I have been grating some cooked bulbs up coarsely (messy I know) and then grating a freshly dug small red onion. This is dressed with olive oil and white wine vinegar, seasoned, with a few leaves of fresh thyme, slightly bruised.  This is even better the next day when the dressing has soaked in.

My garlic crop of 50 bulbs has had to be dug up.  The leaves all showed rust and as that spreads by spores getting into the ground we wanted to burn the tops asap. I put the bulbs upside down through the wooden slats of the greenhouse benches for a few days but then it got so hot they were going to end up cooked!
As they were dry now I trimmed the roots, rubbed off the dirt and shortened the stalk. I found a use (at last) for those annoying nets the supermarkets sell oranges in. I gathered a dozen garlic into two of these and when I find the garden string again (husband put it down somewhere) these can be hung under the stairs in the dark and cool.  I might look into making garlic puree with some of the crop later.

It was 34 C here today and not a lot of garden work got done really - besides being sweaty we found it hard to concentrate. Why on earth do people go abroad to seek out temperatures like this??? If only the plumber would hurry up we could go to the beach, but the poor chap spent several hours with a burner in a cupboard putting copper piping together.  They could not have worked harder and I felt guilty for sitting on the settee for 10 mins to rest while they toiled!