Alongside the hoe and the sickle, the billhook is one of the basic tools that made it possible for people to live in Europe prior to the industrial revolution. Whereas a sickle is used to cut grass, rough vegetation, and the cereal harvest, the billhook is used to cut wood, usually green wood, up to… Continue reading The Billhook
Author: Tim the Gardener
Fences and Wild Animals
For the first few years that we were gardening in Brittany, we had very few problems with deer, then we started to notice that something was eating the raspberry and strawberry flowers in the spring (so that we got no crop), and there started to be sporadic raids on the vegetable garden, such as a… Continue reading Fences and Wild Animals
Harvesting Cereals
Growing Cereals by Hand When people think about cereal production, the image that tends to come to mind is of a team of combine harvesters making their way through a field of corn that stretches to the horizon. It is an image that probably comes from the American mid-west, or Canada, but there are now… Continue reading Harvesting Cereals
Crafts
Crafts One of the most unusual aspects of our modern world is that most people do not make the everyday objects that they use in their lives. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, this would not have been the case: even in relatively-recent history, most people would have made a certain amount of their own clothes,… Continue reading Crafts
Sowing Seed
Sowing Seed Sowing seeds has been an integral part of human life since time immemorial. The fact that the whole of the adult plant, or at least the blueprint of the adult plant, is contained within the seed is nothing short of a miracle. When you have a chance to collect seed, store it carefully… Continue reading Sowing Seed
Mulch
“A farm is a self-sustaining unit that receives sunlight, air and water from the wider world, and with these resources grows in wealth and fertility from one year to the next”
Catkins
A large nut variety of hazel flowers in mid-Winter.
Stacking Wood
Firewood is neatly stacked against a bank. The pile should be left to season and dry out for a couple of years before it’s used.
Ash Wood
In this picture we can see an ash tree after felling. The large rounds in the foreground will be split, and used for firewood. Ash makes very good firewood, which can be burned straightaway if necessary. The bottom section of the trunk was fairly straight, and has been split into sixths, with the use of… Continue reading Ash Wood