Hello from new member!

[glenniedragon]

Have often browsed your fantastic site, a real font of wisdom! I've had a go at Nev's solar oven last summer with a modicum of sucess. A bit about me - we are a small family with a lovely long garden that has been in conversion, this year we can say we are truely organic! I have 2 great helpers when I'm out there digging- my 2 light sussex called Camilla an Flo (after Gonzo's girls) a cat who's the best rat catcher I've ever known, 2 boys and an OH who really doesn't like being muddy!
I'm a home brewer, a jam maker and have just been asked to be one of the treasurers in my local LETS scheme which is all very exciting.

Kind thoughts
Deb

[Muddypause]

hello Deb, welcome along.

You sound just like our sort of person.

[hedgewitch]

A BIG hello and welcome to the forum

[Andy Hamilton]

Hello there Deb glad that you decided to join in whilst browsing through.

It does sound like you are kept busy.

So what happened with Nev's solar oven?

[Millymollymandy]

Hiya Deb and welcome! I know what you mean about hens, they really love to help don't they? Little tinkers!

[Chickenlady]

Welcome to the site!

[ina]

Hello Deb and welcome!

Is there enough sun anywhere in the UK for a solar oven???

Hope you'll enjoy joining in our postings!

Cheers
Ina

[glenniedragon]

Well, I made the oven as per instructions and looked at the ones following the link in the article. The best I did was warm up some part baked ciabatta on a very hot day down on a beach in cornwall, the BBQ was well and truley over by the time the bread was ready, but enjoyed the experiment nonetheless. I like the idea of cooking outside.....has anyone tried building a clay oven in their garden, some of the ones I've seen pictures of in the US are beautiful, I wonder how they would last over here in the damp and gloom?

kind thoughts
Deb

[Tigerhair]

Welcome Deb

[Shirley]

Hi Deb

Nice to meet you!! I've also got chickens - light sussex and a buff sussex trio too.

Whereabouts are you from??

I haven't made a clay oven YET but we bought a book about making them before we moved - haven't found it yet though!! We had eaten foccacia bread that had been baked from raw that had been cooked in one when we went to an eco weekend at Presteigne in Wales. It was thin so cooked fairly quickly but was totally delish - if we hadn't have moved to Scotland I'd be doing a course on them this year, but maybe I'll find something up here in Scotland - maybe Findhorn or somewhere.

LETS is great - I used to be a member of one up here when we lived here last time and I should investigate the possibility again. Good luck with that.

[glenniedragon]

I'm down in deepest cider country, Somerset. Made some last year and was delish...I'm a real LETS convert, since I joined I've made loads of new friends all with a similar outlook to my own, a real diverse age group but it seems to work. I now feel like I'm part of a community that is equitable- my group have a monthly market that takes both sterling and tones, and there are craft items, veg, books and a fair trade stall and have a smart group on Yahoo! so it really is quite busy. My other half is quite keen to build an outside oven, he's more into his experimental archaeology so he'd want a turf oven like the Romans used to build in the sides of their forts, less of a fire risk.......I worry how the clay would stand up to the winter deluge we often suffer, I've never seen any courses down here I'll have to have a serious search for one, I'd worry what the chickens would make of an oven being built near the coop! maybe they would start behaving and leave my precious pea shoots alone!

kind thoughts
Deb

[Shirley]

ha - you think you can keep your chooks away from peas?? LOL... at least it will make the yolks even more golden giving them nice greens like that.

zummerzet !! I used to live in Bath - my dp hails from the area. We are now in Aberdeenshire (via Herefordshire - another cider country!!) Have never tried making cider though - silly really, I should have done. Maybe do that this year with our apples.

Your LETS group sounds streets ahead of the one I was involved in up here - but then perhaps the one up here is more exciting nowadays (it was 6 years ago when I was involved) - Am now trying to find out more about my local lets online!! Thanks for the nudge.

xx

[glenniedragon]

Now this is kinda spooky! my OH's brother is a Dr in Aberdeen and we moved to Somerset via Hemel Hempstead, the in laws still live in the smoking remains!

I lost half a row of peas over the weekend, the little feathered fiends

Kind thoughts
Deb

[glenniedragon]

For herefordshire I read Hertfordshire, hey it's late......

Kind thoughts
Deb

[nick]

Hi Deb and welcome.
Aren't our feathered friends great for scratching - pea shoots - delish for chooks. Have been getting around to a solar oven. At the moment have a table outside that is in the sun for the best part of the day. As an experiment had some carrots that have been thinning - about 1cm across the top and 5cm long - took close to 4 days to dry in open sun. didn't think that was too bad. I try as much as possible to garden organically and am starting to read about biodynamics. last year planted by their calendar and was happy with the results.