Spending a Medieval Summer on an Anglo-Saxon Homestead | Harvest, Hewing Timber and River Swimming

This summer on the farmstead, I continued my attempts to expand my food production, despite one of the worst droughts in living memory! The beans produced a good crop this year, having been planted back in November and established a strong root system over winter. I didn't have to water them once so I was pleased to see their suitability as a field bean. Field beans for storage are harvested once the pods are black and completely dry. Most of these beans I will save for planting next year as I clear new land for fields. I laid these out to dry in the sun after taking them off the plants. I had saved the offcuts of the elm trunks I have been hewing for the granary. Those that were clean grained and of a suitable size I set aside to make blanks for wheel hubs. Wheelwrights traditionally used elm for the hubs of cart and chariot wheels. Elm's twisted interlocking grain and resistance to splitting makes it perfect for the hubs which need an axle hole drilled all the way through as well as mortises for the spokes round the circumference of the hub. I roughly shaped the elm logs into hub blanks, which can then be set aside to season for several years before they are used to make wheels. I shaped two blanks into a 'torpedo' shape in the style of the Oserberg cart wheels, and the other two I simply cut into octagonal lozenge shapes, which could make ideal wheel hubs for a lighter cart or Irish-style chariot. Once the bean pods are fully dry, they are shelled and stored away. The empty pods are thrown back onto the field to compost back down. I leave the bean roots in the soil to release nitrogen, and simply cut the dried stalks down with a scythe, before covering with a heavy layer of hay mulch. This will keep the soil moist, fertile and weed-free over winter. Work continues on the granary in the form of tie beams. These will span across the roof space and tie the long walls together. I hewed these out from two nicely curved oak boughs and one smaller elm trunk, which also had a good curve. The next 'harvest' is the dried parsnip seeds. These are the parsnips left over from last season which I saved for seed. Parsnips, carrot and beetroot set seed in their second year. The dried stalks were cut and the seeds shaken onto a blanket to be collected, and set aside to store over winter. We often follow the stream down to a small waterfall and pool where it is deep enough to swim. It is incredible to plunge into the sweet, cool water after a day's work. Sina gathered a few early blackberries on the way home and we plucked our very first (and only) apple from our young apple tree, gifted to us by a dear friend. It was a special moment. We managed to harvest some good carrots and beetroot despite the drought. Some of the beetroot still had mice damage, but I realise now that the best way to combat this is simply to harvest them a little earlier, while they are still small. Sina gathered the carrot seeds once they were dry. Once the umbellifers are dry the seeds can simply be rubbed off into a bowl. This is the first year we have managed to harvest a substantial amount of carrot seeds, so we are pleased to now have a good stock of them! We enjoyed making blackberry porridge over the fire, and I tested out using leather 'lugs' to hold my bronze hanging bowl. With thanks to Herknungr, for the music 'Rujani' If you would like to support me further, you can become a patron here: / gesithasgewissa Join this channel to become a member: / @gesithasgewissa Or make a one-off donation: https://paypal.me/gesithasgewissa