Dig for victory.

[fishfish 17]

whoes got one? i know quite a few of us have and its a busy time of year as it is most years,however there is a feeling of greater urgency on our allotments,everyone planting more than they normally would ,why?

Take a trip to your local supermarket today,visit the fruit and veg section and take a look and a camera. I went to one of the big 4 last eve and to my suprise it was bare on these sections,upon asking the manager ,he told me that the UK's food import strategy had taken a fat bite in the ass,with the volcanic cloud covering the uk and all commercial aircraft grounded the UK is running out of fresh foods stuffs that we all take for granted.Have you ever looked at the packaging on the runner beans,broccoli,mange tout, cabbages or other staple diet greens? Bolivia,west Africa,newzealand,Argentina and Morocco.With shelf lives of just a few days these are now running out,not to mention stuff formerly in our parents day that would have been seen as 'exotic' that we now take for granted like bananas,oranges,lemons,kiwi,and melon,all imported.

But surely the UK can feed itself ? not immediately,with most crops taking at least 50 days from planting to plate forward planning and action is needed now.When the first announcements were made about the dust clouds from the Icelandic volcano grounding planes most thought nowt of it,many under busy flight-lines were joyous,but now we are into the best part of a week and volcanologists admit they dont really know how long this will last or indeed if it will get worse.

 

 

Yesterday i spoke to an old chap on our allotments,he is in his late 's .He told me about the outbreak of world war 2 when similarly imported foods came to a stop.He said that initially everyone thought the war would be over by Christmas and little thought about the loss of imported foods as back then Britain grew most of its food. But as the months passed it became apparent that the UK couldn't feed itself and by the time the government had realised there was a problem another 50 days to grow a crop was a long time ,he spoke of the 'great onion shortage' where onions were literally worth their weight in gold!

Lessons need to be taken from his generations woes,buy some seeds now before everyone else gets hungry,buy seeds of what you WILL EAT,no good growing 'pak-choi' or other stuff if your family doesn't eat it! there are a million ways to grow stuff even without a veg garden or allotment,just look on the net,cabbages grow well in big pots buy remember once cut that's it gone,however curly kale is a pick and come again crop that will continue to grow and provide many meals,as can 'pick and come again' salads and perpetual spinach.

 

 

Mean-while whilst we all hope and pray that this natural disaster doesn't last take a look at the fields and hedgerows and familiarise yourself with what they have to offer,our ancestors survived very well on them,both the net and the libraries are full of all the info you may need so get planting and get reading,and be ahead of the rush.

[hollands hope 1,024]

Food for thought Fish Fish, never looked at it this way. makes you wonder

[fishfish 17]

another thaught is that whilst you on the continent are able to truck foods in,we here on this island rely on the planes a great deal more,if we as a nation take to trucked foods the ferries and channel tunnel will have room for little else than food stuffs so we will be truly isolated as i am sure there will be a ban on all non-essential over-channel travel.

[stubby 175]

dunno how true it is, but was saying on radio as I drove home this morning, that the last time this volcano erupted, it took 18 months for the dust clouds to dissapear, now that would make people panic

 

oh, yup, we started planting the veg in polytunnel today

[Attack Fell Terrier 864]

I'm looking forward to this, I may be able to shed a few lbs if this carries on :showoff:

[fishfish 17]

time to crack open the bunker kit!

[Swampy 147]

I'm looking forward to this, I may be able to shed a few lbs if this carries on :showoff:

Only if you cut out the alcohol! lets hope you drink foreign lager (p*ss)

 

Only thinking of your health AFT!

 

slim ning

[Swampy 147]

Its about time we stopped eating strawberrys at Christmas etc. We should all revert to eating seasonal food. I have tried. It makes you appreciate the summer food that much more.

 

If John Prescott hadn't destroyed our merchant fleet we wouldn't have this problem! Another big eruption during the summer holidays will sort it all out. AND save the ice cap in the process..........God I love nature!

 

this ning lives on non imported food