sime42
-
Posts
3,213 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
27
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Classifieds
Tip Site Directory
Blogs
Articles
News
Arborist Reviews
Arbtalk Knot Guide
Gallery
Store
Calendar
Freelancers directory
Everything posted by sime42
-
They do seem to be late this year don't they? I only picked our first one a couple days ago. Strange when so much wild stuff seems to be really early. There's damsons almost ready round here for instance.
-
I reckon it's worth investigating JSP masks, they're good. Screwfix used to have some very comfy and effective ones for a decent price, though they seem to have stopped selling that particular model now unfortunately.
-
Hi. Thanks, that's good to know. I use mine mainly for wood turning, or other dusty power tool jobs like belt sanding or cutting concrete slabs with a grinder. Also used it when replacing the glass fibre insulation in the loft, it's essential for that. The only problem is that I find it has the tendency to slip down, forward when working in head down positions.
-
I can also vouch for the these, they're brilliant. I bought mine for £200 though, from FFX a couple years ago. Though if the OP wants it for working outside in the garden it may be a bit big and bulky.
-
Low impact forestry services in Devon and the South West
sime42 replied to Big J's topic in General chat
Enjoy. Minimal unpacking and maximal leisure for the first couple days is in order I reckon. We're not jealous, honest! -
A very good point. If anything has changed in the last 40 years it's human psychology, not physiology. Especially since we no longer really get cold winters due you you know what. To my mind, the only people that should need such warm banks are the elderly or infirm. I reckon most of us over a certain age didn't have CH as nippers. Only 30% of households had it in 1970, 47% in 1975.
-
Isn't it just that there's very little demand for decent quality edge tools nowadays? So no real commercial incentive. With so few people working on the land most people buying billhooks etc aren't relying on them to make their living, so it doesn't matter if they're not very good. There must have been plenty of impurities in the old carbon steels. I think the key is just the high carbon content. The Morris guy said he uses spring steel, (automotive) to make his tools.
-
The other problems with botulism, apart from not being able cook away the toxins, is that you can not see, taste or smell it. I may be wrong but I had the idea that it could also grow on non meat foods, anything where the acid level is too low. Kimchi is like Sauerkraut with lots of garlic and chilli I think. Plus other potent things like fish sauce and dried shrimps. Not too sure about the latter two personally.
- 22 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- vegetables
- cooking
- (and 2 more)
-
Keeping them out - While getting them in ??
sime42 replied to John Skinner's topic in Firewood forum
You must have the Almond flavour variety Mealworms then. Mine are distinctly savoury, very like good old pork scratchings in taste, sorry, I mean smell! -
I favour the Lydl or Aldi gherkin jars. They're a good size, seal very well and seem to last for years. Proper sterilisation is obviously important but I reckon at the end of the day you're never going to harm yourself too much with fruit and vegetables. The only real danger is Botulism, but that's pretty rare, especially if things are heated well first or kept in an acidic environment, like vinegar or the lactic acid that's produced in Sauerkraut and similar fermented stuff. Meat and fish on the other hand ........... I'd love to try making something like salami, but haven't the balls for it. Or climate for that matter.
- 22 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- vegetables
- cooking
- (and 2 more)
-
I bought a food dehydrator years ago. I had big plans to dry all sorts of stuff. However, I bottled it as soon as I realised quite how many hours I'd have to have it on continuously for. All that lectric! I've never done a costing, though I suspect it may not actually be that expensive as it runs at quite a low temperature. Still, I only really use it for drying climbing beans, to eat and for sowing the following year. We dry chillies by stringing them up in a front window. It's south facing so full sun all day. Works well. Not bought chillies for years.
- 22 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- vegetables
- cooking
- (and 2 more)
-
Great video. Essential tools for hedging;- a billhook, a slasher, an axe and a nice pipe! Those tools were bloody sharp. The modern Morris billhooks certainly do need a serious re-profiling. I bought one for my brother a while back, it was shocking. The profile was like a chisel, must have been about 30 degrees or more. More like a BnQ tool or something. Odd as Morris used to be a well respected brand I think. I was lucky enough to have an impromptu factory tour of their place in Devon years ago. It was quite a treat, the main guy was a real character. He gave us a demo of the final stage - grinding the shoulders back to produce the proper edge profile. He was doing it on a huge stone wheel, big plume of sparks, no guarding or PPE in sight! It's now closed sadly. Maybe why the tools are a bit crap these days.
-
Great video. Essential tools for hedging;- a billhook, a slasher, an axe and a nice pipe! Those tools were bloody sharp. The modern Morris billhooks certainly do need a serious re-profiling. I bought one for my brother a while back, it was shocking. The profile was like a chisel, must have been about 30 degrees or more. More like a BnQ tool or something. Odd as Morris used to be a well respected brand I think. I was lucky enough to have an impromptu factory tour of their place in Devon years ago. It was quite a treat, the main guy was a real character. He gave us a demo of the final stage - grinding the shoulders back to produce the proper edge profile. He was doing it on a huge stone wheel, big plume of sparks, no guarding or PPE in sight! It's now closed sadly. Maybe why the tools are a bit crap these days.
-
Keeping them out - While getting them in ??
sime42 replied to John Skinner's topic in Firewood forum
I didn't know you could eat woodlice, don't think I am that way minded though. Not yet anyway. Saying that; I was filling a bird feeder yesterday with some dried mealworms and they really did smell very appetising. Just saying......... -
Here we go then, a thread about preserving your own garden produce. Following on from some chat on the "How are the veggies coming along thread". Post your recipes, knowledge, ideas etc on here. Or don't, if it's not your bag. So to kick it off, this is the recipe that I use for making Sauerkraut. The cabbages are months off yet but shaping up nicely so I'll be using it again in the autumn hopefully. https://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/#0 Essentially you just use chopped cabbage and salt, any amount you want but in the ratio 2kg cabbage to 3 tablespoons of salt. Plus other veg and herbs and spices as desired. Pack it all tightly in a big jar and leave to do its thing, ferment, for a few weeks, maybe a month. It smells questionable but tastes pretty good at the end of the process.
- 22 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- vegetables
- cooking
- (and 2 more)
-
Not content with the damage that he's already done - Boris Johnson’s plan to create large number of new peers comes under fire | House of Lords | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Lord Speaker raises concerns about public loss of confidence in parliament due to huge quantity of new and planned peers
-
Keeping them out - While getting them in ??
sime42 replied to John Skinner's topic in Firewood forum
Some life that, who'd want to be a male wasp eh?! Maybe they can be forgiven for being annoying little buggers some times. . -
Keeping them out - While getting them in ??
sime42 replied to John Skinner's topic in Firewood forum
I can live with all the creepy crawlies. Not even that bothered by the wasps as they are extremely docile and sluggish by that time of year. Are they Queen wasps, does anyone know? What does bother me though is the mess left by rats that we sometimes see. Nest material, food morsels and shit. It's pretty rank. I tend to brush the logs when that happens. -
Yeah, I reckon a new thread on the preserving of home grown produce might well be a goer. It is a subject that's popped up a few times on Arbtalk, on this and the Cooking thread for example. I always make chutney/pickle with the inevitable glut of courgettes, the ones that "get away" and turn into behemoths seemingly overnight. Keeps me in tasty cheese sandwiches for the year if I'm lucky. As Openspaceman mentioned, Sauerkraut is good, and very easy to make if there's an excess of cabbage. All it needs is salt and a bit of spice or herbs like full seeds.
-
Of course, any magnetic would do it. I only mentioned the Wera tool as I have one. Not something I'd normally go and buy; I inherited this one. Anyway, my preferred source of strong magnets is from bust laptops. They're very slim and the strength to weight ratio is incredible. Neodymium I presume. Where do you find them within microwaves?
-
I think Wera tools are very good. High quality German engineering. I've got some of their screwdrivers; they just "feel" right as well. Wera do a tool for magnetising screwdrivers and drill driver bits.
-
I saw a group of saplings all with the same curved trunk once, when doing a thinning job. The forestry guy I was working for said that they were most likely all siblings, i.e. all seeds from the same mother tree. That obviously supports the genetic theory but I don't understand how a curved trunk can be an evolutionary advantage. Though saying that genetic traits aren't necessarily advantageous so it's probably a moot point.
-
I reckon your plan stands a very good chance of succeeding, judging by the impressive lot of stuff you're producing. You mentioned jarring things, is that in vinegar? How else do you store things?
-
I reckon only a fool would be choosy about a beer in this weather, a cold beer is a cold beer!
