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June garden diaries: slugs vs sleeping vegetables
In order to keep me focused whilst I create my self-proficient garden, I’m going to start doing some monthly garden diaries to help me track my progress. The month of June has been pretty bare to be honest. I had lots of grand plans: to make some garden beds, to clean the algae off the…
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Battle of the leafy greens: Nettles vs. Spinach
Around the same time that I planted my spinach crop for the garden, the nettles began to poke their little heads from the undergrowth. A wise forager told me that nettles can be an easier, tastier, and healthier alternative to spinach. So I thought, why not try out that theory. Some of my favourite pasta…
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Coal bunker to compost bin: an ‘upcycling’ project
In one of my last posts, I exposed my lack of understanding of composting and inability to create good compost (despite assurances that any idiot can do it). I did conclude that part of this was because the two chambers of my composting tumbler just didn’t give me enough space for the amount of kitchen…
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Ron Swanson’s four life lessons for a good life
Oh Ron. Since you first graced my screen in 2020 (yes, I was late to the party) you’ve stolen my heart with your rugged wisdom and hefty moustache. Re-watching ‘Parks and Rec’ again last summer, I realised that my whole plan to start a blog and become self-proficient is just my way of trying to…
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The 3 failings of a beginner composter
Growing your own food seems to be the golden egg of self-sufficiency. After all, once you have sourced clean water, finding food (and shelter) is the next priority in a survival situation. Therefore, it makes sense that composting are Jack’s magic beans: the base from which everything else follows. Despite how simple composting sounds, I…
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Finding and foraging nettles
Last year we went on a foraging course with Taste the Wild up in North Yorkshire. This was an introductory course for those who have only dabbled with foraging through picking blackberries or elderflowers. This was very much my level (and remains my level to be fair). We were led by the lovely Fez who…