Redoak's off-grid life.

[redoak]

Hi Americanlady, the sweet peas that I grow are all annuals. There are some perennial types but generally the flowers are smaller and less interesting.
The British seed suppliers mainly seem to say they don't send sweet pea seed to the US. apparently a special licence is needed which makes it uneconomic for them.
However one of them listed 3 US websites that do supply them.

Here they are,
http://www.fragrantgarden.com/
http://www.enchantingsweetpeas.com/
http://www.sweetpeagardens.com/


Marc

[Americanlady]

Thanks so much, Marc, for following up for me. You're a doll.

[LittleBrownFrog]

How are things with you Marc? Hope you haven't been washed/blown away!

[redoak]

not quite LBF but the wind has been a problem. I'm in quite an exposed position and some plants have suffered badly.
Went off to a boot sale this morning. Weather forecast sounded promising but they got it wrong as they frequently do. There were a lot of people there at first but as the torrential showers hit one after the other sellers soon started to drift away. As for buyers I think most had stayed in bed !!
My worst one this year but still not a complete failure. Sold all my mixed flower tubs which is good as they were about at their best.
The sun is out now of course but it's blowing a gale again.
Now the garden is starting to look a bit better at last I must take some photos to post on here.
Best wishes to everybody.

Marc

[Linda S]

Hi Marc nice to catch up with what youbeen up to and im glad it hasnt been a complete wash out for you, although i dont suppose it could get much worse for you.Take care and fingers crossed for some decent weather Lindaxx

[Mo]

Flowers do sell well, don't they.

The last few years I've put a tea trolley on the verge with an honesty box for charity when I had more plums than I could use. last year I added a few bunches of sweet peas and took more money than for the plums.

[Americanlady]

Marc, I'm wondering if I have missed something. You are living off the grid, but I don't know your living conditions. Do you have a house, trailer, or what? Do you have running heated water or do you do that sort of thing by hand? We've enjoyed seeing your gardens so much, but curious about your home while living off grid. Do you mind filling us in on that part of your life? It's obvious that you are quite finicky about doing everything well and carefully, but still, I'm curious.

[redoak]

I did say a bit about my living situation in earlier posts. No house or caravan, but a small self-built cabin at present. Hot water on tap? - nope, not yet. I have an outside water tap which I'll try to plumb inside when I get the chance but it's not quite simple and I'm just too busy at the moment. A kettle on a LPG hob is the extent of my hot water for now. Compost toilet. Not luxury but there's plenty of people in the world living in worse conditions. PV solar panels and 12 volt batteries supply electricity for lights, laptop, phone chargers etc. I like a simple life, would soon get uncomfortable and bored living in a city.

Marc

[Americanlady]

Well it sounds as though you have covered all your needs very well. The only thing missing is heated water. I have a cabin up on Weston mountain. It does have electricity but no running water. We take water with us when we go up there. It's heated with a wood stove, and I heat water in a kettle on the electric stove in the kitchen. Pretty basic, but I love it, and I know where you're coming from. We don't even have a compost toilet -- it's an outhouse out back of the cabin. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't mind it. We often see deer on the property. If it weren't for the snow and bad roads in the winter -- and getting snowed in -- I would be happy living there full time.

[Linda S]

Hi Marc how are things going with you I hope the boot sales are going well and the weather has improved enough. Looking forward to hearing how things are. Best wishes Linda

[redoak]

Thanks for your enquiry Linda. Things are so-so. I've been very busy. At least it's dried enough that I've been able to get on the ground and plant things, although it's now a bit late for many of them so there are big gaps in my cropping this year.
The produce that I do have is selling ok though, boot sales not great as the weather keeps putting the dampener on!
The village is about to open a community shop and they've been round asking me to supply them with veg. That's promising, although for this year I won't have a very good selection to offer them - have to try harder for next year and hope the weather is more friendly.

Marc

[Americanlady]

So you are expanding your connections -- ways to sell your products, I mean. Really, isn't that the best way to build a business. Have a feeling you will do more than fine in the long run. Looking forward to your growth next year, Marc. Here's to a thriving business for you.

[LittleBrownFrog]

The community shop sounds promising. It's a shame that the weather has caused so many problems for so many growers this year.

[MissEllie]

That's good news about the community shop, it sounds like its been a challenging year

[saint-spoon]

First thing I would give up if I was you was milk, sounds like you are having a nightmare with that. I stopped taking milk in my tea years ago and I can live without it now.