Silent reader

I have never heard of Applejack before....... Wikipedia has got this on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage) Yep, I can see me giving this a go, Thanks id5 Never made Mead, I have to admit I’ve never even tasted it. But after finding out about Applejack in the last ½ hour..... I think I’ll give this ago first. Grew some Chard this year and that did pretty well, but not really pleasing to my taste buds, regret not growing some Spinach this year but I’ll be doing some of that next year. I think the problems are caused by wet and humid summers, and I've read that spraying them with a copper based fungicide should sort them out. I've given up with this years batch (i managed to get some off) but I’ll be giving these a lot more attention next year. Good luck in Oxfordshire, it's a beautiful county...... as I'm sure you are fully aware

Heading that way, a couple of the plants have got 4 cobs, some have got 3 but most only have 2 cobs. I’m not touching them for at least a couple of weeks, as I’m saving them for a bank holiday BBQ. Courgettes are by fair the winners this year, 9 plants in total (8 gold & 1 Green) have yielded somewhere around 100 - 150. I 've even filled up a banana box and gave it to my neighbour to sell on her stall. I'll hopefully find out this weekend if they've sold. Tomatoes are the losers for me......... all I’ll say is "Blight" Chickens are laying around 4 per day, (still got a broody one) Runners (down to 4 plants) are producing plenty. Side projects I'm currently working on are an apple press, and a bee hive..... But these are still at a "paper drawing" stage. Hopefully I’ll also get to knock out some cider. If the cider works out well, tempted to call it "Incyder trading" or maybe the "Sussex Incyder" any other suggestions are welcome of course. What has been successful this year for you ?

A tip I once heard is if you have a dog, to walk it around the area where the chickens are as this helps keep the foxes away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q Thats a fantastic video, and a great link, thanks

Any knowledge that I've picked up is through friends (word of mouth) the Internet and two first class books, one of them being the RHS Encyclopedia of gardening, which I strongly recommend. I did have the good fortune to have been given these books by a family friend. For me personally THRIFT is a major factor, and the rewards are fantastic. But how far can you go towards actually living off it would take a lot of labor, so I’m quite interested as to how fruit and vegetates will be grown with new technologies being invented. I mean, there are things you can do to contribute to energy saving buy installing solar panels etc, but will technologies such as hydroponic systems help someone such as a small holder be able to yield enough produce to feed themselves? their family ? or maybe even their community ? and this is a subject I need to educate myself on.

Courgettes are fantastic things to grow, I had loads off 3 plants last year. Hopefully i'll be selling some this year.

Blimey you're doing better then me at the moment, In my coup the "hen leader" (top of the pecking oder) has decided she wants to sit on some eggs, and it's starting to effect the other chickens, (i'm down to 3 or 4 eggs per day off 6 Birds) built a Broody coup and stuck her in that.... but it had no effect. A cockerel however may change things and i'm currently sourcing one. I'll keep you posted....

The neighbours I have are as good as gold, they even suggested to me to get a cockerel, the downside is that they are always trying to buy eggs from me - lol - but I’ve got a good relationship with them, so no hassle there. The place I’m renting is in a fairly rural location, the garden is a fair size. Dimensions are approximate (Ft) Chicken coup 15 x 10 Contains 6x chickens (One of which has recently turned "Broody") Main Veg Patch 30 x 8 Containing 25x Sweet corn (aiming for at least 50 heads of corn) 8x courgette Section of Chard Section of Beetroot 5x Runner beans (I've had 5 failures) And still a little it of space to put in some more veg Green house 8 x 6 6x Cucumbers (have started harvesting, 2no so far) 4x Strawberry (First ones are nearly ready) 10x Tomato (Moneymaker and Roma) 4x Tomato (Bush type "Tumbling Tom") Also... Tray of leaks ready to go in the ground The Patio 10x10 6x various Potatoes being grown in tyres 3x hanging baskets of "Tumbling tom" 1x large tub of Carrots 1x trough of lettuce 1x green courgette 1x small Cherry tree (Netted) Around the garden 8x Tomato (Money maker) 1x White grape (not expecting much from this for at least a couple of years) Has some failures, both Brussels sprout & broccoli seedling didn't really work out, and first batch of sweet corn also failed (my suspicion on the corn could be that of a rabbit problem) also lost 5 runner beans as the weather hasn't been to good. Lessons learned this year...... is not to put your seedlings in the ground to early, and don't sow the seeds until very late march. (I started in mid Feb)

Interesting video on the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8065067.stm

Good luck, The only draw back to rescue chickens is that they'll obviously be past thier "peak production" but i'm sure they'll very much enjoy being outside. I feed mine on Layers Pellets and a couple of handfulls of corn per day and any left over scraps from the kitchen table. The chickens I got go crazy for leftover dog food if the dog refuses it. I wouldn't throw them any peelings, thats really for either a wormery or a composter. Look forward to hearing how you get on with the chickens

I have to say, I would fully recommend getting some chickens, and when you actually see how yellow a yoke can be compared to the crap out of Tescos etc (Hope I don't offend any Tesco shoppers on here) you'll see why. and they also have there own personalities as well, watching them establish a "pecking order" really gives a good a perspective on life, not to mention the comedy value as they follow you around the garden. Some other links : Setting up a wormery - http://www.envocare.co.uk/wormeries.htm Crop rotation - http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1200/crop_rotation.asp

http://www.greenenergyinvestors.com/index.php?showtopic=6533

From the gold thread, I have actually purchased 6 chickens at the cost of £11 each around mid 2008, and after a few weeks of getting them settled down and feeding them approximately 1 bag of pellets a month (cost of £6.50) I am currently getting at least 36 eggs per week. http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicke...s_economics.php There are a few very good posts regarding producing food and the cost of it, and it got me wondering if there are many other GEI members who are currently “digging in” and producing home grown food ? Currently in the greenhouse: Tomotoes (Bush, Moneymaker & Roma (Seedless) Sweet corn Leeks Beetroot Courgettes (variety “Gold rush” lol – couldn’t resist growing these) Runner beans Cucumber Strawberries Various salad leaves Currently sown in the ground: Broccoli Brussels sprouts Some useful links : http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/gene...table-chart.php http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/index.php

I wouldn't pay much attention to that, I've never seen a gold coin being sold by a professional dealer for less than spot price. and trust me if I did, then I would have bought it myself. But I got to admit, £547 for a 1oz Krugger when the spot price is around (lets say for arguments sake) $900 per oz, with the dollar rate in the region of 1.8....... I bet they are raking it in. I'm tempted to give them a ring to see how they are willing to purchase for. I bet they still offer less than spot. The paper/physical disconnection is getting really stupid now.

Did you use ATS ? If you did, can you confirm this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oc...nking.economics

I have delt with ATS, and found them to be very good, i would use them again. otherwise have a look at some of these http://www.bnta.net/members.php by the way, it's that time of year again ............ http://www.bnta.net/page.php?subaction=sho...p;id=1177545968

Thats a fantastic guide, many thanks for posting that. A question I would like to ask is regarding the pricing of both Gold and Silver coins. There is currently some debate regarding the detachment between the paper and physical side of Gold and silver, if this detachment has indeed happened, how can we calculate "the true cost" or a “fair value” when the time comes to sell if there is a detachment from the paper price. I used to purchase my coins by taking the spot price in USD, converting it into GBP (I'm UK based) and then adding on the premiums as required, I'm quite happy to carry on purchasing via this method as the "paper value" has fallen recently as I am sure everyone is aware. Using the age old theory that a 1oz gold coin would be of equal purchasing power of a Toga, Belt and sandals, and today a Fine Handmade suit, Belt and a nice pair of shoes, would this still be the case when compared to population increases in the world and the amount of gold/silver actually mined/consumed? Obviously we can see that the population increased during this time, and is continuing to do so, and I’m sure that the mines are still pulling out gold and silver on a regular basis. Does anyone know (as a guide) how much gold and silver there actually is per person in the world today? I once heard that there was approximately 2oz’s of gold per head. But I’m not to sure if this is true. Any thoughts/comments regarding this would be welcomed, All the best SR

This from the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7563644.stm As economists see improved prospects for the US economy, the dollar becomes more attractive as an investment. And as the dollar becomes more attractive, particularly in times of crisis, gold has lost its lustre, as have other precious metals. I'm off to the Nuthouse.......... I think it's time for my 6 monthly check up

Not being funny, but what has a lunar eclipse got to do with the price of Commodities ?

Indeed, I'll be staying in I just never expected to see a drop like that in the space of an hour Still, buying opportunities present themselves....... as to when though, I don't think I have that kind of foresight to call a bottom, especially after today. But I guess I’ll be getting a better price this month on my physical

I have to admit, it's got me scratching my head. Obviously somebody is selling, but who ? Banks ? Private investors ? I'm off to www.gata.org before I start thinking of ringing my coin dealer.

I'm currently moving from my rented home (of the last 5 yrs) to a new rented home in the countryside of East Sussex, so this is all coming about at a really nice time for me. I'm getting lots of time sifting though my stuff and sorting out items for the charity shop. I'm also now gently adding to my PM's when ever i got some spare cash from my wages. of course i keep an eye on the gold/silver charts, it's only in the last 2 yrs I’ve really considered investing in something other than leaving money in the bank. I'm currently only in PM's until the housing situation considerably changes in the UK. But i'll admit, last week is the first time i've seen PM's take a real spanking. It's left me much to ponder on while i'm moving i tell you. But i'm still buying

Couple that with all the Bearish news regarding Banks, Stock markets etc, My tea and toast this morning tasted just that little bit nicer. But which way will the masses go ? will they all rush out and Sell, or will they all be hitting Ebay to see what they can pick up ?

Thanks for digging out that info Steve, much obliged

I'm just an average Joe on the street here, and I’ll be honest trying to imagine the amount of credit being created digitally is just to vast for me to comprehend. The reason why I'm currently keeping an eye on the £20 note is purely to try and gauge sentiment of when/if the BOE starts deflating. If these "over printed" bank notes start to be destroyed then surely (even though it's not backed by gold) the worth of these notes become greater. couple this with a rise in interest rates and surely these are factors that should directly effect the price of gold, maybe not against other currencies, but at least in £GBP, the currency which my wage is paid to me. I'm just trying to store my savings and protect them from inflation. I'm sure there will be a point in the future when after the now commonly accepted property crash happens and a deflation occurs, at that point either cash or property will be worth more than Gold & silver. Now I’m not expecting this for a number of years, but ultimately I’d expect both gold and silver to end up in a commodity bubble just like property has. But how far in the future that is...... I’ve no idea, and nobody even seems to know even a date for when the old £20 is to be pulled out of circulation. Maybe a thread should be started when all us gold holders start getting nervous - maybe call it "sign's of deflation - let's keep check" I'm probably getting too far in front of myself and i should "enjoy the bull run", but so far in 2008 we've seen Silver up 33% - it's too quick for my liking.

I have to admit, i'm starting to come around to the train of thought the Gold and Silver are the only REAL money now days, maybe I've been watching to many David Morgan videos recently His recent line of "a dollar is a dollar" is an absolute classic, heres the link for anybody who hasn't seen it........ http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3657719902845882974