The Paraplegic Farmer

  I've come a long way since April 2016, not wanting to blow my own trumpet but I think I have achieved quite a bit considering. The latest in my long list of things I must try happened just this afternoon. We have had my sister staying with her kids and whilst here said made use of our bath. Now I've not used it since before April 2016 but it got me thinking about trying to get in. And then of course trying to get out.  First hurdle was getting in the bathroom, there is a huge step up into it. It was quite easy really, put the wheelchair up to the step and then went off the front of the chair and onto my knees and then across the bathroom floor. Then it was a case of pushing up onto a stool getting undressed and then into the water, easy when you say it quickly. Getting out was just as straight forward. A trick I have learnt is to not over think how you are going to do something and just crack on. That's how I get my best results!  The gardening s...

Fresh red chilli pickle Lal mirch ka achaar   I love Indian pickles, my first experience of said pickles was a jar of Pataks chilli pickle that we picked up to try. I ended up putting it on everything from my cheese sandwiches and salads right through to curries and cooked meals. I have been searching the internet for a good recipe so we could make good use of our massive chilli harvest.   For this recipe you will need: 1/2 cup of Fresh Red Chillis 3 tbsp Mustard seeds 2 tbsp Fennel seeds 1/4 cup Mustard oil 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (we used ground mace) 3 tsp Salt 2 tbsp Lemon juice First up you need to cut up the chillis, I cut them in half and then slit them along the length. I also left the seeds in as we quite like the extra heat.  Now put the chillis into a bowl and cover them with the salt, this will draw out any moisture in the chillis. Leave them sat in the salt for an hour minimum, longer would be better. Now you can tur...

The time has come! That's right the time has come to sort out our compost. We have had a compost heap for as long as I can remember, but what have we done with it? In short.....Nothing! So its now time to do something about it. This is what our compost heap looks like at the moment.  It contains the usual suspects like grass cuttings and garden waste. The heap starts off fairly high and does indeed compost down quite a lot. But we never do anything with it. And with the price of compost getting more and more expensive we should really be using what we have got. So we built a temporary compost bin! I say temporary as we have some works planned for next year which shall include more permanent compost bins. But this will do for now, the plan is to compost all garden waste, kitchen waste and brown waste. Brown waste will be stuff like cardboard, egg cartons, egg shells. I'm not sure of the ratios that are needed, but I'm guessing to aim for ab...

Autumn is all but here.     With the nights drawing in and the temperatures dropping to single figures over night it definitely feels like Autumn is on its way. But its not time to retire indoors just yet! There is still plenty to do in the garden. In fact there are about a thousand and one jobs to do, most of which depends on your own garden and what you do with it. Some items that will need your attention are going to be lawns, flowers, bulbs, greenhouses, vegetables the list goes on. I'm going to concentrate on what we have here in our own garden.  The Lawn. Almost every house has a lawn! Or at least a patch of grass somewhere. Now is a good time of year to pay some attention to your bit of grass, no matter how large or small it is. You may not be too bothered about your bit of green, but some people like to keep it nice and manicured. So a few things you can do to your lawn to improve it or keep it looking and performing tip top are ...