The Storm Kettle – Product Review

Originally, the Storm Kettle was handmade in Ireland - often by travellers who produced them in copper - for fishermen, itinerant workers and tourists. John Grindlay, who with his wife owns and runs the Eydon Kettle Company, modified the design and implemented modern manufacturing techniques in the early 1960’s.

John Grindlay borrowed an original copper kettle and took it to England during the winter. Tooling was manufactured and the first 10 kettles eventually produced. These were very quickly sold for £10 each in 1979, the assembly work being carried out by Mr Grindlay’s children who were then 8 years and 10 years old. Popular demand meant that production had to increase. Since 1979 the numbers sold have substantially increased each year.

Mainly these Kettles, whether sold in the UK, Germany, or elsewhere, are used by sportsmen, holiday makers, expedition organisers and outdoor enthusiasts. They have even accompanied the explorer John Blashford-Snell, while he was searching for signs of early civilisations on a trip to Central America.

Nowadays they can be found in the Solomon Isles helping remote islanders boil water to purify it, in remote parts of Southern Africa, where dried cattle dung is used by the Zulus as fuel, or in the Sahara Desert on expeditions.

I am always amazed though that they never seem to have found a take up by the still travelling Romani in the UK and elsewhere. The Storm Kettle does away with the need for a fire for just the purpose of brewing a cup of tea or coffee or even for the making of some other hot beverage.

Using a Storm Kettle means you can boil water easily, in the wettest and windiest of weather, both rapidly and safely. They are also environmentally friendly as you only need a sheet of newspaper and a handful of twigs as fuel. So the simplicity of the Kettle ensures that boiling water is always available, without the need to use gas, petrol or any other artificial fuel.

Storm Kettles come in two sizes, the Original and the Popular. The Original will boil up to 2.5 pints (approx. 1.5 litres) the Popular up to 2 pints (approx. one litre) – that should ensure more than enough hot water is available for you within minutes - at any time.

The water boils rather quickly and can be kept going by just adding further small sticks into the fire that is going in the burner beneath the kettle via the “chimney”.

One word of warning even though it is mentioned more than once in the literature and also on a sticker on the kettle itself: NEVER EVER use it with the cork in place. While the cork is very handy for carrying the kettle with water in it when heating the water the cork must be taken out of the spout.

The Storm Kettle & the cook set that nowadays is available for it is the ideal kit for forestry workers, countryside conservators, and other such like, such as Parks & Countryside Ranger, especially those working on maintenance tasks away from the main base.

While the Storm Kettle and accessories do not come cheap I can but recommend them.

The Prices for the kettles are: £43.00 for the Popular and £44.50 for the Original. Prices include V.A.T. and carriage.

Reviewed by Michael Smith (Veshengro), February 2008

This Blessed Plot

It could be said that the British, aside from, as often referred to, as being a nation of shopkeepers (and do we really have that many shops?), are a nation of horticulturists.

If it is not a plot at home, the garden around the house, or such, then it is an allotment and many even who have a garden at home still hanker after an allotment, especially as a place where to grow food. And some even fulfill this by having one or even two an allotments where to do just that.
I believe that in respect to the allotment only one country probably can surpass Britain and that is Germany with its “Schrebergartenkultur”, the “Allotment Culture”. Entire colonies – and they call them thus – exist in many areas of Germany with garden sheds that are often more like little log cabins and small houses, like country retreats – often in the very cities, such as in Berlin – little Dachas, where families even live for much of the summer.

An allotment garden can be, as far as I am concerned, on allotment areas proper, but it can also be a part of one's garden at home.

Aside from that one could have a clandestine allotment or two squirreled away somewhere in woods or field. This would fall under the category of “Clandestine Farming and Gardening”.

Allotments and allotment plots at home really came into their own during the “Gig For Victory” campaign in World War II when the British Isles had problems getting food in through the blockade by the German submarines.

This also showed that in these Isles we depended and once again depend too much on food from abroad, and nowadays probably even more so than then.

I mean, really, organic French beans from Kenya, flown here. Firstly, how do we know that they are “organic” and secondly, considering they get flown daily into the UK by the tons they are not at all green, despite their color, and their environmental footprint is rather enormous. This is absolutely, in my opinion, silly. Food miles and carbon footprint of the highest order. But I digressed.

With the aid of the “Gro Patio Allotment” frame a plot of your own for growing some of your greens at least can be had nearly everywhere now.

However, it is the “real” allotment (and the “allotment plot” at in a garden at home) that is the subject here.

Allotments for the people came into being in the United Kingdom in the 18th century: for example, a 1732 engraving of Birmingham, England shows the town encircled by allotments, some of which still exist to this day. Following the Inclosure Acts and the Commons Act of 1876 the land available for personal cultivation by the poor was greatly diminished. To fulfil the need for land allotment legislation was included. The law was first fully codified in the Small Holdings and Allotment Act of 1908, it was modified by the Allotments Act of 1922 and subsequent Allotments Acts up until 1950.

Under the acts a local government is required to maintain an "adequate provision" of land, usually a large allotment field which can then be subdivided into allotment gardens for individual residents at a low rent. The rent is set at what a person "may reasonably be expected to pay" (1950), in 1997 the average rent for a 10 square rods (250 m²) plot was £22 a year. Each plot cannot exceed 40 square rods (1000m²) and must be used for the production of fruit or vegetables for consumption by the plotholder and their family (1922), or of flowers for use by the plotholder and their family. The exact size and quality of the plots is not defined. The council has a duty to provide sufficient allotments to meet demand. The total income from allotments was £2.61 million and total expenditure was £8.44 million in 1997. In 2000 metrication legislation made it illegal to use square rods as a unit of pricing and allotments must now be priced in square metres.

As we can see from the provision of the various Allotment Acts the produce from such a plot, theoretically, is for consumption by the plotholder and his family only. In other words, sale of produce, theoretically, contravenes the legal provisions and, I am certain, therefore, that sale of produce would invalidate one's licence to one's plots and maybe even more than that.

However, there is allotment forestry where it would appear that allotments are used for the production of beanpoles and other small woodland items, as well as for crafts such as stick dressing, and the subsequent sale of such items produced. Such activities, when we looks at the Allotments Act would be unlawful if, I assume, carried out on land owned and provided by the local authority. On other land, and especially in one's own garden or such there is nothing that can be said against this, I should think.

Today many allotment areas have fallen prey to developers especially in the south-east of England and this is rather a sad state of affairs. The demand for ever more housing, which is not sustainable in the south-east at the rate it is going on, for ever more business parks, supermarkets, out of town, and such has caused the death of many an allotment area. Though I do also know of one allotment area in a municipal park, however, that simply was abandoned for, it would appear, lack of interest.
On the other hand the demand for allotment plots, I believe, is higher than ever and there are long waiting lists in many areas. It is many of the Asian and Afro-Caribbean families that hanker after plots where to grow their own and often rather exotic vegetables can be seen growing on plots up and down the country, such as Okra, etc.
It was his father;s allotment that instilled in Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones the wish to become a farmer and today “The Black Farmer” is a well-known brand in this country.

We need more allotments rather than fewer as we must look at food more at a local level, and to growing much of our own needs again.

© Michael Smith (Veshengro), February 2008

GROWING ONE'S OWN STOOL

Christopher Cattle

A retired lecturer in furniture design, in the mid eighties I started to wonder what contribution I could make to the 'save the planet ' debate. Settling on the problem of our seemingly ever increasing demand for energy, I decided to see what one could do to reduce the amount used to make furniture. An early decision was to concentrate on the use of wood, an attractive and popular material, and biodegradable.

I was aware of the annual races for solar powered vehicles run in Australia, which attracted such elaborate and complex vehicles. Suddenly it struck me that of course tree growth is also solar powered! The energy we use to make furniture is simply that required to convert trees into the forms we use for our chairs and tables. If only the trees could be persuaded to grow into the right shapes in the first place . . . .

But people have been training and grafting trees to shape since we know not when, so no new skills are required. To grow furniture would simply involve using well known techniques for a different purpose.

To prove that it could be done however, I would have to do it myself, so I designed the simplest item of furniture I could devise, a three legged stool. I also devised a simple plywood frame or jig, on which to train the saplings as they grew. (Having practised as a designer of furniture for industrial production for the first half of my professional career, I was having to start from scratch.) In 1995 I approached the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Reading with my scheme. They rented me a suitable small plot of land and with their help, I planted and grew my first batch of stools. Five years later I harvested my first grown stool frame.

Having shown that it could be done, where was I to go from there. Should I go into business and sell them?

I decided that the outcome nearest to my original intention was rather to publicise the idea, and to enable others to grow such stools. In this way I hope to persuade people - particularly the younger generation - to change their mindset, and realise that it is possible to achieve useful and practical results simply by the intelligent use of natural processes.

Over recent years I have promoted the idea in a variety of ways. The experiment originally received wide coverage in the press both in Britain and abroad. Each year I attend several relevant public events in Britain, from exhibitions in London to environmental gatherings in Scotland. The stools were exhibited at Expo 2005 in Japan and more recently in Paris. I have been interviewed for the radio in the UK, USA and Canada.

I have a website ( www.grown-furniture.co.uk ) and anyone can buy the flat pack plywood jig and instructions. Stool growing has proved popular for young families and the kits are frequently in demand as Christmas presents for retired parents. (You can be sure they haven't got one of these!) All you need is the enthusiasm, the patience, and a local supplier of suitable 'whips' or young saplings. Nature does most of the work, and as she's been doing it for millions of years she's pretty good at it.

I recommend Sycamore as a suitable species, as it tends to grow and graft well. The whips are normally sold in bundles of twenty five, so you have a good chance to select three (or multiples of three) which are evenly matched, and slim enough to be bent and trained well. They should preferably be no thicker than a traditional wooden pencil. The kit comes with a planting guide which enables you to plant your saplings accurately, so that they fit snugly to the corners of the jig. With gentle persuasion the stems can be carefully bent to shape and secured to the jig with plant ties. If you can plant in November or December it gives the roots a chance to establish themselves before the Spring, but any time up to the end of February has proved satisfactory.

By about the third year you should be able to make the lower grafts where the stems touch. Cutting away the bark and the green cambial layer beneath it at the point of contact , you must hold them gently but firmly together for a few weeks. This can be done by binding or drilling through and inserting a rivet of some sort. If the graft bonds well, the sap will start to take the shortest route between the leaves and the roots, and each 'leg' - the lower half of which consists of one tree with the upper half of its neighbour - will start to grow as one, while the horizontal sections - joining the legs at their mid point and becoming the 'rails' - will cease to grow and remain at their existing size.
Although it will probably be about five years before the frame grows to its required size, the time you spend tending it will be minimal. I expect to spend less than five minutes on each frame every three weeks during the growing season.

Before 'harvesting' your frame, you should decide whether you prefer the 'rustic' look, by retaining the bark, or the perhaps a more elegant look by stripping it off. If you choose rustic you should harvest in the winter when the tree is dormant . If you harvest when the tree is actively growing, it is quite easy to strip off the bark. The thickness of the legs is such that any splitting as the wood dries out shouldn't be a problem, but it should be left to 'season' naturally, out of doors but under cover for about a further year. You can then give it a top of your choice and sit on it!

Greenfingers to get 100,000 children gardening – and raises £80,000

The Greenfingers Appeal is to repeat its hugely successful 'Schools Sunflower Challenge' in 2007, having broken all records last season by encouraging a stunning 100,000 children from 750 UK schools to grow sunflowers for themselves. The project also raised a tremendous £60,000 for UK Children's Hospice gardens and participating schools.

Sponsored by B&Q and with seeds donated by Thompson and Morgan, the Sunflower Challenge is a combined educational and fund-raising initiative that brings gardening into the classroom and the home.

Income from the scheme is split 50:50 between the schools and the Greenfingers Appeal. Last year the Appeal was able to direct some £30,000 towards the provision of new gardens in UK Children's hospices.

Endorsed by celebrity gardener Tommy Walsh the project, now in its fourth year, provides free sunflower seeds and a comprehensive teacher's pack showing how the 'Sunflower Challenge' complements the National Curriculum 'Life Processes and Living Things' section. Children grow the sunflowers at home or at school, observing and recording their progress and learning from the experience.

Hints and tips for growing the seeds successfully, a growth chart and sponsorship forms are included, and the children are encouraged to obtain sponsors from friends and families who pledge an amount for each centimetre of the sunflowers final height when measured at the end of the summer term.

Mrs C Hopgood, Deputy Headteacher, South Norwood Primary School, commented:

'This has been the most successful class fund-raising/sponsorship activity that the school has ever done. Just four classes of 4-6 year olds took part, with one six year old boy raising the sum of £161:00 himself and several others raising well above £40:00 apiece. The Sunflower Challenge fitted in perfectly and certainly caught the children's imagination as evidenced by the magnificent response.'

The Greenfingers Appeal is the charity of the gardening industry and is currently raising funds to build much-needed gardens at children's hospices. Last year the Appeal raised more than £160,000 for the provision of new and improved gardens. Twenty-four projects have so far been completed or are underway, out of the 42 Children's Hospices in the UK running or under construction.

The Garden Press Event 2008

On Tuesday, January 29, 2008 I had the great privilege and pleasure to attend the Garden Press Event 2008 at the RHS Lawrence Hall in Vincent Square, Westminster, London, and a most productive day was had, at least by this writer, and some new – new to me at least – products have been obtained for review, which shall be coming soon.

To begin with I would here like to express my sincere thanks to Neil Gow of GIMA for inviting me to this great event.

Then my thanks goes to Frank Foot of Rollins Bulldog Tools Ltd. who took the time to talk to me and to invite me to contact him for review samples, an invite that I may be able take up in the not too distant future. The press pack that I was given contained a very nice pair of bypass pruners of the Premier Range and for a recommended retail price of just over £12 this definitely is a real nice solid made tool. The head and blade is of high-carbon steel SK-5 and identified as Japanese steel, which, having dealt in knives before professionally, is a very good carbon steel, so it should withstand a great deal of use. The problem with most people is always abuse rather than the intended use that damages their tools and also the fact that they do not look after their tools. Carbon steel does want a little TLC after use, such as keeping the blades oiled and greased.

Special thanks must go to Richard Hayter of Bahco (SNA Europe) and Rachel Collinge, SNA Europe's PR agent, for for taking the time out for a rather lengthy chat and for providing me with two product samples for review; the reviews of which shall be forthcoming soon.

A fine number of gardening-related manufacturers, growers, seed companies, suppliers and vendors supported this event held in aid of the “Greenfingers Appeal”.

Ball Colegrave, the well-known seed and plant company, showcased their range of “Kinder Garden Plants”, the range that is intended to introduce children to the pleasures of gardening. Aside from flowers there is also a fruit and veg part to this range, which is very nice to see. This could be very useful in introducing children at a young age to the growing of produce for the table.

A couple of new and relatively new products could be seen, of which the “Waspinator” and the “Plant Minder” do stand out to a degree and above all what caught my attention was the “Patio Grow”, which could be described as “your allotment on your patio” or, if more than one unit be employed, “in your backyard”, by “Gro Garden Products".

One of the other products that caught my attention was the Greenhouse Sensation's “Grow Your Own Portable Garden”. This is a brilliant piece of kit and definitely something that many people who would like to grow some of their own greens and such in locations without green areas, and even in apartments, and such like, have been waiting for.

Other products on show included another number of innovative products. One was the new and revolutionary “Chambermate”, by Chambermate Ltd. The “Chambermate” is the solution to the age-old problem of how to cover, without asking for problems later, the unsightly manhole covers in gardens, diveways and borders. Another the Backsaver Digging from Backsaver Garden Tools Ltd. in Leeds. While this may just be seen as yet another automatic spade it would appear to be quite a little different in its action and speed. Well worth a look.

Some of the products that I have seen shall, hopefully, be featured in the pages of this journal in the near future, including a couple of product reviews, as already indicated.

© Michael Smith (Veshengro), Jan/Feb 2008