Independence Day #8

I know I've missed a few of these but rather than try to work out which week this would be had I have posted every week ... it just seemed easier to carry on where I left off ... so this is #8.
1. Plant Something: DH was v. busy on sunday & planted: 2 rasperries, 1 blackberry, a damson tree, 25 strawberry plants, 3 Goji Berries, 3 Tayberries, 1 gooseberry bush.
2. Harvest Something: Fairly successful on this front ... we had a bunch of veg that needed to come out before the frosts get any worse.
3.75lbs Turnips (Value £2.85)
1.5lbs Radishes (Value £2.75)
2lbs Beetroot (Value £3.75)
Total value this week: £9.35
3. Preserve something: still nothing here ... next year, I promise it will be different!
4. Prep Something (clean, mend, declutter, organise, learn new skills - be ready for what might come): Ongoing decluttering still in progress. I've joined MISI (like Etsy but in the UK) & set up a store there selling the remaining craft supplies from my old craft store (now closed down) but planning to focus on selling handmade ... so I guess I'm gonna be learning a lot of new skills v. soon. I'm also returning to my roots in party plan - that is more a case of re-learning old skills tho'
5. Cook Something (experiment for variation!) tried a 3 bean cassoulet, partly to use up the vast amounts of turnips!
6. Manage Reserves (don't waste bounty). Not much going on here... maybe we just don't waste much in the first place. I've spent a few evenings at the hospital visiting my stepfather & tend to be sooooo hungry that I can't wait the 20 minutes to boil pasta or whatever. DH had prepared me a veggie sausage pasta sauce one night & I added that to some leftover rice to make a rather tasty 'cheat's risotto' - v. yummy!!
7. Work on local food systems (buy local, promote green, give away seeds or plants, start local initiatives): Nothing actually happening here but I have a few plans. Dad gave me a link to a UK forum, which I will register for soon. I also have just found out about the Dartford Freecycle group (I though it was only in the US) & still need to look into the goodies offered by the River Cottage website ... although that is mostly indirectly local, I also want to try & start a local composting initiative ... just with the neighbours. I need more veg waste for my compost (we couldn't possibly make enough by ourselves) & as I share veg etc anyway, I hope they'll be keen to help.
8. Reduce Waste: Nothing new, just the ongoing re-purposing of glass jars, beer & other glass bottles, toilet roll tubes, bread bags, cardboard boxes & veg/meat trays continues ... as does my campaign against carrier bags! I found a rather interesting book online, all about 'precycling': making the things you would buy ... like shampoo & deodorant, so that you don't buy the packaging in the first place ... will update on that when I have it!