Know how

Article categories

Grow your own

Whatever the scale of your ambitions or plot you'll find something useful here.

Make your own

Reduce your footprint by making your own, from knitting to soap-making to adorning your home.

Livestock and pets

Find out about rearing livestock from the farm to the garden, and doing the best for your pets.

Energy efficiency and construction

Discover how to adapt, change and even build your own home to enable you to tread more lightly upon the planet.

Cooking, preserving and home brewing

From the home brewery to ambitions of chefly grandeur. Find out how to do it all here and really taste the difference.

Wild food

Subsidise the larder in a sustainable way. From fishing, to shooting, to foraging safely, find it among these articles.

Conservation and the environment

Conserve our world for future generations. See how you can help in these pages.

Marketplace

From shopping with a conscience to building your own enterprise. Find advice and encouragement among these pages.

Everything else

Sometimes the diversity of downsizing can throw up an unusual topic.

Editorial

Past editorial items from the downsizer front page.

You are here: Home arrow Articles arrow Editorial arrow Autumn 2014

Print

Editorial Autumn 2014

Written by Chez & Jamanda

Summer is pretty nearly over; and what a good one it has been! But now the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us and the question is what can you DO with all that flipping fruit? The blackberries have been fantastic and with no sign of any frost yet just keep going. Sloes and plums seem to be a bit patchy but if you look they are out there! The Downsizer Articles Section has the know-how you need, whatever the season - but for autumn, let's start with gathering your Wild food and turning it in to Chutney, Preserved Mushrooms or Jellies and Jam. And don't forget Sloe Gin!

Various dark-winter-night type celebrations are coming up. Make yourself a Graveyard Cake for Halloween and remember to get your Christmas Cake and Christmas Pudding done early enough that you can 'feed' them well before the date. Our forum has a very active Make Your Own ... section, too, with lots of discussion about creating your own presents and decorations for the winter celebrations, as well as lots of people interested in spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, felting and sewing; from beginners to the very experienced.

Fresh air's important, though, as well as all this inside stuff for the long winter evenings. We have articles on Things To Do On The Plot in September, October and November. Unless, of course, you are South of the Equator, in which case you might like to join in discussing the First signs of Spring.

If you haven't come across Downsizer before, please have a look around and find out more About Us!

Thanks to colour it green, Shan, Mochyn, SandraR, Sally too, sally_in_wales, Jamanda, tai haku and Barefoot Andrew for the pics above.