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

What a difference a week makes

I started off these 'Stuttgarter' white Onions in the Greenhouse at home in plug cells, as you can see they have rooted well and shot up, so it's time to plant them out, as daytime temps are better. 

I also started off some 'Super Aquadulce' Broad Beans, in toilet roll tubes in the Greenhouse, they took a while to get going but most have now rooted & sprouted, so I planted out the best of them, 17 in all. I have protected them with individual bottle cloches, as nighttime temps are still freezing.

I know I keep hoping the Rhubarb will be taller each week, but as temps, last night it was -3 degrees, they are still slow to grow, but more leaves and buds are showing, so won't be long now. 

Well as I said night times are still very cold, night temp (at 2am) it was -3 but by 3pm today it was +9 an increase of 12 degrees! So lets hope now Summer time is here we can have some Summer weather. 

I shot a video too to show our Allotment a month on since the last one. Watch it to see the bottle cloches on the Broad beans and watch our Chickens as they clear a patch of weeds.

Thanks for reading, watching and returning. Ian

Chickens enjoying a treat

I mixed up a treat of Apples, Pears, Spring Greens, Cornflakes & Mealworms, they love their mid-day treat, so I filmed them for #chickenhour on Twitter, its every Tuesday night between 8pm & 9pm (UK time) where like minded folk chat about Chickens, lots of advise, photos & the odd video too. 

Snow stopped all allotment tasks!

Snow! 
The Chickens braved the weather briefly to peck around the garden, they don't stay out long as its so cold, later today the melting snow made the garden so muddy again I had to scatter a few bags of wood chips to make it easier for them to get about, muddy feet not good!

But the sun came out so we decided to take a walk to the Allotment, not to do any work but just to empty the kitchen waste bin into the Compost bin & spread a bag full of Chicken poo, from the hen house, around the Fruit Bushes in the cage.

One of the Cold frames with Snow 3" thick, the glass is broken at the corner but still does a good job acclimatising seedlings etc.

Oh well, I haven't wasted the weekend due to the weather, but caught up on some decorating at home. Looking good now.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian.