Are we all just a bit fucking tired of "I am not a robot" yet - it just gets more and more irritating. What the fuck is a fire hydrant anyway... I'm not a yank. Not only am I well and truly sick of trying to pick details out of fuzzed bad photos of things, I'm sick of identifying American street furniture. I hate that website I have no option but to use force me through this little dance every bloody login... just implement some normal bloody 2FA perhaps.


Right, I consider this a new superpower unlocked! 😂

Still having a little trouble needing to babysit the first layer - but I can #3dprint my own gaskets/washers/etc now.

The material is harder than a silcone gasket, maybe slightly harder than neoprene too, but should work for many situations.

Will be interesting to see if I can build that up to more "3d" objects too. This TPU material feels like it could have a lot of uses.

#3dprinting

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/693/022/942/919/078/original/6d08f18f4aaeeec9.mp4


Yvan

Allotmenter, cooker, fermenter, tinkerer, hacker of things and code. (This account will toot content in mainly that order of volume.)

Ex- Unix/Linux sys/net/infosec software-dev/eng who went mad and decided to sell beer to pubs instead. (I mainly avoid beer content on here tho, enough of it elsewhere.)

From South West West Australia, living in England's Fenlands for some reason. 🤷🏻♂

Profile pic is a haunted British power socket, header pic is overhead drone photos of our allotment plots.


Fuck me, paint has got fucking expensive.


And in the same news cycle NZ shifts right.


Just saw an ad for some kinda compact business card case style wallet stating "this could be the last wallet you ever need to buy".

Nah, too late mate.

It's been a few years since I last carried a wallet. Now days it's just the phone (used for most payments), two credit cards on different networks, and an emergency 20 quid note (given inflation that probably needs upgrading.)

I'll be glad of the day I can embed the lot of it. NFC fingertips, and eyeball embedded display? Sign me up.


So good I put the photo twice. 😅


I wish I had more time to do things with all this #allotmemt bounty. Something a little more interesting than passata!

Right now we are making a lot of passata and eating lots of tomato based pasta dishes. And that's nothing to complain about really. In an ideal world I could spend the rest of the day doing something useful with our harvest, but this is not that world and I should have headed to "work" already (the rod I made for my own back.)

I try to hang onto hope for better future times.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/199/119/970/083/769/original/da877106c89af3b3.jpg

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/199/120/140/481/237/original/4d36c6d03fab98d6.jpg


nostr:npub1wu2h77x0gc37q5kn5l42s4s9ncurg4fuxnzt5ud7n40sst5s9hgqp8dhan the basement is big enough there could be scope to squeeze a kitchen in down there, that'd be pretty expensive though. It's probably not useful for added seating alas.


nostr:npub1wu2h77x0gc37q5kn5l42s4s9ncurg4fuxnzt5ud7n40sst5s9hgqp8dhan I was just about to comment on the roof terrace, have been googling some photos - looked beaut. Sad how the utility of pub buildings so often gets "developed" outside of viability. The 1st floor terrace is now 2 stories of flats.

Looked like it was a nice pub before.

Outdoor seating could be a boon in the summertime, decent amount of pavement there.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/193/728/690/323/118/original/eaf25f2765f8fad5.png

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nostr:npub1wu2h77x0gc37q5kn5l42s4s9ncurg4fuxnzt5ud7n40sst5s9hgqp8dhan not that I can comment on "smallness" of pubs really 🤣


nostr:npub1wu2h77x0gc37q5kn5l42s4s9ncurg4fuxnzt5ud7n40sst5s9hgqp8dhan just reviewed the details, the other problem is it is quite small at 1742ft2 (looks bigger from the photo lol). Nice big basement/cellar but probably not really useful. Prob needs to be wet-led given size and configuration.

It says "effectively in shell finish" which could mean a range of things, lack of photos is a little concerning.

With that rent and potentially £20k rates (needs reassesement) it doesn't look great on first glance.

I guess London beer prices could pay for it. 😅


nostr:npub1wu2h77x0gc37q5kn5l42s4s9ncurg4fuxnzt5ud7n40sst5s9hgqp8dhan reckon that could be a fit for the Graceland folks, though wouldn't be surprised if they've passed it over already, esp given its former "craft beer" vibe.

Lease amounts like that are too daunting for most smaller and individual operators. Especially with "requires investment", and in the present times. Wonder how messed up it is internally. Could probably negotiate some sort of on-ramp with rent if the freeholders are keen.


Wonder how much of the flash-sale greenfield HS2 land is gunna go to some lucky Tory donors for less than cost price.


nostr:npub1mq7jrf8ahyvle3xpjnl5u0leklr366d3kq3fkcuh753r8z9qqx0q2fzh49 I'm hoping to eventually replace it with something DIY, no more of this corporate cloud spyware garbage. Our two primary uses for it are listening to the radio and setting timers for cooking and other things, plus the odd alarm.

Fun fact: in my last year at Uni I implemented a voice controlled robotics project (voice control core was CMU Sphinx). It's gotta have become easier in the ... yikes... 20 years since.


nostr:npub1mq7jrf8ahyvle3xpjnl5u0leklr366d3kq3fkcuh753r8z9qqx0q2fzh49 all the years I've been using Google Home devices there has seemingly been no real feature, functionality, or quality improvements. Just feels like another neglected/dead Google product really. They did make the app UI worse recently so there's still someone sat in a room hacking on it I guess.


nostr:npub1mq7jrf8ahyvle3xpjnl5u0leklr366d3kq3fkcuh753r8z9qqx0q2fzh49 next up they need to implement this feature for Google Home devices. The assistant volume is the same as the main volume, so often I find it SHOUTS at me because I've been listening to the radio on a higher volume. You'd think it'd be simple and obvious.... noooo...


Having a "mental health day".

Aka too physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted to function properly so choosing to not attempt to function.

More of a mini mental breakdown day I guess. 😅


That shipping container is a bloody TARDIS by the way.


Biggest downsize EVARH!

😐

Could be worse. (Could be a lot worse... might still get a lot worse, but we shall see.)

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/179/281/401/431/184/original/aaa465b83429d218.jpeg

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I'd probably be more in favour of a ban on smoking within 100 metres of any human habitation.

Make the smokers wander out into the fields. 😅


I'm not a fan of smoking.

But surely they know that an absolute ban (even if so slowly implemented) will create a thriving black market and the crime and disadvantage that goes hand in hand with that. (Huge UK duties already feed a healthy black market in illicit tobacco imports as it is.)

I wonder how that balances out with the public health costs.

They'll come after alcohol next of course.


"A friendly Happiness Engineer will then get in touch with recommendations and next steps."

Happiness Engineer?

I was happy with Woocommerce until they presented me with the concept of a "Happiness Engineer". Engineer that motherfuckers.


nostr:npub1eavnczg44hkruat47xlr463h5hczyqjqduylj7nlyatx4enn0fzqu7g6f3 it's such a core ingredient to so much Italian cooking! But most folks just use tinned tomatoes, blasted with a stick blender if sauce consistency is needed - which works just fine! We do buy a fair bit of supermarket passata, but our crop/processing this year will hopefully get us through a few months without having to give that money to them.


nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 urgh, just when you think it's all gone as low as it can go the Tories go lower.

Based on where they're ramping up their campaigning now, this is gunna be one depressing and dirty election cycle.


nostr:npub1sfu9dw8pza4wcfvgljneceylwfuf2l3q9ggstg9h9vdjccfmlufse0klez I like how ephemeral it is, build it, photograph it, take it down. There only for the moment. No need to leave your mark behind, like some folks seem to feel the need to do.


"My personal view is that it looks cluttered and untidy."

So I named it after my neice.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-66985809


nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 yeah, it's particularly cheap here compared to others I have seen. We have no "allotment association" type org, the site is run directly by the council on council land with little by way of facilities or upkeep. Works for me! (I've heard emough horror stories about busy body allotment committes, council chap who manages it is just fine as a benevolent dictator.)


I do think we get our money's worth out of the allotment rent at least!

We have two of these plots (as shown in my header photo), which combined are about a standard allotment size of ground.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/167/144/658/296/641/original/27140c1985e4f108.jpg


nostr:npub1ewkpjscqmnpars8zwtgceutau6ypkzsjq5el634q204w4qjrx8dq5yk90u it's our second year growing them, but I think they'll be a permanent part of the lineup. Beyond the mere novelty of them being green and rather pretty they are also delicious.


Finally got enough Green Zebra tomatoes from the #allotment for a batch of passata.

Thus completing my "passata traffic light". 🤪

The green of course doesn't come through amazingly after cooking, especially as ripe green zebras pick up a yellowish tint. But it is sufficiently green versus the yellow to do the tick.

Gotta take what modicum of amusement life permits.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/160/332/023/522/885/original/d12d5f636bbda1ed.jpg


Passata making always reminds me of SBS "Food Safari" - which I like to watch as it reminds me of home (Australia and Australian food scene in general, which is just so rich in range of ingredients and multicultural influence. I miss it still.)

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/italian-food-safari-tomato-day/4my3n5nk2


As I mill my third batches of passata I contemplate electric passata mills.

*googles electric passata mills*

*sees prices*

Even just bigger manual ones are pretty £££.

Um, yeah, my little old manual mill is just fine really. It's a small effort, in short bursts. It'll be fiinnneeeee... it's not like I'm going to grow more tomatoes than I did this year... right... riiight?? 🥲

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/159/466/115/002/991/original/566cab11f006b344.jpg


Had fun today fabricating a fan housing out of HDPE sheet...

Which is absolutely not what I was supposed to be doing today, but it needed doing all the same. It's on a critical path, but all my paths are critical.

Why not 3d print? My printer isn't big enough, also this is a smoother more hygienic surface.

I don't need any new projects, but I've been watching YouTube videos about DIY CNC router machines lately... looks quite doable. 🤔

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/155/960/275/505/179/original/b7aacad3333cc347.jpg


As it happens, I've just spotted there are two 5 tonne car jacks sat right in their garage.

Maybe the staff don't have their car jack certificate or summat... like, nah, our jack guy isn't in today, we cannot lift cars.


Lol, trying to get the 2 new tyres done on my van and booked into local KwikFit. Turns out their system is all broken and the website shouldn't have let me book the van here. It wont allow a MOT booking, but does allow tyres. Dude is all like "nah mate, carnt help you, carnt lift that mate".

So I'm like "what if it's just the tyres not on the van?"

"Yeah mate, can do loose tyres."

So I've jacked it up in the parking, taken the tyre off, and rolled the two tyres into the place. 🤷🏻♂


Obeying the speed limit seems to be against "British Values" for many folks, possibly a majority. And 20mph zones, or any speed limits really, are barely enforced anyway — pretty much only affects careless idiots. More stupid Moton politics from this country's cretinous PM.

What the UK needs is loads of "multi-nova" style mobile speed cameras doing the rounds, fining all speeders.

And what cars need are full record black boxes.

And what drivers need is built in automated speed limiters.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/148/460/181/534/595/original/df948773800a4639.jpg


nostr:npub1dugpgfap4alul20lyn2vglwud8tss4ytd008l7v0pnm8w97lvnlqfzmkax yeah, I guess it's probably waste industry terminology... the machine compresses stuff (this could do cardboard, pallet wrap, anything compressible really) then you can tie straps around it to make said "bale". Thus "baler". Most industrial sites and large retail sites (i.e
 supermarkets) have one (or more), mainly for cardboard.

Basically it improves logistics efficiency by making materials more space efficient. Density is efficiency.


Tucked into our first Big Black Mamma and hoo boy, it packs a punch. It has that beautiful naga aroma — and a strong burn. I exercised caution and put just a half in a venison chilli I have on the stove (1kg of meat sort of size), after an hour we tasted it and it was hot, but not hot hot... so the other half went in and now... it is lava.

This is the type of chilli where just licking the jucies off a finger after dicing it will buuurrrrnnnn... love it.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/145/070/137/556/675/original/9dfc4848dbaeb5f7.jpg

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nostr:npub1dugpgfap4alul20lyn2vglwud8tss4ytd008l7v0pnm8w97lvnlqfzmkax new operators of the business are continuing the recycling service, the baler is relocating to the big Grimsby warehouse from my little old fenlands warehouse which has been shut down.


nostr:npub1dugpgfap4alul20lyn2vglwud8tss4ytd008l7v0pnm8w97lvnlqfzmkax

* They bought into this so thoroughly they renamed the company "OneCircle".

IMO it's not ideal, but nothing in drinks (or any) logistics is really. Plastic is light, better payloads for less fuel, steel is heavy and  energy & chemical intensive to clean (I am told worse per unit than the footprint of plastics recycling) — but also has a huge reuse lifespan. It's murky territory to find good stats on such things, almost all studies are partisan.


nostr:npub1dugpgfap4alul20lyn2vglwud8tss4ytd008l7v0pnm8w97lvnlqfzmkax plastic kegs - clear PET and black polypropylene. Namely "KeyKegs" and "PolyKegs" — for recycling into more kegs. The plastic kegs always irked me and I was an early proponent of setting up a recycling scheme for them, but plastic recycling is a real struggle in the UK. Thankfully there was enough pressure for the manufacturers of KeyKegs to implement a "circular" recycling scheme* which we were an early participant in — have saved many tonnes from landfill/incineration.


The wide range of accents & dialects in this tiny country still amuses me after 17 years here. The most entertaining Australia has to offer really is Queenslanders.

Anyway, it's weird seeing 2.65 tonne of metal our forklift cannot even lift floating through the air like a butterfly.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/142/997/567/131/614/original/1f4db5e21a4f284c.jpg


HIAB driver to uplift the baler from the warehouse site is from Hull.

I am unsure what language they speak in Hull, but it's not one I'm familiar with.


Just need a photo of Sunak looking grumpy and pointing at a pothole and this will look just like local council politics, I guess this is the battleground Tories are trying to choose for the coming election. The small minded party of low achievement.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/142/028/332/163/445/original/e47549daeb9804c6.jpg


nostr:npub1tkgrdfqkugxgk78ykj7d7tuez9ndwn3lsc2arqqqvx3xu3f8sdusxr2eul nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 I do enjoy the "penalty for breach of this enclosure FIVE POUNDS" 🤣


nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 ah, now that's a real beauty. I was worried we'd end up with something like that happening, which would have been a total nightmare... but thankfully we escaped that outcome and they judged it OK for the 100A upgrade.


nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 yeah, we had the problem that nobody was keen to touch it as it was given the back board was disintegrating. The incoming cable is super gnarly, DNO guys treated it like it was an archaeological discovery.

Entire place has now been rewired, there was some seriously dodgy old shit for sure.

Went from this to this sorta photos attached. (Will be somewhat neater and all in a cabinet eventually. Got two sub-boxes elsewhere too.)

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/141/842/635/627/152/original/ec0d2ad8e31d1a79.jpg

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nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 ah, fun times... the sparky/supplier/DNO dance. Like awaiting a conjunction of the planets.

That reminds me: it was the DNO fitting a new incomer who wired the meter tails into our isolator.

We did a dodgy thing and actually detached the original incomer and meter from the crumbling backboard, and hung them from the joists. (Pulled the main fuse to fit a temporary CU.) Then fitted the new board and got the DNO to fix the new incomer and old meter to that.


nostr:npub1tkgrdfqkugxgk78ykj7d7tuez9ndwn3lsc2arqqqvx3xu3f8sdusxr2eul I have heard this referred to as "high fog" I think, though I'm not getting any obvious Google bits for that.


When you look up and are surprised to see a full moon in the grey sky.

Not the moon obviously, just the sun cosplaying as the moon.

Impossible to really capture the true eeriness of this crisp clear white circle in the sky with a phone photo of course.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/141/619/238/941/503/original/90b2a561e20d6533.jpg


nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 nostr:npub16jupxu70nh0pg0wt4maseaf2fg3kv2tgcjal2kaaunms2ltdaxysdry8u7 when we had the meter in the pub done I bought an isolator and fitted it to the board — the UKPN guys were happy to wire into that.


I can still turn out an acceptable stir fry with it, it's taken some practice over the years in this house but got there in the end - plenty of preheat time, then moderating the temp initially so everything doesn't burn on the bottom, before turning back to full temp once the juices are flowing.

Cashew chicken, reminds me of King St in Sydney.

With #allotment garlic, onion, capsicum, chillies, eggplant, carrot, and Thai basil and Vietnamese mint from home.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/139/111/160/946/104/original/ff7c62bd758a21e1.jpeg


I really miss cooking with gas sometimes (OK, pretty much every time I am cooking.)

The electric hotplate here is just crap.

It's very good at making a small area very hot and that's about it.

Which makes any kind of wok cooking almost impossible.  I use this big cast iron wok on this stove and it kinda does… a thing… holds some heat at least.

I have a gas burner outside, should have used that really. Works perfectly with just the basic pressed steel wok. But it's all dark out there.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/138/982/798/278/111/original/0467bff2f24681b2.mp4


nostr:npub19x05lduh6haphjv4fd6m2lnsgv7c307hgc2lfmamjgr97f78wgusmw3dpe I'm going to be interested to see how they have turned out in the UK climate. I got my seeds for these from Real Seeds.


The other goal is to be better prepared for autumn/winter. Seedlings I intended to have ready to plant now just haven't happened. I have a handful of small things done too late and not yet ready to go out.

Also got a lot of infrastructure to work on, like the water capture and storage. And the greenhouse build on the second plot.

In theory I should have more time next year. No more of the 60+ hour working weeks? One can hope and dream. Maybe also be less psychologically broken? 🤞🤷🏻♂


All in all it has been a good #allotment growing season, we have more produce than we have time to use or preserve. These are photos of just what's sat around at home right now needing processing. We also have loads of potatoes still in their tubs, and other things on the plots.

Next season's growing goal is to grow a bit more variety, and start earlier (I seriously need to get earlier with my chilli game). The other goal is to have the time to do more with what we grow...

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/138/788/804/976/223/original/f60a78c5e59ccb9e.jpg

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Today is also the day we decided to bring all the #allotment pumpkins in, they fill the table in the polytunnel. We have three Queensland Blue, four Uchiki Kuri, six Burgess Buttercup, and three large plus one medium "volunteer" of unknown type (and yet to be discovered culinary value).

Some good foodage there, with very little care needed.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/138/738/754/197/823/original/1629a6a081910d66.jpg


I hate this autumnal equinox time of year. The rapidly shortening days really grind me down. So dark already.

Managed to squeeze in one of our twilight #allotment trips. The #polytunnel tomatoes are still ripening fruit. There are signs of blight on the lower stems of 4 maybe 5 plants.

I've now stripped off almost all the leaves.

Slowly we have chillies ripening too and got our first Big Black Mamma chillies today.

Still got skinny eggplants and red capsicums happening too.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/138/706/698/230/835/original/0ed2ffa6caf40796.jpg

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/138/706/843/189/081/original/7fed8c68a7621525.jpg


Sometimes I feel like half my job is #LMGTFY


Dinner is Kat's katsu curry

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/127/668/036/102/399/original/53a4fa8c98b69c43.jpg


nostr:npub12unyfcpkrfn6uadupr8q2lkd79uf8spvjca62jr46jqev2vm9s0s3us77h and somewhat less sloppy presentation 😅

I ought to make chapati more often.


Oooo, proper thunderstorm.

"Real weather" always reminds me of home, probably because it's so rare here. It's funny how the classic stereotype here is always talking about the weather. Yet the weather here is so muted.


nostr:npub1gw8s4rl4grdwcfpkgkhc7j90wvpw2cuxtuwvs5sczgnrksz856css26gr7 people burning random crap around here is a regular topic on the local Facebook group with the same old consensus: nobody will do anything about it. (Unless it is massive and regular.) Rural life I guess, and under-resourcing of whatever agency might do something about it (seems to be confusion if this is the police, fire department, council, or environment agency — not that the latter two will show up at 8pm on Sunday).


nostr:npub19uptyc9dmm0uxur4sgg0hnm5netp54ht78k2pcru0e5r8esa8uws64ckeg DIY sriracha sounds like fun. I'll be doing lacto fermented chilli sauces as I usually do but hope to find some time to do some different style cooked ones.


nostr:npub19uptyc9dmm0uxur4sgg0hnm5netp54ht78k2pcru0e5r8esa8uws64ckeg got a couple of leaky waterbutts here I need to work out how to mend, somewhere on the to-do list.


The bogans* with one of the yards backing onto the yard at our place are at it again... burning stuff. Billowing great clouds of horrible smelling black smoke. Smells like they've set a whole wheeliebin on fire, full of tyres.

These are the same folks who randomly set off fireworks during the daytime.

I like fires, and the smoke and smell of them... when they're burning wood, and I like fireworks... at night.

* most accurate word I can think of to describe them, other than fuckwits.


TBH, if the blight gets into the #allotment #polytunnel I think we've had a good run of it. The data nerd in me wishes I'd had the time to weigh the harvests, maybe next season.

Going to have to get back onto the passata wagon soon, the harvest is backing up, faster than I can make the time to process it. Probably I need more jars. Would like to do a few more interesting things than passata too but won't have the time. Can maybe combine some of the below to jar some premade pasta sauces.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/080/302/765/576/858/original/7ae0bcad60f91b31.jpg


Dinner was 4-leaf saag with toasted padrons and yellow tomatoes. The four leaves are: chard, New Zealand spinach, red orach, and Malabar spinach. It has one Wraith chilli in it.

Plus a red lentil dhal with three Orange Drop chillies and a handful of red tomatoes.

In both a flavour element of the chillis comes through, but not too much heat (could have been hotter really, next time more chillies!)

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/077/193/611/848/058/original/8a465a89cc545b8e.jpg


The bean tunnel on the shed plot has totally collapsed. Fixing that is a job for another day, and building a more robust one a job for the winter I reckon. Just couldn't be arsed harvesting more beans, many have got too big anyway. Just going to leave them be... wonder if the purple beans can work as dry beans.

https://toot.ale.gd/system/media_attachments/files/111/076/567/688/476/774/original/4d073e998aab3554.jpg


More harvest from outdoors on the polytunnel plot, and the shed plot.

Our late late (and only, this year) carrots are starting to be of use it seems. They are red and purple varieties.

I'm not sure if there is blight amongst the potato planters on this plot, a couple looked suspect but it's hard to tell when the plants are dying back anyway. As a precaution I removed all of the foliage today.

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There was, of course, an #allotment harvest... oh, so much harvest. We already are reaping what we sowed.

The photo of produce on the table is just the #polytunnel harvest.

The chillies are starting to ripen, with some nice bishops crowns and orange drops coming through now, as well as the whippet tails, serranos, and wraiths. Some of the crops forming on the plants are immense, fingers crossed there is time for plenty to ripen. 🤞

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As such we popped down to the #allotment site for a "quick" visit to drop them off. That turned into a three hour visit.

First thing we clocked is the outdoor tomatoes have the dreaded blight. 😞 I stayed well away from them and the first job I did was fairly aggressively de-leaf the polytunnel tomatoes, which still have loads of good sized fruit on them and no signs of blight ... yet. 🤞

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As a side quest on our trip in the direction of Norwich we picked up enough old guttering to gutter everything in the #allotment plots plus all planned things probably twice over or more, think someone must have had all their house gutters replaced. I had an eyeball on Norwich #freecycle for my usual searches and hit the jackpot! (New guttering costs a fortune, so was out of the question as an option. But the basic clips and parts are cheap enough if you have the gutters.)

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But wait, there's more...

I couldn't resist this lush looking Lemon Verbena — another nostalgic plant of my childhood. And there were some bargain basement perennial "basil" plants (another new one on me!! Amazing.)

Quite a few of these are tender, so fingers crossed I can keep my shit together enough over this winter to not murder them all.

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But with so many fabulous herbs at such a low price (end of season sale) I couldn't help but pick up more. I rationed myself to a 15 pot tray...

As well as 3 Vietnamese Mint I got:

"Hot & Spicy" Oregano
"Snowflake" Sage
"Thai" Mint
"Lime" Mint
Alpine Strawberry
"Quattro" Allium
Lovage
"Mushroom Plant"
Corsican Mint
"Four Seasons Tarragon"
And 2x Globe Artichoke

It's very rare I come across a totally new to me culinary herb, but the Four Seasons Tarragon is a new one on me. Exciting.

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The primary quest was to get a couple of persicaria odorata plants, which I grew up calling "Vietnamese Mint" but it mostly seems to be called "Vietnamese Coriander". This is my favourite alternative to coriander — in fact in general I prefer it over coriander — alas last winter I murdered ours through neglect (which is a lot of neglect, aside from frost it is hard to kill! It was a bad and stressful winter, I was pretty broken.)

Have been meaning to get more all year, so that is finally done.

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It has been a decent day spent doing my own things dogged by only medium levels of constant background anxiety about not doing work stuff, not doing enough stuff, and generally having continual doom looming over me. Could be better, but it's usually worse, so I'll take that.

Anyway, can highly recommend a visit to Norfolk Herbs. I have bought from them online before, but it's only an hour from us, so I decided to visit. It's small, but packed with variety.

#gardening
#growyourown
#herbs

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Took a drive over to Norfolk Herbs today, it's fabulous.

I want all of the thymes.

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nostr:npub1uv8hmlkl8cg8q6403ukw5de89dk3kttjkdmplcuqm4dtkav2ce9q2snwn2 from my own experience with sales people in the spheres of IT and engineering granting these folks grand titles is necessary as a sort of bubble-wrap around the house of cards that forms the structure of their fragile egos.


Eurgh, no... as if Amazon listings weren't already a minefield of bullshit.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/14/amazon_gen_ai/


I'm calling dinner "Capsicum Monoliths".

Using our #allotment capsicums, plus garlic, chilli, onion, eggplant, tomato, zucchini, parsley and basil — in a mix of quinoa and green lentils, small pieces of mild cheddar melted into it and mozzarella on top. All sat in a stabilising bed of rough skin-on potato smash. All of the vegetable content of this meal we grew ourselves. Enjoying this late season bounty whilst it lasts, we will be looking back wistfully upon these times soon enough.

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I'm a broken pile of anxiety today, which really isn't helping with the huge load of work I need to do. 😖


This Reg article claims the data was password hashes using an undisclosed hashing algorithm: https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/05/freecycle_becomes_the_latest_data

So why not say that in the main advisory on the website? It'd be just a tiny bit reassuring to know they at least made an effort, rather than release a statement saying "passwords" had been stolen.


And yeah, if you're a #freecycle user perhaps pop along to the website and change your password. (You don't use the same password everywhere... do you... that'd be very foolish.)

https://freecycle.helpscoutdocs.com/article/319-data-breach-august-2023


In this day and age why the hell is any website storing passwords in plaintext form.

Hell, in any bloody day and age.

It's not like hashing passwords is new tech, Unix was "crypt"ing passwords before I was bloody born.

https://freecycle.helpscoutdocs.com/article/319-data-breach-august-2023


Someone got some marketing company to "craft" some social media posts (not my call, not my problem).

The result is laughable.

The content is pretty much only Instagram appropriate (and by far our biggest following is Twitter).

It employs the most useless set of junk hashtags too, like shit nobody anywhere would be monitoring - let alone anyone relevant. Not even any ironic-hashtag value, just pure cringe hashtag-soup.

And features bad photoshopping.

Marketing: where money goes to die.


Skip companies sending drivers to collect at 7AM go into the permanent shitlist.

Also, I don't call that 7 days, more like 6 days and 19 hours.

*grumble*

*yawn*


End goal: not needing to buy any bulbs/sets again (unless disaster strikes).

Would be great to also save our own onion seed too. We will use "Real Seeds" and try and be organised about that, but it maybe a bit beyond us to keep them "true" (and takes 2 seasons). Seeds are cheap enough anyway, for now.


I think we will instead reduce to just items marked † and try planting from our own #allotment harvests of Kingsland Wight and Longor shallots. It would be great if we can build up numbers of these to be self sufficient with them. (Much worries about quality and disease?)

We were already planning to switch to onions from seed because all red onions we try from sets bolt - so will experiment with that this season in the hope of replacing the Autumn Champion with a variety (or two!) from seed.


We were looking at 2 types of onion sets (Autum Champion*†, Senshyu), 3 sorts of garlic (Kingsland Wight*, Rose Wight†, Messidrome†) and 1 type of shallot (Longor*).

The varieties marked * we regard as "tried and tested" to yield results we like. But we also want to try new things.

But at a total around £55 it seems just a bit much, I'm sure some of these prices are a couple of quid higher than last year. Inflation, cost of living, totally understand why but it's painful all the same.


Next up is bread and butter cucumbers.

But pause a moment to admire the beauty of this little #allotment "Autumn Champion" onion.

What a little stunner.

Cannot believe, esp in this heat, I am already planning the autumn allium planting. Started putting a Sutton's order together and baulked at the £55 basket I got to. Need to rethink the strategy on that.

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Squeezing in a bit of #preserving in today, these #allotment eggplants needed something done to them so I am trying Chunky Chunky Melenzane* — Italian style melanzane sott’olio, similar to: https://memoriediangelina.com/2020/08/08/melanzane-sottolio-eggplant-cured-in-oil/

* To the tune of The Whitlams Chunky Chunky Air Guitar 🎸🍆

Chunky chunky melenzane
Chunky chunky melenzan
He was getting down like a freak show
She was going off like a whale
Chunky chunky melenzane
Chunky chunky melenzan

https://youtu.be/Uc0bAL-oHIA?si=Ttv99ecHNqAzNld2

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Suddenly I'm all damp...

*checks sensor data*

Ah, right...

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Amazon video seems to have stopped listing actor credits in chronological order in favour for some totally unobvious order of it's own.

This platform seems to increasingly be the enemy of logic.


Today's continual inescapable brainfart...

I'm installing some PHP stuff and *every* time I go to type 'composer' my fingers type 'composter'.

Got #compost on the brain.

Or maybe my brain is #compost, sure feels like it lately.


nostr:npub19uptyc9dmm0uxur4sgg0hnm5netp54ht78k2pcru0e5r8esa8uws64ckeg the polytunnel has been fantastic and we are very fortunate to have it. Just luck with the blight so far! 🤞


Long old day again, prepping pallets in the glorious sunshine... could be worse. But nipped into the #allotment in the morning to ensure a few needy things weren't parched and cooking.

Did a little video walkthrough of the polytunnel.

Think we've done OK for Tomatoes this year and this "heatwave" will hopefully hasten some more ripening (ah, the silver linings of climate catastrophe and the impending grim endtimes of this so called civilization.)

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Hah, wow, Elmosite is now inserting tweets into the "Following" timeline that have got to be advertising... but are in not marked as such.

(I definitely don't follow that account. Have, with much futility, blocked it - just to upset Elmo.)

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Status: 10 hours into the smoke

The last 10C is always the worst to wait for... c'mon Mr Porky... c'mon!

I may do a swifty "cheat" foil wrap soon.

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nostr:npub1dugpgfap4alul20lyn2vglwud8tss4ytd008l7v0pnm8w97lvnlqfzmkax sliced off the damage and it went into a quiche I made tonight!


We'll be drowning in Black Cherry tomatoes soon too. We have two plants laden with trusses like these in the #allotment polytunnel and another well laden plant in the bogalow #greenhouse.

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It'll be over soon. The 7 day working weeks... just got to keep on plugging at it without exploding until it is.


Said tomatillos

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Put aside a bit of time to pop down the #allotment this morning, first visit in a week — the polytunnel somewhat desperate for water, but thankfully most things have put roots down deep enough to survive the neglect.

I'd love to be able to spend a whole day down here tending it properly, alas it is not possible at the moment. Maybe next season it'll get the time it needs, the time I want to put into it.

Cleaned up the celeriac, pondered the pumpkin patch, and bolstered the bean alley.

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