Getting closer!
This time next week if everything has gone to plan, the pigs will have met their inevitable end. We have started to make preparations to ease the stress on us (and on them), which started with changing their run so that they had access down to the gate. This means that they will be used to going down to the gate where we will bring the trailer in, so it should be easier to load them on. A few days before we take them we’ll start feeding them down there as well, and getting them to follow the bucket so we should be able to lure them easily on to the trailer. Read the rest of this entry »
Solartastic!
Today was a very exciting day as we at last got our solar PV (photovoltaic) panels installed. We’ve been waiting all summer for them to be put up, but had to wait for our roof to be replaced first. Given the summer we’ve been having, and the high demand for our builder, this took a lot longer than we thought. So just as autumn begins and the sun starts to fade we got our panels installed! Never mind, at least they’ll be ready to go for what I’m sure will be a fantastic spring and summer next year. Read the rest of this entry »
Sloely releasing its flavour
The hedges are starting to fill with berries, and for the first time we’ve got some of our own sloe berries from the blackthorn bushes that we let grow up in the hedge. Sloes aren’t much good for anything except of course sloe gin, but that’s as good a use as any. It’s so easy to make it seems silly not to give it a go. The recipe I use is very straightforward, and as you are flavouring the gin with the sloes we just buy the cheapest gin we can find (Tesco Value gin in our case). Read the rest of this entry »
Pickling time
This year’s glut is in full swing, with French beans, peppers (sweet and chilli), tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes (now marrows) currently overwhelming us. There’s only so much you can eat while they’re in season, so to preserve them over the winter I’m turning some of the produce into chutneys and pickles. I’m not a big fan of pickles, but Simon is, so for his sake I’ve decided to have a go at making piccalilli. Read the rest of this entry »
Sweetcorn in polytunnel
The year seems to be flying by, and the veg garden is in full swing. I’ve been busy picking the gluts of peas, mangetout and broad beans and getting them into the freezer. Any that have gone over, along with the pods, we’re giving to the pigs, adding a bit of variety to their diet. The tomatoes have at last started to ripen in the polytunnel, and so we’re now able to enjoy proper salads and tomatoes in our sandwiches. This year I’ve tried growing climbing French beans and sweetcorn in the polytunnel, and both have proved very successful. They are weeks (if not months) ahead of their outdoor counterparts. The sweetcorn is twice as high as those outside, and have produce lovely fat cobs that are covered in kernels. They’re very sweet as well, particularly when they’re cooked within a few minutes of picking, before the sugars start to turn to starch. The French beans have grown all the way to the roof and are sending out new shoots and producing new flowers and beans all the time, despite being watered only twice a week. Read the rest of this entry »
Coffee (right) and Cream (left)
Our depleted chicken numbers didn’t last long – we’re now up to five. We fancied getting some chickens that lay blue eggs and the two choices are Araucanas or Cream Legbars. Cream Legbars actually have some traces of the Araucana gene in them, and as blue eggs are a dominant trait anything that crosses with it will lay a blue egg. Read the rest of this entry »
Rum in happier times
We’ve had a bad start to the week. Yesterday, we decided to dispatch Rum, one of our Black Rock chickens. She hadn’t been well for the last week, and yesterday she could barely stand up. We gave her one last check over to make sure we hadn’t missed anything like a stuck egg or any swelling but found nothing, so decided to do the deed there and then. Read the rest of this entry »
Sunday morning lie in
It’s pouring with rain here today, so what better way to spend your Sunday morning?
Strawberries galore!
We’re in the middle of the first glut of the season. The warm weather is doing wonders for the strawberry crop, both inside the polytunnel and outside. I’m having to scour the internet for strawberry recipes (I’m not a big fan of strawberry jam so can’t use them up this way) but one solution may be to try making some strawberry wine (more on this another day). However, despite a good crop, the strawberries inside have got whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum). Every time we go to pick some fruits clouds of little white specks come flying off the leaves. I’ve planted French marigolds as a deterrent (but clearly this hasn’t worked or I was too late), so my next option was to try a biological control. Read the rest of this entry »
Lush new grass...but for how long?
I don’t know where the time has gone. May is always a busy time in the garden, but it seems more so this year. I think the main reason is the amount of watering I’ve had to do. This dry weather couldn’t have come at a worse time for gardeners when lots of seeds are relying on damp soil to germinate. Our water butts (including our two 1000 litre tanks) had almost run dry, until a few days ago when we at last got a deluge of rain. However, even with a few hours of rain the soil was still pretty dry underneath. It looks like the dry spell is coming to an end (at least in this part of the country) and we’ve had a few days of rain. Read the rest of this entry »