End of another month time for a video update

Just an update on what I did today, in the area I say 'under development' I have now constructed two raised bed in place  of the one larger one we had with Strawberries in, we will re plant the new ones with Strawberries too.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian.

Lovely sunny day, so got lots done

First job to do today was to get more Potatoes in, 'Charlotte' 2nd early this week.
I planted 42 in 3 rows & calculate I can fit in all 5 varieties in the patch I dug & rotovated. 
That's 3 rows of each, so will be interesting to see the yield this year. 

I finished the Lavender planters I put in last week, treated the wood, lined with 2 layers of mulch fabric, then filled with a 50/50 mix of soil & compost each box contains 6 plants, not easy to see here but in no time I'm sure they will grow bigger.

I was right, all the Rhubarb needed was warmth and rain, that's just what it got.

What a difference it has made, won't be long before the first harvest this year. 

The variety is 'Stockbridge Arrow'

So as I said was a lovely sunny day, the forecast is for rain tomorrow so at least all we planted today will get watered.
Radish, Cos Lettuce, Rhubarb Chard & Round Carrots all were sown today. 
Was so warm, we spotted several Bees & even a Butterfly, spring is definitely here 

Next week I will do the monthly Video walkabout, there will be some changes from last month.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian

Just a few hours but lots done

Got my trusty Rotovator out for the first time today, did a good job of cultivating the soil and incorporating the Manure that I spread over the soil a few weeks ago. I did this area in just less than an hour, imagine how long it would take with a spade or fork!

Had to dig up the last of the Parsnips, as they were in the way of my Cultivating.
There are some good sized roots here, some twisty ones too.

I've been wishing the Rhubarb would break through and finally it has, we just need some rain now, the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow so next time I expect it to be at least twice the size! 

So after Rotovating this afternoon I decided to plant out some Early Potatoes, 'Foremost'  I've done 36, in 4 rows. 
Hope the weather behaves and doesn't get too chilly, I dug a decent trench and covered them up with at least 6" depth of soil which should protect them, it's the young shoots that break through the soil that are prone to frost damage, so hopefully it will be much warmer by then.

Above is a quick video about Planting Early Potatoes

Thanks for reading/returning.Ian

Four hours of weeding and help from our Chickens too

Today was a great day for digging/weeding, dry and milder.
So we started to dig out one of the Strawberry beds, one we have had for over 10yrs, the plants were less productive & needed replacing. But early on in the digging we realised the sides of the raised bed were rotten, so we have dug it out completely. I will dig right up to the fence as there was a narrow path there, thick with weeds! So have decided to put 2 smaller raised beds in, a work in progress.

Another patch I had left until today was next to the Comfrey, it was a bit weedy and large clumps of grass had taken root, so it needed a good dig over and I hope you agree it looks a lot better.
I have left a few Rainbow Chard plants in from last year, as they will perk up as it gets warmer. We grew 'Sarpo Mira' Potatoes here last year, which did really well. But I'm not growing them again, not just yet.  

I'm glad I put plastic Bottle Cloches over the Broad Beans, as they look fine, the night times are still below freezing so wont risk leaving the mini cloches off just yet. The bottle tops are not screwed on tight, but only by half a turn so they act as ventilation we don't want them to wilt on warm days.

We treated our Chickens to a day out again today, I moved the temporary netting run to a different part of our plot, where we grew Kale last year, in the 4 hours we were there they have done a good job of weeding! But will have to bring them back to finish the job.


So as I said it was a lovely day, I would say it was almost warm, burnt the weeds in the Incinerator Bin too. I shot a video of our Chickens enjoying their day out, watch the link below:

Thanks for reading/Returning. Ian