LSSSC Meeting - March 2007

Talk on organic gardening and growing

Patty Phillips, who farms a Soil Association (SA) registered holding and produces organic goats' cheese, also gave a talk explaining the general principles for organic production and the practices based on these principles in relation to livestock, housing, feeding, access to pasture and health together with the importance of record keeping. The SA requires records of everything brought on and taken off the farm. The ideal is an unbroken cycle with fertility maintained by home produced manures and composts and animals fed on home produced feed. The SA inspect annually, checking records, walking the farm and checking what is being grown, livestock and dairy. Patty’s Membership of the soil association costs around �500 per year, but Membership helps build ‘trust’ with customers, particularly new ones. The thorough SA inspections have an excellent reputation, which helps keep visits from other governmental authorities brief. The SA is also helpful with any particular problems and technical advice Members may need.

LSSSC Meeting - February 2007

Home butchery

Unfortunately, this meeting had to be cancelled.

LSSSC Meeting - January 2007

Beekeeping

Fred spoke on many aspects of beekeeping, for example the different sorts of hives available, collecting the honey and general care of the bees especially through the winter. Fred was happy to stray away from his prepared talk, in order to reply to questions from the floor. The audience included people who already keep bees, who intend to keep bees, or who were just interested in the possibility. The questions at the end proved very informative, and I hope that it will lead to more members keeping bees.  

Holding the meeting in a pub proved quite popular. Allowing those attending to have a drink, and talk before, and after the talk. Perhaps this is something that we should repeat next winter, if ever we are without a dedicated speaker. 

LSSSC Meeting - December 2006

Xmas Social

Held at the home of Gary and Naomi Lever, in Strubby. A social evening, with a lot of food aand drink. Another late night!

LSSSC Meeting - November 2006

Bushcraft

A Bushcraft demonstration by Bearclaw Bushcraft, given at the holding of Ivor and Pam Davey, near Wragby. A demonstration of firelighting, tool sharpening, and spoon carving.

LSSSC Meeting - October 2006

Goat Keeping talk

Given by John Hankinson, at the holding of Janice Leather, at Goxhill. John gave a very interesting talk on goat keeping, using Janice's British Guernseys. 

LSSSC Meeting - September 2006

Poultry Talk

Held at Maltby le Marsh village hall. Mike Colley gave a talk on poultry keeping aimed at keeping costs low.

LSSSC Meeting - August 2006

BBQ

Held at the Holding of Deano and Beverley Martin, in Hagworthingham.  A social event where we ate food cooked on an open fire, and drank until well into the night.

LSSSC Meeting - July 2006

AGM

Held at Colin and Lynn Green's holding near Boston.

LSSSC Meeting - June 2006

Scything Workshop

This was held at Ivor and Pam Davey's holding near Wragby. I demonstrated Scythe selection, peening, fitting, and mowing. Then everybody had the chance to give it a go. 

LSSSC Meeting - May 2006

Our May meeting was held at Dave Yates workshop in Coningsby. The subject was working with metal and tool sharpening.

Dave, our tutor for the evening went through all the various ways we can sharpen our own tools at home, on our holdings. He covered basic grinding of gardening tools right up to very the fine sharpening of knife blades and chisels etc . It was a very interesting talk with some members bringing along a blade or item to be sharpened.

We were shown the use of an electric grinder, a basic wet and dry paper(fixed to a block of MDF) and various oil stones, wet stones, diamond sharpeners etc .Also a Japanese water stone and even a leather strap with jewellers rouge on it. We were also told how a plate of flat glass with 'Brasso' on it could be used to get a very very fine finish on a good blade. Dave also explained how to remove the 'wire' (the thin burr of metal left on the edge of a recently sharpened blade' by slicing the blade across the grain of a piece of wood.
We had questions and answers and the Dave moved onto the subject of welding. Again several methods were described to us. From stick welding, MIG welding, and TIG welding to oxyacetylene welding. The equipment needed was explained and shown to us, as was the cost of setting up each sort of welding apparatus. Safety issues were also explained. Again lots of questions followed.

Dave was a very confident tutor having been a metalwork teacher for many years and he currently (and has been for some time) makes custom bicycle frames for individual customers. It was a pleasure to take part in his metalwork workshop. If anyone is interested in having anything welded, sharpened, repaired or in having a bike made please see www.daveyatescycles.co.uk . We went into Debbie and Dave’s house for tea, coffee and cakes and spent a couple of hours chatting (LSSSC members excel at this!) It was yet another enjoyable meeting.

LSSSC Meeting - April 2006

Our April meeting was held at Hamish and Kim Wood’s fantastic smallholding in Minting near Horncastle.

Hamish and Kim gave us a wonderful tour of their stunning holding and we were all extremely impressed with how very organised and tidy the holding was. With large well organised areas designated for their chickens, geese, turkeys, and a really large superbly laid out vegetable garden, plus polytunnel and many greenhouses and cold frames. There were comfrey patches, wildlife ponds and beehives, a beautiful woodland area with primroses, daffodils bluebells, anemones and snakehead fritillaries. It really was an inspiration. Everything had it's place. There were loads of compost bins. Some for leaf mould, hot bins for weeds, others for this years and last years organic waste and a plentiful supply of worms to break it all down into lovely compost. There were grapevines in the polytunnel. There were early varieties of strawberries already setting fruit, an orchard and a natural willow windbreak, plus wildlife areas too.
The veggie area was perfection. Lots of deep beds and fruit cages. The permanent beds with loads of rhubarb amongst lots of other stuff, all growing away beautifully. All the paths around the growing areas were covered in membrane to prevent weeds taking hold. Even inside the polytunnel they had laid the beds out with cobblestone edges. So much to see and all so well laid out. Really lovely people too. Their place was a credit to them!  

A big thank you to Kim and Hamish for hosting the event and making us all so welcome.

LSSSC Meeting - March 2006

LSSSC 9th Meeting - 3rd February 2006

Our recipe swap was another successful meeting. With some delicious food to tatse, and home-brewed wine and port to wash it down with! You will find some of the recipes below:

LINCOLNSHIRE SAUSAGES (Jane Douglas)

5lbs minced pork shoulder and belly
2 tsp salt
1� tsp pepper
9� oz breadcrumbs
1oz sage

CHEESE & HERB NIBBLES (Debbie Hargreaves)

4oz (100g) self raising flour
2oz (50g) margarine
3oz (75g) Red Leicester cheese, grated
1 medium egg, beaten
1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Heat oven to 180�C, 350�F, Gas Mark 4..
Place flour in a basin, rub in margarine.
Stir in cheese and herbs.
Add sufficient egg to make a stiff dough.
Roll out thinly and cut into strips/shapes.
Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 10-15minutes.

PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS (Lynn Green)

8oz butter
8oz white sugar
8oz soft dark sugar
2 eggs
1 teasp. vanilla essence
12oz plain flour
1� teasp. bicarb.
8oz peanut butter

Cream sugars and butter together then beat in eggs and vanilla essence.
Fold in everything else and mix well. Make into small balls and place on greased baking tin.
Flatten slightly with tines of fork. Nake for about 10 mins, no 6.

PICKLED EGGS (Simon Pavitt)

2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2/3 cup malted vinegar
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 doz hard boiled eggs, shelled

Sterilize bottling jars. While they're sterilizing, put ingredients (not eggs) into a pan and bring to the boil.
Fill sterilized jars with boiled eggs. Pour boiled liquid over eggs and secure lid tightly.
Keep for at least one week before eating.
WARNING.......make sure your kitchen extract is working before heating the mixture!

SWEET & SOUR CHUTNEY (David Bull)

2 large onions
2 cooking apples
1 large ginger root
2 eating apples
3 large carrots
1 large lemon (incl. rind)
� lb tomatoes
4oz sultanas
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1tsp honey
1tsp cinamon
4 tsp mustard powder
malt vinegar
plain flour

Julliene all the veg and lemon, place in pan, add vinegar to just cover, add sultanas and spices and simmer until dissolved.
Leave on low simmer for 1 hour, add enough plain flour to thinken, cook out flour, pour in warm jars and seal.

LSSSC 8th Meeting - 14th January 2006

We had a huge turnout with around 50 people attending the Tour of Bridge Farm in Snitterby Carr. We all met in the farmhouse and were served tea and coffee by our hosts and their helpers!

Patty and Dave, who were hosting the meeting, each took us in two groups, on separate tours of the Soil Association registered organic farm. The setting is really beautiful, as the farm is right on the banks of the river Ancholme with a weir/waterfall just opposite the farm gate!!

Patty dealt with the animal tour and showed us her Golden Guernsey goats, her fabulous dairy, she even spent time explaining her cheesemaking (we got to sample the cheeses too), we also saw Bonny the Gloucester Old Spot, plus the numerous ducks, geese and hens etc. The weather started fine, but we did get drizzle as the day went on. Once the tour of the animals was over, we swapped groups and David told us all about the growing side of the farm, including the orchard, tree grafting courses, hedgleaying day, the box schemes and farm shops they supply and how they are adding more massive water butts and polytunnels in order to be able to increase the crops they grow. We got to look at all the buildings and machinery used on the farm . By this time it was raining a bit harder ,but we braved it, as David also told us all about the educational access the farm provides for children not attending school.

We ended the tour by gathering in the farmhouse kitchen and diner (all 50 of us so it was a squash) where Patty had ready for us each a bowl of hot vegetarian soup. The members had each brought along food to add to the communal table. There were apple pies, home made crusty bread, various cakes, quiches and cheeses etc . We all warmed up after the delicious soup and got chatting (as we always do) and lots of membership forms were handed out to all the new people attending! Another very successful meeting,

Thank you to Patty and Dave and thank you to all those that came along and brought food too!

LSSSC 7th Meeting - 4th December 2005

In December we had our Xmas social at John Gunners smallholding in Langton by Wragby.

A huge buffet was provided by the Gunners and all the members also brought along home cooked or home brewed goodies. One of our members cooked the most amazing five layer Belgian chocolate cake, and our club secretary's elderflower and sultana wine was a great hit too!

Our thanks go to the Gunners for being so kind and hosting this excellent social evening.

LSSSC 6th Meeting - 7th November 2005

The home butchery demo was another wonderful evening packed with useful information for anyone wishing to turn their meat animals into recognisable and waste free joints and cuts!

Our wonderful master butcher for the evening talked us through each step clearly as he cut each side of pork into a huge array of different joints and cuts from spare rib chops, boned and rolled leg joints, stuffed belly of pork, to loin of pork and huge pork steaks. The list just went on! Nothing was wasted. All trimming and fatty bits could go into sausages . We were also told of the equivalent cuts on lamb and beef and shown the bone structure of each joint to enable us to bone out joints with little or no waste.

Our butcher also explained the curing of pork into hams and bacon and told us about the use of a brine pump to ensure the cure mix or brine penetrates fully into the bigger joints , especially around any bones and therefore ensured a proper and safe cure! He also explained how he used to make salt beef in a similar way.

Our pork (British Saddleback) for the demo was kindly supplied by two of our members Glenys and Gary Beaman of Glengary Farmfare, Northorpe (tel. 01724 761978 or email [email protected]) who breed Gloucester Old Spots and British Saddleback pigs,  along with some wonderful Ryeland sheep.

Glenys and Gary did a roaring trade and have kindly donated a percentage of their profits from the nights orders  to LSSSC funds.
So a big thank you for that very generous gesture!

A lot of new faces, in fact over half those attending were new members, which was lovely to see. It certainly seems like there are a lot of new people now rearing their own meat animals or interested in finding smallholders to buy happy meat from!

Of course we had time for our usual refreshments of tea and coffee and lots of home made cakes including lemon drizzle cake, vanilla sponge cake with home made jam and a delicious rich fruit cake! Not a crumb was left!

The meeting ended with all of us really looking forward to meeting up yet again, for our club's  Xmas social in December! (With us all bringing along various home made beverages and food for the communal table).

LSSSC 5th Meeting - 1st October 2005

Held by our newest member, Ivor Davey, at The Old Nurseries West Torrington, this proved to be a hugely successful day. The weather was kind to us and stayed dry all day.

We had a fantastic tour of the extremely old orchard that the Davey's so lovingly care for. Many new trees have been planted amongst the very old existing ones, in order to replace those that are dying or that have been damaged. Old varieties (either cuttings from the orchard itself or other heritage varieties bought in) have been grafted onto standard rootstock and will in time grow to fill the gaps left by missing trees. The grafting process is also done by Ivor and we hope he will be able to teach us some of the methods he uses at some time in the future? Geese are used to control the grass in the orchard and they seem to be doing a great job. A hen was scratching close by with her large brood of chicks.

As we toured the orchard we all gathered windfall apples and pears (and ate the odd damson from the prolific crop available and the odd ripe pear too!) We gathered around at the end of the meeting to press the fruit in the newly bought press the Daveys had set up for us and were each allowed to fill our empty bottles with the juice to take home. We all got to taste the pear and apple juice and it was truly delicious.

We had also toured the meadow that is part of the Stewardship scheme that the Daveys follow and Ivor explained how his wildflowers species had increased quite substantially since he had first moved there. Then we went to see the goats paddock and it's residents and looked at the rape straw that Ivor uses to heat his home ,using the huge straw bale burner he recently had made for him. The rape straw ,we were told ,has the highest calorific value of any straw and is of little use to farmers as it is not any good as bedding or feedstuff, so Ivor gets to keep the straw for purely the cost of baling it and trailering it home.

The Daveys also use solar and wind power to provide energy for their home and details were given to all those members who were keen to install similar systems in their own properties. The bank of batteries and the inverter that converts the current for their household needs was also shown.

We also got to see the veg beds and the massive grape vine that was tumbling through a greenhouse laden heavily with fruit. It was an awe inspiring insight into just what can be done.. Our thanks go to the Daveys for making us all so welcome and teaching us so much about smallholding their way!

(Thank you to Robert and Maeve for the photos)

LSSSC 4th Meeting - 4th September 2005

Held at FARRLACEY ALPACAS  near Horncastle, Trevor and Dick were wonderful hosts.

Not only did we learn a huge amount about camelids, their history ,uses, breeding and husbandry etc . But we got a fantastic tour of the stunning smallholding they were kept at and were allowed to handle one of the machos to feel the quality/ handle of the fibre. Lots of baby cria were there to see too and in so many different colours.

A new mill is opening next month ,selling the products and fibre from the Farrlacey herd and plans are afoot for rug making kits too.
The Farrlacey smallholding will soon be powered by a personal wind turbine, producing 6kw of power. Excess electricity will be able to be sold back to the national grid , we were told. It seems that alpaca owners become truly passionate about their stock and the enthusiasm of the owners of the herd we saw today was clearly evident.

We were told that not only are alpacas used for fibre production, but also as guards for poultry and sheep (we heard of their ablilty to encircle foxes and they have even have been known to trample an animal that threatens them or their herd.) In their native countries they are also used as meat animals, although this isn't done here in the UK. As of yet no one has marketed their milk either (maybe a niche market there?)

The alpaca seems to be a very low maintenance animal, requiring no movement certificates or DEFRA registration/ tags etc.They can live out all year without a shelter ,although a field shelter will be useful during shearing / foot trimming or very heavy snowfall etc . They require grazing (grass being their main diet) and will also browse on fruit trees and bark and love the new hawthorn leaves each spring. They have hay in winter and a special mineral supplement throughout the year. It was a pleasure to see them all and I for one was very impressed with the way they were kept.

We finished the day with some lovely refreshments provided by the hosts and even had time for our usual chat with each other etc .The weather stayed gorgeous and it was another really enjoyable day!

LSSSC 3rd Meeting - 1st August 2005

Many thanks to Sylvia and Gordon for an excellent Sausage Making Demonstration.

We had several new members attend and we all sat and watched the process, starting from the filleting of a lump of meat on the bone , the mincing and mixing of the herbs etc through to the final stuffed sausages and of course we were able to ask questions as the sausages were made.

We were shown the quick way to link strings of sausages and one humorous member asked if the demonstrator could make poodles?? as the speed he worked at resembled the ballon artists you see at parties.

We then sampled some cooked sausages that were made earlier, using the same recipe.

There was plenty of tea and coffee and of course several home made cakes afterwards.

LSSSC 2nd Meeting - 4th July 2005

Peter and his lovely wife Helen hosted a truly fantastic second meeting for LSSSC.

We had a lovely tour of their beautiful smallholding and saw the orchard with its wonderful medlar trees, also plans are afoot for a new lake/pond. They have converted an outbuilding into their own home butchery.

There were two middle white and two large black young gilts snuffling contentedly in a stable. Their very tame hens were following us around the yard.

Inside we had a wonderful array of home baked goodies and scrumptious, home grown, perfectly cooked Southdown lamb. That was a real hit with everyone!

Then there were generous tasters of, elderflower champagne (a bottle of which was kindly added to the raffle table), greengage wine and two different beers from a micro brewery.

Lots of information was available from Peter about the construction of flat pack tractors and so much more.

Everyone (and there were lots of new faces) was happy chatting and it was a really friendly informal and enjoyable meeting.

Thank you so much Peter and Helen for hosting the meeting, and for making us all so welcome in your home.

LSSSC 1st Meeting - 2nd June 2005

The first meeting of LSSSC was a great success!!

Kate O'Connell provided us with a super venue at THE FARM (well worth a visit if you are in the area) and we were delighted to welcome Pat Gardiner and Mrs Pat as our inaugural guests.

Pat Gardiner talked about his experiences of a self-sufficient lifestyle, which inspired much discussion and sharing of ideas and aspirations between those present. Happily this continued long after the formal end of the meeting, as everyone stayed to chat and relax over a beer (or two!)

HOME       HISTORY       PURPOSE       MEETINGS      COURSES     JOIN      SALE      CONTACT       LINKS