Farming the Past

Since Tubi has most of the old BBC series I like, I decided to rewatch my favorites, beginning with Edwardian Farm, in which two archaeologists (Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn) and a historian (Ruth Goodman) spend a year living on a historic farm in the port town of Morwellham Quay in Devon. There they experience life as farmers with no electricity, running water, indoor plumbing or handy appliances other than a coal range. The challenges of raising crops and livestock while keeping themselves fed, clean and productive are amazing to watch, but what I like most are the cheerful yet realistic attitudes of the three.

I think why the Farm series never get old for me is the fascinating ingenuity of the people of the time periods, who had no handy refrigerators to keep food and yet managed to store their produce and meats with old and yet exceptionally inventive methods in order to last them through the winter. Salting, smoking, pickling and preserving are all shown, as were the different ways foods were used or sold depending on the farmers' abilities to keep them (the need to make a living often outweighed what they'd like to eat themselves.) I enjoy seeing the old early twentieth century gadgets they used to aid them with their different tasks, too.

If nothing else, these documentaries can help you appreciate our modern conveniences and comforts, but they're fun to watch, too. Available for free with ads on Tubi.