Have you the turf home yet?

The Backwards Man

Just got the last of mine down, couple of bins a wee bit green but they'll season alright in the open shed.

How are you on with yours?

Four Phucs Ache

Helping a friend on sat to bring it in.Do it every year and lose the odd bit of cartilage while I'm at it.Its fookin soaked now though.

DontThankMe

I don't use turf or any other fossil fuels I power my home with solar energy it's better for the environment.

pa990

DontThankMe wrote: »

I don't use turf or any other fossil fuels I power my home with solar energy it's better for the environment.

More turf and coal for the rest of us

The Backwards Man

DontThankMe wrote: »

I don't use turf or any other fossil fuels I power my home with solar energy it's better for the environment.

The sun dries the turf , you can't get any more environmentally friendly fuel than that!

No need for expensive carbon heavy solar panels or unhealthy roofers driving 2.2 litre Transits

Boom_Bap

I was hoping 'Have you the turf home yet?' was going to be a euphemism.

I'm a little disappointed.

The Backwards Man

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I was hoping 'Have you the turf home yet?' was going to be a euphemism.

I'm a little disappointed.

Have you never experienced the satisfaction of driving the final load home?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Gas all the way

AtomicHorror

DontThankMe wrote: »

I don't use turf or any other fossil fuels I power my home with solar energy it's better for the environment.

I'd say you could probably drive a wind turbine too :pac:

The Backwards Man

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Gas all the way

Nooo!!
How do you spend that magical twenty minutes in the morning raking down and taking out the ashes?
You're a sellout bogger Lexie

Ubbquittious

DontThankMe wrote: »

I don't use turf or any other fossil fuels I power my home with solar energy it's better for the environment.

Turf is hardly a fossil fuel. Fossils are much older.

What do you do when it gets cold in the winter for weeks and the sun hardly makes a guest appearance?

Skylinehead

I'm retired from turf duty

Did my time

Pinkycharm

It's in and all stacked nicely in the back of the shed with last year's turf up front. Can't beat the bog and the sandwiches. Have to power wash the yard tomorrow, it wasn't as clean coming off the bog this year.

The Backwards Man

Skylinehead wrote: »

I'm retired from turf duty

Did my time

I used to think that too, but turf is the Irish Cosa Nostra, Just when you think you're out, it pulls you back in. .

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Nooo!!
How do you spend that magical twenty minutes in the morning raking down and taking out the ashes?
You're a sellout bogger Lexie

You say that now but you haven't seen me out in the middle of a field in October face down ass up picking potatoes like a boss!!
Nah hate the bog, my dad used to bring me as a kid then I'd made a little bed in the shade and go to sleep

Esel

I'm atin' me breakfast, Kate.

The Backwards Man

LexieOnRale wrote: »

You say that now but you haven't seen me out in the middle of a field in October face down ass up picking potatoes like a boss!!
Nah hate the bog, my dad used to bring me as a kid then I'd made a little bed in the shade and go to sleep

Potato picking was always the worst job, Halloween holidays from school, the townies getting dressed up as ET for sweets, us foundered in the asshole of nowhere gathering spuds from dawn to dusk, and if you were very lucky you got a glass bottle of Football Special in a straw in the pub on the last day, not for the novelty Of The straw, but your hands were that gangrenous you couldn't hold the fcuking thing!
But we were happy then

Aongus Von Bismarck

It has all gone very well so far. My Father announced to me earlier in the year that he intended to take home two hoppers of turf. I was slightly concerned, as he has arthritis in his left shoulder.  

That said, we spent two lovely days turning it. We even managed to get the brother motivated enough to join us for a few hours. I prepared a delicious trencherman meal of brown bread, proper sliced ham, potato salad, a selection of cheese, lettuce and scallions from the garden. Tea came straight off the driest sods we could find.

Wasn't around for the footing, so I got the brother to hire four Brazilians to assist them. The Father wasn't overly impressed by the technique, or work ethic, but the Brazilians did a fine job.

Flying back to Dublin early on Friday; so I'll rent a car and get down to Galway early. Saturday will be spent bringing turf home. Looking forward to the whole day, even if I don't agree with the principal of destroying the Irish landscape for the idea of shoving it into a range/stove. I suppose that is especially pertinent as I'm currently involved in the idea of 'Green Energy' trading. 

I'll fly from Dublin back to Frankfurt on Sunday knowing my Father has brought the turf home, and that we've beaten Wexford by at least 12 points.

Carry

The Backwards Man wrote: »

The sun dries the turf , you can't get any more environmentally friendly fuel than that!

No need for expensive carbon heavy solar panels or unhealthy roofers driving 2.2 litre Transits

As much as I enjoy your countryman's comments, but as an enlightened gentleman of the gentry you ought to know that turf is far from being environmentally friendly.

Cutting turf is like raping your mother soil, exploiting the very land you rely and live on. It's not renewable. To quote Aldi: When it's gone it's gone.
And then?

I would very much appreciate, dear sir, if you would consider renewable energy to heat your stately home. Like planting trees (which I'am sure you have plenty of acres for) and using energy you can use forever with careful planning.

Besides, burning turf stinks and does't give much heat.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Oh please Aongus. The thoughts of you on the bog in your suit pants tailored into shorts is turning me on.

The Backwards Man

Aongus is a turf man


My perception of you has changed entirely sir, I tip my hat to you

The Backwards Man

Carry wrote: »

As much as I enjoy your countryman's comments, but as an enlightened gentleman of the gentry you ought to know that turf is far from being environmentally friendly.

Cutting turf is like raping your mother soil, exploiting the very land you rely and live on. It's not renewable. To quote Aldi: When it's gone it's gone.
And then?

I would very much appreciate, dear sir, if you would consider renewable energy to heat your stately home. Like planting trees (which I'am sure you have plenty of acres for) and using energy you can use forever with careful planning.

Besides, burning turf stinks and does't give much heat.

How did it get there in the first place? Peat grows, albeit slowly, the Sun burns off energy it will never replace!
Don't lecture a turf man about the environment

Ubbquittious

Carry wrote: »

Besides, burning turf stinks

Philistine!

nice_guy80

I have vowed to never do a day on the bog again

hardship

AtomicHorror

Carry wrote: »

Besides, burning turf stinks and does't give much heat.

I'm a Dub transplanted out to a ****ty satellite town. I did not grow up in the country. So I say this without bias.

I think burning turf smells heavenly.

What made you dead inside, Carry?

Esel

Throw another sod of cannabis on the fire.

Carry

The Backwards Man wrote: »

How did it get there in the first place? Peat grows, albeit slowly, the Sun burns off energy it will never replace!
Don't lecture a turf man about the environment

How does it get there in the future? One day it's gone, admittedly not in your lifetime.

And yes, I do lecture turf men (and cave men) about the environment and more, albeit mostly in vain.
But I never give up hope

The Backwards Man

Carry wrote: »

How does it get there in the future? One day it's gone, admittedly not in your lifetime.

And yes, I do lecture turf men (and cave men) about the environment and more, albeit mostly in vain.
But I never give up hope

It grows back, in a million years time, when we're all gone, and our farms are all gone, and our windmills and our fields of solar panels are all gone, do you know what there will be?
Turf. As far as the eye can see.

Embrace it.

Carry

The Backwards Man wrote: »

It grows back, in a million years time, when we're all gone, and our farms are all gone, and our windmills and our fields of solar panels are all gone, do you know what there will be?
Turf. As far as the eye can see.

Embrace it.

And the Backwards Man's new probably soulful incarnation in a dead world looks on over a barren landscape bare of any life, and rejoices: Turf! All the turf of the world just for me!

Did you know that turf eventually turns into coal and in millions of years into diamonds?
Now there's a perspective for a girl ...

The Backwards Man

Carry wrote: »

And the Backwards Man's new probably soulful incarnation in a dead world looks on over a barren landscape bare of any life, and rejoices: Turf! All the turf of the world just for me!

Did you know that turf eventually turns into coal and in millions of years into diamonds?
Now there's a perspective for a girl ...

I'm only thinking of the next million years, us bogger folks don't like getting too far ahead of ourselves

Carry

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I'm only thinking of the next million years, us bogger folks don't like getting too far ahead of ourselves

I'm just saying, bogger folk or not, please keep in mind that preserving the turf might supply us with diamonds in the long run. Imagine the riches for Ireland! The extension of your mansion! Burning diamonds! Do they burn actually?



If there any Irish left.

Dyr

Obviously I'm not a spud gobbler so I leave the turf where it is

Wherever the f**k that is, some godforsaken bog that our forefathers only saw fit to bury their sacrifice victims in I imagine

Armchair Andy

Bambi wrote:

Wherever the f**k that is, some godforsaken bog that our forefathers only saw fit to bury their sacrifice victims in I imagine

That's the Wicklow mountains you're thinking of, Dublin's local cemetry.

Rumpy Pumpy

Bambi wrote: »

Obviously I'm not a spud gobbler so I leave the turf where it is

Wherever the f**k that is, some godforsaken bog that our forefathers only saw fit to bury their sacrifice victims in I imagine

Ara, you're as left as Seamus C. It's very niche stuff to be honest. Healthy democracy always need the outliers.

bodice ripper

7% of the planet is rainforest. 3% is bog.

Zenify

Please excuse my ignorance in this question (grew up in Dublin). How to you know if a bog is good to burn?

jester77

My heat gets delivered remotely. No boilers, immersions, heaters, smoke, ash etc in my house. Warm water just flows in directly to the taps and heats the floors based on internal and external temps. Highly recommend it.

Lady is a tramp

I'm the worst grown-up ever, I don't even know what I'd do with turf. Any place I've lived, I've usually had those fake fireplaces, they're done with electricity or gas or something and you just press a button and they light up. I'd be a bit freaked out at actually lighting a real fire inside a house. It just seems dangerous!

Ubbquittious

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

I'm the worst grown-up ever, I don't even know what I'd do with turf. Any place I've lived, I've usually had those fake fireplaces, they're done with electricity or gas or something and you just press a button and they light up. I'd be a bit freaked out at actually lighting a real fire inside a house. It just seems dangerous!

You havn't lived! light a few sticks first then start piling the turf up on top once it's going.Once you have a good fire heat up a poker on it and sink the poker into your glass of Murphys to give it that extra flavour. When you're going to bed shovel on a dried out cowshit to keep it going for the night.

The Backwards Man

Zenify wrote: »

Please excuse my ignorance in this question (grew up in Dublin). How to you know if a bog is good to burn?

Peat is millions and billions of dead trees and daddy longlegses and hedgehogs and the like all squashed together, when it is extracted and dried by professional expert craftspeople, it can be used for fuel

Lady is a tramp

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Peat is millions and billions of dead trees and daddy longlegses and hedgehogs and the like all squashed together, when it is extracted and dried by professional expert craftspeople, it can be used for fuel

The poor hedgehogs.

We had a pet hedgehog once, he lived in our back garden (townie council estate) for around four days. He came out of nowhere. The novelty of it! We called him Bob Sonic 2.0 (I've no idea why) and I'm sad thinking he might be part of someone's fire now.

This thread is doing nothing to convert me to the notion of having a real fire! Warming myself off Bob Sonic 2.0's remains ... just, no!

The Backwards Man

bodice ripper wrote: »

7% of the planet is rainforest.

Or 'prebog' as it's called around here

Zenify

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Peat is millions and billions of dead trees and daddy longlegses and hedgehogs and the like all squashed together, when it is extracted and dried by professional expert craftspeople, it can be used for fuel

but I assume all peat is not equal in burning quality? or is it?

Ush1

Christ how many threads about poxy turf are you gonna make?

Armchair Andy

Ush1 wrote:

Christ how many threads about poxy turf are you gonna make?

Once the turf's in there's fu ck all else to do in fairness.

corner of hells

As the Dublin born son of a railwayman , you'd think I'd have nothing to do turf.
But you'd be wrong , he was a railwayman on the little Bord na Mona trains that scuttled around the bog.

I , too , as a child along with Dublin born cousins was transported every year down to a bog to bring in the turf.

biko

The Backwards Man

Zenify wrote: »

but I assume all peat is not equal in burning quality? or is it?

You're right, good deep black turf give off much more hear than fuzzy brown ones. The deeper the better usually. But it all burns.

CFlat

Last year for the first time I decided to have a go at bringing in my own turf. I paid 240 euro for 32, 50 metre sods. Some lad who sells it commercially said that was about 3 tonne. By the time I drove out to Rathangan bog, approx 15 miles from me, broke it and footed it, check it a few times, turned it and then did 6 journeys bringing it home I reckon it cost me about 90 euro a tonne. Theres a lad who drops it right into the barn beside my house for 100 euro a tonne!!

Now I did enjoy the experience, therapeutic even out in the wilderness on my own mostly. Also I spent years with people saying to me, ah sure u wudnt know what real work was, you've never been to the bog.....well they can't say that anymore😊

Also I never factored in my time in the cost of it which was prob about 20 hours. So this year, its a phone call for me. Fairly busy with work anyway so it wud be difficult to squeeze in but an enjoyable experience all the same....once.

ChippingSodbury

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Peat is millions and billions of dead trees and daddy longlegses and hedgehogs and midges, trillions of f**king midges and the like all squashed together

You forgot a major component cos from my calculations, about 90% of the world's midges live (and bite) in bogs...

Mena Mitty

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Have you never experienced the satisfaction of driving the final load home?

Ah the final load...either a three quarter full trailer or overloaded down to the axle :-) seldom a normal load ;-)