RWAS Smallholder and Garden Show

 

On Saturday we spent a wonderful day mooching around the Smallholder and Garden Show at the Royal Welsh Showground at Builth Wells.

As would-be smallholders, the day provided both information and inspiration. Naturally, there were lots of animals on show, plus talks, craft demonstrations, and tons of mouthwatering delights on offer at the Farmers Market.

Of course, I spent most of my time in the sheep area – eyeing up the rare breeds, watching a shearing demonstration, handling various fleeces and wondering how long a whole fleece would take me to spin….

In the end I didn’t buy a fleece but I did come home with some lovely hand-dyed rovings and an intention to get a fleece locally when my carding is up to scratch. 

In the Speakers Corner we listened to a discussion about the future of the sheep industry in Wales followed by a scary but ultimately inspiring talk about Peak Oil and Transition Towns. In fact, there was a distinctly ‘green’ feel to the show with a whole area dedicated to green technology and solutions.

Perhaps the best thing about the show though were the conversations we had. Everyone was so friendly! I had a lovely chat about natural dyeing with Emily from Llynfi textile company, got inspired talking to the Transition Network lady, met a fellow blogger and struck up a conversation with anyone I saw at a spinning wheel… 

Natural Dyeing: Nettles

The revival of interest in natural dyeing means that many weird and wonderful dyestuffs are now readily available here in the UK – Brazilwood, Lac or Safflower to name but a few. Although the vibrant colours you can achieve with these plants are very appealing, I decided to start off my dyeing experiments using things a bit closer to home.

Sustainability and self-sufficiency are very important to me and, ideally, I’d like to only use plants that I can either source locally or, even better, grow myself. There are obvious environmental and financial benefits to this but I also love the idea of being involved in every stage of the process of making my yarns. Using things that are otherwise regarded as waste or as weeds is particularly appealing. So, following on from my onion skin dyeing, this weekend I decided to experiment with nettles.

I mordanted some Wensleydale wool tops with alum and cream of tartar in the usual manner then left to cool. Meanwhile I boiled up a little over 200g of nettles (200% the weight of the wool) in some water then simmered for 30 minutes. I left the nettles in the dyebath to cool then strained and added the wetted-out wool to the nettle water. I bought this up to a simmer very slowly (anxious to avoid any felting this time) and simmered for about 45 minutes. I let the wool cool in the dyebath overnight then rinsed it and left it to dry.

My first impressions of the colour weren’t exactly favourable – in fact I was decidedly unimpressed. My husband’s question “is that the wool you dyed?” was telling. It was only when placed next to some undyed wool that it becomes obvious that the wool has been dyed.

The shade was so subtle that I really doubted it was worth all the hassle of mordanting and dyeing and started to contemplate over-dyeing the wool with something else. However, as with the onion dyeing, spinning the wool changed my opinion.

Yes, the colour is subtle, but that’s part of it’s appeal. It looks beautifully natural and puts me in mind of wild grasses, linen or parchment. Also in it’s favour is the fact that, despite the colour being pale, it is supposed to be fairly light- and colourfast – although I guess only time will tell if that’s the case! One final plus is that my husband used the opportunity presented by the nettle gathering to pick extra and start off some nettle beer.  It’s now happily frothing away in the fermentation vat and I’m looking forward to sampling some very soon!

Back to the subject of natural dyeing – I’ve put links to some wonderful natural dyers blogs over on the right. If it’s something that interests you, do take a look as they’re a fantastic source of information and inspiration.

Right, I must get back to my wheel – it’s been a whole half hour since I was spinning…..

Onion Skin Alchemy

A little while ago I set about transforming wool to gold with the help of these….

I’m not talking real gold here of course (now that would be nice), but the colour gold.

I’d been wanting to try dyeing for a while as it fits in with my plans to become self-sufficient in yarn – as much as I love natural colours, I think I’d need a splash of something brighter from time to time. So, with self-sufficiency in mind, I decided that natural dyeing was the way to go…

I plumped for onion skins as they’re readily available (my greengrocers kindly saved me a big bag of them) plus I’d seen the lovely results that peahen had achieved and felt inspired to give it a try. In case anyone fancies having a go at onion skin dyeing, I recorded each of the steps – not quite a tutorial but hopefully helpful all the same….

First off I weighed the wool. This is important as you need to know the weight in order to calculate how much mordant and assistant you need and also how much dyestuff. I then scoured the wool by soaking it in warm soapy water. I didn’t have any proper wool detergent so used organic baby shampoo instead which seemed to work ok!

Next, I mordanted the wool with alum and used cream of tartar as an assistant. A mordant is something that helps ‘fix’ the dye to the wool making it more light and colour fast. In case you were wondering, the word mordant comes from the latin mordere meaning “to bite”. The ratios I used were 8% of alum and 7% cream of tartar so, as my wool weighed 107g, I needed 8.6g alum and 7.5g cream of tartar. To mordant the wool, I dissolved the alum and cream of tartar in some hot water which I then added to a pan of cold water. I immersed the still wet wool then brought the whole lot very slowly to a gentle simmer and simmered for three-quarters of an hour. I then turned off the gas and allowed the wool to cool in the pan. When it was cool, I rinsed it well.

As well as the mordant, the percentage of the dyestuff also needs to be calculated. For onion skins, most books recommended 30% so I needed 39.5g. To extract the dye, I put the onion skins in a large pot with just enough water to cover them, brought them to the boil, then simmered for about three quarters of an hour. I then left them to cool, before straining.

Once the dye was cool, I popped in the wool (still wet) and brought the dyebath to boiling point then simmered for 45 minutes. Now, all the books say to bring the dyepot up to heat very gradually but unfortunately my hob is pretty fierce even on it’s lowest setting. Due to this (and the fact that I couldn’t resist prodding it once of twice!) I managed to felt the wool in a couple of places. Luckily, it wasn’t too bad and there wasn’t much that some vigorous pre-drafting couldn’t sort out. If you’re keen to give natural dyeing a go, learn from my mistake - increase the temperature very gradually and no prodding! 

I let the wool cool in the dye as I’d read that this produces a deeper colour. When cool, I rinsed it off and hung it out to dry – my beanpoles came in handy!

Before I had tried natural dyeing, I was wondering if it would be worth it – after all, natural dyeing appears to be a lot slower and more fiddly than using acid dyes. Even when I’d got my finished wool, I was still a little undecided – sure, I’d got a nice colour but I’d lost some wool due to felting plus it had taken me most of the day…….

…but then I started to spin the wool and my doubts vanished. I fell in love. The colour is beautiful – so vibrant and rich – it’s almost alive. I guess that’s the beauty of natural dyeing!

In a Spin!

It’s been a lovely day – I’ve spent most of it making this:

Yes, I know it doesn’t look like much but I’m very proud of it as it’s my very first (very small) skein of wheel-spun yarn and I’m hoping many more will follow! The reason I’ve been able to indulge in a whole day of fibre-related activity is thanks to a spinning course at the Court Cupboard Craft Gallery in Monmouthshire – oh, and my lovely husband who kindly took the day off work to look after baby small.

I’d not done much spinning beforehand – I’d been very enthusiastic when I first got my drop spindle, but had quickly become frustrated when it didn’t ‘click’ straightaway and instead spent my crafting time on things I could do more easily (namely crochet). I wasn’t ready to give up though and decided that the best way to get to grips with spinning was to do a course. I’m really glad I did – not only has it helped with the spinning but it was lovely to spend time with interesting people who are living the sort of lifestyle I aspire to. I’d never thought I could get so much pleasure from discussing sheep breeds! But, I digress…

The course was very informal which was really helpful as it allowed plenty of opportunities for questions – and I had quite a few of those! We spent the morning drop spindling and carding then in the afternoon I got my first taste of using a wheel. I can’t say I took to it straight away – after having so much control over the spindle, I found the speed of the wheel a bit dizzying. It felt as if the wheel was constantly snatching the fibre out of hands to begin with but, after playing with the tension a bit, I found a speed I was comfortable with and towards the end of the day I actually started to get the hang of it. My yarn was not exactly pretty – it had way too much spin in places and not enough in others but with more practice I’m certain this would improve.

I now feel much more comfortable with my drop spindle and think that in time I could come to feel similarly at home with a wheel. In fact, I’m weighing up whether or not to invest in one – they cost a lot (the lovely one I used today costs £480 new) so I need to be sure that it would get plenty of use. The inclination is certainly there but would I have the time? It already takes me quite a long time to complete projects due to only having the odd snatched half hour here and there to work on them. How much longer would they spend languishing in my yarn bag if I also had to spin the wool for them?! That said, I’ve always believed that if you want to do something enough, you make time for it. 

I guess the really big incentive for me is being able to be involved with every of a project – being able to take raw fleece and transform it into something wonderful. It sits nicely with my ideas about sustainability and self-sufficiency and also greatly appeals to the control-freak designer in me who has very precise ideas about the yarn I want for a project but normally ends up settling for something that’s not quite what I dreamt of. Well, if I could make it myself – that would no longer be a problem! Hmmmm, I might have just talked myself into it! Next step, convince my husband! 

How to get 3 good meals from 1 chicken

For us, chicken is necessarily an occasional treat. A free-range bird from my butcher costs around £8 – 10, depending on size, so I can’t afford to buy it too often and, when I do, I need to make the most of it. In my books, that means getting at least 3 meals from one large chicken. And it’s not just about the money – I hate waste and feel that if an animal has been killed for our dinner, we should darn well eat every last scrap! So, here’s my favourite recipe for roast chicken and some ideas for the leftovers…..

Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Roast Chicken

This is my favourite way to roast a chicken. The flavoured butter keeps the breast meat lovely and moist and it smells mouthwateringly good as it’s cooking!

• 1 large free-range chicken
• 150g butter
• 1 lemon
• 2 plump cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 heaped tsp dried rosemary or 2 tsp finely chopped fresh

Preheat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C(Fan)/Gas Mark 7. Weigh the chicken to calculate the cooking time (see below). Finely grate the lemon zest into a bowl and add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Mix well. Gently part the skin from the breast and push approximately three quarters of the flavoured butter under the skin, smoothing it out so that the breast is well covered. Cut the lemon in half and insert into the cavity. Smear the rest of the butter over the skin and slash the thighs to help the heat penetrate. Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 20 minutes per 500g plus 30 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving. 

Variation: Substitute the rosemary with a different herb – thyme, parsley or oregano also work well.

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake

Serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers

I came up with this recipe with the baby in mind. She loves creamy food but I can sneak a bit of goodness in there too by adding mushrooms or broccoli to the sauce and topping with wholemeal breadcrumbs.

• cooked chicken, chopped up small
• 250g pasta
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• 50g wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 25g butter
• 2 heaped tablespoons of flour
• 25g parmesan, finely grated plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 pint of milk
• a little freshly grated nutmeg
• seasoning

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C(Fan)/Gas Mark 6. Cook the pasta until al dente. While it’s cooking make the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan then stir in the flour to form a thick paste. Cook for a minute then remove from the heat. Gradually add the milk, a little at a time, stirring well to keep the sauce nice and smooth. Heat gently until thickened, stirring well. Once the sauce has thickened, grate in a little nutmeg and stir in the parmesan. Taste and season with some freshly milled black pepper. Next, gently fry the mushrooms in a little butter until their juices start to run. Add to the sauce along with the chicken. Drain the pasta and tip into a large, fairly shallow ovenproof dish. Pour over the sauce and mix well. Top with the breadcrumbs and grate over a little parmesan. Pop in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Variation: If you don’t like mushrooms, replace with some lightly steamed broccoli, cut up into small florets.

Chicken Stock

Makes approximately 1.4l

I make this after I’ve picked the carcass clean of meat and keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it in soup or a risotto. It also freezes very well so, even if you’re not planning anything requiring stock soon after the roast, it’s still worth making.

• 1 chicken carcass
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large leek, washed and roughly chopped
• sprig of thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 litres of water

Put all the ingredients in the stock pot. Bring to simmering point and simmer very gently for 3 hours. Strain into a jug and keep in the fridge or freeze until required.

Chicken and Barley Soup

Serves 4

This is definitely not haute cuisine, in fact it’s what I’d call peasant food! Still, it’s hearty and wholesome and pretty tasty too!

• 1 quantity of homemade chicken stock
• 200g broth mix (pearl barley, lentils, split peas etc) or just plain pearl barley
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 sticks of celery, sliced

Soak the broth mix / pearl barley overnight in cold water. Heat a little oil or butter in a pan then add the onions, carrots and celery and cook gently for roughly 15 minutes until softened. Rinse the broth mix well then add to the vegetables. Pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables and pulses are tender.

Other ideas for leftover chicken

Hugh’s Chicken Croquettes

Chicken Pie 

Chicken Caesar Salad (replace the chicken breasts with chicken pickings)

I’d love to hear how other people use up their leftovers – I’m always keen to try out new recipes!

Living car-free(ish)

First off, I am not completely anti-car – I’d be a hypocrite if I was. I grew up in a very rural area where cars really are a necessity. Our village had one bus a week (on market day)and eventually that service was cut. The nearest bus stop after that was about a mile and a half away – not too far in the summer (and quite a pleasant walk) – but not so nice in winter or following heavy rain when the lane became impassable. So, I do appreciate that people living in remote areas need cars – probably now more than ever due to the sad demise of many village amenities such as post offices, pubs and village shops.

No, what I am against is unnecessary car use. I now live in the centre of a small market town where everything really is within walking distance. We are literally 2 minutes walk from the centre of town yet, on our road of about 30 houses, we are the only people not to own a car and I can’t help wondering why? It’s not my intention to have one long moan about other people’s choices though – I’m sure every person on the road could give me a list of (what they consider) good reasons why they need a car. No, instead I’d like to be a bit more positive and tell you about our experiences of living car-free(ish) and explain how we cope – in case anyone out there is thinking of taking the plunge and ditching their motor…

We’ve been living car-free(ish) for many years now, about 10 I think. I don’t want to be all smug about this – and I certainly don’t want to pretend it’s always been easy – it hasn’t. In the early days I used to whinge something rotten about our lack of transport and the only thing that stood between me and car-ownership was my husband’s cast-iron resolve. Now, I’ve adapted to our car-free state and am proud that we’ve managed it for so long. So here’s how we’ve done it…..

Made use of Public Transport

I think of all the places we’ve lived, Sheffield had the best public transport. You had a choice of tram, train and bus and the ticketing system was fully integrated: you bought a travel pass which was valid on any of the available forms of transport – no faffing around having to get separate tickets for the train and tram. Living car-free there was a doddle! I wish all towns and cities had such comfortable, convenient and easy-to-use public transport but know that’s not the case in many places. Still, most towns do have some form of public transport available and I think, if you’re willing to plan your outings a bit, it can be a great solution.

Walked a lot

Yes it takes longer. Yes it can be a bit damp at times. But you get to see so much more. I also find I bump into people a lot (not literally) so it’s much more sociable than sitting in a sealed metal box! The baby enjoys it too as we can stop and look at things – squirrels burying their nuts in the park, leaves dancing in the breeze and birds flitting to and fro. At one of my previous workplaces, I used to have a lovely walk to work through some woodland and would arrive feeling refreshed and uplifted – well except for the one time that I slid over in the mud and arrived at the office plastered with the stuff!

Shopped locally and online

Living without a car can mean that when you’re shopping, you can only buy what you can carry home. If you ride a bike, you can of course use panniers, but as I’m not very confident on two wheels, I have to use my hands. My solution is to shop for the perishable items – bread, meat, vegetables, cheese etc – at the market and butchers every couple of days, and to supplement this with one big monthly shop of heavy stuff online and have it delivered. Yes, I know that my shopping comes to me in a van but, as I only have it once a month and the van is out doing other deliveries in the area anyhow, I feel it is still more efficient than if I drove to the supermarket…

Car-shared

I think one of the main reasons people feel they need cars, is to do with getting to work. I remember when my former workplace introduced a compulsory car-rationing scheme, whereby employees were only allowed to bring their car to work 4 days out of 5, there was uproar! However, people soon adapted, helped by a car-sharing scheme that was set up at the same time. I car-shared for a couple of years and really enjoyed it as I got to have a good gossip on the way to work! 

erm…hired cars (I know, I know) 

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been careful to say we live car-freeish rather than car-free. This is because we do hire cars every now and again for special occasions. For instance, we recently went to Westonbirt Arboretum for my birthday treat and the only way to get there was to hire a car. I don’t feel too guilty about this as we don’t do it very often and I think if we had had absolutely no access to a car over the past 10 years, we’d have cracked and ended up buying one!

Resources

Want more info about living car-free? Take a look at these sites:

Carbusters

Sustrans

Liftshare

Living Streets

Jacob Hats

I made these hats using the lovely organic Jacob Wool I bought from Garthenor and will be giving them as Christmas gifts to some of the men in my life: husband, dad, father-in-law and best friend’s hubby. 

The wool is undyed and the different colours in the stripes are a result of the natural colour variations in the fleece of Jacob sheep.

I made them in a similar way to the scrap hat, although I played around a bit to get rid of the seam. I’ve already ordered some more wool in order to make a couple more – some more Jacob plus some Manx Loghtan which I’m keen to give a try – in fact I’m keen to give all the wool at Garthenor a try! I think it’s important to support our rare breeds plus it gives me an excuse to buy yarn!

Finally, a bit about Jacob Sheep : Thought to be related to the pied sheep mentioned in the bible, the Jacob Sheep was introduced into Britain during the 18th century and was mainly kept as an ornamental parkland breed. Its wool is valued for its natural colour variations and its softness which makes it suitable for clothing. Personally, I found it lovely to work with – not itchy as I worried it might be – but lovely and soft and I’ve now added a few Jacob sheep to my fantasy smallholding wishlist!

Greener Crafting

Although I try to be environmentally aware in many aspects of my life, my crafting is an area I’ve often overlooked – not anymore though. I really want to ‘green up’ my crafting and thought I’d start with crochet. I must confess, I’m a bit of a fiend for buying cheap yarn without really thinking about where its come from or how it’s been made. Similarly, I’ve often bought imported yarns because they’ve been the ones specified in a pattern. I wouldn’t buy food or clothes this way so why should yarn be any different? I’ve decided to try and buy ‘greener’ yarns from now on  this is how I plan to do it:

Think about the carbon footprint of the yarn and, where possible, buy British! It’s not only greener, it’s also supporting a traditional british industry. Handily, I’ve just discovered Garthenor Organic Pure Wool, a wonderful company which specialises in Soil Association certified organic wools and wool and fleece from rare breeds. I had my first batch of wool from them a couple of days ago – some Organic Jacob Wool – and was delighted with it. I’ll be posting pics of my finished items very soon. 

Look for organic alternatives and use undyed wools or wools that have been dyed with natural materials. 

Make my own (when my spinning improves!) and eventually keep a flock of sheep for their wool. That way I’ll know exactly where the wool comes from! 

Stashbusting! It’s not only a case of sourcing greener wool, I think it’s also important to use the wool well – using every last inch and limiting waste. My final aim, therefore, is to get creative with my leftovers – I don’t just mean the odd couple of balls – but also the tiny scraps that are so often leftover and then discarded. Thankfully, I’m something of a hoarder so I already have a big bag of scraps to play with and will let you know what I come up with! With this in mind, I’ve added a new category to my blog – stashbusting – and plan to fill it with plenty of tips for using up scraps and patterns that use only small amounts of yarn – so if anyone has any advice or recommendations of their own, please feel free to share!

Green Meme 1

I’ve been tagged – first time too so I’m rather excited. Thanks very much to Chicken Betty for the tagging! Anyhow, here goes…

The Guidelines:

1. Link to Green Meme Bloggers

2.Link to whoever tagged you

3.Include meme number

4.Include these guidelines in your post

5.Answer questions (erm – that bit’s quite important)

6.Tag 3 other green bloggers.

1. Name two motivations for being green: 

1. I love the outdoors and have a deep respect and admiration for nature in general. That’s a big motivator as I wouldn’t want my lifestyle to result in the destruction of nature or the environment on any level.

2. My daughter – I want her to grow up on a healthy, happy planet.

2. Name 2 eco-unfriendly items you refuse to give up

1. My toilet! My husband is very keen on constructing a composting toilet. I’m far less keen on the idea!

2. Make-up – I look truly horrendous without it. I consider it my public duty to wear it so that I don’t terrify small children. 

3. Are you at peace with, or do you feel guilty about no.2?

Not guilty about the toilet thing at the moment as circumstances (thankfully) mean we couldn’t build a composting toilet where we live anyhow. If we ever get our smallholding though, it’ll be a different story…..

Quite guilty about the make-up. I am trying to find ‘greener’ brands though and have switched to Sante for foundation and Faith in Nature for hair products. 

4. What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?

I would love to keep chickens (for the eggs) and sheep (for the wool) but don’t have the room to do so. I’d also love to be able to generate our own electricity somehow but don’t know if it’s possible in our current house. 

5. Do you know your carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average?

We had our footprint calculated at CAT a couple of years ago. I can’t remember the exact figure but I know we were quite a bit below the national average – however, we still have a long, long way to go until we’re what I’d consider truly sustainable. 

6.What’s eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?

Eco frustrating: 

A lack of like-minded people. I’m sure there must be some out there but I’m yet to meet very many of them!

Eco fantastic:

The market – we have a wonderful market here which is held three times a week with extra Farmer’s Markets (every other week) and craft fairs. It makes buying locally and seasonally much easier. 

The recycling scheme – much better than previous places I’ve lived. This week they’ve just started food waste collection which I think is a fantastic idea, particularly for people without gardens. 

Car-free – due to the small size of the town, it’s really easy to live car-free as everything is within walking distance!

7. Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow you own?

Yes, I try to buy food that is both seasonal and local and the market is great for this. However, I’m far from perfect and do buy bananas (fairtrade ones) for the baby and oranges for the husband. I don’t always buy organic – it really depends on the item and what else is available. I’d choose a non-organic locally grown apple over an organic apple flown over from New Zealand for instance. However, there are some items that I think it’s really important to buy organic – although not a food, cotton springs to mind – really due to the farmers welfare more than anything else – I’ve written about this before though so I won’t start ranting now.

I’m not a vegetarian – I sometimes think I should be and have tried (and failed) in the past. I just like my meat too much. I do try to limit the amount of meat we have though – both for environmental and economic reasons – and will only buy good quality meat that I know has been farmed in an ethical and humane way. Usually we eat meat 2 – 3 times per week, fish once or twice and the rest of our meals are vegetarian. 

I love a good forage, particularly when it gives me an excuse to get my preserving pan out. The one thing I don’t forage for is mushrooms though – I’m too afraid of poisoning us all!

Yep, we grow veg in the back garden – although not as much as I’d like due to limited space. We’re about to buy a polytunnel so we can increase the range of what we grow – we have big plans for next year

8. What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?

Being different – if I’m honest, I don’t really like to stand out from the crowd – I’m a conformist at heart and don’t like being labeled ‘weird’ or ‘a hippy’ because of my lifestyle choices. Due to this, I find I don’t talk about my lifestyle much to people who I know have very different values and that does make me sad. Its a big part of my life and I don’t like having to hide who I am in order to fit in. On the positive side though, being ‘green’ is becoming much more mainstream these days.

9. Do you have a green confession?

Tesco – or, as it’s (un)fondly known in our house, ‘the evil Tesco’. Prior to moving here, I managed to steer clear of ‘the evil’ as I have a strong dislike for their business practices (which are often unethical and very ‘ungreen’) – a dislike I would regularly expound on to family and friends. However, moving has made me a hypocrite. Tesco is now the only supermarket within walking distance and, although I manage to get most of my food from the market and butchers, for things like tinned goods, sadly ‘the evil’ really is my only choice. But oh how I hate going in there! 

10. Do you have the support of family and/or friends?

My husband is incredibly supportive and, if I’m honest, is often the prime mover in our green endeavors. My parents find some of our choices strange but patiently listen to my rants. Oh, and my sister thinks I’m just plain mad. 

Anyhow, the bloggers whose answers I’d love to read are:

Bee Leaf

The Compost Bin

The Garden Smallholder

and that’s that!

Edible Towns – help please!

I came across this petition on the River Cottage Forum and I’d urge you all to please, please sign it. Its to try to get councils to plant more fruit trees in public spaces, rather than all those non-native and pretty useless decorative trees and shrubs that you tend to find. If you’ve been watching River Cottage Autumn, you’ll have seen the feature on Abundance - a group who harvest fruit from forgotten trees and distribute it to community groups, schools and nurseries, proving just how useful these fruit trees can be. It seems ridiculous at a time of rising food prices and fears about climate change that so much space in towns and cities is wasted when in could be used for growing food and thereby lessen the need to import it. As well as planting the fruit trees, councils should tell people about them and urge them to make use of them. In my opinion, every town should have a group along the lines of Abundance to harvest fruit and take it to schools and community groups. Its such a brilliant concept and, after the trees have been planted, wouldn’t cost councils a thing! So far, the petition only has a few signatures so if you blog or regularly post on forums, you can also help by promoting the petition. Let’s make our towns and cities edible!