Maud & Peggy Chickens at feeding time

I have been meaning to Video our Chickens, Maud & Peggy tucking into their favorite treat, so here it is:

A chilly November afternoon

A lovely day today, even the sun came out, but as its November it was chilly. 
So to keep warm I cleared the Sweetcorn away, we didn't get many Corn Cobs this year, again due to the poor summer weather. So we left the cobs on on the plants for the birds to peck at and they did a good job of it! I then dug over the soil, removing any roots & weeds as I went. 

We also cut back the Raspberry canes, cutting out all the old wood that had fruited this year. Our Chickens, Maud & Peggy had a fine time scratching around pecking up bugs etc.

But the main job was to dig up some Parsnips for tonight's dinner, as we have now had at least 2 frosty mornings, they will taste much sweeter. 

I hoped to video digging theses up, but sadly the battery had run out on my camcorder! I also wanted to video the Chickens for you, but there will be plenty of other chances to do that.

So I have quite a job on my hands over the next few weeks, to clear this area ready for Spud planting in the spring, but will need to incorporate Manure first though. I have made a start though where the Sweetcorn was, upper right of the photo.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian

Our Chickens in HD

Our remaining 2 Chickens Maud, the pale one and Peggy the darker one with a small comb.

We have had them since March 2011, so now about 3 years old. 

You can see them here enjoying some Corn just before going in for the night.

Last of the Sarpo Mira Spuds dug up & Moles!

Lovely sunny day today, luckily I had planned to dig up the last of the Sarpo Mira Potatoes and that's just what I did.
You will have to excuse the weeds & grass that has sprung up, but I made the mistake of mulching the growing shoots back in the spring with freshly cut grass, this must have contained seeds and they germinated and grass popped up everywhere!

But after and hour or so, it was clear of all weeds, grass and Potatoes, my trusty Potato fork did its job well and not one spud was speared.
The fleece tunnel to the left still has some Carrots growing, so will be keeping them there for a little while yet, well until the ground freezes that is.

So from the 2 rows I dug up, the yield was about 30.5lb so I estimate the total yield to be 45lb as I planted 3 rows, not bad from 30 seed tubers.

I have left them in the Greenhouse to dry out & harden the skins, for a few days only, don't want them to turn green! 

Compared to the Cara I dug up last month, only 40lb from 72 seed tubers. 

But next year I will be trying 2 different Main crop potatoes, see last Blog entry.
My main reason for choosing Sarpo Mira was because of it high resistance to Blight.

Earlier in the week, when I visited my plot I was surprised to see Moles had visited my neatly planted Red Onion patch, a few Onions had been taken from underneath, but most of the damage was from the mole hills.
I managed to flatten the soil and replant most of the dislodged Onions.

Typical the Moles chose the neatest, dug over patch to invade!

So I quickly made a few of these from things in my shed:

A Bamboo cane, split at the top, a CD pushed into the split & tied to the cane, then another disc loosely tied to the string loop made from attaching the fixed disk.

Hopefully in the wind the fixed disk will vibrate the cane and the loose disk will fly about also shaking the cane, Moles don't like vibrations in the soil. So today I took note and no more Mole Hills had appeared, will see long term if they work.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian

3 days weeding, digging, preparing & planting Onions

I started this task on Friday, by pulling up all the weeds which included Dock, Nettles, Bindweed, Mares Tales, Comfrey and various other unmentionables.
But as you can see by Saturday it was much clearer. The 1st early Potatoes 'Rocket' were growing here and it wasn't until I had cleared all the weeds I realised there was a full row I had over looked along with 2 part rows that we had started to harvest from.

So I dug up all the 'Rocket' Potatoes, turned over the soil to get all the weed roots out, well as many as I could!

Then tidied up the edges that were overgrown with grass from the path, I also pulled up some self seeded Artichokes that were growing very tall by the fence. We have a well established Blackberry growing along the fence, so I trimmed that by cutting out all the old wood too.

So from the area cleared I dug up all these 'Rocket' Potatoes.
As I said we had started to harvest these since about June/July and only dug up what we needed, so these are the last.
What you can see here is about 18lb, so I estimate the total yield this year to be about 36-40lbs. The row I had missed along the edge nearest the path didn't yield very many, I suppose they were suppressed by the grass from the path.  

So this morning, using a rake I leveled off the soil, walked all over it to firm it, because digging it over yesterday made it very light and fluffy. 

I then measured the area to calculate how many Onions I could fit into this space, knowing they need to be 4"- 6" apart.

So my calculations allowed me to plant 10 rows, 12" apart, with 10 Onions per row 6" apart. The variety I have planted this year is 'Red Cross' a red Onion.

I should be lifting them around May next year.

Another job done this weekend I put my Potato order in for next year. But I have been warned that due to the bad weather there will be a shortage of seed Potatoes, so I might not get all I ordered. 

So here's what I requested:
Anya (salad) 
Foremost (1st early)
Charlotte (2nd early)
Picasso & Valour (main) 

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian

Another lovely sunny Autumn day

As it was so nice today, first we cleared one of the raised beds,  topped it up with home made compost, mixed well in and leveled.

Then stopped for a Coffee & Cake break.

After Coffee & Cake we planted a row of Alliums each end of the raised bed, then three varieties of Garlic, two rows of each. 
Then put a net frame over to stop the birds pecking them out.

Next job: To dig over part of the patch where the Cara Spuds were dug from, remove all the roots from weeds etc. 
Tamp it down by walking all over it, then raking it level.

I then planted six rows of over winter white Onions 'Radar' 15 in each row. Should lift them about May next year.
I might clear another patch soon and plant the Red Onions too.

Another good harvest today:
Tomatoes
Kale
Beetroot
Parsnips
and a few Cara Spuds found when digging over the Onion bed! 

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian

Lovely sunny autumn day

As the weather forecast said it would be dry today I decided it would be a good opportunity to do some much needed weeding.

Believe it or not there should be Leeks here I planted them out in August and are competing with the weeds, so I must release them.
As I know some of you like before & after shots, this Blog contains 2 for your delight.

And a hour or so later and the Leeks are now out on their own, making full use of the remaining sun and the plentiful rain, more is due on Thursday!

Incidentally they are 'Musselburgh' Leeks, I found the label too :) 

Another patch that was desperate for a bit of weeding and clearing is this one. 

You can just see the Parsnips, I harvested some last week and they were lovely roasted. There are also Peas and Mange Tout, no more pods but the frames and dead foliage are still there.  

And here is the after shot. 
It took me a few hours, but I had a much larger area to clear of weeds and I dismantled the pea frames and Mange Tout netting and canes.

But it looks a lot better, next year this area will be used for the Potatoes, so will be covered in manure soon ready to dig in.

Of course I had to have a bonfire to burn all the weeds and a good bonfire it was too.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian.