Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

Thanks MH ..
not good is it?

[mothhawk]

And how about this:

29% of the pesticides detected are not approved for use by British farmers, often because of the harms they cause to health or environment. However, these chemicals end up in UK food regardless, because growers in non-EU countries use them on crops that are then exported to the UK. The government’s own expert body has repeatedly highlighted how this arrangement disadvantages British farmers.

We also analysed the UK government’s testing results for bread. Chlormequat – a plant growth regulator classified as a developmental toxin – was found in 97% of samples. Glyphosate – the UK’s most widely used herbicide linked repeatedly to various cancers and other chronic diseases – appeared in more than a quarter (28%) of bread samples. Almost half (47%) of the 216 samples of bread tested by the government contained pesticide cocktails.

Safety limits are set for one pesticide at a time, completely ignoring the fact that it’s all too common for food to contain multiple chemicals. The truth is we know very little about how these chemicals interact with each other, or what this exposure to hundreds of different pesticides is doing to our health in the long-term. What we do know is that pesticides can become more toxic when combined, a phenomenon known as ‘the cocktail effect’.

[Nicos]

It’s no wonder organic sections of supermarkets are becoming increasingly popular is it?
Thank goodness we grow most of our own veg and fruit…and use organic flower to make bread.
Sadly that's not an option for a lot of people though

Thanks for that update MH.

[Mark Rand]

Be careful about the assumptions you make. There's a significant difference between handling 200gallon tanks of the stuff, spraying it for hours at a time over hundreds of acres and ingesting remnant traces in a loaf of bread...

[Nicos]

True ^^^^^

[Containergardener]

Morning
It was very warm yesterday , we have another frost this morning.

Anyone up for a cuppa?
OH is talking to his mate in oz and I'm checking the weeks weather. Seems to be sleet and snow in it

[Snoop Puss]

Fascinating lists. I see a lot of the listed items need to be peeled, but I was shocked to see mushrooms on there, especially as lots of recipes say just brush, don't wash them. I think I'll go back to washing them.

Anyway, morning all, morning CG.

Lovely to see your post, rary. Glad you had a good day. Like bramble, I'm sure you'll have a lovely day today. So glad your OH is looking like she's really on the mend.

No snow forecast, but it's due to go well below zero this week. The fig tree has done it's usual daft thing and started putting out growing tips already. It managed to hold off last year and we had a huge crop. Won't be like that this year. Our pears are in full bloom too, along with the peaches. Despite all the rain, it'll be a small fruit harvest by the look of it.

A friend came round yesterday and laughed at the state of my patch. He's a farmer used to doing things with a tractor. Anyway he's ploughed a small strip elsewhere for me, just to get me going. He agrees with Mr Snoop - get the JCB man remove the rather makeshift fencing and clear the weeds and then get someone with a tractor to plough it properly. Not very no-dig... I foresee short-term benefits but long-term problems.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
No frost but a chilly, cloudy start to the day. Pity…I could have done with another day like yesterday …just shows- grasp the moment!

I was hoping my mirabelle is hit by the frosts…looks like there are several nights of it on its way next week …so fingers crossed!
Failing that, the local school is going to do well.

The priority for now is to have a brew and get the fire lit. With the cost of fuel I think we need to go back to just fires again . We’re not far off needing 2,000 litres…so the longer we can hold off the better and just use it for heating the water.

That sounds quite a project Snoop!…what sort of area are you working with?

I best get a wiggle on…the fire won’t get itself lit!
Enjoy your day peeps…only 2 more weeks until Easter Sunday. I’ve got an Easter Egg waving to me so much that I had to hide it not helped by the fact that I also bought a Lint Easter bunny..which is also in hiding!

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

it was frosty earlier but now sunny and cloudless. Went out for an early walk up the local hill to watch the sunrise. It came up fiery orange, very beautiful, I can well understand ancient peoples worshipping it.

also litter picked while I was there. Evidently a group of children/teenagers had been up there recently and as I had a carrier bag in my pocket I cleared their litter, everything from juice boxes, bottles and cans, and sweet wrappers to a broken glass bottle and some plastic flowers, scattered around from the top of the hill to the bottom and tossed into bushes. It filled the bag, which I put in the litter bin at the base of the hill.

Snoop, I seldom eat mushrooms, but having been raised to eat mushrooms picked from the fields, I have always peeled them.

[mothhawk]

Oops, I have just discovered by accident that if I press Ctrl plus the letter t it opens a new tab. Very cool!

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

Another sunny day here a bit cool though.
I've always washed mushroom and they're fine so long as I cook them straight away, had some this morning on a egg cob.

Enjoy your day

[Snoop Puss]

The priority for now is to have a brew and get the fire lit. With the cost of fuel I think we need to go back to just fires again . We’re not far off needing 2,000 litres…so the longer we can hold off the better and just use it for heating the water.

That sounds quite a project Snoop!…what sort of area are you working with?

We're going the opposite way with regard to fuel. We've got quite a few empty gas bottles and will buy them now before prices rise even higher.

As for the veg patch, he's a man with a tractor. It's the answer to everything for him! But it's true, he could do in ten minutes what it would take me weeks to clear by hand. It's not that big a patch, but I'm glad to have his strip for ready use. Gives me more room for winter brassicas for later in the growing season.

[bramble]

Good morning all, it's a lovely sunny morning here and the cool breeze has gone.
Lots of walking again today.
There are actually people on the beach this morning.

Shame to see the need to import so much fruit and veg, we really don't know what we are eating.
I grew up on mushrooms picked in the fields but I always wash them.
Anybody lucky enough to have space to grow their own are blessed.

Snoop,that piece of ploughed land will give you a good start for the growing season.
Have a lovely Sunday all.

[Snoop Puss]

Anybody lucky enough to have space to grow their own are blessed.

Couldn't agree more, bramble. And blessed in so many ways, too.

[Jay22]

Afternoon all, just back after a week in Ayrshire but I’ve been popping in now and then.
Happy Anniversary Mr & Mrs Rary, glad to hear Mrs Rary is feeling a little better.
CG…what did thought do? P’d the bed and blamed it on the blankets? OH’s granny used to say that. First time I’ve heard that in years!
Regards foodstuffs, you wouldn’t eat anything if you knew what was in it, you wouldn’t take medication either!!! I don’t wash mushrooms just wipe them. I wash all other fruit and veg though, hopefully that helps get rid of some chemicals although I suspect not all.
Anyhoo from that depressing thought, the sun is shining again, really lifts the spirit.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Catch you later. x